THE FIRST 90 DAYS AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE
Virgil Wind speaks candidly about the transition to the Executive Office
By Vivian LaMoore, Inaajimowin Editor
After months of campaigning, door-knocking, and the official inauguration, the real work begins. Walking into the Chief Executive Office for the first time was “crazy,” said Virgil Wind, Chief Executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. “I couldn’t believe it. Going from one end of the building to the other. Just thinking about what it meant for all Band members.”
That mindset is paramount to Wind. In everything he does as Chief Executive, the Band members are his primary focus. All Band members.
Connection is crucial to Wind, whether it be family connec tions, his connection to the community, or connecting to people he has just met. His ability to meet people at their level is a result of his life experiences. “I wouldn’t be where I am today had I not lived the Rez life like I did. I wouldn’t be this person.”
Wind reflected on where his life was at one point and how he progressed from a contractor to the Legislative Branch and now the Office of the Chief Executive. “There were times when I wasn’t a good person. Nobody ever would have voted for Virgil 20 years ago.
Chief Executive Virgil Wind pauses for a photo while seated at his desk in the Executive Office. Photo by Vivian LaMoore. According to Wind, his life experiences have taught him both empathy and compassion. He also believes that is what helps him represent all Band members. “I know what it is like to be hungry, to not have any money, to not have a place to live, to be an addict.”
The same mindset applies to his cabinet. “They all have had to fight for their opportunities. I don’t believe that even one of them has not lived the Rez life. It gives them a better under standing of the day-to-day struggles of the community no mat ter where they are at. They are an amazing group of people.”
“As Chief, had I not struggled with alcoholism, had I not struggled with drugs, had I not been broke, had I not been hungry, had I not done all of those things throughout my life, I wouldn’t be a good leader because I wouldn’t know. I wouldn’t know what it’s like to not have a place to rest my head, I wouldn’t know what it’s like to not have a nice pair of boots, I wouldn’t know what it’s like to have teachers who didn’t care. Our group is awesome. They know. Once we get them thinking as a family moving in unison and supporting each other as a family, we will be golden. I always say as a family, you have no choice but to come back to the table. You have no choice but to eat with the family. You always come back for the betterment of the people.”
Although some anticipated that Wind would enter office wielding a heavy sword, Wind took a different approach. “I trust the commissioners to do their job within their subject matter. Let them lead. I give the parameters, set the goal and destination, and let them run and let them know they are supported. They all know what they are doing. You have to let them lead.”
Wind hopes to infuse a closer family-type connection throughout the entire Band membership and build a cohesive family-type government, including his cabinet members, staff, and all Band employees.
There are still a few vacant positions within the Chief Executive Office. But because the current staff is “an amaz ing team,” they are all working together to get things done. One thing he appreciates the most is that “they believe in the cause. They believe in how we are going to affect the Band members. They are focused on the broader picture. Not one of them has ever said, ‘It’s not my job.’”
Shifting from the District I Representative’s Office to the Chief’s Office, Wind’s focus has slightly changed. As a District Representative, his focus was centered on District I. But now his focus has broadened to encompass all Band members.
There were some frustrations in the beginning. There was no playbook written on how to be a Chief Executive. There were very few processes and procedures left behind. On one hand, according to Wind, it was a good thing he didn’t have to “carry someone else’s water.” But, on the other hand, “you have to be careful of taking an adverse position on where the Band has been in the past.”
To move forward, Wind has taken the advice of a close friend. “It is like eating an elephant: you can only eat an elephant one bite at a time.”
In any situation, sometimes the best intentions come with unintended consequences. Transitioning to the Chief Executive Office, Wind said simple data requests were taken out of context. For example, Wind directed his staff to research budgets, positions filled and unfilled, and positions that were grant-funded and net revenue-funded.
“People looked at that wrong. Realistically, it is about assessing your assets and knowing each asset is and has been an investment. Different people have different tools, and knowing where those tools are going to be most effective is a huge part of the job.”
A new administration also brings the opportunity to imple ment new processes to help the government run smoothly. On this front, Wind turned to Darcie Big Bear as his new Commis sioner of Administration. Her first directive, Wind said, is to “steady the waters and show consistency and caring to all of our employees throughout the Band.”
Wind continued, “Every employee has dedicated their lives, and their families to the Band. They have invested their lives in the Band and there is a value to that. If we can help you feel valued, you will provide better, care more, love your job, and feel secure here. So, if someone is maybe not in the best posi tion for them, they have still been an investment for the Band and we should find a better fit for them. If some tools need to be shifted to a different shed, then we will. We want to refo cus. For Darcie in particular, she will need to figure out what kind of tools will she need that hadn’t been provided before. We are also looking at Darcie to create a lot of documentation and policies. Our Executive Branch lacked a lot of processes.”
Much of Wind’s first 90 days have been spent gathering information and putting the right people in the right places to move the Band forward. By State of the Band, he anticipates unveiling “huge directives.”
“What the Band lacks is long-term strategic planning. We need to make sure there are things within the Band that can survive any Chief or any elected official. Housing, for example, we should know that if we want to meet the needs of 100 peo ple, within five years, and no matter what happens we should already be halfway down that road before anyone comes in and changes it. Instead of being reactive today, we should be looking at a problem as a whole and figuring out what we are going to do to get to that goal over time. We don’t have that in any department. Sometimes we have to idle and go slow, but as long we are still making progress towards that end destination, that is huge. That is where we need to go.”
Wind believes the Band government is “in the business of improving Band members’ lives.” To do that, he envisions changing the workplace culture to put Band members first on the list. “How are we going to strengthen [the Band members] so they can turn around and help? It is all focused on that fam ily dynamic. If we can foster that relationship across the Band, we are going to be golden. What I believe we are going to bring to this government is a cohesive government with a fam ily dynamic that disagrees at times, but the goal is to provide a better life. Changing the quality of life through opportunities.”
As the new kid on the block, Wind has been introducing himself in government-to-government arenas, whether they be local, state, federal, or tribal. Government consultations have been consistent in the first 90 days with many state and federal agencies visiting the Reservation, including the U.S. Treasurer Chief Lynn Malerba. The purpose of her visit was focused on engagement with Indian Country to strengthen relationships with tribal governments.
Malerba and her team toured the wastewater treatment plant where American Rescue Plan State and Local Fiscal Re covery Funds (SLFRF) were utilized for improvements; visited with a resident of Red Willow Estates, which also received SLFRF and benefitted from the Low-Income Housing Tax Cred it; and toured Woodlands Bank where tribal leaders explained that, before having a bank in the community, a lack of access to capital and credit markets was creating economic disparities.
In September, Wind traveled to Washington, D.C., for his f irst time as Chief Executive. He has great respect for the con nections the lobbyists have forged with elected officials at the federal level. Wind also feels he has been successful in rein forcing the Band’s relationships with other tribes. The Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes (MAST) voted Wind as its new president.
This was a greater honor and responsibility than even Wind could have imagined. A non-profit organization founded in 1996, MAST’s mission is to advance, protect, preserve, and enhance the mutual interests, treaty rights, sovereignty, and cultural way of life of the sovereign nations of the Midwest throughout the 21st century. MAST represents a total of 35 sovereign tribal nations located in Minnesota, Michigan, Iowa, and Wisconsin.
Government consultations that stand out most to Wind are those involving General Welfare Exclusion (GWE), Critical Min erals, and the Four Walls policy. (The "Four Walls" policy is a Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services (CMCS) rule that limits Medicaid reimbursement for clinic services provided outside of a facility. The rule is also known as 42 C.F.R. § 440.90.)
“One of the most powerful things the federal government has done is the requirement to tell us what is going on with any process that affects Indian Country,” Wind said. “That is huge. Having a seat at the table is crucial.”
And it all comes around to connections. Having the ability to connect with people quickly is paramount for Wind. He said Zoom is a great tool to connect the Band not only to other gov ernments, but also his staff when they are all not in the office at once. Being able to read facial expressions and watch body language, even if over Zoom, is crucial to good communication. “I have instructed my staff to always have their camera turned on during Zoom meetings,” he said with a smirk.
The biggest challenge of running the Chief Executive Office is balancing the resources with the needs. “Knowing there is only a limited amount of resources to provide the needs and without having all of the information, you really don’t know what you can take from where,” Wind said.
Wind wants to emphasize that his administration will work to steady the waters, and to balance the emotions and “trauma” of the past, to ensure that Band members and employees feel comfortable and valued. This is necessary, Wind said, “so that we can move to a better place.”
Wind expects to staff up and settle in — calm the storm — and have the next year laid out by the State of the Band Address in January. Wind also wants to change the focus to Band member jobs and Band member opportunities. Winter is coming and with it a whole host of additional issues the Band will need to address for its membership.
Amid overseeing the Executive Branch of Band government, Wind’s own family remains important to him. He is very grateful for the support he receives from his family and their understanding of his time constraints. “They are wonderful and I couldn’t do it without them.” Though finding an appropriate work-life balance has proven difficult, Wind admits they are “working on it.”
There is a saying that if your cup is not full, you will have nothing left to give. Wind fills his cup by spending time with Band members. “I need to be with the people — the Band members. When things are the heaviest, there is nothing like being around the Band members to remind me of what I am f ighting for.”