WEWINABI — Arthur Gahbow
Art Gahbow's birthday is April 26, 1935. The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe is proud to celebrate his leadership each year with a holiday in his honor. This year, the hoiliday will fall on April 28, 2023.
Art Gahbow passed away on April 11, 1991. On the 25th anniversary of his death, Art’s friend Don Wedll reflects on his legacy.
(This article was originally published in the May 2016 Inaajimowin.)
By Don Wedll, Guest Writer
What do you say when asked to write about someone who was your leader, boss, teacher, colleague, we’e (godfather) to your son, nii jii and friend? How do you describe the importance he had in your life? There is one thing that he always was, and that was “Anishinaabe.” He thought about that a lot and what it meant. For him it meant that you could not ride the fence; you had to pick. You could not say, “I’ll use this way because it is easier.” He had long-term dreams for the Mille Lacs Band. He was a good man.
One personal task he had was to leave Mille Lacs in a better place than when he took over as leader. He saw many changes as the Band’s leader. He became the Tribal Chairman of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and lost that position. He saw Band businesses fail and his leadership challenged. He saw groups form to overthrow the Band Government. But he held true to Anishinaabe ways and fought to make things better. In his last days as leader, he had set the Band on a path to continue to make progress, and he never gave up.
Wewinabi, Arthur Wesley Gahbow, was born April 26, 1935, on the Mille Lacs Reservation in Minnesota. While living with his grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Dick Gahbow, he attended the Vineland Elementary School and Onamia High School. He joined the United States Army and had a four- year military career, which included a two-and-a-half-year tour of Germany. He returned to the Minneapolis area where he worked as a carpenter until the early 1960s. He was a fluent speaker of Ojibwe and always stated it was his first language. Because of his language skill he taught classes at the University of Minnesota Duluth and assisted in the preparation and development of an Ojibwe language book for the Vineland Elementary School.
On June 10, 1972, he was elected chairman of the Mille Lacs Reservation Business Committee. He was an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe/Mississippi Bands. He was in the second level of the Mide’win and was a drum owner. He belonged to four other ceremonial drums. He was elected Tribal Chairman of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and served until 1980. From 1972 to 1991, he was the Chairman and Chief Executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.
Art grew up with his grandparents and his grandfather Dick Gahbow, who was one of the leaders at Mille Lacs before the Indian Reorganization Act form of government took place. He stated that he got to listen to the old men talk about the Reservation and the political processes they were dealing with. He learned traditional Band leadership by observing how these old men thought and how they dealt with problems. All of this became important after he took on the leadership role at Mille Lacs. It was his guide for how he dealt with issues and responded to crises. Over and over these voices of the past would show him the choices to make.
In 1974 I did not know who Arthur Gahbow was. I had applied for a job on the Mille Lacs Reservation to teach math, and he was the person I was supposed to contact about the job. He was always gone when I called the number to contact him. After numerous calls I felt sure he did not want to talk to me because nobody could be in so many different places. But between being the Chairman of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and then Chairman of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, he was very busy. I got a call in early August that I had been hired to teach math on Mille Lacs Reservation. I quit my job and headed over to work for Chairman Arthur Gahbow. The first year I only met him in passing. He continued to be very busy trying to make things work better.
In 1975 the high school students at Onamia walked out because of racial issues they faced in the school. Chairman Gahbow supported the students and moved to try and improve their education. He directed the setting up of a high school on the Reservation. Everyone on the Reservation worked to make the new school work. This was his first major task after taking office in 1972. Then things started developing in the educational area. By 1978 the Bureau of Indian Affairs had funded what was called a Bureau Contract School. The new school was called “Nay Ah Shing.”
Financial problems were also starting to occur for the Band, mostly due to national inflation. By 1980, an economic depression had hit the country and Mille Lacs was experiencing its effects.
Chairman Gahbow — along with Doug Sam, Leonard Sam and Henry Davis — saw that the problems needed a larger fix than just money. A structural change was needed. They realized that a Reservation Business Committee was not a Band Government and that poverty and oppression were taking a toll on the community. The Band’s treaty rights were being ignored, and many dreams were being destroyed. As Chairman he had to lead the way out, and he got support from the old men. He would also go over and talk with Maud Kegg to get her opinions on issues.
He saw that Band businesses were subject to many factors, but the Band Government was not the best way to run them. He saw the need for a strong Band Government. The other leaders at Mille Lacs agreed and supported the direction, people like Doug Sam, Henry Davis, Marge Anderson, Julie Shingobe and George LaFave. The Band Elders also supported his efforts.
The first step was to reorganize the Band Government — not to consolidate his or the chairman’s power but to distribute the power. This was done through the development of the Band Assembly, the Band’s Court of Central Jurisdiction and the establishment of Commissioners. With this basis, the Mille Lacs Band Government grew and was better able to perform the functions of a Tribal Government.
He also dreamed of having the state of Minnesota recognize the Band’s rights under treaties. He took great steps to have that happen. In 1979 he got the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe to establish a hunting and fishing code for the Mille Lacs Band. Then he was arrested trying to create a case to litigate the Band’s rights. He directed the publishing of histories of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and Mille Lacs Band’s History. The Band established a Natural Resources Department, and he got the Wisconsin Bands to recognize Mille Lacs’ rights to hunt, fish and gather under the 1837 Treaty. He pushed to have the state of Wisconsin acknowledge the Mille Lacs Band’s rights, and he established a relationship with the Seattle law firm that was the best in ligation of treaty rights issues. Finally, in August of 1990 his dream of stopping the State’s interference with the Band’s hunting, fishing and gathering rights was submitted into Federal Court.
Arthur Gahbow gave the first State of the Band Address in 1984. This address led Tribal Governments across the country to give State of the Reservation addresses and strengthen their governmental status.
In 1985 he took a stand against the state of Minnesota’s position to require the waiver of Band’s rights in order to receive state monies. This led to the passage of a State Law stopping the State administration from waiving the Band’s sovereignty.
He, along with the Band Assembly, established a Band Court system, the establishment of the Band’s flag and publishing of Band Law. This was done over the objections of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He, along with the Band Assembly, developed a series of Band laws to govern and regulate activities on the reservation and within the Band’s jurisdiction.
In 1987, at the invitation of Red Lake Nation Chairman Roger Jourdain, he attended a meeting in Kansas City on Tribal sovereignty and Self-Governance. Though the Band had limited resources, he drove to Kansas, stayed in a low-cost hotel and listened and supported the ideas presented. This meeting led to a symposium on tribal sovereignty held in Philadelphia and the start of a new federal policy of Self-Governance. Through his leadership Mille lacs became one of the first seven tribal governments to enter into compacts with the United States Government. The idea that tribal governments would be self-governing and direct their own funding was a fundamental belief of Chairman Gahbow. Through this he wanted an independent corporate structure to operate and develop businesses on the Reservation.
One event that David Matrious from District III organized was a meeting with David Anderson, Lyle Berman and Chairman Gahbow. The meeting was about the building of a Casino at Hinckley. This and future meetings led to the development of Grand Casinos — a successful economic tool for creating employment, making money and helping to support Mille Lacs Band members.
Arthur Gahbow would never have thought that his life would be part of all the things Mille Lacs now enjoys. He would not look at what he did as a model but would have told the young people that what he did was a little bit and that they could do so much more.
In his personal life he enjoyed living — from riding on a motorcycle listening to Indian music to meeting with the President of the United States. He drove a black truck with a bug screen that stated “Aut’ee Gahbow” because sometimes he was called that by the old people. He loved to visit, sing, and go to powwows. The drum and ceremonies were his guide throughout his life. If he could fish or hunt, he was happy. He pushed hard to get to use the Band’s treaty rights and would have been so proud of the Band members using them.
At work he treated everyone fairly, but he required you to do your job. He did not care if you were red or white, but that you did your job. That was the first requirement. He loved all his children and tried hard to support them. He tried always to make time for them. In the end he left Mille Lacs a better place. He set a standard and would be so proud of the Mille Lacs Band.
