DICK DALEY: More than 100 people, about half Indian, half Caucasian, are gathered at the College of Saint Scholastica here for an Indian legislative conference, trying to formulate specific recommendations for the new legislative session which opens next week. The group is concerning itself with items like education, tribal rights, economic development, criminal justice, religion, health, and housing. And Elwin Vetten, the director of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Commission, said Native Americans will be a force to be reckoned with.
ELWIN VETTEN: I would like to make this day known that the Indian community has came of age on the political scene. And we would be a political power that they have to grapple with. And we will make demands. And we want our demands acted upon. We have a disproportionate amount of statistics on the various areas of concern. And those would be employment, inadequate housing, suicide, accidents, delivery of health services, alcoholism, corrections. And these are really some disproportionate statistics that ought to be acted upon.
And the people that can act upon them are the state legislatures. They can appropriate money. They can initiate programs that will assist us in achieving this great life that a national magazine recently wrote about. And I'm not sure whether it was Time or it was Newsweek, this great life in Minnesota. Evidently, the editors of that magazine did not consult the Indian community, or they may have got a different picture of life in Minnesota, that it isn't all that great for the American Indian.
DICK DALEY: Just how much political clout Indians are exerting seems somewhat in question, at least during the morning session, since only three state lawmakers attended the conference, of more than 200 invited. Senators Allan Spear of Minneapolis, Wayne Olhoft of Herman, and Ralph Doty of Duluth are here. And conference sponsors are visibly upset that more lawmakers did not attend. It is hoped that at least more of the Duluth area delegation might appear as the day moves along. This is Dick Daley in Duluth.
In 2008, Minnesota's voters passed the Clean Water, Land and Legacy Amendment to the Minnesota Constitution: to protect drinking water sources; to protect, enhance, and restore wetlands, prairies, forests, and fish, game, and wildlife habitat; to preserve arts and cultural heritage; to support parks and trails; and to protect, enhance, and restore lakes, rivers, streams, and groundwater.
Efforts to digitize this initial assortment of thousands of historical audio material was made possible through the Minnesota Legacy Amendment’s Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund. A wide range of Minnesota subject matter is represented within this collection.
Views and opinions expressed in the content do not represent the opinions of APMG. APMG is not responsible for objectionable content and language represented on the site. Please use the "Contact Us" button if you'd like to report a piece of content. Thank you.
Transcriptions provided are machine generated, and while APMG makes the best effort for accuracy, mistakes will happen. Please excuse these errors and use the "Contact Us" button if you'd like to report an error. Thank you.