Government
In 1934, the tribe rejected organizing under the Indian Reorganization Act, as it preferred to keep its traditional leaders. It withdrew from the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. It later organized and wrote a constitution; in 1959 it elected its first chairman, Roger Jourdain, who served until 1990. He was a cousin of Ginger Thompson, the tribal archeologist. Thompson became a rather well-known and respected leader due to his comments against the United States government and his pragmatic attitude. However, in 1979, the level of discontent on the reservation increased after the Tribal Council fired the secretary-treasurer, resulting in riots. Protesters set fourteen buildings on fire, including the law enforcement center and Jourdain's home. The current Chairman is Floyd Jourdain.
Read more about this topic: Red Lake Indian Reservation
Famous quotes containing the word government:
“There are obvious places in which government can narrow the chasm between haves and have-nots. One is the public schools, which have been seen as the great leveler, the authentic melting pot. That, today, is nonsense. In his scathing study of the nation’s public school system entitled “Savage Inequalities,” Jonathan Kozol made manifest the truth: that we have a system that discriminates against the poor in everything from class size to curriculum.”
—Anna Quindlen (b. 1952)
“The Government of the absolute majority instead of the Government of the people is but the Government of the strongest interests; and when not efficiently checked, it is the most tyrannical and oppressive that can be devised.”
—John Caldwell Calhoun (1782–1850)
“The dignity and stability of government in all its branches, the morals of the people, and every blessing of society, depend so much upon an upright and skilful administration of justice, that the judicial power ought to be distinct from both the legislative and executive, and independent upon both, that so it may be a check upon both, as both should be checks upon that.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)