January 1-7, 2024

Gichimanidoo-Giizis (Great Spirit Moon)

From Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

By Paul A. Smith

The Wisconsin Conservation Hall of Fame will hold a virtual ceremony April 17 to honor its 2024 inductees, Walter Bresette and Lewis Posekany.

The WCHF was established in 1985 to advance the conservation legacy of Wisconsin.

One-hundred ten members have been inducted since its inception, including Aldo Leopold, John Muir and Gaylord Nelson. The nonprofit organization is located in the Schmeeckle Reserve Visitor Center on the UW-Stevens Point campus.

Its 2024 class will be inducted posthumously.

Bresette (1947-1999) was a member of the Red Cliff Band of Ojibwe, U.S. Army veteran, business owner and treaty rights activist who emerged as a leader during the spearfishing controversies of the 1980s.

He also founded or co-founded several organizations including Witness for Nonviolence, the Midwest Treaty Network, and the Wisconsin Green Party. Active in mining issues over many years, Bresette worked to prevent a mine from being constructed in Crandon and to get the Mining Moritorium Law enacted.

He also used nonviolent means to protect wild rice beds from potential danger due to trains carrying sulfuric acid through the Bad River watershed.

Bresette's Ojibwe name was Makoons, or "Little Bear."

"He worked to protect the earth and his people's rights like a mother bear protects her cubs," said a PBS documentary on Bresette's life and legacy. "He embodied an intelligent and inclusive model of activism that serves as an example for human rights activists today."

The April 17 inductions will feature speeches and presentations on a virtual platform to be announced. Bresette will be honored at 5 p.m. and Posekany at 6:30.

For additional information on the WCHF and the 2024 ceremony, visit www.wchf.org.

Boozhoo Aaniin Gaa-Miskwaabikaang! The first $100 gift card drawing as part of the Tribal Census is scheduled for this Friday January 5. Drawings are based on your unique survey code. Households that have completed their survey are eligible for the $100 gift card drawings. The winner will be contacted directly by the survey staff.

If your household has not received a survey code yet, please contact:

Liz Boyd, Tribal Survey Manager

715-779-3744 ext 3518

Liz.Boyd@redcliff-nsn.gov

Once you have your survey code, you can take the survey online at www.redcliff-nsn.gov/census. On-reservation households that do not have internet access will receive paper surveys if they choose not to complete the survey in-person with survey staff.

Chi-Miigwech to all who made the 2023 Kids Christmas event special! We had a wonderful turnout. Here are some highlights from this year's event:

-177 families served

-424 children & youth aged 0-18 received gifts

-Over 100 more children & youth served compared to 2022

-Over 175 attended the Santa holiday party

Special thanks to these donors:

Apostle Islands Historic Preservation Conservancy

St. Croix Tribal Council

Denise Becker

Bryan Bainbridge

Lac Courte Oreilles Tribal Governing Board

National Park Service

Bayfield Lumber and Supply, Inc. 

Walking Shield 

Midwest Professionals

Hansen’s IGA of Washburn

Copper Crow Distillery

Peterson’s Foods

Ida Nemec

Memorial Medical Center

St. John’s United Church of Christ

Anonymous cash donations

St. Francis Church

DuWayne Soulier Memorial

John Ruese

All those who attended the fundraiser BINGO on 11/19/23

Committee Members & Tribal Programs involved:

Linda Christiansen, Indian Child Welfare Department

Amanda Hanson, Property & Procurement Department

Desmund LaPointe, Red Cliff Child Support Services Agency

Ashley Huinker, Treaty Natural Resources

Kali Nelson, Treaty Natural Resources

Tamara Montano, Red Cliff Community Health Center

Denise Carlson, Red Cliff IT Department

Michael Christiansen, Red Cliff Finance

Melis Arik, Red Cliff Planning Department

Derek Gordon, Red Cliff Community Health Center

Shania Jackson, Red Cliff Child Support Services Agency

Michelle Charette-Goodwin, Red Cliff Child Support Services Agency

Rob Czypinski, Red Cliff Planning Department

Holly Leask, Red Cliff Economic Support

Brenda Salas, Red Cliff Economic Support

Brenda Hebert, Red Cliff Family Violence Prevention Program

Bonni Gary, Red Cliff Family & Human Services

Red Cliff Tribal Member Veterans, our Chi-Ogichida, can get free bus passes for Miskwaabekong Transit.

Please stop by the Tribal Administration Building, or call Rick Peterson or Melissa Topping with any questions at 715-779-3700.

Chi-Miigwech for your service!

Aaniin Elders! We've got some fun trips planned for January.

Contact Sarah to sign up at 715-779-3706 ext 5018.

The Red Cliff Boys & Girls Club will host a sign-up event for assistance in accessing free monthly internet and a tablet!

Stop by the Club between 5:30-7:30 PM on Wednesday January 10. Be sure to bring your Tribal ID and any required documents listed below.

FoodWIse Nutrition has released its January 2024 newsletter!

FoodWIse is federally funded statewide by the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education (SNAP-Ed) and the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). FoodWIse advances healthy eating habits, active lifestyles and healthy community environments for Wisconsin residents with limited incomes through nutrition education at the individual, community and systems levels.

Click HERE to view the full January 2024 FoodWise newsletter.

Red Cliff Chippewa Housing Authority is accepting applications for housing and housing assistance!

RCCHA provides clean, safe, adequate, and affordable housing for qualified families and elders.

Housing options to apply for include low rent, 6-plex, 4-plex, Elderly, Tax Credit, Tax Credit Rehab.

Oski-Ombendaam New Hope Supportive Housing

The Oski-Ombendaam New Hope housing contains efficiency, one-bedroom, two-bedroom, and three-bedroom units. The goal of New Hope housing is to provide supportive services to those individuals and families while providing clean, safe, adequate, and affordable housing.

You are also able to apply for Home Repair Assistance and Down Payment Assistance.

Click HERE to access an application.

Red Cliff Chippewa Housing Authority tenants have access to a Residential Resource Coordinator. The coordinator will help tenants get connected with various resources.

This service is available to Housing tenants Monday through Friday at New Hope Building A, at 37580 Pageant Road.

Please call 715-779-3744 extension 3514 with any questions.

Click to access the entire Treaty Natural Resources Division Ganawenjigaade newsletter for dagwaagin (fall) 2023.

Click HERE to order online!

Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission has announced its summer internship opportunities!

There is a great representation of the diversity of work GLIFWC does from climate change to public information to enforcement to Great Lakes and inland fisheries; there's something for every interested college student.

Applications are open until January 31st 4:30CST.

From LCO Ojibwe University

Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe University (LCOOU) is pleased to announce its plans to become an Emergency Medical Service Training Center (EMS Training Center). The Wisconsin Department of Health Services issued their approval to LCOOU on October 4th, 2023.

The EMS Training Center shall offer Emergency Medical Service (EMS) courses. The University is seeking an Emergency Medical Technician II (EMT II) as an Adjunct Instructor who would teach those didactic and practicum courses for the program, starting June 2024. Dr. Dorothy Novak, emergency medicine, will be the Center’s medical director. She will be working alongside Jamie Gohde, LCOOU nursing program director.

“To address the shortage of emergency medical service personnel in our area, we created a workgroup with Round Lake/Rescue Medical Responders, Sawyer County Ambulance, and Great Divide Ambulance Service. The workgroup found the major barrier to recruiting and producing emergency medical service personnel was the lack of a local EMS Training Center, and that’s where we developed a plan for LCOOU to become one,” Gohde said.

From the Wisconsin Flex Grant that the Round Lake Fire/Rescue Medical Responders received, $26,683.47 will be going to LCOOU for the establishment of the EMS Training Center. These funds shall cover the cost of equipment, tuition, and books.

Further down the line, LCOOU hopes to partner with high schools in the Sawyer County area, helping them in teaching EMS courses to their students to facilitate for them the path towards a medical career.

“I often say that we don’t have time,” said LCOOU President Russell Swagger. “Working day in and day out to provide our local communities with what they need is what the university is here for. We have grown a lot over the past years, from a community college to a university. We are always looking for ways to do more for the people we serve, and this EMS Training Center is just one such way to do that.”

The Indigenous Futures Survey is an annual survey that aims to capture Indigenous people’s voices, perspectives, and concerns for use in developing policy, understanding socio-economic trends, and highlighting important issues impacting Indian Country. This information will help inform Tribal leaders and members of Congress about issues facing Indigenous People. This survey will ask about your experiences, thoughts, and beliefs on current and historical issues within your community. Your participation in the survey is entirely voluntary, and you can choose not to answer any question or leave the study at any time.

This year’s survey is co-led by IllumiNative and Native Organizers Alliance, with Kauffman and Associates, Inc. supporting the survey development and analysis.

Wisconsin Conservation Voices is looking for a Native Vote Director who has a deep commitment to Wisconsin’s tribal communities, enjoys managing staff and developing programs, and believes in the power of voting to create positive change. This is a full-time position and there is geographic flexibility within the state. The full position description can be found HERE.