Chairman

May 2025 Chairman's Report

Aaniin Boozhoo Gaa-waabaabiganikaag
Niminwendam Waabaminaan!
Zaagibagaa-Giizis!
Aaniish inaa akawe ninga-gaagiizomaag aadi- zookaanag.
Weweni-sago-na
Greetings White Earth Nation I am Happy to See
You!
It is already May!
Everyone Be Safe.
An Oneida friend retold us this story so I thought I'd use it for our monthly traditional story as our Ojibwa creation stories cannot be told after the snow melts because of how sacred they are.

Long ago, two hunters went hunting deer for their village. They hunted for a very long time without seeing any signs of deer, but they didn't return to the village for they knew they had to provide food as May began. Suddenly, they heard a very loud thump! They stopped and listened to see if there would be another thump, and sure enough, they heard it again! This time the thump was louder, "THUMP!" One hunter said to the other, "What is that?" The other hunter said, "I don't know, but IT sounds very close!"

So, both hunters got on their bellies and crawled to a nearby clearing surrounded by bushes. In the center of the clearing they saw the biggest rabbit they had ever seen! The first hunter started to aim his bow and arrow at the huge rabbit, but the second hunter stopped him and said, "Let's wait to see what he is going to do." Both hunters waited and watched the huge rabbit as he lifted one of his big back legs and thumped its three times on the ground. Then, out from every direction hopped regular sized rabbits. The hunters watched very closely not wanting to miss anything. The little rabbits gathered around the big rabbit, and the big rabbit began to thump his back leg in a pattern as the little rabbit danced. Then the big rabbit thumped his leg in the directions in which the hunters lay. the huge rabbit looked in that direction and leaped into the sky. Then all the rabbits quickly hopped away.

The hunters watched still in awe. They realized they had to go back to the village and tell the people what they had seen and heard. They ran all the way to the village and asked if they could speak to the elders. After they told their story, one of the elders said, "Show us how the beat and the dance went." the hunters showed them exactly what the rabbits did. Another elder said, "The rabbits gave this dance to tell us to show them respect and appreciation for what they give to us. We will name the dance after them, and we will dance it at our socials to show them our gratitude." So this is the way it was then and is now. That is how the Oneida's Rabbit Dance came to be.

Springtime is here! The snow has melted, rivers, and streams are flowing, and Mother Earth is awakening. The White Earth Agriculture Department continues to work towards fulfilling their mission. Guided by Anishinaabe values, the White Earth Ag Department is dedicated to achieving sustainable food sovereignty and security for our membership. They are accomplishing this through outreach and education, promotion of sustainable farming, protection and restoration of our resources, and the development of tribal membership capacity.

Food Sovereignty and Security
Local garden tilling is happening in May. The FS&S Coordinator developed an updated roster of White Earth Elder gardens - currently reaching the limit of 100 gardens. Thousands of seedlings were propagated in the indoor grow system and recently transferred to the greenhouse. These starter vegetable plants and garden pollinator flowers will be offered to the people we till gardens for. If there are surplus plants after fulfilling those needs, they will announce their availability to the tribal community.

Community education and outreach are ongoing in the FS&S Initiative. They developed a sugar bush in March, successfully tapped 65 trees, and evaporated the sap into maple syrup. Volunteers were solicited and participated in building their knowledge base in this specialized harvest. Extra sap evaporators were purchased and loaned out to community members who needed them for their sugar bushes. This year's sugar bust volunteers will be eligible candidates for our sap cookers next season.

Mashkode-Bizhike Gikendamaawendam or the Bison Program
As we move into Ziigwan or Spring, the Bison Program continues to move forward with our goals and initiatives. We currently have six Bison at our breeding herd pasture that many refer to as the Spence farm. These six consist of the four original heifers we received from Kankakee Sands Nature Conservancy Preserve in Indiana, a nine-year-old bull from Theodore Roosevelt National Park in North Dakota, and a four-year-old bull from the Yellowstone herd. We are hoping to have White Earth Nation's first Bison calf born in spring 2026.

To date, we have received all our Bison from the InterTribal Buffalo Council (ITBC). T hey receive all excess cull animals from the federal herds throughout the country, as well as from the Nature Conservancy herds. when requesting surplus animals from ITBC, they have criteria such as "direct harvest" or for "breeding" purposes. We currently have 11 young bulls at our feeding operation located on 14 acres adjacent to our office site in Mahnomen. These animals are considered "direct harvest" and are intended for consumption.

We recently harvested two young bulls from the 13 we had for the "direct harvest" animals. We have collaborated with B&T Meats in Waubun to process the animals. The meat will be distributed to Tribal members that are signed up to receive meals through the White Earth Nation food shelf. And we will also have some meat available for special requests such as the Earth Day event that was held on April 22.

As the warmth of May returns and new life awakens all around us, let us walk together in gratitude, taking care of our families, our communities, and our sacred homelands. Miigwech for your strength and spirit - let's make this season one of growth moving forward and healing.

Gaawaabaabiganikaag Anishinaabeg gaye Anishinaabeg miziwe maajita-naanoojimo.
Baamaapii wijngezin.
Miigwech bizindawiyeg.
Gigawaabamininim nagaan.
Take it easy.
Thank you for listening to me.
See you all later.
**Chairman Michael Fairbanks