Chippewa leader gives State of the Tribes address at Wisconsin Capitol

Feather-adorned ceremonial banners graced the Wisconsin State Assembly chambers Monday as the state’s tribal leaders gathered for the annual State of the Tribes address.

The speech was given by Thomas Fowler, the tribal chair of the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin.

The tribe is headquartered in Burnett County, in northwest Wisconsin.

Fowler began his remarks by thanking Native American military veterans. He also said his tribe recently started determining membership by lineal descent, rather than blood quantum.

“This decision to remove blood quantum requirements for enrollment ensures our sovereignty continues on forever,” he said.

Legacy of past matters today, Fowler says

Fowler said the memory of Indian boarding schools, designed in the late 19th century to separate Native children from families and assimilate them into American culture, is still alive in tribal communities.

“The loss of our language and identity throughout our families in Indian Country is immense,” he said.

As a response to that loss, he said “many of our relatives” turned to “self-destructive activities” like drugs and violence.

He asked lawmakers to “help propel” a pending federal bill that would establish a national Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding Schools.

After Fowler’s speech, the assembly passed three bills related to Native issues — one allowing Native students to attend graduation ceremonies in tribal regalia, one making it easier for tribal governments to access vital records and one requiring school districts to report to the state how many of its students are enrolled members of a tribe.

Fowler says medical marijuana could alleviate overdose crisis

Fowler also discussed high rates of drug overdoses on Indian reservations.

“Overdoses have nearly wiped out a generation of our tribal nations’ mothers and fathers,” he said.

“From treating pain and inflammation to addressing spiritual maladies, the deep knowledge of medicinal plants — including cannabis — were passed down through generations,” Fowler said of tribal traditions.

Fowler said legalizing medical marijuana could help “move people off highly addictive drugs.”

Some tribes have seen overdose deaths go down in recent months.

Fowler praises collaboration, language immersion in Wisconsin

“Wisconsin’s collaborative relationship with tribal nations can be an example the entire nation can look up to,” Fowler said.

He said Native languages “may be currently on life support,” but pointed to several initiatives aimed at reviving them, like a new Ojibwe curriculum in the Bayfield School District.

“Establishing funding has us trending in the right direction to find ways to build our vocabulary back, and to be taught words we never heard while surviving through intricate and abusive oppression,” he said.

The galleries were packed for Fowler’s address, and the applause was loud when he thanked Native Wisconsinites for showing up to the State Capitol.