BEMIDJI, Minn. -- Red Lake Tribal Chairman Darrell Seki Sr., Tribal Treasurer Annette Johnson and other Red Lake officials traveled to Washington this week to meet members of Minnesota's congressional delegation.
Seki and Johnson met with Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken and Reps. Collin Peterson and Rick Nolan.
Red Lake's lack of criminal jurisdiction over non-band members was the primary focus of the visits with the delegation, according to a release from the tribe. Tribal officials would like to have jurisdiction to prosecute non-members who bring drugs to the Red Lake reservation.
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"All Congressmen were shocked to hear of our troubles with drug dealers and were very responsive to the band's issues that were raised," Charles Dolson, Red Lake executive administrator, said in a release. "Sen. Klobuchar even suggested that a tribal summit -- to include all of Minnesota's 11 tribes -- would be in order, to discuss this and other topics of mutual concern to Indian Nations."
Seki and Johnson also met with Kevin Washburn, assistant secretary for Indian Affairs for the U.S. Department of the Interior, regarding the Bureau of Indian Affairs' push to move funding from "one-time funding" to a grant-based approach, a move the Red Lake band strongly opposes.
Other issues addressed by the tribal delegation included Red Lake's concern regarding insufficient funding for tribal roads, specifically the calculation formulas used by the federal government that allow tribes with smaller land bases to receive equal or even more funding, the release said.
