Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Brian Melendez, Chair, Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party
Dear Mr. Melendez,
I am writing to inform you that I will be running for the Minnesota State Senate for the District 4 seat.
I would like to run with the endorsement of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party in the Primary Election.
As you are aware, there isn’t one single Native(Anishinabe) American sitting in the Minnesota State Legislature; not in the Senate, not in the House.
This needs to change.
And the change needs to take place now.
Barack Obama promised change. I intend to fight on behalf of Indian(Anishinabe) people to see to it that we get the change that we assumed was coming. Real jobs at real living wages. Our children going to school, not tossed behind bars and forgotten. We lack adequate health care. Native(Anishinabe) American women suffer sexual abuse at rates far higher than the general population.
Our land and our resources, the wealth of our Nations, were stolen out from under us in the most brutal manner and nothing has been done to make things right.
Native (Anishinabe)Americans are the largest single minority population in the State of Minnesota and we have no representation in the State Legislature; anyone can see that this is unfair.
I intend to try to change this with or without the support of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party; I would like to do this with support from the DFL if at all possible, if not, I will use other means.
As a long-time union member of the United Association of Journeymen and Apprentices of the Plumbing and Pipe Fitting Industry of the United States and Canada (UA), I have always been a loyal supporter of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party.
Should I not hear from you in seven days, I will decide after consulting with my campaign committee and my many friends--- Native and non-Native--- whether to seek the DFL endorsement during the Primary process and Election or run as an independent candidate in the General Election.
Minnesota Native(Anishinabe) Americans, including myself, have repeatedly sought assistance from the local DFL elected public officials who we helped in every way to elect. WE now need their help on a variety of issues of importance to us from jobs to education, housing and health care and environmental concerns, we find ourselves shut out of the political and decision-making process by these same politicians who could not have been elected without the votes of Anishinabe people who are now ignoring our problems and concerns when it comes to doing things by way of finding solutions. Solutions which are often as simple as doing what is right to make sure Anishinabe people get jobs. Often we don’t even hear about jobs until the work is completed. How do others hear about jobs, even in our own communities, before we do? This is not right.
I organized the “We Shall Remain” conference in Bemidji.
Many Native Anishinabe and non-tribal people, from all walks of life showed up at this conference fully expecting to be able to explain and tell elected officials what our problems and concerns are. The only public official who showed up was the Beltrami County Sheriff who informed us that he didn’t know how many Native Americans worked on his staff but he knew the population in the Beltrami County Jail was more than 50% Native American. This was a figure not lost on those in attendance since the current unemployment on most Minnesota Reservations is 50% or more. There is something terribly wrong with this picture and the present DFL State Senator from District 4, Mary Olson, refuses to talk about resolving the injustices creating these problems.
I want to most vigorously point out to you that the MN DFL claims to have a policy that decries discrimination; yet, for all these years the MN DFL has done not one thing to assure Native( Anishinabe) Americans are elected to state and federal offices. There is something wrong with this picture here; you want our money and our votes but you don’t want us sitting as equals with all other Minnesotans in the State Legislature or the halls of Congress.
Certain measures have to be taken in order to ensure that Minnesota Indigenous,Anishinabe people get the seats they are entitled to in the Minnesota State Legislature; those measures have not even been considered, let alone taken.
We are entitled to at least two seats per tribe. I am quite sure most Minnesotans will find this very reasonable. Democracy requires this.
Anishinabe Native Americans are entitled to District 4, 4a, 4b, 2, 2a, 2b seats in the Minnesota State Legislature as a beginning to right this wrong of no representation.
I intend to do everything I can do to make sure that Senate seat 4 is held by an Native Tribal Member citizen, because this is what justice requires.
It is my hope that other Native(Anishinabe) Americans will join my efforts to secure the other five seats.
Most Anishinabe, Native Americans are working people, yet you treat us as if only the cash you get from the casino managements counts for anything. This, too, will change once I am elected to the Senate District 4 seat because the people of Minnesota will be hearing the truth about gaming revenues. If these revenues can be used to elect non-Tribal Natives to political office who then turn around and ignore our problems we can find a way to make sure these gaming revenues remain in our communities being used for meeting the needs of our own people now living in dire straights as the economy declines. I know many families who need food more than politicians need campaign contributions.
It is my hope you will also broach my concerns, distributing this letter, with the Minnesota Democratic Farmer-Labor Party’s State Central Committee.
I await your response,
Gregory, W. Paquin
Hotpasstheketchup@yahoo.com
651-503-9493 cell 218-209-3157 home
1511 Roosevelt Rd Se Bemidji, MN 56601
july 10, 2009
Brian Melendez, Chair, MN DFL
Pam McCrory, DFL Chair of Senate District 4
Dear Mr. Brian Melendez and Ms. Pam McCrory:
Apparently you both misunderstand the issue that i am bringing forward:or, it is your intent to allow the injustice I am stating to go without resolution.
There are no Native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans at present in the Minnesota State Legislature: a fact of great importance that neither of you are apparently willing or able to acknowledge in writing.
You apparently refuse to acknowledge this finding of fact because to acknowledge that there is not one single Native Indigenous Anishinabe American sitting in the Minnesota State Legislature would require you to proceed to correct this gross injustice by implementing some kind of concrete steps to reverse this inequitable situation and yet to do nothing may constitute the evidence of racially discriminatory practices commonly affirmed as rascism.
Do You have an explanation as to why there is not one single Native Indigenous Anishinabe American sitting in the Minnesota State Legislature? I have asked myself that question and when i look at the magnitude of Gambling Operations, that have extracted such huge amounts from the Minnesota Taxpaying public, i find it unimaginable as to the pitiable level of representation by my State Legislature,and the response to such prima facie proofs of the lack of acknowledgement by this Legislature.
Mr. Melendez, i wrote to you as the head of the Minnesota Democratic Farmer- labor Party, not for you to pass on my letter to a person here who has done nothing to right this wrong and who is a part of a local organization who has been indifferent to this problem, but for you to take appropriate steps to bring this issue before the entire Minnesota Democratic Farmer Labor- Party.
Obviously neither Ms. McCrory nor anyone else here in the Senate District 4 DFL organization has any understanding of the importance of what i am raising or the problem would have been resolved by now with Native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans filling the Senate District 4 and House Districts 4a and 4b slots:same for Senate District 2 and House Districts 2a and 2b.
The solution is very simple ,there needs to be agreement between these DFL organizations that these districts will be represented by Native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans to these slots . Representing an AFFIRMATIVE ACTION policy from the top down.This is the only way Native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans are going to get fair representation in the Minnesota Legislature given the way the existing political boundaries are drawn, and the DFL was party to drawing these boundaries as they are.
Of course, the fair thing to have been done when political boundaries were drawn would have been to make each and every Reservation a seperate Senate and House district.
But ,this was not done,and no one from the Minnesota Democratic Farmer - Labor Party said "Stop. This is not right.The way this is being done will not be fair to Native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans who will end up with no representation."
At this late date and time we cannot wait for any other solutions to this problem.
There isn't one single Minnesota State Legislator in the House or Senate from these Districts I am referencing who is willing to even take the time to listen to the problems of the nature and scope that affect so adroitly the Native Indigenous Anishinabe American,in this State of Minnesota, that my Candidacy will address.
How else does one explain 50% of the Beltrami County jail population being Native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans while over 50% of the people living on Reservations are unemployed ? How does one explain that Native Indigenous Anishinabe American Women are being sexually abused by non-tribal individuals at a rate of 7 times the abuse of Women of other races ,and in many instances the culprits go unpunished while the victimsfind it difficult to get adequate help?
What i am insisting upon is that the DFL only endorse Native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans candidates in these six districts i have referenced in order to right a very rascist wrong and injustice of which the Minnesota Democratic Farmer - Labor Party has been part of the problem.
After all , there are only two political parties who have had a say in the drawing up of political boundaries -- the Democrats and Republicans. We know we can't expect justice from the Republicans.
It should not make any difference to White Democrats that Native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans will be representing them since the harder we fight to resolve the problems of our people the better off we will be.
For instance, when elected as the State Senator from district 4, i will work for legislation to provide a free health care system for all Minnesotans based upon the Indian Health Service: with full and complete funding to provide the proper care : not the current underfunded program we have now.
I will work towards a full employment economy where everyone has a job.`
I will work hard towards the goals as established by the Union i Belong to, that everyone has a decent job and a real living wage, just like I do.Obviously those now sitting as Senators and House members in the Minnesota Legislature believe that Native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans are not as entitled as others to reap the benefits of this tremendously wealthy society we live in or there would not be such disparities in unemployment rates among these two distinct peoples.
I would note that only a handfull of DFL legislators supported the "Minnesota People's Bailout" as provided for by Senator David Tomassoni which would have been tremendous benefit and assistance to the more than 50% of the native Indigenous Anishinabe American population without work.And i would like to point out that the present State Senator from district 4 did not even bother notifying native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans that a hearing on this legislation was being held so people such as me could have testified and the State senator from district 2 who sits on the committee on business Industry and Jobs along with Senator Tomassoni did nothing to support this legislation when it came time to a vote in committee.
Be cautious with any replies to all this with the time worn statement that Rep. John Percell stated to me recently "I cant get involved with the federal/ tribal issues, they are too Sticky".Yet while collecting votes from Native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans whithin his own district i had asked him at the outset of the Bemidji Regional Event Center as to what the affirmative action policies were regarding state or federal funded projects and he did not know nor did the Bemidji city manager or the Construction manager of the Project Kraus-Anderson.I had attended the ground breaking ceremony for the B.R.E.C. and noted a fine youth filled drum group and leech lake tribal elder providing the spiritual invocations for this effort and i told those young men i was there to hear their prayers and also make absolutely positively sure the Native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans they are would also be represented on that workforce and thus to this date i have not
recieved one call of opportunity for them?
According to the Minnesota Department of Human rights website i looked up Kraus- Anderson Affirmative Action Compliancy status and it stated it had been "expired" and i called the Bemidji city manager and Kraus - Anderson to make them aware of this and it is my hope to bring the effects of these actions or lack of them that accounts for such high unemployment within our community. When Mary Olsons Hardhat blew off her head at the ground breaking, i picked it up for her and with the same spirit i state these issues.
Only Native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans being elected to the Minnesota Legislature is going to turn this situation around: if it were not true, I would not have to be addressing these issues here.
Mr. Melendez, i did not ask you who i should contact regarding this problem nor did i ask you to pass the buck to someone who is part of the problem.
Who is policing the Affirmative Action policies in this State if our State Senators and Representatives do not even take the time to familiarize themselves with affirmative action policies which are in place to assure that minorities get jobs within their districts.A recent discussion with the Minnesota Department of Human rights representative told me that their total staff of 35 was barely even able to keep track of the basics of reporting and intake concerns much less enforcing these so called affirmative action policies.
The DFL claims that "jobs are our number one priority."
For Native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans, the right to a good paying ,decent job is much more than a campaign slogan: having a job is a matter between living a decent life and languishing in poverty on or off a Minnesota Reservation.
There is a reason why unemployment among Native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans is 50%.The reason is because those who have sought our votes and campaign contributions
and have been elected with our votes and our campaign contributions,don't care enough about affirmative action hiring policies to see to it that Native Indigenous Anishinabe Americans get the jobs we are entitled to based upon these affirmative action policies.
The State of Minnesota has affirmative action policies for a reason: Because there has been a well established rascist pattern ,by employers, when it comes to their hiring practices.
There being no Native Indigenous Anishinabe American sitting in the Minnesota State legislature is YOUR problem .
I insist on answers to my questions from you as the chair of the Minnesota DFL
I insist that you demonstrate leadership in solving this very serious problem.
There simply is no other way to right this wrong.
Suggesting that i need to attend another local meeting is a clear sign that no one in the Minnesota DFL considers the lack of Native Indigenous Anishinabe American representation in the Minnesota State Legislature a valid concern; the serious problems being inflicted upon our communities makes this solution imperative.
Gregory W. Paquin
