I am submitting this exclusively for publication in the Bemidji Pioneer to be run as either a “Letter to the Editor” or as an “Opinion” piece.
I wish to respond to the article, “ACLU-MN Greater Minnesota Racial Justice Project: Community dialogue focuses on solutions,“ Bemidji Pioneer (August 24, 2009). First, let me make one thing very clear; racial justice goes well beyond the issue of police/criminal justice system community relations and I don’t think the article begins to cite “solutions.” Poverty, overwhelming poverty, is at the center of each and every issue plaguing Indian Reservations and Native American communities which have unemployment rates rapidly exceeding 50%. There is no doubt problems of racism do arise between the police and Native Americans because we have serious problems of racism in our society. However, in order to get to the root cause of these racial problems we need to tackle the employment question as the primary issue and not allow this police/community issue to be used as a cover for not coming to grips with the fact that the poverty associated with this horrendous unemployment is responsible for bringing Native Americans into contact with the police departments and the criminal justice systems in the first place. In many ways during this conference reported on, people tried to tell Mr. Ken Bergeron, the acting director of the United States Department of Justice who maintains that President Barack Obama is his boss, that poverty was the main issue needing to be addressed; yet, Mr. Bergeron refused to listen or respond--- instead, he kept focusing and steering the discussion with a focus on racism in police/community relations which causes me to ask this very fundamental question: Why hasn’t Mr. Bergeron directed federal law enforcement officials to prosecute those in law enforcement and the criminal justice system for violating the civil rights of Native Americans; this would be the very best educational experience for all involved--- after all, isn’t this the reason given for charging people with any other crimes, putting them through the criminal justice system and incarcerating people? I find it very interesting that Mr. Bergeron has not directed his law enforcement division of the United States Department of Justice to investigate with intent to prosecute in finding out why federal and state affirmative action legislated guidelines are not being adhered to on projects receiving state and federal funding. How can there possibly be this huge discrepancy in unemployment between the rest of the population and the Native American population if affirmative action programs are being enforced? We must conclude affirmative action guidelines--- when it comes to Native Americans--- are not being enforced; and this is the real racial injustice we must come to grips with if we want to get a handle on all other problems. I have talked to the Beltrami County Sheriff Phil Hodapp and it is quite apparent to me the Sheriff is taking all the appropriate measures that are required to see to it that racial injustices do not occur in Beltrami County. All is not by any means perfect; but, we need to be asking why so many Native Americans are coming into contact with law enforcement and the criminal justice system to begin with. Again, this brings us back to the issue of poverty. Enforce affirmative action laws and provide people with life-long skills at jobs paying real living wages and common sense tells us that we automatically reduce Native American contact with law enforcement and the criminal justice system to levels of the rest of society--- and many of the problems involving the rest of society arise from the systemic problems of poverty, too. So, in my opinion, enforcement of affirmative action policies in hiring should be Mr. Bergeron’s first order of business; he can arrest those law enforcement officials and those in the criminal justice system for violating people’s civil rights at the same time. In my opinion, the reason Native Americans are suffering unemployment rates far beyond the general population is that Native Americans do not have elected representatives advocating for them in the political process. Not one single Native American sits among the more than 200 Minnesota State Legislators; none are among Minnesota’s Congressional delegation. In the City of Bemidji, 25% Native American population, not one single Native American elected to public office on the city council. I, and many Native Americans, want to know when Mr. Bergeron and the United States Department of Justice is going to investigate why no Native Americans have had the opportunity to represent and advocate on behalf of Native Americans in the Minnesota state legislature? There has to be something that is going on where politicians and the powers that be are acting in collusion to deny Native Americans fair representation in the political process and thereby being excluded from the real decision-making process. This is what we are really talking about when it comes to ending racial injustices against Native Americans--- our fundamental and basic human rights to participate as equals in the political process. If we had this full equality with full and equal participation in the political decision-making process we would not have to worry about finding solutions to being mistreated by racist cops, racist judges or racist employers who are causing the majority of these problems in the first place because as we all know, people without jobs are naturally very poor and when you have entire communities plagued by 50% and up joblessness you are going to have criminal activity resulting. When there is a glaring discrepancy of 50% Native American unemployment while the rest of the population is suffering a 10% unemployment rate there is a problem of racial injustice at work here. One very glaring example of the incorrect approach Mr. Ken Bergeron of the United States Department of Justice is taking as he moderates and facilitates these forums sponsored by the Minnesota branch of the American Civil Liberties Union’s Racial Justice Task Force is very apparent. It was pointed out during this forum, that Native American youth are driving without driver’s licenses which lead confrontations with police and to many other problems for the youths directly involved, their families and the communities they live in--- especially these youths coming into contact with the police and the criminal justice system as a result--- many for the first time. And if President Obama’s university professor friend, Mr. Gates, has a right to fly off the handle when police invaded his privacy and his home, one can expect that Native American youth are just as likely to become engaged with the police in at least a similar manner when stopped and caught without drivers’ licenses. The reason for this problem was cited by state legislators at this Forum on Racial Justice as being Native American youth raised by families living in poverty who can’t afford the cost of Driver’s Training Classes offered by the public schools. Yet, no solution was offered by Mr. Bergeron or these legislators when such a simple solution is at hand. Ken Bergeron pooh-poohed the solution to this problem which is so elemental one has to wonder why the state legislators have not acted: Provide state legislation permitting those with family incomes under $25,000.00 a year (a living annual income in Minnesota) to take Driver’s Training for free. But, as we see, without Native Americans sitting in the Minnesota State legislature such problems can not be resolved. I have done my own surveys among Native Americans and I would challenge the United States Department of Justice, the American Civil Liberties Union or anyone else to refute my findings. Among Native Americans this is the list of our priorities: Poverty and unemployment; people want decent, real living wage jobs. Hunger and nutrition; poor people can’t afford to eat and they can’t afford to eat properly. Housing--- poor quality and shortage. Health care--- lack of access to health care in an underfunded Indian Health Service Education--- lack of quality public schools. Police/community relations does not top the list of problems in my polling but is related to all the other problems once we begin to understand the central role of poverty which brings impoverished people into greater contact with law enforcement. Though the racial conflicts and racial injustices involving law enforcement and the criminal justice system remain an important problem creating a great deal of agony, additional hardships and problems for Native American families--- is it coincidental that the Native American incarceration rate of 50% in the Beltrami County Jail is about the same as our unemployment rate--- 50% and rising? I don’t think so. Provide people with decent real living wage jobs through strict enforcement of affirmative action in hiring and we will be well on our way to solving our police/community relations problems. There is something terribly wrong when public officials will come to Native Americans for our votes and the money generated through gambling revenues but then they ignore the horrendous poverty and unemployment in our community… all solutions should be directed in a way that aims to eliminate poverty. Focusing solely on racism in law enforcement and the criminal justice system evades the real issues and provides an easy out to Minnesota politicians. If Mr. Bergeron knows of specific cases of law enforcement officers and those employed in the criminal justice system engaging in racist conduct rising to the level of violating the civil rights of Native American people, I want to know why those criminals have not been prosecuted. Mr. Bergeron not prosecuting those engaged in violating the civil rights of Native Americans he and his Department of Justice along with is boss should be facing justice for failure to equally enforce the laws of our land. In this day and age there isn’t one single law enforcement officer or anyone working in the criminal justice system who doesn’t understand what racism and racial injustices are all about--- these people don’t need to be treated with kid gloves and educated; they need to be prosecuted just like any kid driving without a license--- the difference between the two criminals is one group can claim poverty as their excuse for the crime; the other group is being paid to treat every citizen equally and chooses to violate people’s rights based upon racial prejudices. For justice to take place, this distinction needs to be made. Poverty, and its elimination, needs to be our primary focal point and point of reference. I do think an intentional effort is being made by the MN-ACLU Racial Justice Task Force and Minnesota politicians to make this issue more complex than it really is in order to hide the reason we have poverty and to cover-up the fact the issue of poverty is going without being addressed. We are back to strict enforcement of affirmative action in hiring.
Gregory Paquin Minnesota Senate District 4 candidate Gregory W. Paquin Candidate for Minnesota Senate District: 4 1511 Roosevelt Road SE. Bemidji, Minnesota , 56601 218-209-3157 h 651-503-9493 c check out my blog:http://nativeamericanindianlaborunion12.blogspot.com/ |
Gregory W. Paquin
Candidate for Minnesota Senate
District: 4
1511 Roosevelt Road SE.
Bemidji, Minnesota , 56601
218-209-3157 h
651-503-9493 c
check out my blog:http://nativeamericanindianlaborunion12.blogspot.com/
