Aaniin and Boozhoo Gaa-waabaabiganikaag nindinawemaaganidog.
Hello, and greetings, my White Earth loved ones:
After much idea and consideration, I have decided to run for chairman of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. I sense that my professional experience, training, and, most importantly, how I live my lifestyle give me the management qualities to be your chairman.
My mother and father are the late Juel and Elsie Fairbanks; I grew up in St. Paul and moved up north after excessive college. My schooling consists of an Associate of Science stages: commercial enterprise control and vitamins, a Bachelor of Arts in American Indian research, and a Post bachelor in the Naadamaadiwin Special Education Program.
I am graduating with a Master of Arts in Education from Augsburg University.
I have labored in tribal administration in diverse capacities for the last 18 years, which covered the deputy director of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe.
During this function, I hooked up an expansive evaluation. I received treasured know-how of the various programming and offerings supplied for our individuals and stale the White Earth Nation reservation.
This revel allowed me to paint alongside tribal, kingdom, and countrywide leadership, program control, and main personnel in proactively addressing issues and issues of White Earth Band participants in our communities.
I am currently employed because of the coordinator of a nonprofit enterprise, which protects our water and air on a nearby degree proper here on the White Earth Nation reservation. Family is an essential part of my existence. I even have person youngsters and eight grandchildren and am engaged to a conventional lively Anishinaabe female.
Because of our natural connection to Mother Earth, we’re protectors of the water and air, our Ojibwe communities, and Ojibwe tradition and language. I am a pipe provider, drum keeper,, and conventional dancer, and I find a strong feel of Mino-bimaadiziwin, The Good Life, in our communities.
I agree that we need to move forward on various tasks to ensure that our futures are positive and wholesome.
Health care — Currently, the White Earth Tribe is considered a Direct Service Tribe. Thus, the Indian Health Services presents general public health care offerings through the White Earth Service Unit.
I want to look at White Earth to take over the one’s offerings thru a self-governance contract. This might allow White Earth to now not handiest offer greater services to elders and other band contributors but permit us to extra completely integrate current tribal programs with the benefits of one — developing a White Earth Tribal Health system that will provide greater and higher healthcare services also to allow for enhancements and offerings to be advanced and carried out that we as a tribe determines satisfactory for our communities and those. Joint project – This is a competitive settlement with the Indian Health Services that White Earth changed into awarded years ago. This agreement will permit a brand new trib facility to be constructed in Naytahwaush. This assignment is currently on maintenance; I feel this is essential that this venture goes ahead because it will offer higher healthcare get the right of entry to our elders and band members in Naytahwaush and surrounding communities. The new medical institution may even offer tons-wished jobs within the creation phase of the medical institution additionally, while the ability is in operation, a good way to improve that community’s financial system.
Education – Educating our people is also any other pinnacle precedence. Preparing destiny generations for expert and vocational possibilities will most effectively make our communities stronger.
As your chairman, issues that might be crucial to me: A wholesome family, training, and conventional Anishinaabe values will offer the kind of management you, my White Earth Relatives, need to have.