Early Release Weekly Newsletter
Behold our Heritage, Share our Future
Turtle Lake Property - Open House
The Open House for the Turtle Lake property was on Monday, October 31st. Click here to watch a short video produced by Bob Metoxen, St. Croix Tribal Member. Thank you to Tribal Council for allowing staff time off to tour the property.
Below is an article that will be featured in The Leader newspaper the week of 11/15/2022:
On Monday, October 17th, the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin (the “Tribe”) closed on a property located at 361 175th Avenue, Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, 54889. The property contains a 7300+ square foot, 5 bed, 4 bath home, 831 acres of land, an equestrian building with stables, 2 private lakes (Sugarbush and Snake), and 20+ miles of trails.
The Tribe’s new property is approximately eight miles from the existing Round Lake community in Luck, Wisconsin. To compare, the Round Lake reservation is comprised of 834 acres of trust land (held by the United States government for the Tribe) and 40 acres of fee land (privately owned by the Tribe). This new piece of property in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, is the largest, single land acquisition in the Tribe’s history.
The St. Croix Tribal Council, compromised of Chairman William Reynolds, Vice-Chairman Thomas Fowler, Secretary/Treasurer Richard Benjamin, Representative Georgia Cobenais, and Representative Conrad St. John, hope this piece of property can become a multi-use space for healing and wellness. The current plan is to utilize the property for long term healing and wellness for Tribal members and descendants battling drug or alcohol addictions. Current treatment centers are missing the mark for Anishinaabe people, as they are often too short in duration and fail to include cultural components.
Additionally, the natural resources within the property will provide immense benefit to the St. Croix people.
“We are here to take care of the land, and that’s what we should do,” said Thomas Fowler, “A house is a house, but it’s the land that the house sits on that’s important. This property is going to open up a lot for us culturally.”
NEW BOATS
The Tribe purchased six boats with funds from the BIA’s NOAA sustainable fishery grant. Four of the boats will be spearing boats, while two of the boats will be netting boats. These boats were custom designed and set up specifically for St. Croix to exercise treaty rights.
As a reminder, the St. Croix Tribal Clinic will be closed November 21st through November 25th for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Please check medication refills and contact the pharmacy this week.
Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases are on the rise. While there is not a vaccine for RSV, it is important to stay up to date on Influenza and COVID-19 vaccines. Please call Jean Roedl at 715-349-8554 ext. 5150 with questions.
Tribal Government Job Openings
Full job descriptions are available by clicking on the job titles. Please contact Tiffany Iorns, [email protected] or ext. 5196, for additional information.
HHS Job Openings
BH Grants Manager/Case Manager
Full job descriptions are available by clicking on the job titles. Please contact Shaurette Reynolds, [email protected] or ext. 5133, for additional information.
Please spread the word to your friends and family members about our open positions!
St. Croix Tribal Chairman Bill Reynolds (center) with St. Croix Tribal Members Bruce Taylor (left) and Jeff Taylor (right). Bruce is St Croix’s Tribal Veteran’s Officer and Jeff is the Assistant Tribal Veteran’s Officer.
The University of Wisconsin Law School held a Flag Ceremony on Friday, November 4th in Madison, Wisconsin. The Indigenous Law Students Association (ILSA) and the University of Wisconsin Law School honored Wisconsin’s indigenous people with thirteen Native Nations presenting their flags during a ceremony featuring Tribal veterans, a drum group, and remarks from University and Tribal leadership.
Flag ceremonies are deeply rooted in honoring the service members from their respective Tribes who have made the ultimate sacrifice. The University of Wisconsin-Madison occupies ancestral Ho-Chunk land.
Tribes present included Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Brothertown Indian Nation, Forest County Potawatomi Community, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, Sokaogon Chippewa Community/Mole Lake Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians, and the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska.
Thank you to all who participated in Head Start’s trick or treating throughout our various buildings. A special thank you to staff in Human Services who put together a special trick or treating bag for each Head Start student.
Chronic Wasting Disease in Deer
What is chronic wasting disease (CWD)? CWD is a deadly disease which can be found in deer, elk, and moose. It affects the brain and nervous system. It is caused by a contagious, misshapen protein. Similar to mad cow disease, it spreads from direct contact, body fluids, and antler velvet and can stay in the environment for years.
While it is unclear if people can get CWD, it is not recommended to eat venison from sick or CWD positive deer. The riskiest parts of the deer include the brain, spinal cord, spleen, and lymph nodes.
It can take up to two or three years for a deer to “look” sick. They can carry CWD while appearing healthy. If symptoms are showing, it could include being very skinny, low muscle mass, drooling, or unusual behavior such as not fearing people, stumbling, trembling, or drooping of the head or ears.
You can have your deer tested for CWD by dropping it off and filling out a form at your Tribal registration station. If you have any questions, please contact Jake Didier in the Natural Resources Dept at ext. 5223.
CWD Information courtesy of Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC): GLIFWC | CWD
Manoomin (Wild Rice) Seeding
On Thursday, November 3rd, Chad Songetay Sr., Jacob Didier, and Jeremy Bloomquist, staff in the Natural Resources Department, seeded manoomin (wild rice) in Clam Lake in Siren, Wisconsin (Burnett County). Manoomin can be seeded following the fall harvest, within two or three days. If that is not possible, manoomin can be stored in the water for seeding later in the fall or right away in the spring.
The Natural Resources Department chooses seeding sites based on historic, culturally important manoomin beds that require restoration. Clam Lake is the largest producing manoomin bed in close proximity to St. Croix Tribal lands. The Natural Resources Department has been seeding this lake annually since 2016. Needing to seed Clam Lake is due to the destruction of manoomin beds by the exploding carp population within the lake, which began in 2007. Between 2007 and 2014, there was no reported manoomin harvested on Clam Lake. Prior to 2007, Clam Lake was #1 for reported harvest of manoomin in the State of Wisconsin.
Between 2011 and 2017, the Tribe, in coordination with the Wisconsin DNR and commercial fishermen, removed 656,000 pounds of carp from Clam Lake. Since 2017, the population of carp has remained stable in the lake, allowing for the manoomin and other vegetation to recover. Wisconsin DNR put a hold on rough fish removal permits after 2017 to complete an internal review of their program. While the carp population is believed to be stable in Clam Lake, based on observed vegetation, the Tribe’s Natural Resources Department is working with the Wisconsin DNR to hopefully resume monitoring and removal of carp in 2023.
Each year, the Natural Resources Department purchases green manoomin seed from Tribal members and local harvesters to use for restoration. With the goal of seeding ten (10) acres, at a minimum of fifty (50) pounds per acre, 524 pounds of manoomin was seeded into Clam Lake.
If you would like an item featured in the weekly newsletter, please email Maggie Olson at [email protected].
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