[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 74 (Friday, May 25, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S5687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     AMERICAN INDIAN HERITAGE MONTH

  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I rise today to speak on American 
Indian Heritage Month, which is celebrated in Minnesota in May. It is 
fitting that we take time during this month to recall the 
contributions, services and heritage of our fellow Native American 
citizens, and to remember that the enormous contributions and talents 
of Native American continue to enrich our lives every day.
  In our review of these vital contributions, we must acknowledge the 
courage, talent, determination, leadership and vision of those men, 
women and children who made an impact on our Nation in the face of 
incredible obstacles. We should be mindful, as we celebrate the 
culture, heritage and spiritual contributions of the first Americans, 
that we must re-dedicate ourselves to preserving the unique 
relationship between Native Americans tribal governments and the 
Federal Government.
  Many of the basic principles of our Constitution, such as freedom of 
speech and separation of powers, were embodied in practices already in 
use by American Indian tribal prior to our Republic. Many of our 
deepest values, such as respect for the preservation of natural 
resources, reverence for elders, and adherence to tradition, find root 
in American Indian traditions.
  The relationship between American Indians and the Federal Government 
is unique and finds no parallel. When the United States was organized 
as a Nation, government officials continued the practice from the Dutch 
and British of making treaty agreements with American Indian Nations 
whenever land boundaries needed to be clarified or negotiated.
  All of the land in Minnesota was gained by the United States through 
a series of treaties with the Anishinabe and Dakota Nations. Sixteen 
treaties and four agreements applied to American Indians of Minnesota. 
One of the earliest treaties to affect Minnesota's American Indians was 
the Pike Treaty of 1806, which allowed the Federal Government to claim 
a small section of land near the confluence of the Minnesota and 
Mississippi rivers to build a military fort, which ultimately became 
known as Fort Snelling. The 1825 Treaty of Prairie du Chien created a 
boundary between the Dakota to the south and the Ojibwe who lived in 
the woodland country to the north.
  In addition to acknowledging the historical context of the 
relationship between the Federal Government and the American Indians, 
we should also recognize the various contemporary entities and 
contributions of these Bands. Their efforts have helped shape the 
social, economic and political landscape of our region.
  In the area of economic development, the Minnesota American Indian 
Chamber of Commerce has done tremendous work in the area of advanced 
telecommunications, and other forms of business development to expand 
economic opportunities for American Indians on reservations as well as 
in urban areas.
  The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe was honored by the Harvard Project on 
American Indian Innovation in 1999 for their Ojibwe Language Program. 
This is a highly successful effort to revitalize the Band's native 
language by teaching it to their younger members in innovative ways.
  Our community also is extremely privileged to have an organization 
with the capacity and outreach of American Indian Opportunities 
Industrialization Center. This organization provides necessary 
education and job training skills, serving as a bridge between public 
school and employment or college for its students.
  I am also proud to commend the organizations that comprise the 
Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors for their unwavering efforts to 
examine and address many critical issues and challenges facing urban 
American Indians.
  Native Americans in my State, and indeed in all fifty States, are 
justly proud of their heritage and culture. They can be just as proud 
of their efforts today to preserve that heritage, to protect that 
culture and to make it relevant for today's Native American children, 
and it is those efforts that I honor today.

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