1. Frances Wiedenhoeft: Tribes seeking
cooperation with state
 Kris Crary | Wisconsin State Journal
 Apr 14, 2013
Media across the state covered last week’s State of the Tribes address. Wisconsin’s 11 tribes
came before the Legislature in this public forum to share concerns as they navigate as sovereign
nations within a state.
Even before the event, media coverage expected the address, given by Lac Courte Oreilles
Chairman Gordon Thayer, to be contentious. Progressive cooperation between tribes and the
state was the real message Thayer intended to communicate. Much of the address was devoted to
his vision of a united Wisconsin rather than a view of native Wisconsinites as a subgroup or
special interest.
Despite difficulties native Wisconsinites experience in benefiting fully from the bounty
Wisconsin has to offer, tribal leaders have continued to stress the positive. Thayer followed this
tradition in sharing the issues native communities have with drug abuse, and expressed concern
over the impact of drug abuse on the entire state.
Thayer invited all those at his speech to come to the Bad River Reservation area to enjoy the
beauty and then decide for themselves on the mining issues. He noted progress in collaborative
efforts between tribal government, law enforcement and schools.
The tribes delivered, as always, the olive branch.
-- Frances Wiedenhoeft, Madison