Leadership Roundtable Summary

Moderated by Patty Loew
Summary prepared by Jessie Conaway

Participants:
President Jon Greendeer, Ho-Chunk Nation
Chairman Mike Wiggins, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe
Jessica Ryan, Council Member, Brothertown Indian Nation
Mic Isham, Chair, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe
Jerome "Brooks" Big John, Council Member, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe
Gary Besaw, Chair, Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin
Tehassi Hill, Council Member, Oneida Nation
Bryan Bainbridge, Vice-Chair, Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe
Chris McGeshick, Chair, Sokaogon Chippewa Community
Greg Miller, Vice President, Stockbridge-Munsee Community of Mohican Indians

• Cultivate a future with tribes -Greendeer
• Research should speak the truth, not what corporate interests are -Wiggins
• Youth programs incorporating TEK and western science -to make resilient young people-Wiggins
• We work on caring for land and water, incorporating seed sharing, traditional foods, and caring for ourselves, incorporating physical health, belief systems, and native medicines. Ryan
• Work together against high cancer rates in native communities via preventative, during and after care.-Ryan
• We need baseline land cover and water data for all of the Ceded Territories. Isham
• Address death by a 1000 cuts of projects in Ceded Territories and throughout Lake Superior Basin.- Isham
• Food sovereignty is important. -many
• The 1987 Harvard Project. Challenge to make the next Harvard project come up out of UW Madison – Big John, Besaw
• This is a good thing happening here -Besaw
• We are different. We have no word for natural resources in our language. This is not romantic - this is our real world. We are sophisticated - we look at the entire environment. Be willing to learn from us. – Besaw
• For research, we must own the data. _Besaw
• All tribes need help with establishing pathways for Treatment as States, own air and water quality standards.- Besaw
• We need to look upstream and work together on cleaning up the watershed above Green Bay, to protect Lake Michigan. –Hill
• Sustainable farming, including a natural diet, the closer we move toward our natural diet the healthier we get. –Hill
• Diabetes- we have made positive inroads, but we need to measure outcomes better. –Hill
• We need to protect our greatest source of wealth-Lake Superior. Bainbridge
• Research that puts scientists and lawyers together to get data and prepare for new projects that are proposed. –Bainbridge
• Baseline data is needed to be proactive about protecting landscapes.-McGeshick
• To improve health, we need facilities for elder care in each community. –McGeshick
• We need addiction treatment facilities. –McGeshick
• Incorporate knowledge of elders into understanding environmental change, including climate change- Miller
• Scientists and native people need to stand up for each other. –Miller
• Slow down and listen. Native people have a huge voice to teach. Miller