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Minneapolis / St. Paul
Volume
26 - Issue 1267 - News Briefs
Somebody
Forgot to Bring the Peace Pipe
by Mike
Mosedale
March 16, 2005
After Arthur "Archie" LaRose won reelection as the secretary-treasurer
of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe last month, he vowed do his best to
get along with his colleagues on the Tribal Council. LaRose knew some
fence mending was in order. After all, just last summer his fellow
council members kicked him out of office.
Even by the rough-and-tumble standards of reservation politics,
LaRose's campaign was extremely contentious. His critics accused the
former boxer of everything from squandering tribal monies to
participating in the armed heist of a Cass Lake casino a dozen years
ago.
None of the charges stuck, either in the courts or with the voters. But
considering the lingering ill feelings, LaRose decided to tape-record
his first meeting with the old council. If nothing else, the transcript
of the 18-minute conversation, printed in its entirety in the March 4
issue of the Native American Press/Ojibwe News, demonstrates that the
problems of effective bipartisanship are not limited to the Minnesota
Legislature.
While the tape contains all manner of vituperation and recrimination,
the opening salvo pretty much says it all:
Archie LaRose: Good morning there, fellows. Nice to be back.
Council member Luke Wilson: Fuck you.
reproduced
with permission from the Minneapolis City Pages
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