From the Mining Gazette:
He’s back: Dakota wins runoff, back on council
Fred Dakota, shown in this June 2006 file photo, won Saturday’s runoff election for the second seat in the Baraga district of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community’s tribal council.
By DAN SCHNEIDER, DMG Writer
BARAGA — A runoff election Saturday decided the final seat on the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community tribal council.
Unofficial results released Saturday show Fred Dakota won the runoff with 257 votes to Charles Loonsfoot Sr.’s 227. At the KBIC’s regular tribal council election Dec. 15, 2007, Dakota and Loonsfoot had tied for the second of two available seats in the KBIC’s Baraga district. Each received 190 votes.
Elizabeth Mayo won the first Baraga district seat outright in that election, though by a slim margin, with 191 votes.
Dakota returns to the council after a two-year hiatus. The controversial figure fell short of a council seat in the tribe’s 2006 election.
“When I got beat, I said the people have spoken, and now when I won I’ll say once again, the people have spoken,” Dakota said. “I’m very happy to be elected. It’s for a three-year term. I have some things that we have to do yet. We’ve got some young council members that need counseling and we’ve got a lawyer we’ve got to get rid of, and hopefully I can get those things done.”
Dakota accused the KBIC’s head legal counsel, John Baker, of operating too much in secrecy to the detriment of the tribe.
He said his top priorities are to protect tribal sovereignty and prevent a tax agreement between the KBIC and the state.
“The state of Michigan has no jurisdiction on our reservation to collect taxes on our businesses,” Dakota said.
Loonsfoot accepted the election results.
“I lost and that’s it, I guess,” he said.
Loonsfoot had previously served 12 years on the tribal council, from 1983 to 1995. He said he hasn’t given thought to whether he’ll run for the council again in the future. An issue on which the two candidates differed directly in the election was the making of payments directly to tribal members from tribal casino revenue.
Loonsfoot said the issue was one of the primary reasons he chose to run for the council again.
“I didn’t like some of the things that were being said about giving out per capita payments and the tribe can’t really afford it,” Loonsfoot said.
Dakota supports per capita payments.
“I think it’s important that since the casino belongs to the members of this community, they should participate in the money they have invested also,” Dakota said.
He said payments would provide an impetus for tribal members to take a more active role in their government.
“They’ve got to know all the ins and outs of what’s going on and if you have to give them something to make them interested in what’s going on in the government, then that’s what you need to do,” Dakota said. “You can’t have apathy.”
He said he would support going so far as to pay KBIC members to attend council meetings.
Dakota was first elected to the tribal council in 1967 and has served a total of 32 years, 21 as tribal chairman. Both tribal council seats from the KBIC’s L’Anse district were settled in the Dec. 15 election.
Michael LaFernier Sr. won one seat with 225 votes and Toni Minton won the second with 202.
KBIC members also passed a proposal in favor of primary elections to be held ahead of general elections in the L’Anse and Baraga districts.
The next meeting of the KBIC Tribal Council is scheduled for 9 a.m. Saturday in the Chippewa Room at Ojibwa Casino.
Turtle Talk 
fred dakota you are my chief and my freind doris ..too..R.M.D