From the Leelanau News (via Indianz):
The scene was almost reminiscent of a gathering last month in Washington, D.C. when four living U.S. presidents met with then-President Elect Barack Obama at the White House.
TRIBAL CHAIRMAN Derek Bailey (top, center) presents four former Grand Traverse Band leaders with a personalized arrow at a summit last week. Also pictured are Ardith “Dodie” Chambers and George Bennett in the front row, and Bob Kewaygoshkum (left) and Joseph “Buddy” Raphael in the top row.
On Friday, the five living leaders of Leelanau County’s only sovereign nation gathered for a first-ever summit of tribal chairmen of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.
The meeting was held at the tribe’s Turtle Creek Casino in Grand Traverse County and hosted by newly-elected Tribal Chairman Derek Bailey. The former leaders talked about personal feelings of pride and satisfaction, overcoming tough times, and an ever-present focus on future generations.
Present at the meeting were:
• Ardith “Dodie” Chambers who became the tribe’s first chairman shortly after the tribe achieved re-affirmation of its sovereign status from the U.S. Government in 1980.
• Joseph C. “Buddy” Raphael, who served as tribal chairman for 16 years and is currently on the seven-member Tribal Council.
• George Bennett, who served as tribal chairman from 1996 to 2000 and as a tribal councilor until last year.
• Robert Kewaygoshkum, who was tribal chairman from 2000 until 2008.
Also present were tribal council treasurer Rebecca Woods, council secretary Sandra Witherspoon, and tribal councilor Connie TwoCrow.
Bailey said the historic meeting was intended to “honor our past chairpersons, paying respect to their legacy, vision and leadership, and thanking them for their continued role in the life of our people.”
Bailey added that he hoped the past chairpersons “all continue to be vitally involved in the life of our people, and we hope that by sharing our vision at this meeting, a greater sense of unity and healing will come to our nation.”
Bailey was seated as tribal chairman in December 2008 after a long and contentious political and legal battle with Kewaygoshkum and his supporters. Challenges that emerged during the tribe’s 2008 election cycle delayed the seating of the tribal chairman and two of the six tribal councilors for many months. The 2006 election cycle was equally contentious, with Bennett challenging the campaign practices of two tribal council candidates, one of whom eventually ousted Bennett in the 2008 election.
Nonetheless, all of the discord of the last two election cycles appeared to have been set aside when the five leaders gathered for lunch Friday in a posh private dining room at the tribe’s new $114 million Turtle Creek Casino and Hotel in Grand Traverse County’s Whitewater Township.
Chambers, a descendant of Chief Peshaba, who founded the village of Peshawbestown in 1852 along with a group of Ottawas, remarked at how far the tribe had come since she grew up in a tar-paper shack without electricity or running water.
“It’s an honor being at the same table with these leaders,” Chambers said, “and it’s satisfying to know how far our tribe has come. Look at this place! I’m confident that our grandparents can see what’s going on now and are satisfied with how things turned out,” she said.
TRIBAL LEADERS who gathered Friday at Turtle Creek Casino included (standing from left), Connie TwoCrow, Robert Kewaygoshkum, Rebecca Woods, Derek Bailey, Joseph Raphael and Sandra Witherspoon; and (seated from left), Ardith Chambers and George Bennett.
“But today’s leaders are facing bigger challenges than we did,” Chambers added. “Back when I was in office, it was all just about meeting basic needs – running water, indoor toilets. Now, with the economy the way it is, things are so much more complicated.”
Raphael agreed and noted that he, too, had grown up in Peshawbestown.
“But what a blessed life I’ve had,” Raphael said. “I look back and wish I’d paid more attention to what my grandparents were trying to teach me. Some of the tools they left us are helping us today and will help future leaders. There may be rough economic times ahead, but we have a long history of getting through rough times.
“I think we have the leadership in place now to carry us through those times,” Raphael said.
Bennett offered that he, too, was proud to be meeting with his fellow leaders. Moving forward, Bennett said, tribal leadership must focus on strengthening and protecting tribal sovereignty.
“We must always remember that the decisions we make will affect the next seven generations,” Bennett said. “We have a bright future ahead of us – if we plan the right way.”
Kewaygoshkum said he was pleased that Bailey and sitting members of the Tribal Council were eager to hear opinions and insights from former tribal leaders “rather than putting us out to pasture.” Kewaygoshkum said that, given the state of the economy, today’s tribal leaders “will have their work cut out for them.”
Kewaygoshkum also praised Bailey for reaching out to leaders of local non-Indian units of government, and working toward improved government-to-government relations for the tribe.
“I established a pretty good relationship with (Leelanau County Administrator) Dave Gill before he retired last year,” Kewaygoshkum said, “and I hope Derek (Bailey) can establish a good relationship with people in the Leelanau County government too.”
Following lunch, Bailey presented each former tribal chairman with a personalized arrow, designed and hand crafted by tribal member Steve Feringa, an architect, artist and hunter.
After the presentation, the arrows were collected, bound together and placed in a quiver which will remain in the tribal chairman’s office in Peshawbestown, with a new arrow added each time a new chairman is seated.
“The concept is that one individual arrow can be broken,” Bailey explained, “but, when bound together, the strength of them combined makes it ever so much more difficult to break.”
Turtle Talk 