
Photo Credit: MN Chippewa Tribe Website / The Six Member Bands of Chippewa Tribe
(CASS LAKE, MN.) - The six bands of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (MCT) hosted primary elections on Mar. 31. Voters from the Bois Forte, Grand Portage, Fond du Lac, Leech Lake, Mille Lacs, and White Earth Bands cast their ballots for key leadership positions. As a point of note, the Red Lake Nation has sovereign status and, as such, is not part of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. Candidates receiving the most votes will advance to the General Elections on June 9.
Results Of the Primary Elections
Any candidate who receives more than 50% of the vote in the primaries is declared the winner; however, if no candidate exceeds half of the votes, the top two candidates with the most votes move on to the General Election.
Bois Forte
Bois Forte Band members voted for two key positions: Secretary-Treasurer and District 2 Representative. Those moving forward to the General Elections are as follows:
Secretary-Treasurer: David C. Morrison Sr. (34%) and Tara Geshick (26.1%)
District 2 Representative: Robert Moyer Jr. (44%) and Alanna K. Sherman (33.7%)
Grand Portage
MCT election rules don’t require a Primary Election in the race for Secretary-Treasurer. The vote for Secretary-Treasurer for the Grand Portage Band between April McCormick and Levi Libra will be decided directly at the General Election. At-large district positions results were not available as of Mar. 31; the MCT election boards plan to canvas the results and publish official results by Apr. 2.
Fond du Lac
Fond du Lac Band primary elections included positions for Secretary-Treasurer and District 2 Representative for the Sawyer area. Those moving forward to the General Elections are as follows.
Secretary-Treasurer: Wayne Dupuis (46.5%) and Jarvis "Chubbs" Paro (40.5%)
District 2 Representative: Mike Murray (41.8%) and Daniel G. LaPrairie (20.1%)
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
Leech Lake Band members voted for secretary-treasurer, District 1 Representative for the Ball Club area, and District 2 Representative for the Bena area.
Steve White received 56% of the vote and remains the District 2 Representative. Those moving forward to the General Elections for the remaining positions are as follows.
Secretary-Treasurer: Cindy Jackson Kingbird (34.3%) and Michael Reyes (24.5%)
District 1 Representative: Kyle Fairbanks (48.1%) and Jonathan White (41.9%)
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Mille Lacs Band members voted for Secretary-Treasurer, District 2 Representative for the McGregor Area, and District 3 for east of Hinkley.
Sheldon Boyd Sr remains the Secretary-Treasurer, receiving 61.6% of the vote. Raina Killspotted won the primary for District 2 Representative with 57.9% of the vote. Those moving forward to the General Elections for the District 3 Representative position are as follows.
District 3 Representative: Michelle Pomerleau (32.3%) and Lionel Richey (21.2%)
The Mille Lacs Band members will also vote for Nay-Ah-Shing School Board members during the June 9 election as per the Band’s writ of election.
White Earth Nation
White Earth Band members voted for Secretary-Treasurer, District 1 Representative for the Rice Lake area, and District 2 Representative for the Mahnomen area. Those moving forward to the General Elections are as follows.
Secretary-Treasurer: Jacob McArthur (41.1%) and Michael LaRoque (31.6%)
District 1 Representative: Henry G. Fox (47.8%) and Andy Auginaush
District 2 Representative: Alrick Accobee (38%) and Sheri Kay Snetsinger (17.9%)
The General Election will take place on June 9, and is a crucial event for tribal members as they vote for key positions across all six bands. You can get up-to-date results and voting information on the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe website.
To add to or correct any information in this report, please contact me at kristin.h@lead4earth.org and leave a comment below.
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