On Tuesday, six member nations of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe held primary elections for secretary treasurer and district representative positions.
Those member nations include Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and White Earth Nation. Red Lake Nation is not part of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe’s election ordinance states that candidates with 50 percent or more of the vote during primaries are automatically elected to position, which happened in the Mille Lacs Band and Leech Lake Band elections.
In all other seats, the top two candidates will move on to general elections in June.
Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
The two seats open in the Bois Forte Band are secretary treasurer and District 2 representative.
Out of 432 total votes, David C. Morrison Sr. received 34.03 percent. He will be running against the current secretary treasurer, Tara Geshick, who received 113 votes, or 26.16 percent.
For District 2 representative, 193 votes were cast. Robert Moyer Jr. received 85 votes, or 44.04 percent of the vote while Alanna K. Sherman received 65 votes, or 33.68 percent.
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Fond du Lac Band members were also voting for secretary treasurer and a District 2 representative and cast a total of 611 votes.
Wayne Dupuis was supported by 46.54 percent of the vote and will run against opponent, Jarvis “Chubbs” Paro who took 40.47 percent support.
For the District 2 seat, Mike Murray earned 46.54 percent support while Daniel G. LaPrairie had 20.10 percent support.
Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Only two candidates are currently running for the secretary treasurer seat. Those candidates will move onto the general election in June.
Three candidates are in the running for committee person at large for District 1. William “Bill” Meyers and Tommy Morrin-Morrison are running against incumbent leader Toby Stephens.
For the committee person at large for District 2, three candidates are also in the run. Dean Deschampe and Dana Logan are running against incumbent Agatha Armstrong.
Official results have not been shared as of Friday.
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
Leech Lake Band members voted for secretary treasurer, District 1 committee person and District 2 committee person.
Cindy Jackson Kingbird took 34.29 percent of votes, and Michael Reyes took 24.51 percent for secretary treasurer.
For District 1 committee person, Kyle Fairbanks had 47.97 percent support, and Jonathan White had exactly 42.00 percent support from voters.
In the run for District 2 committee person, incumbent Steve White won the committee seat with 56.32 percent of votes.
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
At Mille Lacs, Sheldon Boyd Sr. won secretary treasurer with 61.59 percent of the vote, and Raina Killspotted won the District 2 seat with 57.86 percent of the vote.
District 3 representatives moving onto the general election are Michelle “Shelly” Pomerleau, who had 32.26 percent support and Lionel Richey, who had 21.15 percent support.
White Earth Nation
Band members cast votes for secretary treasurer, District 1 committee person and District 2 committee person for White Earth Nation.
Jacob McArthur gained 41.12 percent of votes and will run against Michael “Mike” Laroque, who had 31.02 percent of the vote for secretary treasurer.
For District 1 committee person, Henry G. Fox took 47.95 percent of votes while Andy “Jack” Auginaush had 41.31 percent support.
Gaining 38.03 percent support from votes, Alrick “Son” Accobee will run against Sheri Kay Snetsinger, who had support from 17.98 percent of votes for District 2 committee person.
Voting in the general elections will take place on June 9. Band members can find information regarding general elections and candidates on their nation's website.
Chandra Colvin covers Native American communities in Minnesota for MPR News via Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
