Potawatomi Life

This whole idea that my body is not designed to meet the challenges of any natural viruses the earth’s environment produces, seems ludicrous to me. I believe in a Creator and the design given, so I can house the soul I carry around in this life.

When human intelligence wants to interfere with this design, I get very suspicious and somewhat insulted. Who is any human to think they can improve the design each one of us is give, individually?. Some of our designs are made for labor and some for planning. We do not chose these traits our parents give those to us as part of our creation package, if you will.

I am against wearing a mask or face covering for this reason. I am born naked and will eventually lie on my deathbed the same way. My body is designed to have oxygen, no person has any right to deny me of my proper intake of the very source that keeps me alive. I recently had a stroke caused by blood clots on my brain. I need all the oxygen I can get at this point. That is why I do not want to wear the mask. I also have many disabilities from anxiety and abuse which further complicate a mask wearing for me.

Recently the county in which my reservation is located recieved a memo from the local sherrif through facebook. I was delighted about his stance and feel the tide may be turning.

To me it is a choice to wear a mask, especially if you think you are sick. If I think I am sick, I stay home. Forcing people to wear a mask is not only dangerous to many but a violation of a basic human right to free oxygen needed to keep the body functioning properly.

Has governments forgotten some of us are not equipped to handle wearing a mask.

We are healthy for our age and pose no public threat.

I do not feel that way. I feel I am a threat to everyone for not obeying an unporven command. Besides, commands are for military personell not civilians

We have a choice to wear a mask or not, that is the law.

We have the right to LIFE, liberty and happiness.

In the Hannahville Indian Community the welfare of the children is monitored by a child protection service team who follow the State of Michigan guidelines for child custody cases.

ICWA or the Indian Child Welfare Act is a Federal law that gives more authority to grandparents in the role of deciding where children are placed and taken care of in the tribe. Of course our legal and prosecutor department encourage the more stringent policies of the State of Michigan and due to funding gathered from State programs. These state guidelines allow child protective services to invade tribal member homes at will based on rumors.

For several years my girlfriend of 11 years and I, have been raising two young children that had been brutally traumatized. The court awarded my woman custody of 2 of the 3 children left in our care over 2 years ago. We have been struggling ever since but the children are coming along well and behaviors are improving. I love the little ones.

A few years ago the older boy had been talking in school. He often is separated from the class as he has behavioral outbursts from his traumatic experiences. He reminds me so much of myself at that age. I had speech impediments until I worked with a specialist. Anyway, he must have been babbling about past traumas and they were sexual in nature, evidently. This is what prompted the “investigation” of child protective services.

They showed up before lunch and two workers said they were there to pick up the 5 year old boy. I was in shock immediately because I have dealt with the CPS before and my brother ended up in Federal court over there “investigations”. Charges he ultimately beat after sitting in jail for 15 months going to court. I was worried I was next.

They took the 5 year old boy after threatening to call police if I did not cooprate and hand him over. I was intimidated because this tribal government has repeatedly abused my personal rights as an American citizen and as an Indian person protected under the Indian Civil Rights Act or ICRA, a federal law. I let him go with the workers.

For an hour we waited. I cried many times in that hour worried I may meet the same fate as my brother as I was broke and could not bail out of any jail. I was so sick I was dry heaving and crying at the same time. I was scared as hell.

After an hour the lady’s returned the 5 year old boy to us and were very nice and apologetic. That is when they explained why they took the boy. I was disgusted and immediately wonder if they would do this to the Chief if it was him. I was completely mad and felt violated and mistrusted by my tribal government.

What do I when contact tracers show up on a whim? I am scared of the what the future holds for our freedoms and liberty as human beings.

Today I feel like a commodity that belongs to the tribal government, who is about 25 percent Indian, for a head count to get state funding from Michigan.

I am scared they may come after the children again, this time on suspicion of a virus.

This is communistic.

Tribal governance on the Hannahville Indian Reservation began to gain strength and grow tremendously in the early 1990’s as Indian Gaming was introduced as an economic means to improve tribal member lives with employment and housing opportunities.

It also provided tribal government with an opportunity to control the population as well.

The tribe hired an assistant prosecutor from a neighboring county to replace the outgoing tribal member attorney from Bay Mills Indian Community. I knew him as “Mickey or Mick”. He was one of the silent champions of the tribal gaming compact negotiation with the State of Michigan. He moved on to become the Presidsent of the College on his reservation.

His replacement became nothing but a challenge to opportunities I thought belonged to tribal members. One of these was making decisions about child welfare issues occurring within the boundaries of the reservation.

Our tribe used to elect community boards every year and I was honored to have served on the Child Welfare board for one year. During that year the new tribal attorney became an adversary as we disagreed on regulatory control. In order to receive more “free funding” from the State of Michigan we needed tougher or more stringent guidelines than the Federal guidelines provided by ICWA.

I was not in support of this and felt it was taking away authority from the Child welfare board. When I questioned the new attorney about this her response was, “do you think you people are really qualified to make these descions?” I was immediately insulted as a member of that board.

I made an issue of this at our next meeting and the board decided to make all the decisions in regard to taking or leaving tribal children in homes that were experiencing dysfunctions compared to other communities. The attorney and child welfare team gave me some real nasty looks that day but for that year, the board was qualified to make decisions on its own merits, following guidelines provided by the federal government, not state.

Our resources were growing at an exponetially huge rate and budgeting needed to be established. I had to remove myself from several boards and concentrated on housing and gaming development.

Soon after the child welfare team and the attorney took back authority and implemented state standards which severely restricted tribal control of adoptions and other child welfare issues.

Tribal control was lost to implementing higher standards and the only people “qualified” were largely non-tribal people.

All for the “free funding”, our control was given over to non-tribal members again.

The child welfare board is still in existence but is merely a mouthpeice for the state of Michigan and its standards for Indian people and their children.

The political money (tribal member resources) games continue on the reservation as we continue to “disqualify” tribal members for jobs and governmental positions.

Tribal governments will never grow to protect tribal members if they continue to believe they are not qualified.

Political corruption is alive and well here, that is for sure.

I recently acquired a business degree, cost-benefit analysis is a major factor in evaluating business health.

Let me demonstrate from a personal level.

Yesterday, I attempted to do some gaming where I normally lose about 100 visit. I want to win of course but I know I am supporting some kid or parent in having a job and I go about my business after losing my shirt.

Now I am no longer allowed in the gaming establishment, my “public administration” builing or the Indian Health Service with out a mask.

Who is paying for all this if they are refusing long term customers like me?

I figure it cost the tribe for my refusal of service.

Young person to tell me I can not enter is paid 10 bucks an hour, while constuction is taking place about 100 yards away. Not only is that young masked fellow getting paid to turn away business, we have a room full of accountants out back smoking cigarette after cigarette with no masks on or praticing social distancing. Let just say they all get 10 bucks an hour. We are looking at about 100 bucks and hour to tell me no plus the 100 I normally lose.

The House just took a beating.

I still have not paid top management officials averaging 90 grand a year.

COVID is a killer of business too. No testing for that one.