2012 welrp annual report

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Report compiled by Winona LaDuke, Terri LaDuke, and Lauren Kramer

White Earth Land Recovery Pro je c t : 2012Annual Report

Find us at : 607 Main Avenue Cal laway MN 56521


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White Earth Land Recovery Projec t 2012 Annual Report 1

Iskigamizige giizis (March), 2013

Dear fr i endsThe White Earth Land Recovery Project, Native Harvest, Ojibwe Wind,

and Niijii Radio thank all of you for your help with this work, which allows for

the ability to make a difference for future generations. You have supported us

in making a path towards a sustainable and better world. We are thankful for

many things: the bountiful wild rice harvest, the beauty of fields of ancient

corn, successful wind and solar projects, and the generation of young people

who can now hear Anishinaabemowin on our airwaves with Niijii Radio.

Despite some of the most difficult times in the history of our organization, we

are grateful for what we have accomplished. Your support allows us to make a

difference in a path for our future.

Miigwech,

Winona LaDuke, Executive DirectorWhite Earth Land Recovery Project

Winona LaDuke and Margaret Campbell admire heritage corn grown in WELRP gardens.


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Doing good work to make a di f f e renceThe White Earth Land Recovery Project (WELRP) leads in restoring a lifeway for

the future. WELRPs scope of work includes building a civil society throughNiijii Radio,protecting wild rice and wolves from mining companies and guns, and working to educateour people about these issues. Through our food sovereignty initiatives, we aim toreestablish local food production capacity. WELRP continues to work toward restoring aresilient food economy, building necessary intellectual capital and infrastructure. We envisiona community-based economy, an economy with both national and regional implications.From our tribal Farm to School programthe first in our region and one of the firstnationallyto our work restoring Indigenous varieties of corn, our actions reintegratetraditional foods into our community.

We continue to deepen our foodadvocacy efforts, finding that our tribalgovernment now has a renewed interest inthis work; through expanded funding, we

could further grow and share thetraditional seed varieties that weve workedto restore. In addition, weve maintainedour commitment to building the WhiteEarth Seed Library, adding more seedvarieties in preparation for the future. Wehope to provide the people of White Earthwith the hands-on experience required forlearning to sustainably grow food for aliving; weve taken a step toward this goalthrough partnering with a CSA farmer who

offers nine years of experience andknowledge.

Several WELRP staff memberscollaborated to create a business plan detailing the path our products should take afterleaving the farm. For example, we plan to grow green beans for our Farm to Schoolprogram, receiving compensation for our product and making access to fresh, healthproduce a reality for local schoolchildren. Organic agriculture represents one of the mostsignificant strategies that we, members of a tribal community, can use to feed ourselves andreduce our collective carbon footprint. Weve also partnered with local universities. Weproduced an Anishinaabe Farming Curriculum with the University of Minnesota, Morris,which provides a nine-unit course on the history, cultural teachings, and practice of

Indigenous agriculture. The projectblending science, culture, history, and economicsisintended for tribal colleges and available online. In addition, Hamline University studentsvolunteered for two days at WELRP during 2012. They spent a full day grinding corn fromour harvest.

Manitoba White Flint corn


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Native seed saving has the potential tobring significant security to American agriculture.Historically, Native farming and gardeninginitiatives have dwindled to minimal levels: theallotment era and Native peoples lack of access toUSDA loans both played a role in this decline.Concurrently, seed ownership power on both anational and international level consolidated intothe hands of a few, resulting in overall lower seeddiversity.

Heres a snapshot of how the problem firstbegan. A long time ago, the Anishinaabeg peoplerepresented the northernmost corn growers in theworld, pushing corn above Manitoba. AsAnishinaabeg, we enjoyed abundant agro-biodiversity, growing some 120 distinct vegetablevarieties. Most of these varieties have since

disappeared. In Canada, three quarters of seeds thatexisted before the have gone extinct. In the UnitedStates, a similar trend holds. The creation of theworld's agro-biodiversity took 10,000 years; today, amere 30 food crops provide 90% of the world'snutrition. Monocropping and super-hybridseliminate diverse strains in our local ecosystems, threatening the ecology of our planet. Inturn, climate change and increasingly chemical-resistant weeds and pests will continue tochallenge the earths health.

Here at WELRP, we focus our work on growing traditional foods. During 2012, wegrew beautiful, bountiful corn and vegetable crops with minimal losses. WELRPs focus on

restoring Manitoba White Flint, Saskatchewan White Flint, Bear Island Flint, Dakotapopcorn, and the Seneca Pink Lady corn varieties from obscurity resulted in the start of aseed bank of frost-resistant, drought-resistant, hearty varieties. We grew viable quantities ofan 800-year-old squash variety whose seeds we received two years ago from anarchaeological dig in Wisconsin.

Growing a purple potato variety for our Farm

to School program

Drying corn from the 2012 harvest


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Farm to School Program and Food Pol i cyWe now are

working with three tribalschools to expand ourFarm to School program.AmeriCorps VISTA internKaisa Jackson completed aTribal Farm to School(FTS) manual funded bythe First NationsDevelopment Fund. TheFTS manual documentsour work at White Earthand covers the implicationsof national and tribal policy

projects.We worked with

Elizabeth Hoover(Mohawk), AssistantProfessor at BrownUniversity: Elizabeth supervised graduate students to create a research paper on tribal foodpolicies. You can download both documents on our website,www.welrp.org. We drafted afood policy draft, which is being circulated in our tribe and regionally. We have come to seeorganized education experiences as crucial to advancement of our work. In addition tohosting Elizabeth Hoover, we also welcomed visitors from the United Tribes TechnicalCollege (Bismarck, North Dakota), where a new seed bank is underway, and Steve Dahlberg,

Extension Director at the White Earth Tribal College.

Kaisa Jackson, AmeriCorps VISTA, and Barb Warren, Native Harvest

Production Manager, showcase tomatoes from the 2012 harvest.

Winona LaDuke with Elizabeth Hoover, Assistant Professor at

Brown University


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Studying Tradi t ional Fish Fert i l izerUsing fish as fertilizer replenishes the soil; we look to harness the power of this

traditional practice. During 2012, WELRP purchased 3,500 pounds of fish guts from RedLake Fisheries. Weve started collaborating with Red Lake to investigate the feasibility ofcreating either an emulsion fish fertilizer or dry fish fertilizer facility, adding value to RedLakes product. At present, Red Lake Fisheries sells around 400,000 walleye fillets per year,leaving two-thirds of total fish caught as bycatch or waste. In the past, Red Lake Fisherieshas sold its bycatch as mink feed to the fur industry in the North. We hope to instead usethis bycatch to create food for our land and gardens.

Support ing Our YouthWe installed a new turtle garden, constructed by Metric Giles of St. Paul, for our

community. We had the young people from Omakaakoons Day Care (located in our

WELRP building in Callaway) in mind when we built this new garden. Many of the childrenfrom the Callaway Boys and Girls Club, as well as other youth, eagerly helped us plant,water, and weed; we also taught them more about why gardening is so important.

We also planted an abundant garden at the Gitiigaanig Farm on Round Lake. Bydeveloping our community relationships and online presence, we leveraged three WWOOF(World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) volunteers and several local youth to workon the Gitiigaanig Farm. In addition, we gained eight AmeriCorps VISTA volunteers andbuilt a partnership with the Global Citizens Network (GCN). GCN recruited and brought 22Jewish youth from Newport Beach, California to our community. The volunteers assistedwith a diverse set of projectsclearing land, building an outhouse for the ceremonialgrounds, constructing a mobile solar panel generator, and creating a mural for the Pine Point

Elementary schoolas well as participating in cultural events.

Winona LaDuke and the 2012 AmeriCorps Summer VISTA Associates enjoy the White Earth Powwow.


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The 9 thAnnual Indigenous FarmingConferenceThe Ninth Annual Great Lakes Indigenous Farming ConferenceMaawanjiidiwag Ji

Gizhaadamowaad Miinkaananheld during the second week of March at Deep PortageLearning Center in Hackensack,brought together Native Americans,organic farmers, college facultymembers, USDA representatives, andstudents from tribal schools tocontinue the struggle to restore Nativefoods on the White Earth Reservationand beyond. The conference featuredhands-on workshops on balm makingand beekeeping, for example, as well as

presentations on Farm to Schoolprograms, food policy, seed diversity,and ethnobotany.

Aside from the manyinformational sessions, guests enjoyed asilent auction, rock climbing, a cast ironfrying pan toss, seed trading, Cree andMetis step dancing, and several documentaries and films. Throughout the conference, theydined on a variety of local dishes including buffalo hominy soup, cornbread, and rhubarbstrawberry pie. Overall, the Great Lakes Indigenous Farming Conference providedparticipants with a unique opportunity to network with neighboring tribal nations and obtain

information to further develop their own community programs. We look forward to hostinganother successful conference next year!

Manoomin Mai ingan and MiningAs our most sacred food, manoomin helps us to prosper; in return, we must ensure

its protection. Anishinaabeg were given a set of prophecies, which led our ancestors to"where the food grows on the water, in a migration taking many years to accomplishhundreds of years before Europeans arrived on this continent. The food mentioned in thisprophecy is wild rice, our manoomin.

The only grain endemic to North America, manoomin is one of the greatest giftsimaginable to the land and waters. The lakes and rivers, owing to the unique nature andadaptability of manoomin, each year offer a crop. Manoomin constitutes an amazing foodsecurity for a people and the waterfowl that nest and eat in these same waters. This is asacred food and a keystone of the ecosystem of the Anishinaabe Akiingthe Great Lakesregion. Weve seen our manoomin obliterated around most of the mining areas where itgrew before mining came to the Great Lakes region. Scientific studies conducted over the

A view of the Deep Portage Learning Center in Hackensack, the

site of the conference.


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Were scraping the bottom of the earth for lower and lower grade ores, and wereopening up mines in places that should not be mined. Mining companies haveunderestimated the cleanup costs of most mines by up to $2 billion. And many miningoperations are still not clean. In the end, they are not making any new waterthe ultimatereality of this scenario.

Promoting CulturalExpress ionOur cultural expression work comes in three forms:

art, music, and radio. In terms of our civil society goals, we putup two more murals in the Pine Point Elementary schoolthrough the participation of Jewish youth volunteers, and localyouth and artists. We actively sought opinion and directionfrom elders and other leaders, and we met success in terms ofengaging youth in a meaningful way and creating beautiful

artwork in our community.WithNiijii RadioKKWE, 89.9 FMwere live onthe air and online, too. Our station is a hard-wonaccomplishment for WELRP and reflects a great deal of workby our community volunteers and supporters. We estimatethat the radio station serves around l00,000 people in ourlistening area. Our mission is to positively impact the lives of

Oshki Akiing, a Minneapolis benefit

held in 2012 for Niijii Radio

Respect our brother, Maiingan.


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people living on the White Earth reservation and our l5,000 urban tribal members, as well asthe surrounding communities, through the discussion of issues and events intended tobroaden the publics thinking. As KKWE, we represent the only independent radio stationwithout tribal government control or financing. While certainly a challenge, we believe thatour situation allows for more vital civil society discussions.

Others involved in the radio include one intern and 20 community volunteers,working both on the air and behind the scenes. Volunteers assist in efforts to raise moneyfor equipment and staffing. WELRP continues to send volunteers to attend conferences onmedia, Internet streaming, and radio development (conferences such as the NationalFederation of Community Broadcasters Association and AMPERS). Volunteers work withtechnical assistance providers who offer training on conducting live Internet broadcasting or

recording aired programs, for example.Niijii Broadcastingboth bridges the digital divide and appeals to young people and ourdiaspora community in the Twin Cities through the creation of an Internet-based newsservice: weve managed to bring our reservation and urban communities together. We seethis work as a significant step toward achieving our civil society goals. In 2013, we plan tooffer national programming on cultural, environmental, and civil society issues throughNative Voice Oneand Public Radio Exchange.

Climate Change and Fuel PovertyThe White Earth Land Recovery Project leads on a regional and national level in the

arena of tribal sustainable development; were creating a set of models that resonates withAnishinaabeg reservations in Minnesota and elsewhere. An analysis of both our foodeconomy and our energy economy underlies our work, along with the recognition that thevalue of these two economies constitutes approximately one-half of our tribal membersincomethe majority of which they must outsource to off-reservation vendors. In otherwords, our reservation lacks a local multiplier.

Michael Dahl, WELRP Community Liaison and radio host of Mawanijiida Jiminwechigayang, emcees the

Oshki Akiing fundraiser for Niijii Radio.


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We designed theMino Waasamowin(orGood Energy) Project, then, to create energysecurity and energy sovereignty for our WhiteEarth Anishinaabe community. Its part of a largereffort among Indigenous communities andcommunities of color to create this future. One ofthe major initiatives in the region and nationally,our work here at White Earth addresses the needfor the creation of a democratized,environmentally and culturally sound, renewableenergy future. We see this future as essential forour survival in a time of climate change and peakoil, and for our ability to determine our destiny. Inthis line of work, we seek to confront the dire fuelpoverty that plagues tribal homes on the WhiteEarth Reservation. The project also addressesreducing costs for tribal heating bills and the

continuation of training programs in coordinationwith tribal entities on the White Earth Reservation.We focus on creating a strong, reservation-wide,inter-organizational, and regional energy initiativeto ensure that our tribal community is a vital partof the next energy economy. We want our peopleto play an integral role in making a good future for everyone.

Winona attended the World Wind Energy Association Conference held in Bonn,Germany, and talked with people about our wind project and similar wind projects in otherNative communities. For example, she met with individuals from the Danish Wind EnergyAssociation. Winona also formed an international wind alliance and partnership with Yansa

International (Mexico).

In 2012, we successfully trained ten tribal members in windsmithing, making itpossible for our tribal members to service medium-sized wind turbines in this region. Withthe support of staff members from Solar Energy International, we trained another 25individuals on a 2.2 Kilowatt solar installation. We played an instrumental role in preparingour Reservation Tribal Council to undertake the Pathways to a Greener Future training

Shown in the background of this photo is a

wind turbine installed under the Mino

Waasamowin Project.

A romotional banner or the World Wind Ener Association Con erence held in Bonn, German


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program, an initiative that resulted in a large federal grant for training on the reservation anddrew participants to our windsmithing and solar installation workshops. Unfortunately, thesestudents did not receive hands-on training prior to our workshops. (They only had access toclassroom instruction.) We offered the students a chance to do some great work inrenewable energy, and in the upcoming year, we hope to have at least two of theseindividuals involved in solar, thermal, wind, and photovoltaics work on our reservation andon the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.


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White Earth Land Recovery Project 2012Statement of OperationsRevenues and

Expenses

2012 Revenues

Revenues 2012 Actual 2012 BudgetGrant Income $705,072.37 $557,308.00

UNDERWRITING INCOME 3,229.80

Contributions 115,784.79 90,759.00

Interest Income 11.25

Other Income 3,175.28 10,000.00

Rental Income 3,000.00

Sales 178,669.05 160,842.00

Total Revenues 1,008,942.54 818,909.00

Expenses 2012 Actual 2012 BudgetSalaries 139,725.22 194,818.00

Employer Share Taxes/Benefits 22,318.20 16,651.00

Contract Services 117,122.93 120,500.00

Professional Fees 144,030.80 40,965.00

Fundraising Expense 47,304.85 -

Supplies 129,093.91 104,294.00

Telecommunications 21,589.84 48,012.00

Postage 19,936.65 15,069.00Equipment 35,952.86 14,736.00

Printing 2,950.60 2,000.00

Advertising/Promo/PR 1,078.61 11,690.00

Travel 63,359.62 15,660.00

Meeting/Conference/Training 14,492.44 1,080.00

Vehicle Expense 2,092.65 500.00

Rent 5,200.00 19,200.00

Utilities 53,270.02 67,604.00

Insurance 32,007.06 65,037.00

Depreciation 40,467.59 54,541.00

Interest Expense 23,952.59 20,123.00

Bank Charges 7,552.96 6,329.00

Total Expenses 923,499.40 818,809.00

2012 Expenses


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White Earth Land Recovery Project 2012Donor Report

We would like to thank the following foundations/organizations for their generous support ofour work:

Abodian Inc.Ann Martin CenterBeitelspacher Law OfficeCatholic Campaign for Human

DevelopmentChicago Community TrustCitizens Programs Corp.

The Confederated Tribes of GrandRonde

First Nations Development InstituteFriends of WetlandsGlobal Citizens NetworkGreen River DanceHamline UniversityHigher Education ConsortiumLand Preservation AccountLocal Fair Trade Network

Manzanita Management Corp.MAZON: A Jewish Response to

HungerMeredith.comNational Philanthropic TrustNetwork For Good

New America FoundationOnaway TrustOtto Bremer FoundationPeace Development FundPlum Bottom Dairy Farm Inc.Rockefeller Philanthropy AdvisorsSandpiper Soil & Water

Santa Fe Natural Tobacco CompanySisters of St. Joseph of OrangeSwift Foundation

Tarbut V'Torah Community DaySchool

The Farm on St. MathiasThe Susan A and Donald P. Babson

Charitable FoundationThrivent Financial for Lutherans

Foundation

Tides FoundationTrees Water & PeopleUniversity of Florida

Wilmington TrustWinky Foundation


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John Sue Sellen and MaryLobenstein

Alma E. ShisslerDaniel and Joanne ShivelySarah SiebachVirginia SimoneMaxine SivaslianJoy SolaMark SoliePeter SpaldingCatherine SparksSigmund SpiegelMary SpiveyAnn SprayregenGregory W. SteeleTara SteinMarissa Stevens

Ray StewartMichael StockRobyn StocktonShari Stone-Mediatore

Angela StrandMartha StroudSusanna StyronPeris SuddethJim SumblerCarolyn SummersRonald Paul SundmarkLinda SutherlandRebecca SwierzJohn TaylorAlan Teller and Jerri ZbiralDavid TheisJoann Thomas and

Douglas NoparCarly ThomsenRuth ThorsgaardCharlie & Mima Tipper

Thomas TizardLen TrevinoStanley Van HornRichard C. Vanden Heuvel

Genevieve VaughanJan VoorheesGreg VraspirJaclynn WalletteEileen WampoleAnn and Dale WarnerKerry WarrenMary WatersDavid WattersCharlene M. and William

WoodcockRobin M. WrightEmily Y. WynneDavid YarussoMary ZamaconaLeon Zar


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White Earth Land Recovery Project 2012 BoardMembers:

Kathy GoodwinBoard Chair: Naytahwaush, MNAntoinette Vizenor: White Earth, MNAudrey Thayer: Bemidji, MNDawn Kier: White Earth, MNDiane Roy: Naytahwaush, MN

Steve Larson: Detroit Lakes, MNSue Wika: Fergus Falls, MN

And finally, Miigwech to our many volunteers,community members, and friends

Making cornhusk dolls with the next generation at Pine Point Elementary School


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WHITE EARTH LAND RECOVERY PROJECT607 Main Avenue

PO Box 97Callaway, Minnesota 56521

Toll-free: 800-973-9870 Phone: 218-375-2600 Fax: 218-375-2603www.welrp.org

MISSION

The mission of the White Earth Land Recovery Project is to facilitaterecovery of the original land base of the White Earth Indian

Reservation, while preserving and restoring traditional practices ofsound land stewardship, language fluency, community development

and the strengthening of our spiritual and cultural heritage.

Native Harvest607 Main Avenue

PO Box 97Callaway, MN 56521

Toll-free: 800-973-9870Phone: 218-375-2600

Fax: 218-375-2603www.nativeharvest.com

Niijii Broadcasting

Niijii RadioKKWE607 Main Avenue

PO Box 97Callaway, MN 56521

Toll-free: 800-973-9870Phone: 218-375-2600

Fax: 218-375-2603www.niijiiradio.com

Ojibwe Wind607 Main Avenue

PO Box 97Callaway, MN 56521Toll-free: 800-973-9870

Phone: 218-375-2600Fax: 218-375-2603www.welrp.org

2012 welrp annual report

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