Montana Anishinabe Economic Recovery: Ojibwe Singers in Action

Monday, May 24, 2010

Ojibwe Singers in Action

The lead singer of the Loud Thunder Singers for over 35 years, Glenn Gopher, (blue shirt, white cap)-resides in Great Falls. He is a lynchpin for the survival of Ojibwe cultural traditions. The art of ceremonial singing is all encompassing; he has spent his lifetime on his craft. His is a central role in the Ojibwe round dance culture. His work started as a powwow singer as a youth in his late teens. He sings occasionally in the sun dance lodges in north central Montana.

The sun dance songs of the Ojibwe led to the cultural survival of area tribes--these songs carry the contemporary sun dance tradition in Montana. Though few tribes ackowledge the contributions of the Ojibwe, who are landless people--it is through their sacrifice to hold on to cultural knowledge at all costs--that enable the sun dance culture in Montana today. This is an unbroken chain of traditional knowledge; the Ojibwe fought off efforts to eradicate their culture. They were forced to forego the security of land/reservation and the benefits of recognition to keep their cultural knowledge safe from extermination.

(Pictured: Frank "Frank P.L." Hess (Cree), Kyle Spearson (Ojibwe), Glenn Eagleman Jr. (Oji-Cree), Glenn Gopher(Ojibwe))

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A GOOD DEED IS AS GOOD AS WORSHIP

Anishinabe Chief Ghizihwiibenais, or Loud Thunder, was also known as Jim Gopher, he had a saying " A good deed is as good as worship. " Loud Thunder was identified in an early census in Great Falls, Cascade and scorned by census workers as a "bolshevik." The carrier and heir to the 13 Star Revolutionary Treaty Flag was labeled a communist at this era of backlash in the Congress against perceived enemies of the U.S. Although Loud Thunder inherited a great legacy, and preserved a great legacy of the American Revolution. His tradition continues. Today his descendants honor his legacy in a spirit of public service, unity and compassion for all citizens of this nation.

"LOVE ONE ANOTHER, TAKE CARE OF ONE ANOTHER"

These were the dying words of Chief Asiniweyin, or Rocky Boy, on April 18, 1916. The great Chief who campaigned for over thirty years for a home for his people, died at Ft. Asiniboine, near the entrance of the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation. The Chippewa were on the cusp of finally settling after a hard effort to establish the reservation, had resulted in many deaths. Their hope was quickly dashed as the federal government moved Canadian Cree under Imasees, and the descendants of Louis Riel onto the newly created landbase.

The Chippewa have faced profound dispossession since. Their original 1908 roll was quickly thrown out by the Dept. of Interior; this same agency created another roll to replace it; thereby establishing the "1917 TENTATIVE ROLL OF THE ROCKY BOY INDIAN RESERVATION." Its own paid anthropologist, John C. Ewers, noted that original Chippewa from the 1908 roll were only 45 people out of the 451 the Interior deemed "tribal members."

Federal neglect, omission and paternalism created further disasters: the 1934 tribal constitution created; the Chippewa Cree Tribe. The Chippewa dispute the legality of this entity. in its haste to exterminate Anishinabe aboriginal title of the Pembina cedes: The U.S. Court of Claims based judgment distributions of the Pembina awards of 1964 and1980--on the 1917 roll.

The dis-enrolled Chippewa now assert claims to the Pembina cedes that encompass the Bakken Formation in the cede areas. This is a claim they assert as autonomous people.