Wisconsin tribal officials make presence known at RNC

Shekóli (“hello” in Oneida) and yaw^ko ("thank you") for reading the First Nations Wisconsin newsletter.

The Republican National Convention is in Milwaukee this week and, at least so far this election season, I haven’t seen as much of an Indigenous-led presence or outreach to tribal communities as there was in 2020.

Forest County Potawatomi Chairman James Crawford addressed the RNC delegation on Tuesday with a land acknowledgement. He was the only Native American slated to give a speech.

“Milwaukee is a particularly special place for Forest County Potawatomi,” Crawford said in his address. "It was once home to several Potawatomi villages, including a village close to where we sit today."

He said the tribe is still very much a part of the community, not only through the Potawatomi Casino and Hotel in Milwaukee, but also with its construction, technology and real estate business ventures, as well as its charitable contributions.

"Today, our tribe is part of what makes Milwaukee a great place to live and work," Crawford said.

He also mentioned the high rate of drug addiction and overdose deaths in tribal communities and the epidemic of violence against Indigenous women and girls.

"Tonight's theme of 'Make America Safe Again' is especially important for us," Crawford said.

Oneida Nation Councilwoman Jennifer Webster and Councilman Jonas Hill also attended the convention, according to their social media posts.

Neither Crawford, Webster nor Hill endorsed any party or candidate and stated they were looking to raise awareness about issues in Indian Country in a non-partisan way.

There was also a federal Indian policy roundtable discussion scheduled at the convention on Wednesday led by Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin, who is Cherokee and a Republican. Other tribal leaders, mostly from Oklahoma, will be discussing issues affecting Indian Country.

In 2020, there seemed to be more mentions and promises made to tribal communities by both the Trump and Biden campaigns.

It paid off well for Biden, especially in certain swing states where there are organized tribal nations and relatively large numbers of Native voters, such as Wisconsin and Arizona. Biden rewarded Native voters by choosing Deb Haaland to lead the Department of the Interior, the first Native American to hold the post.

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About me

I'm Frank Vaisvilas, the Indigenous affairs reporter for USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin based at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel . I cover Native American issues in Wisconsin. You can reach me at 815-260-2262 or fvaisvilas@gannett.com , or on Twitter at @vaisvilas_frank .

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin tribal officials make presence known at RNC