Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge Faces Staffing Cuts; Headlines Affecting Indigenous Minnesotans

ANCHOR Marie Rock: This is Minnesota Native News, I’m Marie Rock. 

This week, we hear about the impact of recent federal staffing cuts on Zimmerman, Minnesota’s Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge.  Plus, some current events affecting Indigenous nations here in Minnesota. First, let’s hear from Deanna StandingCloud. 

Deanna StandingCloud: The Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge announced earlier this month that they lost two staff members – a biologist and a park ranger – in the federal administration’s first round of terminations across the U. S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Sue Hix, Friends of Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge past president and advocacy team lead, says that the national Refuge System had already been operating with a 30% decline in staff over the past 15 years. Now staff numbers are down an additional 15% following the recent terminations.

[Sounds of grasses in wind]

Bearpaw Shields: so I am good friends with Gina Hugo, and she is the Sherburne County Parks Director, and I first met her probably about a few years ago. 

Deanna StandingCloud: Bearpaw Shields, who is Dakota and Nakota, is the Director of the Indigenous Learning Community at St. Cloud State University’s American Indian Center. She’s also a board member of Friends of Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge.  

Bearpaw Shields: …she was working on this property that we planted the sweet grass on, and she was going to be dealing with a lot of tipos, which is tribal, tribal protection officers to make sure that that they’re doing things culturally appropriate, because the land is sacred to us, natives, indigenous people. 

Deanna StandingCloud: Bearpaw helped coordinate – with the Sherburne County Parks Director – special sweetgrass planting sessions at the refuge for Indigenous students.  

Bearpaw Shields: And so she, you know, talking to her about how there’s not a lot of places for in our people to whether it’s harvest sweet grass or sage or choke cherries or elderberries, things that are people traditionally used as medicines and for ceremonies. And so she then decided, You know what, I think this would be a great idea for this when they’re going to do the park to have the sweet grass. So then we can our generations can come, can go and harvest sweet grass, and so we can continue to use this, the medicines that we, our people have done for many years, for 1000s of years. 

[Sounds of grasses in wind]

Bearpaw Shields: So our goal is to continue to plant the sweet grass…. 

…But, you know, especially for our younger, you know, individual our younger students, and we’re talking like, you know, K through 12, it’d be a great opportunity for our indigenous learning community students, cohort students, to go in and educate the young ones too, and so they can see and they’re learning by example, rather than just learning from a book. 

Deanna StandingCloud: According to Myrna Krueger [MER-na Kroo-gur], who is the Friends of Sherburne National Wildlife Refuge past president and campaign chair, the park ranger who was terminated was the staff who planned events, organized student visits, and managed the refuge’s Partner School Program. This could impact the partnership with the Indigenous Learning Community at St. Cloud State. 

[Sounds of grasses in wind]

For Minnesota Native News, I’m Deanna StandingCloud. 

ANCHOR Marie Rock: Next, two stories affecting Indigenous communities.

Marie Rock: Earlier this month, Mark Macarro, president of the National Congress of the American Indian raised concerns about the federal administration’s plan to end the leases for all federal offices, including 25 regional Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) offices.  He said, “It’s a destabilizing action. I really have to think we have to assume the worst, unfortunately.” 

In neighboring Wisconsin, the BIA office in Ashland is set to be terminated at the end of August, according to FOX 11 News of Michigan.  

Today is National Native HIV/AIDS Awareness Day. According to Positive Peers of Greater Minnesota, “HIV and STI testing are covered by both public and private insurance plans and can be conducted confidentially at any Primary Care Clinic, local County Public Health Department, AIDS Service Organizations (ASOs), and IHS Clinics and Hospitals with no copay or other fees.” 

ANCHOR Marie Rock: [outro credits]

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