News Item
Red Lake Nation and Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe to Present Tribal Flags to Hennepin and Dakota County District Courts

Posted: Thursday, March 21, 2019

WHAT
Representatives from the Red Lake Nation and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe will present their tribal flags, which will be installed in the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) Courtroom at the Hennepin County Juvenile Justice Center, the family courtroom at the Hennepin County Family Justice Center, and at the main entrance of the Dakota County Judicial Center in Hastings, MN.
 
On behalf of Judge David Piper, presiding judge of Hennepin County Juvenile Court, Judge Charlene Hatcher, assistant presiding judge of Hennepin County Family Court, Judge Kathryn Messerich, chief judge of the First Judicial District and Judge Jamie Cork, Dakota County District Court, Hennepin County American Indian Community Relations specialist Terri Yellowhammer is approaching tribes with the request to acknowledge the sovereignty of the tribal nations represented by the American Indian families served through the court system. A previous ceremony in November of 2018 included an installation in Hennepin County District Court Juvenile Court of tribal flags from the White Earth Nation and Leech Band of Ojibwe.
 
ICWA is a federal law enacted in 1978 to rectify the removal of Indian children from their homes, often done without regard to their native heritage. Minnesota’s counterpart to ICWA is the Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA).
 
WHEN
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Noon-2 p.m.
 
WHERE
Minneapolis American Indian Center
1530 E. Franklin Ave.
Minneapolis, MN 55404
                       
WHO
Judge David Piper, Judge Charlene Hatcher, Judge Kathryn Messerich, Judge Jamie Cork, Terri Yellowhammer, representatives from the Red Lake Nation and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.
 
The event is open to the public, with community partners and those who serve the families expected to be in attendance. Photography will be permitted.