Roger Jourdain (July 27, 1912 – March 21, 2002) was an

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

civic leader who served as chairman of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa from 1959 to 1990. Jourdain is credited with protecting Red Lake's extensive tribal sovereignty and improving tribal infrastructure during his tenure in office.

Early life

Jourdain was born on July 27, 1912. He received an eighth-grade education and worked as a machine operator, participating in the construction of the Alaska Highway and the regional airport in

Bemidji, Minnesota Bemidji ( ) is a city and the county seat of Beltrami County, Minnesota, Beltrami County, in northern Minnesota, United States. The population was 14,574 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. According to 2022 census estimates, the ci ...

. Additionally, Jourdain was a leading member of the "Young Man's Council", a group of Red Lake citizens desirous of governmental reform. A revised constitution supported by the Young Man's Council resulted in the replacement of Red Lake's traditionally-selected governing body by an elected tribal council, of which Jourdain was elected chair in 1959.

Chairmanship

Following his election as chairman, Jourdain undertook a number of projects aimed at improving Red Lake's infrastructure. Shortly after taking office, he reopened the closed

Indian Health Service The Indian Health Service (IHS) is an operating division (OPDIV) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). IHS is responsible for providing direct medical and public health services to members of federally recognized Native ...

hospital in the town of Red Lake and worked successfully to bring running water to the reservation. Additionally, Jourdain lobbied the federal government to support housing and educational development on the reservation. Jourdain spent considerable amounts of time in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, lobbying both for federal support and for the protection of Red Lake's

tribal sovereignty The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide use of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. The definition is contested, in part due to conflict ...

. Jourdain maintained Red Lake's exclusion from the

Indian Reorganization Act The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of June 18, 1934, or the Wheeler–Howard Act, was U.S. federal legislation that dealt with the status of American Indians in the United States. It was the centerpiece of what has been often called the "Indian ...

of 1934, which established the multi-reservation Minnesota Chippewa Tribe; accordingly, Red Lake remained exempt from legislation such as Public Law 280. Additionally, Jourdain formed a political alliance with U.S. Senator

Hubert Humphrey Hubert Horatio Humphrey Jr. (May 27, 1911 – January 13, 1978) was an American politician who served from 1965 to 1969 as the 38th vice president of the United States. He twice served in the United States Senate, representing Minnesota from 19 ...

, subsequently changing his initial Republican political affiliation to Democratic. In 1976, Jourdain served as a delegate to the 1976 Democratic National Convention and in the

Electoral College An electoral college is a body whose task is to elect a candidate to a particular office. It is mostly used in the political context for a constitutional body that appoints the head of state or government, and sometimes the upper parliament ...

; he reprised the former role in 1984. Jourdain worked closely with other tribes, initiating a 1967 intertribal boycott of businesses in

, which contains a significant Native American population. The boycott was prompted by

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

comments made by a county commissioner on a Bemidji radio station. Additionally, Jourdain worked with other tribal politicians to establish a national tribal chairmen's association. He is also credited with the creation of the Minnesota Indian Scholarship Program. In the late 1970s, Stephanie Hanson, the Red Lake secretary-treasurer, accused Jourdain's administration of "nepotism ndfavoritism," and declined to pay Tribal Council members after a missed meeting. After several disputes over tribal finances, Jourdain removed Hanson from her position. On May 19, 1979, six armed supporters of Hanson seized the Red Lake law enforcement facility and took hostages, prompting the

FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

to remove Red Lake police from the reservation. Following this action, a riot erupted on the reservation during which Jourdain's home and several government facilities were burned; two teenagers died during the unrest, and damages sustained totaled $4 million. Following the civil unrest, Jourdain moved to Bemidji, where he resided for the remainder of his tenure as tribal chairman. Complaints persisted against Jourdain's administration throughout the 1980s; its handling of criminal defendants in Red Lake's tribal court was criticized as heavy-handed. In July 1989, Jourdain vetoed a Tribal Council decision, which had stalled the tribe's assumption of services theretofore provided by the

Bureau of Indian Affairs The Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), also known as Indian Affairs (IA), is a United States List of United States federal agencies, federal agency within the U.S. Department of the Interior, Department of the Interior. It is responsible for im ...

and the

. This veto attracted controversy, and Jourdain was defeated for reelection in 1990, losing to former ally Gerald Brun.

Post-chairmanship

Following his defeat, Jourdain received the National Congress of American Indians' yearly award. He died on March 21, 2002, at North Regional Hospital in Bemidji, at the age of 89. He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret, to whom he was married for 60 years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jourdain, Roger Red Lake Band of Chippewa people Native American leaders People from Beltrami County, Minnesota 1912 births 2002 deaths