Playground prejudice

Great article in this weeks Mille Lacs Messenger news paper. I will copy and paste it as soon as its on their web site, as the site has not been updated as of yet. I am reading it it the paper.

Its about a family that was using the playground just north of the Grand Casino on Mille Lacs Lake. This family was asked to leave the property as it was owned by the band and was to be used ONLY by band members. The Officer asked them how soon they were leaving and the mother of the family replied in about a half hour…..he told them to be gone in 15 minutes? Well, I could go on an on but I will copy and paste this as soon as I am able.

Anyone get the Messenger today and have read this in the mailbag area? Please let me know what you think….

This article will get some miles I think!!!!!!!!

Oh, forgot to mention that the family was white ( non-native )………

The thoughts that come to my mind right now are not printable on this website.

yep……..

Bobber, is the site updated yet? Please post it here when your able to. I’m sure you have everyone intrigued!

Here is the article. Its located in the Messenger Mailbag on the website. It really does burn a guy up.

Playground prejudice

I’m writing about an incident that happened to my family last week at a playground just north of the Grand Casino on Mille Lacs Lake. Before I tell what happened, I wish to stress that my purpose in writing about this is to prevent other families from being hurt, as mine was. I wish too, that the decision makers in our community and theirs be aware that this occurred.

My husband and I, along with our three children (ages 2 to 7), were traveling south with our camper. We needed to stop for a break so, as we often do, we looked for a playground where the children could play. We pulled into a nice little playground along the shore of Mille Lacs Lake.

It was a lovely afternoon and I was feeling happy until there came a knock on our camper door. I looked out to see a conservation officer standing there. He said, “Hello, what are you folks doing here?” I explained how we had stopped for a break on our travels. He said that he had gotten a call that someone was camping here and came to check it out. I assured him that we only stopped for a break, and were not camping here. He pointed to a sign I hadn’t noticed before, which said that the playground was owned by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and could only be used with their permission. He asked me how long until we could leave. I replied that we were going to leave in about a half hour. He said for us to make it 15 minutes.

Then he asked if the man and children wading in the lake nearby were my family. I said they were and he asked our names. I followed him over to the beach where he walked over to my husband and asked him the same things he had already asked me. After my husband politely said we would leave within 15 minutes, I asked the conservation officer, “So am I understanding this correctly? Because we have the wrong color skin, my children aren’t allowed to play at this playground?” He said, “Yes, I guess you could look at it that way.” I said, “That’s reverse discrimination.” He said that he didn’t think it was right either, but that they paid his wages. We packed up quickly and left.

As we drove out onto the main road that went past the casino, I noticed a large colorful billboard that said, “The Mille Lacs Band Welcomes You!” I felt very hurt and angry, and the sign rang hollow to me. As we drove away, my children asked me, “Mom, how come we had to leave that playground?” I told them the truth, “There are a lot of very nice people in this community, but the leaders here made a rule that only people that are from this town can play there.” I explained because we have the wrong color skin they couldn’t play at that playground. I told them the word for that is “discrimination,” and it’s wrong.

I feel so sad that we have to live in a world where our children aren’t free to play at a playground because they have the wrong color skin. As Dr. Martin Luther King so eloquently said, “I have a dream …” My hope is that this letter will help us come closer toward his great dream.

Lisa Jokela,
Grand Rapids

This one ought to get us boiling, but let’s all step back and remember how many times this happens to all the other minorities in this country. It doesn’t make this right, but we also have to remember it happens daily to many others.

I hate that it happened, especially where it did, I grew up 30 miles from the same type of reservation. They’ll take all the white man’s money at the slot machines, but you darned well better not get caught in our park. I’ve seen so much given to the tribes only to be wasted, sold, drank, it’s enough to make you sick. All because we conquered these people. I’m truly tired of the white man supporting these places. I tell my friends who, to this day, still love to go play the casino occasionally, it’s just wrong. I get sick every time I drive past that place. The parking lot is full, they are constantly adding on. Soon we won’t be able drive down “their” road that we furnished.

I can sit and complain all I want about the reservations, but until I step and try to make a change, I shouldn’t say much more. I say contact your state reps, see how they feel about integrating our societies. It will never happen in my lifetime, but I hope it does in my children’s.

Nicely put Waterfowler, couldn’t of said it better!
Daily we are all judged by others on our looks, actions, beliefs or opinions. People need to take a step back some days and think about whats really important. Family, Friends, Health and Happiness!!!
Oh and of course FISHING!!!

I try the best I can…….looking past and to get along. But when you read things like this it gets my blood a going a bit.

Ours……theirs……..our fish……their fish?

Aren’t we all created equal…..

I have always said: look out when the natives start driving down the left side of the roads! They will have the right to do so and we will have to move over to avoid them?

We’ll have a few beers on it tonight and that should settle ya down.
After I kill a few Bugs tonight!!!

You better give Bob a big hug for all of us.

I understand and fully respect trespassing and private property.

Is this propterty labeled as such?

Because if it is considered “public property”, I want the address!!!

Will we be ‘picnicing’ by day and fishing by night this fall Gary?

Amen Brother James!

This playground is next to Sha-Bush-Kung public access just to the south…….

This is just one more reason why I have never stepped foot in the Mille Lacs Grand Casino or any other Native American Casino for that matter. This has nothing to do with the color of there skin, it’s that I do not believe in a separate set of rules for different groups of people.

When you look at the size and expense of those Casinos common sense tells me that the people gambling AREN’T the ones winning. Plain simple comon sense. One thing I do have to give them credit for is that they are taking care of their own by the profits of some of the casinos goes into a fund that is divided up between tribe members who are young and that fund [bank account] keeps getting money put into each year til that child reaches of age so that they will have a good start in life plus college is paid for by the tribe. I don’t know if all tribes do this but I know the Ho Chunk tribe in Wisconsin does. But getting back to what Bobber pointed out, that I feel is wrong. When they want the white man to come to their casinos then why kick them off their parks. Doesn’t make sense. Of course seperating people by their race or color isn’t right either. We are all created equal in the Lords eyes. Thanks, Bill

I am going to play the devil’s advocate for a minute. Is this playground equipment billed as public property? If so then I believe anyone should be able to go there. But if this is just a playground on private property then the owners should be able to say who can and can’t be on their property. I wouldn’t want just anybody walking around in my back yard.

Gator Hunter

Not wanting to read more into it than there is, it sounds like they were accused of camping in the park/playground. Never the less, it’s still a sad set of affairs.

Off to the side there is a sign that say’s: Mille Lacs Band use only.

Well;
then I would have to say that it is private property. There are many places that are “reservations” that do not allow “outsiders”.

It is a sad story indeed, but you have to respect private property……………I don’t care who you are……….

It really does catch your attention and emotion when words like ‘playground’ and ‘children’ are included but if it’s private propery and posted as such…….If a stranger walked into my backyard to use the swingset I would likely run then out….actually I would definitely run them out…unless they were associated with friend or neighbor.