Chippewa and Leech Lake Join Together on Day Labor Program
Students from the Leech Lake Temporary Employment Program are working with the Chippewa NF.
In October of 2008, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and the Chippewa National Forest signed a participating agreement to work together on the Band's new temporary employment program.
Anokii-Daa in the native Ojibwe language, when translated into English, means "lets all go to work."
In October of 2008, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and the Chippewa National Forest signed a participating agreement to "lets all go to work" on the Band's new temporary employment program (TEP). The Leech Lake Temporary Employment Assistance Program is the vision of Tribal Chairman Archie LaRose. Chairman LaRose authorized the establishment of this program with the following goals in mind:
1) Fill the need for occasional labor on the Reservation.
2) Provide temporary employment, build a positive work history and gain permanent employment.
3) Work with individuals who need a hand-up instead of a hand-out by providing a positive means to employment when there is a lack of jobs.
The program employs approximately 85 band members per day performing multiple tasks including clerical, landscaping, mowing, construction, maintenance, security, snow removal to mention a few.
Neil Peterson, the Tribal Liaison on the Chippewa National Forest, saw this as an ideal opportunity for the Forest Service to partner with the band. One of the goals of the Tribal Relations Program is to work in a government to government manner.
"This is a great opportunity for us to provide job training, accomplish important project work, and build upon our relationship with the Band," Peterson said.
Future plans to use the Temporary Employment Assistance Program include painting, staining, trail maintenance and construction, snow removal and more. In time the Forest will assist the program participants with more specialized training such as chain saw certification to expand the capacity of the program and employability of the participants.
Other agencies involved in the program include Leech Lake Heritage Sites, Otter Tail Power Company, Habitat for Humanity and assembly plants in Bemidji.
Both the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe and the Chippewa National Forest recognize the importance of strengthening the ties between the Forest Service and the Leech Lake Band. Positive relationships can have beneficial payoffs in many ways and the Temporary Employment Assistance Program is a wonderful step.