The new Menominee Tribal Chair will deliver today’s State of the Tribes address. The tribe announced earlier this week that Laurie Boivin was elected to succeed Craig Corn as chair, and it’s been confirmed that she’ll deliver the annual address before a joint session of the legislature. Corn served as chairman for the past two years and had a high public profile as the tribe negotiated on a proposed $800 million casino to be located in Kenosha. No final decision has been reached on that, and Boivin told WISN that the project would be “a game changer” for the tribe.
Last year’s State of the Tribes address from Lac Courte Oreilles Chairman Gordon Thayer included pointed criticism of Republican legislators, and one lawmaker walked out. Boivin may address a controversial topic today: a recent state law which greatly limited the state Department of Public Instruction’s ability to force school districts to drop Indian logos and mascots. Barb Munson with the Wisconsin Indian Educators Association says she’s “been told that will happen.”
