Native American Commission Minutes - October 1, 2020
The Regular Meeting of the Board of Native American Commissioners of the City of Fargo, North Dakota, was held in the Commission Chambers at City Hall at 12:00 p.m., Thursday, October 1, 2020.
The Native American Commissioners present or absent were as follows:
Present: Sharon White Bear, John Strand, Lenore King, Rebecca Knutson, Chalsey Snyder, Whitney Fear (via conference call)
Absent: Heather Keeler, Sonya Donahue, Anna Johnson
Item 1. Welcome and Introductions
Chair King welcomed Members to the meeting and introductions were made.
Item 2. Approve Order of Agenda
Member Snyder moved the Order of Agenda be approved as presented. Second by Member Knutson. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Member Snyder moved the minutes of the September 3, 2020 Native American Commission meeting be approved. Second by Member White Bear. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Item 3. Public Comment
No public comment was provided.
Item 4: Subcommittees and Work Plan
Member Knutson moved to approve Member Snyder as the Chair of the Education and Cultural Awareness Subcommittee. Second by Member Fear. On call of the roll Members Strand, Knutson, White Bear, Fear, and King voted aye. Member Snyder abstained from voting. Absent and not voting: Members Donahue, Johnson, and Keeler. The motion was declared carried.
Member White Bear moved to approve Member Fear as the Chair of the Health and Wellness Subcommittee. Second by Member Knutson. On call of the roll Members Snyder, Strand, Knutson, White Bear, and King voted aye. Member Fear abstained from voting. Absent and not voting: Members Donahue, Johnson, and Keeler. The motion was declared carried.
Member Snyder moved to approve Member White Bear as the Chair of the Housing Subcommittee. Second by Member Strand. On call of the roll Members Snyder, Knutson, Strand, Fear, and King voted aye. Member White Bear abstained from voting. Absent and not voting: Members Donahue, Johnson, and Keeler. The motion was declared carried.
Chair King opened the floor for Members to provide feedback on the questionnaire provided regarding meeting frequency and format.
Discussion was held regarding the best way for the Board to engage and connect, quarterly or monthly meeting frequency, times for subcommittees to meet, and wanting to maintain forward motion with the Board.
Board Members were asked to complete the questionnaire and submit to staff.
Item 5. Old Business
a. Indigenous Association Update
Member Snyder provided an update from the Indigenous Association. She noted if community members would like to display the interactive mural created at the Census and Native vote event to contact www.Indgns.org. She added that they are in the process of securing a space and more information will be provided next month.
Donations can be given to the Indigenous Association through the website.
b. Indigenous Peoples’ Day – October 12, 2020
Member White Bear provided an overview of the scheduled events.
Assistant Planner Catlyn Christie stated the opening ceremony will be streaming on the City of Fargo social media channels and the other events can we seen throughout the day at www.Indgns.org.
The Board discussed events, speakers, and outreach for the event.
Item 6. Announcements
Member Snyder acknowledged Member White Bear as the recipient of the 2020 YWCA Women of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award.
Item 7. Staff Report
Chair King provided a recap of the staff report included in the packet.
Member Fear indicated interest in having the Health and Wellness Subcommittee connect with the Fargo Youth Initiative.
Member Snyder inquired about the process and timeline for items to be included on meeting agendas.
Ms. Christie stated ideally agenda items should be sent to planning@FargoND.gov or Native American Commission Members three weeks prior to the next meeting.
Item 8. Next Meeting – November 5, 2020
The time of adjournment was 12:36 p.m.