Native American Commission - December 1, 2022 Minutes
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, December 1, 2022.
The Native American Commissioners present or absent were as follows:
Present: Whitney Fear, Emily Sargent, Seth Holden, Sharon White Bear (via conference call), John Strand, Ashley Littlewolf, Dale Sayers, Amanda Strauss, Suzanne Senske
Item 1. Welcome and Introductions
Chair Fear welcomed Members to the meeting and introductions were made.
Item 2. Approve Order of Agenda & Minutes
Member Sargent moved the Order of Agenda and the minutes of the October 6, 2022 Native American Commission meeting be approved as presented. Second by Member Littlewolf. All Members present voted aye and the motion was declared carried.
Member Strand Present.
Item 3: Public Comment
Wess Philome spoke on the comments made by former Deputy Mayor Dave Piepkorn at the October 3, 2022 City Commission meeting and on comments made at previous meetings. He also shared his concerns with the reaction Mayor Tim Mahoney had to the comments of Commissioner Piepkorn.
Item 4: Affordable Homeownership Presentations
Jodi Deplazes, Edge Home Finance, presented on the Housing and Urban Development 184 Native American Home Loan program.
Pete Christopher and Brianna Gruenberg, Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity, shared information on their program covering Cass and Clay counties and shared the application process.
Discussion was held regarding Lake Agassiz Habitat for Humanity.
Member Senske present.
Trenton Gerads, Cass Clay Community Land Trust Executive Director, shared information about his organization.
Item 5. Indigenous Association Report
Interim Executive Director Brandon Baity shared that the November International Potluck had a good turnout and community engagement. He also shared that Native Youth Programming will begin in January 2023 along with workshops and activities.
Discussion was held regarding sensitivity training for the Fargo Police Department. Mr. Baity stated he would follow-up with the Police Department.
Item 6. Subcommittee Reports
No Subcommittee reports were provided.
Item 7. Staff Reports
Assistant Planner Catlyn Christie shared that the Fargo Public Library programming for “The Night Watchmen” was attended by over 640 people. She also provided information on the active housing needs analysis survey found on the Metro COG website (www.fmmetrocog.org).
Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Dr. Terry Hogan, stated nominations will be accepted for individuals and organizations whose work embodies Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy that are part of the Fargo community. Nominations may be submitted online by December 16th. The Umoja 54 MLK Day Celebration will be held Monday January 16th, 2023 at the Fargo Theater, from 6:30 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. and is free to the public.
Item 7. Announcements
Chair Fear congratulated Darlene Ten Bear on winning the 2022 Gladys Ray award and also provided congratulations to Heather Keeler, past member of the Native American Commission, for winning her second term for the State of Minnesota House of Representatives.
Chair Fear reminded the community that December 21 is Homeless Awareness Day.
Item 8. Adjourn
The time of adjournment was 12:37 p.m.