1. Green Teams and Cooperation: Working Together for Success
Matt Rogotzke
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
MN Greencorps Member

2. Background
AmeriCorps Service
MN GreenCorps
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe

3. Green Team - Key Players
Purchasing
Economic Division & Planning
Health Division
MIS
Property
Tribal School
Child Welfare
Solid Waste
Air Program
Facilities Management
Tribal Council
MIS, Health Coordinators and Specialists, Environmental, Tribal College, Neighboring Town University, K-12 schools

4. Mission Statement and Vision
“Practicing conservation, recycling and ecologically respectful business to sustain Leech Lake’s land and resources for generations to come.”
“Strive to reduce usage and conserve both resources and energy for the betterment of today and our future generations.  This effort will have resource and economic benefits.”

5. Green Team Projects Ban Styrofoam purchasing on Reservation
Electronic Delegation Memo Policy
Health Fair
Earth Day
Energy Challenge

6. WHEREAS, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe have made
 LEECH LAKE RESERVATION TRIBAL COUNCIL
STYROFOAM FREE POLICY
WHEREAS, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe have made
a commitment to “green and sustainable”;
WHEREAS, one of the most persistent problems for recycling and disposal is the pervasive use of Styrofoam based materials such as cups, plates, food trays, etc.;
WHEREAS, it is the goal of the Reservation Tribal Council that the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe shall be Styrofoam-free by October 1, 2010;
WHEREAS, it is important to the culture and well-being of tribal members that we manage our resources and limit the use of single use products to decrease our tonnage fees and the environmental costs beyond the landfill.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that it is the direction of the Reservation Tribal Council that all Divisions, Departments and Programs of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe will undertake all possible efforts to reduce and/or eliminate the use of Styrofoam based materials within the work place or program areas/activities and replace them with items made for permanent use or can be recycled when disposed of.

7. WHEREAS, the Leech Lake Reservation Tribal Council,
NOTIFICATION OF DELEGATION MEMO POLICY
WHEREAS, the Leech Lake Reservation Tribal Council,
through its advisory council the Green Team, is responsible for
sustainability, reduction of wasteful activities, and “green” alternatives to current operations within the Leech Lake government; and
WHEREAS, it has been past policy that when a staff person is designating their signature authority to another staff person that notification of this action will be sent throughout the entire Band government division structure; and
WHEREAS, it is important to the culture and well-being of Leech Lake Tribal Members that we manage our resources and reduce waste; and
WHEREAS, the Reservation Tribal Council recognizes that this practice is inefficient and extremely wasteful since hundreds of sheets of paper are required for this practice;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that it is the direction of the Reservation Tribal Council that notification of transfer of signing authority need only be ed to the following staff: Executive Director, Deputy Director, Accounting, Purchasing and an appropriate person within the staff’s office who can refer inquiries of the appropriate contact person.

9. Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Local Food Initiative
LLBO Green Team
Public Health Benefits
A systems approach will be needed to tackle the chronic disease problems in Indian country today. Localizing food systems offers a means of re-connecting people to traditional and healthy foods, improves food security, promotes physical activity, keeps money local, and fosters social cohesion. Cycling nutrients and reducing waste through the composting initiative has resulted in the following benefits that go beyond saving money from reduced tipping fees: impact on climate change through reduced greenhouse gas production, local alternative to chemical fertilizers used in landscaping and gardens, improved water quality from reduced chemical runoff. This initiative has also helped raise awareness regarding food production and organic production methods. The budding community and program enthusiasm resulting from these initiatives has been a launching point for the second phase of this project: developing infrastructure for a localized food shed.
Phase 2 Goals:
Improved understanding of local food systems by LLBO Members and staff.
Mapping the food shed to identify current and future agriculture areas.
Strengthen local food resources available to band members to improve food security.
Improve Anishinaabe sustainable, traditional agricultural practices while educating the reservation population about Leech Lake’s traditional food systems.
Increasing access and consumption of traditional foods.
Expand the Band’s current composting initiative to include fish waste which will improve water quality and provide an additional resource for local food production.
Add Cass Lake Bena Middle and High schools to the composting project and start them on their initiative to eating traditional and local foods.
Expand/strengthen partnerships to make this possible: U of M Extension, Leech Lake Health Division, Leech Lake Division of Resource Management, IHS DEHS and Cass Lake Hospital, Leech Lake Food Coalition, LLTC Community Education, and the new Leech Lake Master Gardener program.
Background
The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe’s (LLBO) Green Team is an advisory council to the Tribal Council tasked with making recommendations and implementing activities, projects, and policy change for more sustainable practices within the Leech Lake Government.
The LL Green Team has been instrumental in adopting new tribal policies such as eliminating the purchase of styrofoam for Tribal Government use, as well as a reservation-wide composting policy. Their newest initiative centers around waste reduction and localizing the food system on the Leech Lake reservation. This includes a renewed partnership with the Bemidji Area IHS Division of Environmental Health Services (BAIHS DEHS).
Accomplishments
Partnerships with Palace Casino and Bingo Hall, Bug O Nay Ge Shig school, Leech Lake Trial College, and LLBO Solid Waste Division.
Completion of the “Green Rez Steps” assessment tool developed by LT Arndt led to prioritization of sustainability initiatives.
Awarded $16,000 in funding through the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and $12,000 from BAIHS.
Two Community Ed classes that educated 30 community members on proper composting techniques.
Over 180 children K-12 educated on construction, design, composting, and food production through the work at the Bug O Nay Ge Shig school; implementation of school food production and composting
Estimated 153,088* pounds will be diverted out of the waste stream, translating into a savings of $14,750* per year; green house gas reduction of 28.3* metric tons of carbon equivalent.
Additional $11,700 in funding from BAIHS for Phase 2.
*These numbers will increase when our new composting partners are factored in!
Repeatability
The model composting and infrastructure development of a localized food shed can be duplicated with any reservation. It is an example of how DEHS can partner with tribes in a collaborative manner to promote a more holistic practice of environmental public health.

10. Commercial Sized Composting Bins
Palace Casino, Tribal College, BugONeyGeShig K-12, Cass Lake Bena School K-12, Solid Waste Transfer Site

11. Community Composting 80 small backyard units Sold for $25 piece
sold for commitment, not profit
2 sources of funding: MPCA and IHS

12. Composting workshops/talks
Sustainability Community Speaker
Michelle Vigen – UofM Regional Sustainability
Gardening Summit, Earth Day
Booth, compost bins
Cass Lake Gardening Club, Community Education
CLBS 5 classes, CLBS Pow wow

14. Community Gardens

15. Community Gardens

16. Minnesota Greensteps Tribal Nations
Useful measure to track progress or set goals for progress
29 best practices
Applies differently to Tribes
4 levels of achievement

17. Best Practices

18. Apple Site 300 apple trees Addressing food desert issues
Project in partnership with various local groups

19. Apple Expansion Started with 300 plot project
Expanded into 720 trees in nearly all Leech Lake communities
Equity for all Tribal villages
Upon success, will continue pursuit of addressing local foods

20. Food Mapping Gather information on local foods
Show Tribal Members locations of local and healthy foods
Get a visual to show what constitutes our food desert

21. Reaching out to other Tribal Organizations
Have positive relationships with as many groups as possible
Identify key projects or
funding opportunities
Match local partners with
key projects and collaborate

22. Guaranteed Energy Savings Program
Benchmarked 75 of Leech Lake buildings for energy profile with B3
May retrofit 22 buildings: casinos, community centers, headstarts, and more
Upgrades to HVAC, lighting, boilers, chillers, etc…
Facilitated through state, provide easier access to Energy Companies

23. Guaranteed Energy Savings Program
Easy financing, hands off approach for organizations with lack of available resources
Savings paybacks mean budget neutral approach to cash flow
Opportunity to become sustainability leader in region

24. GESP Leech Lake Departments
Resource Management
Facilities Management
Public Works
Gaming Administration
Legal
Purchasing
TERO
Housing Authority
Financial Services

25. Reaching Across Tribes
Meeting of the Minds – Monthly meetings
White Earth, Leech Lake, Red Lake Rezs
Indigenous Environmental Network
Rail River Folk School
MN Dept. of Health
Indian Health Service
LL Tribal College, Community Education
U of M Extension

26. Bush Grant Minonjigewin: Someone is eating right;
Revitalizing Traditional Anishinaabeg Connections

27. Minonjigewin Achievements
Monthly knowledge sharing gatherings across the 3 Reservations
Winter netting
Carving decoys, utensils
Canning Venison
Squash, Mushrooms, indigenous eating
Sewing
Various cook-offs, healthy eating classes
Cookbook with collaboration of Tribal recipes

28. LL TNT Local Foods Group
Tribal Nutrition Team
Spurred Local Food Collaboration
American Indian Cancer Foundation partnership
Addressing local food and health issues such as cancer and diseases

29. Solar Projects 19 Residential Units
30% offset of fossil fuel heating costs
50 year life

30. Solar Projects 3 Government Sites Div. Resource Mang.
Solid Waste Main Station
Fitness Center

31. 200 Kwh

32. Next Steps??? Continue to promote Leech Lake sustainability
Most effective when groups/partnerships are established
Make as many positive connections and work hard to not burn bridges!

33. Questions?
Matt Rogotzke