I spoke with my friend Karen Diver who was the first Chairwoman of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, one of seven Chippewa (or Ojibwe) bands in the state. In 2016 Karen went on to work in the White House as President Obama’s Special Assistant on Native Americans and sat on the President’s Domestic Policy Council. She is now a faculty member at both the College of St. Scholastica and the University of Minnesota Duluth.

I’ve known Karen for about twelve years. Back in early 2007, two days after I announced for the Senate, I went to meet with Karen in northern Minnesota. She was a little surprised I came. “We don’t usually see politicians until about two months before the election.

I told her that I wanted to serve on the Indian Affairs Committee, in part because Paul Wellstone had. And no Minnesota senator had served on the committee since. Karen was an enormous help to me during my time on the Committee. So, I wanted to talk to her about some of the challenges facing Indian Country.

In this conversation, we talk about the failure of the federal government to honor its treaties with Native Americans and the challenges that tribes face.

Before I speak with Karen, I tell the story of my first Pow Wow, which I think you’ll enjoy. I spared Karen because she’s enjoyed it so many times herself in many settings.