The news from Red Lake continues. The tribe has closed off the reservation to outsiders, but has allowed the FBI, the state, the Red Cross and the BIA to send representatives in to help them handle the situation. I'm guessing that people living in states without reservations or in countries withour first nation lands, will have a hard time understanding the situation here. In Minnesota, we are very aware that reservation land is not U.S. land. It is common to see car license plates, flags and other paraphrenalia indicating one of the many Indian nations within the boundaries of Minnesota. Relations between U.S. or state agencies and the tribes have never been good. Huge mistakes have been made in the past and trust is hard to come by. I imagine that the way the Red Lake nation handles this tragedy will differ significantly from what we have seen in other places, such as Littleton, Colorado.

One of the best native blogs is worth following and they also have a donation button to a tribal-sanctioned memorial fund. The website is wampum. Or you can donate directly. Here's info cut and pasted from wampum:

Contributions are now being accepted by the Red Lake Nation Memorial Fund to assist the victims and the families of the recent shooting at Red Lake High School in Minnesota.

Donations may be sent to:

Red Lake Nation Memorial Fund
P.O. Box 574
Red Lake, Minnesota 56671