Please stay standing for the
presentation of the colors.
The Pledge of Allegiance will be
offered by Trajan Reynolds,
St. Croix Chippewa Indians of
Wisconsin Youth.
Pledge allegiance to the flag
of the United States of America
and to the republic for
which it stands, one nation
under God, indivisible,
with liberty and justice for all.
Members may be seated.
The first order of business is to
call the roll.
The clerk will open the roll.
See ya!
Have all members recorded their
presence? If so, the clerk will
close the roll. There are 91 members
present, a quorum is, 92
members present, a quorum is
present.
Gentlemen from the.
Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent
for leave of absence for the
representative from the 38th and a
temporary leave for the gentlelady
from the 21st, gentleman from
the 30th, and gentleman from the
56th.
Gentleman from the 68th asking an
Adam's consent that a temporary
leave of absence be granted to the
gentleman from the 38th and a leave
of absence for the balance of the
day for the gentleman from the 21st,
the 30th and the 56th.
Is there any objection?
Hearing none, it is so ordered.
Lady from the 79.
Thank you. I ask unanimous consent
for a leave of absence for the
representative from the 8th and
the representative from the 94th
for the balance of the day.
And I also ask unanimous consent
for a temporary leave of
absence for the representative from
the 90th and the representative
from the 89th.
Lady from the 79th Askew Anonymous,
consent the temporary leave for the
balance of the day be granted to the
lady from the eighth and the
gentleman from the 94th, and a
temporary leave of absence be
granted to the gentleman from the
90th and 89th.
Is there any objection?
Hearing none, it is so ordered.
Representative from the 31st.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I ask unanimous consent that the
rules be suspended, assembly joint
resolution 18 be withdrawn from
today's calendar and taken up at
this time.
The representative from the 31st
asked unanimous consent that the
rules be suspended and assembly
joint resolution 18 be withdrawn
from today's calendar and taken up
at this time.
Is there any objection?
Hearing none, the clerk will read
the joint resolution.
Assembly Joint Resolution 18,
relating to honoring the life and
public service of Representative
Jonathan Brostoff,
whereas Representative and Alderman
Jonathan Francis Brostoff,
a dedicated public servant, husband,
father, son, brother
and friend, passed away on November
4, 2024 at
the age of 41, and
whereas Jonathan Brostoff was born
on September 25,
1983 in Wisconsin as
the second of two sons to Phyllis
and Alan Brostoff.
And whereas Jonathan Brostoff
graduated from Cradwell School and
went on to receive his bachelor's
degree from the University of
Wisconsin-Milwaukee, earning
a degree in political science in
2011.
And whereas Jonathan Brostoff, while
attending UWM, worked
for Senator Tom Harkin in
Washington, DC, served as
chair of the College Democrats, and
completed the United Nations Summer
Seminar Program.
And whereas Jonathan Brostoff was
elected to the Wisconsin Assembly,
representing the 19th Assembly
District.
and served from 2014 to 2023,
serving on the assembly committees
on aging and long-term care,
constitution and ethics, family
law, financial institutions,
government accountability and
oversight, mental health,
natural resources and sporting
heritage, state affairs and
government operations,
regulatory licensing reform, ways
and means, and on the speaker's task
force on Alzheimer's and dementia
and the speaker's task force on
suicide prevention.
whereas Jonathan Brostoff was a
fierce and tenacious advocate for
criminal justice reform,
for safeguarding licensing
regulations for workforce
professionals, and most notably for
disability rights, where he famously
did not cut his curly hair until a
bill supporting American Sign
Language access became law,
with his eventual haircut feature in
the Wisconsin Journal Sentinel.
And whereas Jonathan Brostoff
was elected the Milwaukee Common
Council in 2022 as
all there from the 3rd district.
and served on the judiciary and
legislation, public works,
zoning, neighborhood, and
development, and steering and rules
committees.
And whereas Jonathan Brostoff
generally cared for the well-being
of others, dedicating his time
each week to volunteer at
Pathfinders, a youth shelter,
and Madison Avenue Montessori School
in Milwaukee, while also staying
involved with Dry Hooch, a nonprofit
supporting veterans and actively
engaging as an alumnus
of Milwaukee's Public Allies
Program.
And whereas Jonathan Brostoff built
relationships with Wisconsinites
across party and class, believing
that working across differences was
vital for a working democracy.
And whereas Jonathan Brostoff was a
dedicated member and advocate of
Milwaukee's Jewish community.
And whereas Jonathan Brostoff was a
loving husband to his wife, Diana
Vang Brostoff, and a
devoted father to his children,
Boaz, Barak, Binyamin,
and Yael.
And whereas Representative Jonathan
Brostoff is finally.
is remembered fondly for his
kindness, big heart, sense of humor,
commitment to community, and love
for his family and the people of the
state of Wisconsin.
Now, therefore, being resolved by
the assembly, the Senate concurring,
that the members of the Wisconsin
Legislature honor the life
and public service of Representative
Jonathan Borostoff and extend
their condolences to his family and
friends.
Question before the body is adoption
of assembly joint resolution 18
on the motion to adopt lady from the
66th
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Jonathan was an
incredibly dedicated colleague,
mentor, husband,
and son, and a
loving father.
And to many in this body,
a true friend.
He was incredibly passionate about
creating a Wisconsin that worked
for everyone.
From supporting youth programs in
Milwaukee to advocating for veterans
and those with disabilities,
Jonathan was a voice for so
many in this capital.
As mentioned, he was a fierce and
tenacious advocate for criminal
justice reform, gun safety,
licensing regulations, and
disability rights.
None of us will soon forget when
Jonathan came on the floor with his
long hair and remained
dedicated to the
passage of the American Sign
Language Bill in our state.
Jonathan was well known for his
honesty.
He never held back.
If he thought we were heading in the
wrong direction or missing something
important, often
crossing his eyes and
staring you down.
With Jonathan, you always knew
where you stood and he helped
us grow as a caucus
and as individual legislators.
We will always remember Jonathan
and do our work in
his honor.
He had an incredible commitment
to the people of Wisconsin in his
district and to this institution.
And of course, great love
for his family.
Today we honor the life and public
service of Representative Jonathan
Brostoff and we extend
our deepest condolences to
you all and the many people who
love Jonathan.
May his memory be a blessing.
Please hold your applause.
Question before the body is adoption
of Assembly Joint Resolution 18 on
adoption, lady from the 79th.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I spent a lot of time this morning
thinking about what I was going to
say here today.
Jonathan and I came into the
assembly together in 2015.
He was one of the first people who
came to me and said,
you're a leader and you need to do
good things.
And that is something he did
for so many other people as well.
And I think that his ability
to raise up others This is one of
the things that.
holds closest to me.
As you heard, Jonathan was a fierce
and tenacious advocate.
I remember when he grew out his hair
and I would send him pictures of
Richard Simmons.
He sent me back pictures of Bob
Ross.
But it's not just doing things
like growing out your hair.
Jonathan really lived to,
Jonathan and I were two of the
three Jewish members of this body
when we first came into the body
together.
And there's a principle in Judaism
that we call Tikkun Alam, which is
repair of the world.
And this is a concept that is
built on our
guiding principles of social
justice, of making
the world a better place, of taking
care of our world and taking care of
its people.
And Jonathan, more than just about
anybody else I've known,
lived up to that principle of Tikkun
Alam. He and I had long
conversations about our Judaism and
how it guided.
our values and what we
do here in this body but
also more broadly what we
do in the world.
And I can only hope
that I can live up to those
principles as Jonathan
did.
After he left us in this body,
after he left us to go to the city
council, we
kept in touch. I valued
the frequent phone calls.
I valued the fact that he,
it wasn't me staying in touch, it
was always him.
He reached out, he made
a point of calling so
that we had conversations.
Right now things aren't easy and I
know it wasn't easy for him.
Being a Jewish person, being a
progressive Jew in particular, it's
difficult and it's challenging.
And we had long conversations about
that.
So much of what he said helped
make it easier for me.
I'm not sure that I was able to make
it easier for him, but I always
appreciated that he could make it
easier for me.
I'm going to harken back to his time
here in the legislature for just a
minute, because I will get emotional
if I keep down this path.
And I want to talk about a few fun
things about Jonathan.
I remember our very first caucus
meeting together.
Jonathan and David Bowen showed up
with a case of Sprecker root beer
and handed it out.
And that was a trademark.
It was one of his favorite things
and he always brought it to share
with others.
Here in this body, he fought for the
things that were really important
to him.
I can remember him talking about
mental health and about his own
struggles and sharing his own
struggles. And it was a reminder to
me that each of us brings something
different to this and we
we should value what each member
brings. He brought his own struggles
and he shared his very personal
struggles with all of us here in the
legislature.
And I believe that they
made me and hopefully made many of
you a better legislator.
Having Jonathan here in the
legislature with us made us all
better legislators, but it also
made Wisconsin better.
And Jonathan's presence in this
world made for a better world.
I look forward to always the
pictures he would send of his
children.
Out of nowhere. I'd be sitting in a
meeting and all of a sudden my phone
would pop up and it's
one of Jonathan's and Diana's kids.
And I know how much those kids
meant to him.
I know how much his family meant to
him. And I appreciate
that he was so willing to share his
family and himself with
all of us. And I appreciate that his
family was so willing to share
him with us.
As I said, Jonathan really
lived up to the principle of tikkun
olam, but something that we also
recognize in Judaism is that no one
of us is going to alone
repair the world.
There is always more work to do.
And Jonathan left us with more
work to do.
Whether it is work on suicide
prevention, whether it's not work on
helping the homeless, whether it is
work on repairing our environment,
I could go on and on.
I know the things that were closest
to him.
He wanted to prevent gun violence,
he wanted to prevent suicide, he
wanted to increase access to mental
health. And I think it's incumbent
upon all of us to commit to,
in whatever way we can do that,
commit to making the world a better
place, commit to repairing
the world, and commit to doing
just a little bit of kindness, as
Jonathan did for all of
us, to somebody every
single day.
In Judaism, we also say when
somebody passes away, may their
memory be a blessing.
And in this case, I am certain that
Jonathan's memory is a
blessing to his family,
to all of us here in this body,
to all with whom he served on the
Milwaukee city council and
for all of the state of Wisconsin.
Thank you.
Question before the body is adaption
of Assembly Joint Resolution 18 on
adaption, lady from the 91st.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I was talking to Jonathan's father a
few minutes ago and mentioned how
oftentimes when I was driving back
from Madison to Eau Claire, I
would call Jonathan and we would
process the week.
I was thinking about that last
week and really wish that I would
have been able to talk to Jonathan
last week. I had my own version of a
conversation with him, but
the reception wasn't clear from
wherever he was, so I didn't get the
message as clear.
So we'll continue to have those
conversations.
But one time when we were talking,
and I think this just speaks to what
a dedicated father he
was, all of a sudden
we're in the middle of discussing
some bill that was before us,
and all of a sudden he breaks out
into singing Itsy Bitsy
Spider, because
he was in the middle of changing a
diaper at the time.
And that is just always a
memory that just makes me laugh.
It wasn't, oh, excuse me, hold on.
I'm in the middle of a diaper.
It was just.
He blasted it out right there in the
middle of the conversation and he
always brought a smile to people's
faces.
He always had grandma candy to share
with us on the floor that
we will miss incredibly.
A lot of us are wearing green
ribbons today in honor
of him and mental health awareness.
And I hadn't seen Jonathan
since June of
last year.
I hadn't talked to him.
It was about a month before he
passed away the last time.
I talked to him and
I am
so sorry that I did not
keep in better contact with him.
I had no idea the
demons that he was
battling on a daily basis.
I wish I would have known.
I think there's a lot of us
who wish that he would
have reached out, but I can only
imagine the pain he was in
to leave all of you,
because I know he loved you all.
so incredibly much, especially his
children.
A lot of us will carry, all of us
will carry Jonathan with us in
the work that we do here, and thank
you all so much for sharing him with
us.
An adoption, lady from the 20th.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
You know, I first met Jonathan.
during his first race for the state
assembly.
We were getting ready for a parade
in the neighborhood and it was
a four-way primary and I did not
endorse Jonathan.
One of his volunteers came over to
me and made kind of a snide,
nasty remark.
So me being who I am, I went over to
Jonathan and I said, I
really did not appreciate that.
The next day, that volunteer
was at my door,
apologizing, that's the kind of man
that Jonathan was.
He had so much integrity.
This is really hard to
talk about Jonathan.
I served with him.
And sometimes he could make me
crazy.
But that's crazier, yes.
But that's only because
he had such
passion and such conviction for
the things that he believed in.
Nothing was going to change his
mind, nothing at all.
Just the other day
memory popped, a photo memory popped
up on my phone and
it just really brought tears to my
eyes because all I kept thinking was
Jonathan wanted a family
so desperately and
this picture was
of little boy sitting on my
lap and
what he had done was he grabbed my
egg McMuffin out of my hand.
He was about a year old at the time
and he ate it.
I looked at Jonathan I said
Don't you feed your children,
Jonathan.
But it was just a lighthearted
moment in the office, and
we were laughing.
You know, he's just, he was
just such.
The last conversation I had with him
was about two weeks before we lost
him, so tragically.
He always ended our conversations
with, I appreciate
you.
that always stuck with me, and I
just want Jonathan to know.
We all appreciate what he taught us
here in this room.
Gentlemen from the 17th.
Thank you Mr. Speaker.
It is an African tradition that
before you address a group of people
you ask an elder for permission to
speak and today I rise with the
permission of Harriet McKinney who
was an elder in the 17th district.
So I guess now my
subconscious will allow me to.
realized that my conscious,
that my friend is not here
with us in a physical form.
Cause every, like twice a week, I'm
like, man, I gotta call Joe Bro.
I need some advice on something.
And so
everybody knows him as Jonathan
Francis Brostoff,
but we just called him Joe Bro.
I met him at UWM,
this little Jewish dude at
UWM who was...
running like the college
dims, et cetera.
And I remember him because,
you know, a lot of people like to
fan out when they find out that I'm
related to my mom.
And he didn't.
I go, he goes, oh, so you're related
to someone too, huh?
And I said, yeah, he goes, oh, okay.
And he liked to call himself
the honey badger.
If you have ever seen the
video on YouTube of the honey
badger, and it's this YouTube video
that says honey badger don't care.
He's getting into like messing with
bees and snakes and all types of
things.
Cause honey badger don't care.
And he's gonna do what he wants to
do anyway. That's Jonathan Brostoff.
My colleague from the 79th called
him tenacious.
However, let's be honest.
Johnathan It was
annoying.
He was annoying, and everybody
in this body who's ever come across
him knows he was annoying.
He will call you at 7 o'clock in the
morning.
And that's only because he's been up
for three hours already.
But he finally said, okay, it's
late enough in the morning I can
call people.
So he calls you at 7 o'clock in the
morning and says, hey, what you
doing? And I'm like, I'm
still asleep. I don't have children.
You do. And so,
he was a mensch.
as they say in the Jewish tradition.
I'll tell this brief story before I
sit down.
I was in the hospital in 2016
with Legionnaire's disease and I was
hooked up to all these machines and
I had to be on dialysis for a couple
of days to flush out my kidneys, et
cetera.
And who was sitting beside my
bed running his mouth?
Jonathan Brostoff.
And I remember thinking,
why don't you shut up?
Why are you talking so much?
And I remember later I said, why did
you keep talking so much when I was
in the hospital? He said, dude, you
look bad.
I had to keep talking
because you look so horrible, so I
wouldn't be in a thing.
So that's the kind of individual he
was. I'm talking about my friend,
Jonathan Brostoff.
And there's a saying in
Jewish tradition that says,
and I'll sit down with this, may
his nashama have
an aliyah.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Question before the body is adoption
of assembly joint resolution 18 on
adoption waiting from the 13th.
Thank you.
I rise today to honor my friend and
former colleague, Jonathan Brostoff.
I met Jonathan in a
colectivo coffee shop near UWM.
I was there because I was running
for office in 2018
as a first time candidate.
And I was told that some guy named
Jonathan Brostoff wanted to
vet me.
I will be honest and say I
was pretty nervous, a little scared,
and not sure exactly what was going
What happened in that coffee shop?
But I showed up, I met a fierce
advocate, drinking what I remember
was something like a green frothy
tea.
And Jonathan grilled me with
questions and was very
clear on his priorities.
He was also very clear that
he would not be supporting me if
I did not pass his test.
And we began to talk.
What I didn't realize was that after
I did pass that test,
Jonathan was gonna jump on board and
fight for me.
which is exactly what he did.
We finished my vetting,
and he said, OK,
let's go knock some doors.
My second memory of Jonathan is one
that I revisit regularly.
We climbed a tall, steep hill
to reach a brown wooden doorway in
Wauwatosa, where I stood next
to my very new friend.
And he told the man who answered the
door,
what a great legislator I'd be.
Because when Jonathan was
for you, you knew it.
And I think many of us know that
feeling.
And I think Milwaukee knew that
feeling.
On the day that Jonathan died,
I received the news as I was walking
out of an appointment and
I collapsed onto the Milwaukee
sidewalk.
Somebody saw me and approached and
said, I think I know
what you just found out.
Can I give you a hug?
She knew that the news that I had
probably just received was about
Jonathan Because in Milwaukee
we felt this loss as a city.
Jonathan's presence was so
huge, we felt his
loss as a city.
Jonathan and his love for Milwaukee
was well known.
I don't know anyone who cares
so much about fences and
salt and parking as
Jonathan did.
We heard about his quick constituent
response times.
If there was a way that he could
make the city better for you,
He was going to do it,
and he was loved for
that.
He was loved for his
fight for the people he cared
about, and his loss
was felt by his city.
We all know Jonathan's
fire.
As I walked to my car after
learning of his loss, I was suddenly
struck with a memory from many years
prior, and it felt like
it was happening again in that
moment.
It was the table slap at
a task force hearing in Wauwatosa.
Jonathan served on the speaker's
task force on suicide prevention,
and because it was meeting in my
district, I was invited.
I was sitting next to Representative
Brostoff.
Suddenly the room shook.
I jumped.
I was stunned.
Representative Brostoff had just
slapped the table and yelled that we
were not doing enough.
He was furious.
and I felt it in my body.
And my first memory of
Jonathan after he died was of
that slap to the table,
that we had not done
enough.
We all know Jonathan's fire.
And I imagine that's what
many of us thought of when
we first lost him.
His fight, his fire,
his clear articulation
of where he was on an issue.
His relentless push on
the issues that mattered to him.
That fire.
I sat behind Jonathan on the
floor here.
And when he spoke, I'd
watch the back of his head.
I'd watch his hands in the
air and I'd
look down at his feet.
His suit pants, puddled around
his running shoes.
Classic Jonathan.
Suit on the top, running shoes
on the bottom, maybe more
obviously signaling his energy,
and more quietly communicating
humility.
There was a humility and a
gentleness to Jonathan that I do
wanna take a minute to mention.
When I first joined the legislature,
I was working on a piece of
legislation that I thought was
a good idea.
I took it to Jonathan to review
because it was an area of expertise
for him.
He didn't like it, but he
didn't tell me that.
Instead, he used it as an
opportunity to teach me, and
he did it in the most respectful
and dignified and patient
way.
He never told me he didn't like it.
Instead, he asked if I was willing
to have conversations and meetings
on it.
And I said yes, and he
set them up, and he
attended.
He circled up voices to share their
thoughts. No one opposed me, but
instead they shared their
perspectives.
This went on for months, and
he'd check in with me periodically.
Eventually I realized my
proposal wasn't so good after all,
and I dropped it.
And there was no celebration from
Jonathan or I told you so there was
instead just movement forward and
life moved on.
and I had learned a lot about
how to ask the right people
questions when writing new
legislation.
And I had learned how to treat
a colleague who was writing
legislation that I disagreed
with, with dignity,
respect, and humility.
I hope I do a good job remembering
that and how I live my life
as a legislator.
I wore my running shoes
today with my suit
to honor Jonathan.
I am here standing
and speaking and thinking about
how he used to stand right
there.
I am so deeply sad
that he's gone.
And I am so deeply grateful
for what I learned from
Representative Brostoff.
May his memory be a blessing,
complete with his humility and
his Jonathan Brostoff fire.
The gentleman from the 10th.
Jonathan Brostoff,
who was called J Bro by some
of his closest friends,
Honey Badger by others,
and often called the Giant Slayer by
me when he did something
systematically dope.
was a friend I was honored to
have in my life for almost 12 years.
When we met, I was 16
years old.
And he was running for office
alongside my predecessor,
David Bowen.
They, you know, had very successful
bids for assembly
through their own determination and
discipline.
As I got to know Jonathan Moore,
I realized how much of a goofball
and nerd he was, just
like me.
We had many conversations about
video games, comic
books, new music that
dropped, and he
taught me how to play Magic the
Gathering.
and then later went on to give me my
first deck that I still have
at home.
And then I quickly learned how
legendary of a player he was in
that game as well, when he
bust me three times in
a row, then said, learn,
and play me again sometime.
As I transitioned into adulthood,
I got to see Jonathan show up in
solidarity in movement
spaces, when the
Sherman Park incident happened in
Milwaukee.
We spent many weeks
showing up alongside community
members in defense of black lives
and young people who wanted to use
their park in their community.
His camaraderie in the movement
eventually led to
him getting arrested.
And he would consistently tell me
this story like
I wasn't there, but I
loved to hear it every time.
It always felt like it was a new
experience.
He told me that he gave,
he attempted to give the officer
that arrested him a piece of gum,
specifically extra gum because he
was being so extra.
I tell these stories to share
two lessons,
well more than two lessons that
Jonathan taught me through our
friendship, that he would
consistently vocalize to
me, whether it be through a
630 a.m.
text message or phone call or a
10 p.m.
phone call or
just a random text of his kids
doing all
the things.
The first lesson was this,
life is a beautiful struggle,
which he always told me when I was
feeling stressed.
When I asked him what he meant
when he told me this,
he explained to me that while life
presents challenges and
difficulties, these struggles
are ultimately what makes life
meaningful and
would lead to
personal growth and fulfillment.
Secondly, he would say...
He told me many stories about how he
held so many folks
accountable, his colleagues,
the governor,
all folks.
He was not afraid of anyone.
And that lesson that
he taught me through all of these
stories was don't start none,
won't be none.
And lastly,
the last lesson
he taught me.
was to hold our friends close.
Jonathan always brought people
together.
Whether that was, you
know, at his house at a bonfire
or showing up at
someone's event and telling, you
know, calling and texting a friend
and saying, hey, come to this thing
real quick.
I want you to meet this person.
Or whether it was at his Seder
dinner, which I got to
experience for the first time.
last year in April.
He was a bridge builder.
He had a very great
family.
And he, by his family,
I mean that all the people that he
built relationships with were his
family, not just
his friends.
And he somehow figured
out how to make time for everyone.
You heard all these folks who said,
You know, they'd call him at 6 a.m.,
7 a.m.
in the evenings, and he'd always
call at the right time.
When you felt the lowest, I don't
know what kind of magic he had,
but he knew to
call you at the right time.
And I really miss my friend.
Other folks have been speaking, I've
dropped tears.
And so on.
Because I know that he
would be so happy to hear the
stories that he's told us,
shared with people today.
And then he'd always end the
conversation with saying bless up.
Which was his way of saying
solidarity.
stay well, and
so on.
So thank you,
Phyllis.
Thank you, Diana.
Thank you as well for
sharing your son with us
and walking so many folks
into your family.
More members have popped into the
queue, so I would just ask as brief
as we could be while being
respectful, that would be great.
So lady from the 23rd.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Jonathan holds a special place in
my heart because he was the first
person who suggested that
I run for office.
I wasn't his constituent.
I didn't even know him very well,
but he took the time
to invest his time
in me and he
would give me advice and he
would take the
opportunity to help
me understand what happens in
the legislature which is no
easy task.
Sometime but but he cared and
he spent his time with me after
I was elected. He would always call
and check in morning
If it was a random call at a random
time, my husband would be like, is
that Jonathan?
It usually was.
But he had a passion for bettering
his community and a dedication
to public service and a deep
love for friends and
family. And even if you only knew
him for a short amount of time, you
felt like he was your friend because
he invested in
you.
Permission to read from a printed
document?
Without objection.
This is a letter from Jonathan's
family who is here today.
Dear members, we want to thank the
Wisconsin Legislature for today
honoring the memory of our husband
and son, Jonathan Brostoff.
Many of you worked with and remember
him, and that on November 4th,
2024, he took his own life
with a gun he had purchased only
one hour earlier.
In October 2019, and while in
public office, Jonathan discussed
his mental health struggles in an
op-ed published in the Wisconsin
State Journal. and urban Milwaukee,
reflected on his attempt as a teen
to take his own life.
And Jonathan said, for people
contemplating suicide, access
to a firearm is like having your own
personal and permanent delete
button.
And let me tell you, having the
power to use that delete button at
your absolute lowest moments,
when thoughts don't make sense and
when column-structured thinking is
no longer part of the equation,
is not something that anyone facing
those types struggles is equipped to
handle.
As difficult as it is to share, I
can confidently say that if I
had a gun all those years ago, I
would not be here today.
Our family believes that had
Jonathan been required to wait
perhaps a day or two after entering
the gun store last November to make
that purchase, his life may have
been spared.
And so now, in the interest of
saving other lives, at risk
for mental health issues, domestic
violence, or other circumstances.
It is our hope that you find the
collective will to reinstate a
reasonable waiting period for
finalizing gun purchases,
doing that would enhance your
thoughtful and kind honoring of
his memory today.
With our thanks and appreciation,
Diana Vang Brostoff and
Phyllis and Alan Brostoff.
Jonathan always had the guts to
say what needed to be said.
He didn't care if it made him
unpopular or if it made other people
uncomfortable.
He stood up for what was right with
the courage of his convictions.
And I wholeheartedly urge all
of you here to follow his example
and do the same.
Gentleman from the 64th.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
And I know that we have
a busy day ahead of us.
So I promise to be brief.
But I do want to take a moment and
pause and give some
comments on a former
colleague and my friend, Jonathan
Brostoff.
Jonathan and I were not
instant friends.
It took us several years, I think,
to warm up to each other.
But he was a very blunt person.
And he was very honest in what he
thought. And once he became
friends with somebody, there were
two things that I think happened.
The first is that he would be an
advocate for that person in any room
he walked into.
And the second is that he would urge
that person to always do more
and be better.
And he did the latter one an awful
lot for me.
He was frequently urging me,
I think people have discussed quite
at length about the phone calls that
he would give at odd hours,
sometimes inappropriate hours.
He would frequently do that, and
sometimes, even when you'd agree
with him, he would call back a
second time if he had forgotten to
make a point,
even after I had joined
in his sentiments.
He was a passionate advocate for the
vulnerable in our community, and
he will be missed greatly.
And he always never hesitated
to remind us that we all
do better when we all do better.
He will be missed.
Thank you.
An adaption of AJR 18, lady from the
78.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
I, like so many people in this
chamber today, had the
privilege of knowing former
representative Brostoff as
not only a colleague, but also
as a friend.
When I was first sworn in the
legislature in 2019,
my office was right next
door to former representative
Brostoff's office in
the West Wing.
We know things happen in the West
Wing.
No matter where my office moved in
the Capitol, Jonathan was
always my neighbor.
He once told me that he liked
staying on the ground floor because
he wanted to be by the
new legislators so he can guide
us and give us help if we
needed it.
Jonathan was like a coach in that
way. If you had a difference of an
opinion, even if he disagreed
with you, he would still be
there to check in on you and to
cheer you on.
I will forever remember Jonathan
for his passion and his
tenacity as a legislator.
for the heart that he had for
people.
In 2019, former state representative
Brostoff asked for my support
to sign on his
sign language interpreter licensing
bill which sought to reform
licensing standards for
interpreters and address Wisconsin
sign language and interpreters
shortage.
And I was new to the legislature,
I had no idea what this bill did,
but he begged me, Sheila, please
sign onto this bill because I want
to cut my hair.
And so I did, because I wanted him
to get a haircut.
But Jonathan did more than just talk
the talk. He actually walked the
walk. And I made sure
that he helped get his bill to
the governor's office.
And Jonathan was a fierce advocate
for the deaf in the hard-hearing
community.
And once he had his mind made up on
something, you already know that
he was going to stand his
firm ground.
In 2019, in July,
our friend, and former
representative Prostoff.
finally got his bill signed into
law. Thank you, Governor Tony Ebers,
and got his haircut in celebration
of the victory.
That is how we remember my colleague
and my friend as an advocate,
as a voice for his constituents,
as a fighter.
It is my honor to say that I
deeply miss him, and
I last spoke with Jonathan this
summer, and in the
words of Jonathan Brostoff,
keep fighting and don't give up.
Gentlemen from the 25th.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
Diana and family, I'm
so sorry for your loss.
Jonathan was a friend,
a colleague.
He was also a deeply spiritual
person.
He attended Bible study that
we had on Wednesday mornings here at
the Capitol.
And first he asked me, he goes,
well, is that okay if I attend, I'm
Jewish. And I go, yeah, I worship
a Jewish man.
So, Jesus, in
case you don't get it.
So anyhow, but it
was always, he always added to the
conversation.
Just Jew or Gentile, we
had good spiritual conversations.
I didn't know as much about his
struggles with mental health.
I wish I did, but
one in five people in Wisconsin
are affected by mental health.
That doesn't mean one in five people
have mental health problems,
but they're affected by it.
A family.
There's a whole family affected by
mental health right now, hit in our
chambers.
You might be going through
something, maybe you're watching
this.
You don't know where to turn.
Well, there's a couple ways you can
do that. 9-8-8, you can text,
you can chat, you can call.
And because I don't think,
if Jonathan were here, I don't think
he would want anybody to be
going through this.
I think he'd say, get some help.
I'm sorry that he had to feel so
desperate that he couldn't.
We as fellow humans,
we have to reach out to our friends
and help them to understand that
there is help available
and not let that happen again.
With that, the vote is green.
Final speaker, the lady from the
11th.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I absolutely didn't want to speak
because I felt like it would put me
in a very vulnerable situation.
Diana, to the parents,
those of us who know JoBro.
Most people say Jonathan, but if you
say JoBro, that means you know
JoBro.
I can just remember them many times.
We eat kids, birthday parties,
bonfires.
phone calls, real conversations.
I knew JoBro even before
even thinking about running for
office.
There was a lot of late nights that
we would spend together just as
families, eating, talking.
And I remember when I was running
for office and we was just in the
middle of a meal.
I wanna say we was by one
of the Senator's houses and in the
middle of him eating, he was like,
give me your spill.
And I was like, what?
He was like, give me your spill.
You wanna run for office?
Give me your spill.
And so, you know, I was like,
right now he was like, yeah, yeah,
yeah, that's how it's gonna happen.
Somebody's gonna come up to you, ask
you what you're running for, what
you're running on, and you have to
be ready, right?
And so, you know, I went through my
little spill and he took a moment
and he looked at me.
He was like, you'll be good,
right? And then he was like, next
time somebody asks you this, though,
I want you to be able to say this in
30 seconds flat, right?
And that was just him.
He was always a straight shooter.
You never had to worry about a gray
area with Joe, bro, because there
was no gray area with him.
It was either black or
it was absolutely white.
There is no in-between, and I love
him for that.
As we talk about all of the things
that he has done, I want people to
remember that his love for his
community, his love for his family,
his babies, I look at those pictures
like every week.
If you are really close to him, you
will get a picture out of nowhere.
It can be 11 p.m.
at night, and he'll be like, look
what they're doing, and you're like,
okay, Joe, bro, that's cute, it's
late, right?
But that's just who he was,
and who I will remember him to be.
We talk about a lot of things, but I
think we often have to talk about
those that are closest to us,
remembering who they are in spite
of what they went through, but also
to continue to fight of
what they advocated for.
A lot of times, we get up and say a
lot of great things, and we go on
about our life.
but he still has a family and
babies. And not to put a
lot of pressure on anyone else, but
please make sure we stay in touch
with them because Joe, bro, if it
was us, he would stay in touch with
us. And so I thank you for just
having to lean in seat and I
absolutely need to sit down.
Question before the body is adoption
of assembly joint resolution 18.
All those assembly members in
favor of adoption, please rise for
a moment of silence.
The joint resolution is adopted.
Gentlemen from the 31st.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.
I now misconsent the rules be
suspended and AJR 18 be immediately
a message to the Senate.
Chairman, from the 31st ask
unanimous consent that the rules be
suspended in assembly joint
resolution 18 be immediately met
with the Senate. Is there any objection?
Hearing none, the joint resolution
is in the Senate.
While today is not a joint
convention, as you could tell
by the action that we just took,
which is not normal
during a joint convention,
I do wanna recognize that we are
joined by members of our Supreme
Court, Governor Evers, members of
the constitutional officers for
our state. and by members of the
State Senate. So welcome all to
our address.
As we begin, I'd like to call
forward Thomas Fowler, who's
chairman of the St. Croix Chippewa
Indians of Wisconsin, who will
address our members.
Hello and
welcome, my name is Thomas
Fowler.
My Anishinaabe name was
given to me by Gladys Bearhart.
It translates
to Chief sitting
on the mountain.
I am humbly honored to
spend this time with you today on
behalf of Wisconsin's tribal nations
and as the chairman of the
St. Croix Chippewa Indians of
Wisconsin.
First I want to say thank you to my
family, my wife Melissa.
I want to say thank you to my
children, Arianna,
Hunter, Nova,
Naya, Anakee,
Koya, and Myla Merle.
Will you please stand?
My heart has grown bigger
with each of you, and without
a doubt, I would not
be the person I am today without
each and every one of you.
Looking back, I remember
when David Mobbin-Merle,
the chairman of the San Croix tribe
at the time, brought myself
and his son, Mai Niji,
to this very place, the state
of the tribe's address.
They say that it takes a village to
raise a child.
But mobbing was that village.
And it feels surreal to be back here
in this very place, now
as the chairman of the St. Croix
Tribe, giving the
2025 State of the Tribes Address.
I wanna take a minute to thank my
parents for teaching me to
always stand my ground for
what I believe in, even
when it is met with opposition.
I wanna thank my grandmothers,
Dolores Chouise Rogers and
Eileen Miscobanesi.
for teaching me to respect my fellow
Anishinaabe people,
especially to respect women.
I want to thank my ceremonial
family, my mentors,
and my boss ladies.
You know who each of you are.
The support you have given me really
does mean the world to me, and
I am so grateful to have each and
every one of you in my life.
It is an immense privilege
to have been chosen to speak today
on behalf of Wisconsin's tribal
nations at
the 21st
annual State of the Tribes.
Chi-mi Gwich, thank
you in our Ojibwe language to
Governor Evers, Lieutenant
Governor Rodriguez,
Speaker Voss,
Senate President Falkowski,
Senate Majority Leader
Lamahuyo.
I hope I got that right.
Senate Senate Minority Leader
Hasselbein and
members of the Senate Assembly
Majority Leader
August Assembly Minority
Leader Neubauer and
members of the Assembly our
local representatives Senator
Romaine Quinn Senator
Rob Staff Schulte
Representative Dave Armstrong
representative Duke Tucker
representative Bob cry
back Constitutional
officers, cabinet secretaries,
justice of the Wisconsin Supreme
Court, special
thanks to Wisconsin Tribal
Judges Association, who would
like to take a moment to express
gratitude to the Wisconsin
legislator for extending the
same protections afforded to
Wisconsin Circuit Court
and appellate judges
to tribal judges.
Tribal courts play a vital role for
many things.
The protocols for WICWA,
discretionary
transfers of child support
enforcement and collections,
healing to wellness courts,
and peacemaking mediations are
all examples of justice traditions
they have upheld.
At this time, I would like to
recognize my fellow Tribal Nation
leaders for entrusting me with this
great responsibility.
When I say your name,
please rise and be acknowledged.
Bad River Band of Lake Superior,
Chippewa, Chairman Robert Blanchard.
All right.
Forest County Potawatomi Community
Chairman James Crawford.
Uh-huh. Uh-huh.
Ho-Chunk Nation, President John
Green Deer.
Likudere, band of Lake Superior
Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin,
Chairman Louis Taylor.
Lac du Flambeau Band, Lake Superior
Chippewa Indians, President John
Johnson.
Menominee, Indian Tribe of
Wisconsin, Chairman Joey Awanapie.
Chicago and Chippewa Community,
Mowlake Band of Lake Superior,
Chippewa, Chairman Robert Van
Zyl.
Oneida Nation Chairman Tassie
Hill.
Mesquabacan, Red Cliff Band of Lake
Superior Chippewa, Chairman Nicole
Boyd.
Stockbridge Muncie Community Band of
Mohican Indians, President Shannon
Halsey.
Chief Executive Officer of the Great
Lakes Inter-Tribal Council, Brian
Bainbridge.
I'd also like to acknowledge
my fellow St. Croix Chippewa Indians
of Wisconsin Tribal
Council members, Bernice
Taylor.
Conrad St. John.
Rick Benjamin.
in Georgia Colbany.
It is no easy task to
lead a nation.
It takes ambition, devotion,
dedication, time away from
your families, and more often than
not, really, really thick skin.
The work you are all doing is
inspiring, and I thank each and
every one of you for your
contributions.
Chi-miigwech.
I cannot continue this speech
without giving a special mention of
thanks to St. Croix's
Intergovernmental Affairs
Specialist, Mike DeCora and
Peter LeBlanc.
Mike and Peter LeBlanc, each
contributing 20-plus years
of service to our tribe.
Together, Mike and Pete reformed the
Chippewa Federation, which is once
again active with 16-member
tribes from Wisconsin, Minnesota,
and Michigan.
Their contributions here in Madison
and at home have made St.
Croix and Indian Country better.
Finally, Chi Miigwetch,
our St. Croix tribal elders,
our St. Croix royalty, youth
council, drummers and singers.
veterans, friends, relatives,
guests, and all others watching at
home.
Today's gathering is proof of the
strong relationship that exists
between tribal nations in
greater Wisconsin.
We are the legacy of all
negotiations that came before us
and as an Anishinaabe person,
my grandparents, great-grandparents,
and ancestors knew that a positive
relationship between tribes.
and the state and federal
governments could only strengthen
our communities.
Our similarities, differences,
values, expertise, and culture
and tradition enrich each other's
lives.
Our government-to-government
relationship is forever
transforming, and the work we do
together contributes to shape
our communities for everyone's
benefit.
Wisconsin is home to 11 sovereign
tribal nations.
The 2015 census
data estimated around 5.2
million people in the United States
identify as American Indians
and Alaskan Natives,
with an estimation of around 86,000
tribal members residing Wisconsin
alone.
Tribal nations entered into treaties
with the federal government in
1837,
1842,
1847, and 1854
which established Wisconsin's
reservations and territories in
exchange for thousands of miles of
our historical homelands and
began the trust relationship between
the federal government
and tribes.
Today, this trust relationship
certifies tribal sovereignty and
the inherent authority of indigenous
tribes to govern ourselves and
manage our own affairs.
It acknowledges that Native
American tribes are distinct
self-governing entities with
their own legal and political
systems, separate from
state and federal governments.
This trust relationship also
obligates the protection and
regulation of tribal lands and
natural resources.
education in health care.
Health care services are provided to
our members through Indian Health
Service and Tribal-run health
programs.
Trust responsibilities to tribes
require the U.S.
government to uphold its commitment
in providing services
to our people.
Treaty rights have been reaffirmed
by various court rulings, including
the landmark Voigt decision in 1983,
which upheld Ojibwe off-reservation
hunting. and fishing rights in
northern Wisconsin.
Tribal nations each have their own
governments, languages,
stories, traditions, values,
beliefs, and ceremonies.
We operate our own healthcare
facilities, law enforcement
agencies, educational systems,
social services, and more.
Our tribal people are both citizens
of the United States and members
of their own sovereign nations.
And we are very proud of this.
Our love for our country and
our homelands is intertwined in
every part of our being.
So much so, that at the forefront
of our important celebrations,
powwows, and gatherings,
our veterans lead the
way, carrying not only our tribal
nation's staffs, but the American
flag first and foremost.
There is no other being more
patriotic than our Ogichidok
and our Ogichidok way.
Our warriors, both men and women,
American Indians and Alaskan Natives
served in the armed forces at
five times the national average and
have the highest rate per capita
serving than any other nationality
in the United States.
American Indians and Alaska Natives
have served alongside patriots
with distinction in every major
conflict for over 200 years.
Our tribal members, our
tribal members throughout history
take great pride and honor in
serving and protecting the United
States.
Wisconsin is home to an estimated
2,800 Native American veterans.
Chi miigwetch to our warriors who
have bravely defended our country
and our homelands and
who continue to defend our
way of life.
I would like to recognize those
carrying our flags today.
TVSO, Eagle Staff, Jeff
Taylor, U.S.
Marines, Desert Storm, Wisconsin
Tribal Veterans Service Have a seat.
St. Croix Eagle Staff, Bruce
Taylor, U.S.
Army, Vietnam, and Germany.
The United States flag,
Kylie Lightfeather, U.S.
Army Reserves, active.
St. Croix flag,
Annie Holmes, U.S.
Air Force, retired with 20 years of
service.
In Wisconsin's flag,
Georgia Cobanese Army Reserves.
And carrying in our POW flag,
Petty Edwards, U.S.
Army, peacetime.
At St. Croix, we strive to
demonstrate the same
bravery that exists amongst our
warriors by continuingly
seeking solutions that defend and
reassert our sovereignty as a nation
and by securing our most
valuable assets,
our elders and our children.
Near the end of 2023,
the St. Croix tribal government held
a historical secretarial
election which removed the Bureau of
Indian Affairs oversight of our
constitutional process.
This removal, consistent
with the government's desire to drop
the parental oversight of our
sovereign nation while also
supporting true self-governance.
The secretarial election also
removed our
tribe the opportunity to remove
blood quantum requirements for
tribal members and
move St. Croix to lineal
descendancy, meaning Eligibility
to become a tribal member is
now based on if a parent is
a member.
The election results were certified
by the BIA on December 15th,
2023.
Our enrollment department and
enrollment committee have spent the
last year enrolling 765
descendants into the St. Croix
Tribe.
In doing so, providing them
with greater opportunities and
services.
Moving our relatives from
descendants to tribal members has
allowed our people to explore their
identities and learn and participate
in various cultural practices,
exercise treaty rights for fishing,
hunting, and harvesting,
and increase youth opportunities
so our children can learn to be
proud of where they come from.
Our tribe, like
many others, face the
possibility of extinction prior to
the elimination of blood quantum.
With lineal descendancy,
we are no longer measuring who
we are by the amount of
Indian blood we have.
We are St. Croix because of
our ancestors, because of
who came before us.
This decision to remove blood
quantum requirements for enrollment
ensures our sovereignty continues
on forever.
Sovereignty and strong
intergovernmental relationships are
always focal for our tribal leaders.
While our country experiences many
new changes as our newly elected
president and federal administration
transitions in, it
is important that we continue to
distinguish and differentiate this
sovereignty from ethnicity.
The Wisconsin Department of
Administration Division of
Intergovernmental Relations,
State Tribal Relations, describes it
best.
Tribal members are not racial
minorities.
We are citizens of our own tribal
nations.
To speak to citizens of
tribal governments as a minority is
insulting and inappropriate.
These protocols go on to explain
Native Americans have had strained
relationships with governments due
to lack of follow-through.
appropriate respect,
and broken promises.
Be mindful of this fact when
working with tribal governments.
This verbiage speaks volumes to
the government to government
relationship, which has grown
and strengthened between tribal
nations and the state of Wisconsin
in the past 180-plus
years.
Chimi gwitch to our present,
tribal and state leaders who have
had a hand in negotiating.
in good faith to make good things
happen for our people in this
great state.
And while we discuss good faith,
it is no secret that there is some
uneasiness surrounding the recent
changes at the federal government
level and what this may mean
for tribes and our people.
I think it is important not to dwell
in uncertainties.
The truth is that we have navigated
through some great administrations
throughout history who worked hard
to uphold treaties and
responsibilities and sought to
strengthen relationships with
tribes.
We also have experienced
some administrations that did quite
poorly at best.
We've always had and will continue
to have experienced lawyers,
advocates, organizations,
councils, politicians, and allies
working tirelessly within and
alongside tribes to defend and
propel tribal rights and sovereignty
forward.
We are strong, cohesive,
proud, intelligent, hard-working
people.
We will continue to be there for
each other.
Be there for your elders.
Help raise your tribal community's
youth. Offer your sema.
your tobacco.
There's a story that the Anishinaabe
tell about the Magizi,
the eagle, and why he is
such a revered and respected being.
I won't tell that full story here
today, but in that
story it is said that if one Magizi
sees just one Anishinaabe still
offering their tobacco and
giving thanks, that our
Creator will recognize that
and take pity upon all of us.
So offer your tobacco.
Give thanks for all that we have.
And if you had not had a chance to
hear that story, I
would encourage you to offer tobacco
to an elder in your community who
can tell it to you, because
it is really a beautiful story.
As indigenous people,
we believe in a collective
responsibility to one another.
We provide our people in many ways.
I believe all of us in this room
want the same things,
financial security,
love and happiness.
Most of us want that for
other people as well.
I think that is why you all ran for
public office, because you
want those same things for others
as well.
Governor Evers has repeatedly
acknowledged the importance of
respecting tribal nation sovereignty
and has committed to empowering
tribes to manage their own affairs
and resources and by
ensuring native communities are
guaranteed the resources they need
to promote self-governance
Fully reason for fully realizing
tribal sovereignty and
self-governance is is
possible and tribal nations
are eager to contribute or
continue. to work with
administrations to move closer to
that full realization.
Tribal nations seek common-sense
policy reforms that strengthen
our ability to govern and
protect our own people and preserve
our own cultures and
control our own lands and resources
within our own boundaries.
Because tribes are not children
of the government.
Wisconsin Act 31 mandates schools
to teach about Native American
history, culture, and
sovereignty.
The inception of Act 31 stemmed
from the violent controversy over
our Ojibwe rights to spearfish
in the 1980s,
as acknowledged in the Voigt
decision.
These were the days of the Walleye
Wars.
Save a Walleye, spear an
Indian. Well, we remain
grateful for the lawmakers who
36 years ago propelled this
bill forward.
and mandated education on
Anishinaabe practices, we
want more.
We fear returning to a public
education environment without Native
American history and teachings.
Act 31 is not enough.
It truthfully has never been enough.
Our neighbors do not know about the
ceded territory, our treaty rights,
our sovereignty.
I thank Governor Evers for
taking time to bring his cabinet.
members to St. Croix at the end
of 2024 for the cultural
sensitivity training on these very
topics, with staff from
the Great Lakes Indian Fish and
Wildlife Commission.
Your commitment to understanding
and collaborating with our people
has never gone unnoticed.
And I applaud you, Mr. Ebers.
It has always been the
tribe's position that Native
American history needs to be taught
in our public school systems.
We ask this body to
collaborate further on Indian
education at all levels.
We thank the University of Wisconsin
at Madison for bringing free tuition
to enrolled tribal members.
We ask it now be expanded
through Governor Evers' budget
to include full tuition waivers
that other UW campuses.
closer to those of us in rural
Indian country.
St. Croix is in
an educational desert,
and our kids won't all find success
moving so far from home,
away from their support systems
and culture.
We also ask for more support for
tribal universities in Wisconsin,
like LeCoultre's Ojibwe
University and the College of
Menominee Nation.
Investing in investing in both
UW campuses and tribal higher
education supports tribes and
our students and ultimately
changes lives Our
kids sometimes struggle with walking
in two entirely different worlds
We ask that this
body supports legislation that
serves our students like
a B 998
SB 8 5 so that
school boards and charter schools
don't don't it prohibit
American Indian students from
wearing traditional regalia at a
graduation ceremony.
It's time to get going.
It's your time to get going.
We also ask, or
we also seek support for the bill SB
87, which gives tribes more
discretion over tribal teacher
licensing and removes barriers
for qualified tribal teachers
and American Indian
language educators.
We need to protect.
We need to continue to protect our
students' education by also passing
AB 101,
SB 89, which will
require that each school district
reports the number of ages and
tribal affiliations of American
Indian children attending the
schools or the school district.
In December 2024,
the US Senate took a historical
step by passing the
Truth and Healing Commission on
boarding school policies.
Act of 2023,
which, with unanimous consent,
the U.S. House of Representatives
received a bill on December 20,
2024, where
it continues to sit.
This act seeks to
uncover the U.S.
government's role in Indian boarding
school systems.
It will also deliver research
and examine the long-term effects on
Native American communities
so that pathways towards
healing can be identified.
This act is critical for our
communities.
The tragedy of boarding schools
requires remembrance so
that the spirits of our ancestors
are not lost or forgotten.
We have a duty to afford
them dignity and respect,
to address the loss they suffered,
oftentimes while being alone.
We respectfully ask this
body to help propel the S-1723
bill forward.
I recognize that
not all the people in this room are
responsible for those detrimental
past policies.
But each of us have an opportunity
and, quite frankly,
an obligation to ensure that
history never repeats itself.
We need to use this knowledge to
understand and improve the quality
of our communities.
Our people are descendants of
grandparents or
great-grandparents that were
negatively impacted
by boarding schools.
The loss of our language and
identity throughout our families in
Indian country is immense.
Many of our relatives turn to
self-destructive and unhealthy
activities, including drugs
and violence.
that stress our communities and
overwhelm our systems.
Indian country is overdue
for an honest effort towards
reconciliation.
It is no secret that our
children are up to four times more
likely to be removed from their
homes and placed in foster
care.
Being a foster care parent and
provider and an adoptive parent for
over a decade, I have personally
experienced how boarding schools
disrupt traditional Native
American parenting and
damaged healthy family systems.
We know that trauma affects us
so profoundly.
that it can physically change our
DNA and impact our
future generations.
Our elders today throughout tribal
nations share a similar
story, a memory of
a black car coming down their
driveway and the children
scattering into the woods to hide
so they wouldn't be taken away
from their families.
Like so many others,
I hold our language close to my
heart.
We are reclaiming our ability
to speak are
Ojibwe Moan.
Since colonization,
traditional languages have been
lost.
Many of our Anishinaabe
relatives, including my own
grandparents, were forced into
boarding schools and were not
allowed to speak Ojibwe Moan.
While our language may be
currently on life support,
Ojibwe Moan has no
borders, no walls,
and through revitalization,
it will have no.
No Limits.
A collaborative effort from
our tribes to fund language
revitalization has begun.
Establishing funding has us
trending in the right direction to
find ways to build our vocabulary
back and to be taught words
we never heard while surviving
through intricate and abusive
oppression.
Preservation of our language is so
important to see so
many of us.
I personally look forward.
to our youth cataloging our
elders speaking Ojibwe Moen
and sharing those lessons with
the world.
We have never been so closer
to this dream where we are now
with the Flexible Facilities Grant
program.
I believe I speak for everyone
in St. Croix when I say we
express our gratitude, our
immense gratitude to Governor Evers
and the Wisconsin
Department of Administration.
for the grant award of $4.25
million to assist in the
expansion of our public library
and our community center and our
Sand Lake community.
The facility.
The facility will reduce barriers to
crucial services for our people,
including providing cultural
connection, economic advancement,
and educational opportunities.
The facility will be a multi-purpose
building and include an elder
center, language and music
preservation studio, and six
classrooms. Chi-miigwetch
to Governor Evers.
I ask that we all collectively
continue investing in
revitalization of our
Ojibwe Moen.
Not just momentarily, not just
monetarily, but with your
time, your attention and
your people.
In the summer of 2023, the
St. Croix Nation updated our road
signs to include the Ojibwe words
for our communities.
I know many others have done this
as well.
New facilities across Indian
country are being constructed with
dual language signage throughout.
Language revitalization is also
growing in Red Cliff's collaboration
with the Bayfield School District to
teach Ojibwe Moen in their
public school system.
Bed Rivers adult
The Scrabocon.
And also Bad Rivers Adult Immersion
Program and Menominee's
language campus.
The connection to tradition by
using our traditional language in
everyday life is a way to
provide healing in our communities.
I encourage all of us in this room
to push further in our communities
to move into a place of normalized
use of our language amongst
community members.
We have shifted from preservation
to revitalization
to normalization.
Along with our language being
a central value,
indigenous people have gathered
mishkiki and relied on
plant medicines for centuries.
Our archeological evidence suggests
that indigenous peoples were
cultivating and utilizing cannabis
for medical, spiritual,
and practical purposes.
As early practitioners of herbal
medicine, cannabis found its
place among the array of medical
plants. used by indigenous
peoples across the Americas.
From treating pain and inflammation
to addressing spiritual maladies,
the deep knowledge of medicinal
plants, including cannabis,
were passed down through
generations, forming an
intrigue part of our traditional
healing practices, because
Western medicine in the shadow of
prohibition.
In our modern society, our people
are medically predisposed to
numerous afflictions.
We need medical marijuana for
chronic pain management, epilepsy,
post-traumatic stress, and
addiction.
Addiction has left no
family untouched in Indian
country.
Addiction rates amongst Native
Americans are now four times
higher than national rates.
I've seen firsthand how opioids
and fentanyl can destroy
people and families.
My daughter wrote a poem to
her mom when she was nine
years old.
This is her poem.
I seen baby turtles and
frogs and birds and grasshoppers
and spiders and I smelled bug
spray and trees and leaves
and people and the sun
and ponds and mosquitoes.
They were biting me.
I put bug spray on and
they were still biting me.
So I got so
irritated.
I love you.
She left this poem written on
a small piece of notebook paper at
her mom's grave.
In May 2023,
my daughter's biological mother's
life was taken too
early from an accidental overdose
of this deadly fentanyl.
Naya's story isn't
unique.
Overdoses have nearly wiped out
a generation of our tribal nation's
mothers and fathers.
Through the regulation of medical
marijuana in the state of Wisconsin,
we can work towards moving people
off highly addicted drugs,
drugs which are killing our
people.
Recent data indicates that in the
state, in the state of Wisconsin
where cannabis is not legal,
there is a 25% reduction
in opioid use and overdoses.
As leaders, we have a duty
to protect our citizens from tainted
street drugs.
and to provide our citizens in
Wisconsin with alternative medicines
over deadly and addictive
pharmaceuticals.
A Marquette Law School poll last
year showed that 86%
of Wisconsin registered voters
support medical cannabis
legalization.
The Chippewa Federation, in
partnership with the
Indigenous Cannabis Industry
Association, ICIA,
the Wisconsin Tribal Task Force on
Cannabis, and tribal
nation leaders are here
today in support of the 95
percent of Democrats,
the 84 percent of independents,
and the 78 percent of Republicans
to advocate for the medical
cannabis legalization.
Let's see this forward.
We must now focus our
work on education, reform,
regulation of safe
medical marijuana.
There are so many things
to be proud
of in our tribal communities.
Wisconsin tribal nations are major
employers and economic engines.
In recent data provided by the
American Gaming Association,
In Wisconsin, tribal gaming alone
accounted for over 26,700
jobs, many of
which are located in rural areas,
helping tribal and non-tribal
families alike.
Our 25 gaming facilities accounted
for over $604
million in tax revenue
and tribal revenue share payments
annually for all levels
of government.
Tribes employ thousands of
people.
The St. Croix Casinos offer 400-plus
jobs for entry-level workers who
earn a living, receive health
benefits, and raise a family.
We are the largest employer in
rural Burnett County and one of
the largest employers in rural
Barron County.
Many of our tribal nations are
also some of the largest employers
in their own counties as well.
Money spent in tribal nations
is circulated back into local
communities. grant funds
awarded.
to tribes allow for the hiring of
contractors, consultants, teachers
and more.
The provisions we provide
for our people benefit
others too.
Our local communities and economies
benefit from our presence.
There is a lot of good work being
done in our native communities.
The generosity of
our tribes could be seen clearly
through the COVID pandemic.
Our communities with the help of our
public health professionals.
set up dozens of vaccine clinics,
including mobile vaccine clinics,
which were open and free to the
public.
Our people worked on food
and milk giveaways, often
in poor weather conditions,
which were also open and free to
the public.
Most recently, St. Croix deployed
four public health vending machines
in our largest reservation
communities, Danbury, Sand
Lake, Maple Plain,
and Round Lake.
They are the first of their kind in
rural northwestern Wisconsin,
dispensing 15 unique products
to anyone regardless of tribal
affiliation and at a zero
cost.
The machines dispense Narcan,
Fentanyl and Xylene test
kits, drug disposal bags,
various testing kits,
pregnancy tests, gun cable
locks, AA books,
and smudging kits.
We prioritize this
initiative to provide these products
completely free of charge across
three counties to everyone
because we believe healthy
communities benefit us all.
The partnerships we have developed
along the way with local county
programs and private
companies are a secondary benefit
of this program.
The first and most important benefit
is that these machines
had undoubtedly saved
lives because harm reduction
is public health.
I would be remiss if I failed
to highlight and bring to the
forefront awareness for
missing and murdered indigenous
women and relatives as a public
health crisis.
A 2016 study by the
National Institute of Justice
found that nearly 85
percent of American Indian and
Alaskan Native women have
experienced violence in their
lifetime, including over
54 percent
have experienced sexual violence.
Other reports indicate that there is
no reliable count of just how
many Native women go missing or
are killed each year because
there is not enough adequate
research.
In January, a
San Carlos Apache
teenager, Emily Pike
went missing.
Her remains were found nearly a
month later.
And her remains were found nearly
a month later, more than 80
miles from where she was last
seen.
This is such a tragedy.
Her death in Indian country,
and her death is
felt throughout Indian country, and
our thoughts and prayers are with
her relatives and loved ones.
This is too common for
our people, and it
must stop.
We need
more state.
and federal resources,
we need adequate funding allocated
to serve our understaffed police
departments, more cohesive
law enforcement training,
strengthened alert systems,
increased funding for tribal
programs that provide shelter and
increased mental health resources.
We must do better.
For every one of them,
say their name.
Emily Pike.
I stand here on behalf of my
indigenous friends and relatives to
implore this body to increase water
quality standards in the state of
Wisconsin as well.
We need to improve our standards
of water cleanliness to
better protect our natural
watersheds, which will provide
better protection to Gigoon,
our fish, and Manuman,
our wild rice.
There is an increased lack
of research on the safety of
the use of chemical treatments to
fight invasive species in the water.
The lack of appropriate sulfate
levels in our waters significantly
impacts.
manuman growth.
In order to improve sulfate levels,
the state needs to find ways to
reduce pollutants from accessing
our watersheds.
This involves better regulations
of many things – agricultural
runoff, of chemical
sprays, commercial waste,
road salt.
We are blessed to live next
to Gitchi Gami, our
Great Lakes.
Fresh water is
available now is valuable now.
but it will be more valuable in the
future.
The natural world has always been
central to our existence as
indigenous people, but
our environment faces numerous
threats including pollution,
climate change, and habitat loss.
Our partnership with the state and
the protection and stewardship of
our lands has never been more
important.
The challenges are too vast to
tackle alone.
We must unify to secure the
highest level of environmental
protection possible.
St. Croix has committed to clean
energy through a partnership
with the federal government on
a $4.5 million solar
project.
This initiative is fundamental
to our community and our way
of life. Our
greatest asset is something
we can all work together to
save a collective goal.
This is why it feels so
disheartening to see another oil
spill.
the DNR investigation of
a 69,000 gallon
Enbridge Line 6
leak in December of 2024.
Tribes have never been silent on
their concern of the environmental
hazards that come with pipelines.
Our lands and waterways are at risk,
putting our food, water,
medicine, cultural practices at
risk too.
The protection and preservation of
our environment and the natural
resources that have sustained our
people for generations remains
a priority.
We have a responsibility to
ensure clean environmental
protection for
our next seven generations.
Yeah.
One of St. Croix's most revered
elders and
previous tribal chairman for
many years journeyed home
last year.
His name was Louis Jean-Louis
Taylor.
Louis represented St. Croix
for 38 years on tribal
council.
He gave this speech in
2010.
Louis helped pave the way for
gaming exclusivity across
Wisconsin's Indian country.
He stood firmly on tribal
sovereignty and treaty rights.
He was a member of the Great Lakes
Indian Fish and Wildlife Committee,
and at one time, served as
chairman for the Great Lakes
Inter-Tribal Council.
All the things you see around
us, Lewis had a
hand in them.
I would like to take a moment to
recognize Mr. Taylor for all his
contributions, not just for
St. Croix.
but throughout Indian country and
our great state.
I also cannot close this speech
without recognizing two
additional elders whose
absence has been
an incredible loss for our
communities,
Jean Vashkeke Sangate
from
our Danbury community and
Eileen Muscobanesi,
little pipe skin away from our Round
Lake community.
Both Jean and Ms.
Kobaneshi were not just leaders.
but shining examples of the strength
and resilience of our culture and
communities.
As Indigenous men, we
cannot nurture the world like
our women can.
This is why it's so important to
respect our mothers,
grandmothers, sisters and
aunties.
Now more than ever it is essential
to have strong and
supportive and state
relations.
When we support each other,
we build a better and stronger
Wisconsin for all.
Our 11 tribal nations and
Wisconsin can stand in solidarity
to overcome critical issues.
This begins with honored history.
Wisconsin's collaborative
relationship with tribal nations can
be an example the entire nation
can look up to.
The Chippewa Federation and its
member tribes Thanks for watching!
believe we are stronger when we
stand together.
And I am here today to ask that
you remember going into this new
session, we
are all better when
we are working together.
When you take positions on bills,
please continue to
respect tribes
and our Anishinaabe people.
Wisconsin is our homeland.
We all want to represent Wisconsin
well.
and for the best interest of all
residents,
our veterans, our elders, our
youth, families, and community
members.
Because when Wisconsin is at its
best, we all
win.
Chi-miigwetch.
Visit Adalia.
Thank you all.
Uh-huh.
And I just want to say one more
thing.
To all my indigenous brothers and
sisters out there,
we are
not broken, we are
strong, and
we will continue to rise.
Miigwech.
And if some of you are up for it,
we're going to sing a couple of
powwow songs out there in the middle
of the Capitol there.
And you should come dance with us.
I'm gonna leave now.
Bye.