Cass Lake Inauguration Celebration

The mood was festive last night at the NorthStar Coffee Bar in Cass Lake, as 40 or 50 people joined millions of others around the nation for an inaugural celebration. The event, on Leech Lake Reservation, featured a potluck dinner of roast turkey, wild rice, squash, noodles, sandwiches, ice cream and cake. There were friendly greetings, animated conversation, a variety of Obama tee shirts, a 16-foot TV screen connecting participants with their peers in Washington DC, an “Obama Conga” line, music, stories and poetry.

Sharon Enjay-Mitchell brought her grandchildren to the event and took the microphone to share a story about her own grandmother, who lived to be over 100 years old. “When I was 16 she told me that a Black man would be president of the United States. I asked her how she knew that and she said she saw it in a dream.” Sharon said that she normally doesn’t force the children to attend events but she wanted them to be part of this one. “It’s history,” she said.

Greg Chester described his emotions as he talked to his son, who had gone to Washington DC with friends to take part in the inauguration, on the cell phone. “I unexpectedly found myself getting choked up,” he said. Local physician Diane Pitman bought a round of drinks from the coffee bar. An elementary student circulated through the crowd with a video camera, taping people’s reactions to the inauguration.

Unlike many other inaugural celebrations, this event was organized online by members of the Cass Lake/Leech Lake e-Democracy forum, a web- and email-based discussion group for local issues that has recently formed in the community. Forum member Patty Smith suggested the gathering in a posting to the list, and the suggestion blossomed into an event.

You can follow this link to join the Cass Lake forum: http://forums.e-democracy.org/groups/cl/

To see more photographs from this event, follow this link: http://picasaweb.google.com/eastnary/CassLakeInaugurationParty12009?authkey=1rU6HBfpWdE&feat=directlink

You Have a Voice in Your Community

Sometimes in small communities it seems like the same people tend do almost everything. They are tapped for committees. They run for office. They speak for the community. They hold the power. It’s hard for anyone outside of “the usual suspects” to break in, even though everyone knows broader input and representation would help solve problems and make people feel part of things.

This isn’t necessarily anyone’s fault. Across the country, people are noting a decrease in public participation in civic events. Lives are busy. Time is scarce.

Luckily, as public participation decreases, there is a rising ability of the Internet to facilitate participation. As Steven Clift from e-Democracy says, it’s still a smoke-filled back room but everyone can be invited and it can be in your living room.

KAXE just co-hosted two meetings to help bring e-Democracy forums to northern Minnesota communities. E-Democracy has funding to start 3 local issues forums in rural Minnesota.

E-Democracy local issues forums are email discussions where people talk about their communities. Everyone is limited to two posts per day (so the discussion can’t be dominated by any one person). Participants must also use their real names and be responsible for what they say. The discussion stays local—these aren’t the place for speaking up about national-level politics, for example. The forums stick to community issues and don’t allow personal attacks. They give voice to people who aren’t necessarily included otherwise.

A handful of people in Bemidji and Cass Lake have volunteered to be on steering committees to start forums in those communities. They will help suggest topics and monitor the discussion to make sure it stays useful and civil. More steering committee members are needed and, before a community can start a forum, 100 people have to agree to participate.

KAXE is helping and encouraging this process. Northern Community Radio is supporting many ideas that will help people use the Internet to build community, as part of the Northern Community Internet project. If you would like more information about e-Democracy in northern Minnesota, and if you’d like to sign up for forums in Bemidji or Cass Lake, call Ross Williams, Scott Hall, Heidi Holtan or Maggie Montgomery 218/326-1234.