New chief executive for Mille Lacs Band decided in Minnesota Chippewa Tribe primaries
Virgil Wind was elected chief executive of the nearly 5,000-member tribe in the primary election vote held Tuesday, according to official results released by the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
In a brief statement to MPR News, Wind says he’s honored to have been chosen to lead the Mille Lacs Band.
“Very grateful, very thankful for community support,” said Wind. “Hopefully the connection we’ve built through this District I office can spread band wide. I really believe it’s through connection that we heal.”
Wind previously served as the Mille Lacs Band’s District I Representative.
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Wind won the three-person race with 67.44 percent of the vote. Votes for Samuel Moose totaled 30.64 percent, and Wallace St. John, Sr. claimed the remaining 1.92 percent.
Generally, the two candidates with the greatest number of votes in each race move on to the general election in early June, according to the election rules of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
Under a provision of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe’s elections ordinance, a candidate running in a primary election who receives more than 50 percent of the vote wins the race. In this case, Virgil Wind has been declared the winner in the race for chief executive.
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe primary election results
Each member nation of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe is governed by reservation business committees, also called tribal councils.
The Mille Lacs Band, Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, and White Earth Nation comprise the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. Voters from across each of the MCT’s member tribes voted Tuesday.
Primary results were certified by general elections boards from each nation.
Winners of primary races who did not capture more than 50 percent of the vote advance to the general election on June 11.
The following are the winners of Tuesday’s primary races, according to the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. Incumbent candidates have “(I)” designation.
Bois Forte Band of Chippewa Indians
Chairperson
Catherine Chavers (I) — 40.72 percent
Hannah Lehti-Chosa — 32.22 percent
District 1 Representative
Perry Drift — 31.45 percent
Edward Villebrun — 22.18 percent
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Chairperson
Kevin DuPuis, Sr. (I) — 41.43 percent
Bruce Savage — 38.55 percent
District 1 Committeeperson
Wally Dupuis (I) — 47.88 percent
Michelle DeBolt — 18.71 percent
District 3 Committeeperson
Robert Smith, Sr. (I) — 32.47 percent
Earl Otis — 29.22 percent
Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Chairperson
No primary race
Committeeperson
Marie Spry (I) — 47.79 percent
William Myers — 31.62 percent
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
Chairman
Faron Jackson (I) — 36.87 percent
Gerald White — 18.88 percent
District 3 Representative
Leon Staples, Jr. — 25 percent
Glen Fisher — 18.80 percent
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Chief Executive
Virgil Wind — 67.44 percent (Winner, with more than 50 percent of the primary vote)
Samuel Moose — 30.64 percent
District 1 Representative
Valerie Sam-Harrington — 28.32 percent
Carolyn Beaulieu — 27.85 percent
White Earth Nation
Chairperson
Michael Fairbanks (I) — 46.21 percent
Eugene “Umsy” Tibbets — 42.49 percent
Election winners will assume office in July.