Secretary of the Interior’s Office
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne, award recipient and Lac du Flambeau Tribal Historic Preservation Officer Kelly Jackson and Carol Brown, attorney for the Lac du Flambeau Band and member of the Native American Advisory Group.
Lac du Flambeau Tribal Historic Preservation Officer wins prestigious award
Kelly Jackson receives equivalent of Emmy award for historic preservation
By
Brenda Austin, Today correspondent
Story Published:
Jan 5, 2009
Story Updated:
Jan 5, 2009
LAC DU FLAMBEAU, Wis. – Tribal Historic Preservation Officer for the Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, Kelly Jackson was presented with the first Secretary of the Interior Historic Preservation Award.
Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne presented the awards to four government and tribal employees at the department’s headquarters in Washington.
The award program was created to recognize outstanding contributions in the area of historic preservation by employees of Federal, State and Tribal Preservation Offices and Certified Local Governments. The Secretary’s award focuses on individual accomplishments instead of programs or projects.
“For me this award is really a reflection of the success and commitment on the part of our community. In 1996 Lac du Flambeau was one of the first 12 tribes to have a tribal historic preservation office,” Jackson said. “Over the years our community has been able to grow and build the program into a resource that has been used not only by our tribe, but by other tribes in our region. I think of this award as a milestone for this community as a whole – and of those community members who make historic preservation an important element of our tribe.”
As a winner of the Secretary’s award, Jackson was recognized for her contributions, creativity and expertise which exemplified the overall goals of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA).
Assisting in national efforts to enhance the relationship between tribes and the U.S. government, she was an active panelist on the Preserve America Summit held in New Orleans in October 2006 and helped write a position paper on the best practices – or a better approach – to working with tribes and making them a full partner in the National Historic Preservation Program.
Jackson, vice-chair of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation’s Native American Advisory Group, was honored in 2007 with the U.S. Forest Service’s “Connecting Citizens to the Land, Indigenous Earth Walker Award.” She received the award in recognition of her assistance to the Forest Service in the acquisition of the 240-acre area known as Indian Farms by the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin.
She also assisted Rebecca Maki, Lac du Flambeau tribal member, in the development of a guide to help Indian country “See the value of building historic preservation programs and assume the functions of the state and the jurisdictional benefits of assuming states functions within the boundaries of reservations,” she said. The guide, published by the Great Lakes Indian Law Center, University of Wisconsin Law School, is called “What is Tribal Historic Preservation, A Guide to Tribal Historic Preservation in Indian Country.”
Jackson also serves as the chief grant administrator for the Native American Graves Repatriation Act and is active nationally in the Native American Tribal Historic Preservation Officers organization as a board member and treasurer.
“Historic preservation seems like a dry word for what I do,” she said. “I don’t think what I do is about preserving something old. This is really about protecting who we are as Native people, continuing a life way and making sure resources are available for anyone interested in learning more about where they come from and passing that knowledge on from one generation to the next. I think what has always motivated me in this work is the fact that in seven generations my children’s children will continue to see the value in our culture and teachings – and will continue to pass them on.
“There are mechanisms within the NHPA to allow tribes to have a direct role in interpreting what is historically significant and important to protect. I think the NHPA encourages agencies to engage with tribes on a government-to-government basis. We have been battling for centuries to protect burial sites and sacred places and I think the NHPA gives us one of many tools to do that,” said Jackson. “Probably the most frustrating part of the process has always been the fact that tribes are constantly fighting agencies to protect places of importance rather than engaging in dialog to be partners in interpreting American history.
“One of the greatest things about preservation is that it is very diverse,” she said. “Locally we are working on a wonderful project called “A Legacy of Survival.” We are restoring one of the government boarding school buildings in Lac du Flambeau. It was a boy’s dormitory and was listed on the national register in 2005 as a nationally significant property.
“It is a challenging project because the boarding school era is an extremely difficult era for many of us and yet we felt it was critical to share the survival of history, tradition and culture – despite the governments attempt to eradicate native people and native connections with cultural identity,” she said.
The restoration project is currently in the final design phase and includes plans for an interpretative center, an archival storage facility for research and records storage with temperature and humidity control, and teaching traditional and cultural skills such as reed mat making, ricing and other gathering activities.
“The first phase of the project is complete – which was taking off the modern influence in the building and bringing the property back to it 1906 footprint. We are hoping to break ground for the restoration project in early spring with a grand opening by summer.
“We continue to do review and compliance, perhaps not as beautiful as a restoration project or an interpretative center, but it is the foundation of these programs. So we continue to work with state, federal and local agencies to ensure that historic places, sacred sites and traditional cultural properties are considered and protected as a matter of policy and procedure within our ceded lands,” she said.
More information about the Secretary of the Interior Historic Preservation Award can be found at www.doi.gov/initiatives/preservation.html.
Tuesday, Jan 6 at 12:47 PM Rebecca D. Alegria/Menominee Tribal Historic Preservation Office and Menominee Tribal Legislator wrote ...
This Great. I am so proud of Kelly Jackson for winning this prestigious award in Historic Preservation. I had the honor to personally witness Ms. Jackson at work by preserving and protecting native lifestyles, when she was a big part of honoring the Living World War II Veterans of Wisconsin Banquet and honor ceremony in Lac du Flambeau a few years ago. It was such an honor to be a part of this magnificant historical and cultural event. She is most deserving of this award. Thank you.
14465124 Inappropriate? Alert Us!Tuesday, Jan 6 at 4:40 PM Natalie Weyaus, THPO, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe wrote ...
Congratulations to Ms Kelly Jackson, Thank you Kelly for all said regarding Tribal Historic Preservation Office duties in preserving our sacred places and messages for our future generations. Chi Migwetch!
14478999 Inappropriate? Alert Us!Tuesday, Jan 6 at 7:25 PM Elgin Crows Breast wrote ...
On behalf of the Mandan,Hidatsa,and Arikara Tribes of Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, I congradulate Ms. Jackson on her accomplishments regarding Tribal Historic Preservation.I have been Cultural Preservation officer/ THPO/ NAGPRA Rep. for over 15 years. Like you said, It's about our way of life, history, Traditions and Culture, and keeping it alive and having people respect what we believe in. Keep up the good work! Elgin Crows Breast, Cultural Pres. Officer
14486688 Inappropriate? Alert Us!Wednesday, Jan 7 at 10:04 AM Emerson Coy wrote ...
Kelly's efforts in Lac du Flambeau has brought the awardness and importance of historic preservation on the Lac du Flambeau Reservation. I've worked with her on many construction projects and with the tenancy of her department, major issues were avoided to help in the success of infrastructual projects. She is most deservant of this award and we are proud of her achievements.
14507869 Inappropriate? Alert Us!Wednesday, Jan 14 at 6:22 PM Qaiyaan Harcharek wrote ...
Congratulations Ms. Jackson. Were may i find the publication by the Great Lakes Indian Center, University of Wisconsin Law; "What is Tribal Historic Preservation, A guide to Tribal Historic Preservation in Indian Country"????
14881814 Inappropriate? Alert Us!Monday, Feb 2 at 12:47 PM Kelly Jackson wrote ...
Chi Migwitch for the wonderful comments. The award is a true honor but I really don't think the Lac du Flambeau THPO program would be where it is today was it not for Patricia Hrabik-Sebby who was the first Lac du Flambeau THPO. It was her hard work that created the foundation of this program and in turn gave me the resources to build on. You can find a PDF version of "What is Tribal Historic Preservation", at--law.wisc.edu/gilic. Again thank you.
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