Senator Tina Smith

Today, I had the honor of joining Tribal Leaders, Band Members and people from across the country at the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe 33rd Annual Grand Celebration. Mille Lacs Band Members are committed to safeguarding their Ojibwe culture, language, rights and way of life. This powwow is a powerful display of Indigenous pride, and they welcome non-Native friends and neighbors to join in the celebration. More than 1,000 dancers performed at the Grand Entry in Hinckley as the Tribe’s drum circle brought to life the heartbeat of a nation.

For the past eight years in the Senate, I’ve been honored to represent Minnesota’s Tribal Nations, and I deeply appreciate the collaboration with Chief Executive Virgil Wind and the Tribal Council. Working together in government-to-government relationship, we’ve been able to support Tribal sovereignty and make meaningful progress on fulfilling the federal government’s trust and treaty obligations. The 11 Tribal Nations that call present-day Minnesota home enrich our social fabric and make Minnesota the best state in the union.

Public lands are our birthright, a gift passed down through generations and one we must preserve for our kids and grandkids. 
 
But that promise has recently been under attack. Trump and his allies in Congress are doing everything in their power to take our precious lands and sell them off to the highest bidder.
 
They are using a sneaky maneuver under the Congressional Review Act to ignore the will of local communities and overturn long-established land protections, like they did with the Boundary Waters, putting corporate interests over the voices of Minnesotans, our Tribal Nations, conservationists, hunters and anglers, and small business owners.  
 
And they were trying to run this same playbook with another great wild place in this country, Grand Staircase-Escalante in Southern Utah. A breathtaking landscape of redrock canyons and plateaus that draws over 15 million people annually to see the monument and visit nearby National Parks.
 
We may have lost the Boundary Waters vote in Congress, but we never gave up. We continued building a strong coalition that has fought tirelessly to protect all public lands—and I’m relieved and glad to say this battle to protect Grand Staircase-Escalante was won.
 
This victory matters not only to Grand Staircase-Escalante, it matters to us all.

Came in this morning ready to refill my candy desk depleted from the last late night vote… only to discover that a secret candy fairy had gone and replenished it for me already!

Whoever you are: Come forward so I can properly thank you!! 🍬

Immediately hunkering down in the Situation Room because the Epstein Files are getting released doesn’t exactly scream “I have nothing to hide!”

BREAKING: New details reveal the Trump Admin seriously considered using the military to throw anyone who disagreed with them in jail at the height of Operation Metro Surge

It’s been almost one year since my friend Melissa Hortman was assassinated at her home, along with her beloved husband, Mark, and their loyal dog, Gilbert. Their deaths shocked Minnesota and transfixed the nation, as law enforcement searched for the perpetrator and we collectively searched for meaning in these senseless acts.

It’s one year later, and in many ways our grief still feels fresh.

This solemn anniversary will bring a fresh wave of opinions and think-pieces trying to answer questions about what Melissa’s death means for the state of American politics, or what it might reveal about a fraying democracy. I don’t know the answers to all of those weighty questions. What I know is that her life was so much more than how it ended.

I’m taking comfort and inspiration in Melissa’s legacy as a model of the Minnesotan civic spirit, who dedicated her life to helping her neighbors. I am better for having known her. Minnesota is better because of her work. And we would all do well to follow the advice of her children, Sophie and Colin, who wrote last year:

“If you would like to honor the memory of Mark and Melissa, please consider the following: Plant a tree. Visit a local park and make use of their amenities, especially a bike trail. Pet a dog. A golden retriever is ideal, but any will do. Tell your loved ones a cheesy dad joke and laugh about it. Bake something — bread for Mark or a cake for Melissa, and share it with someone. Try a new hobby and enjoy learning something. Stand up for what you believe in, especially if that thing is justice and peace.”

❤ 🕊️