County attorney shares presentation about tribal sovereignty and treaty rights

Joe Friedrichs | April 19, 2021

Cook County Attorney Molly Hicken shared a presentation during a meeting of the Cook County Board of Commissioners April 13 that she called ‘Treaties and Tribal Sovereignty Training for Cook County Officials.’

The presentation covered topics such as treaties, the justice system in Cook County, sovereignty and a number of other related items. During the course of the presentation, Hicken asked the commissioners, among other questions: “What should our goals be, as a local government who represents constituents living on the reservation, descendants of the original inhabitants of this land, and which partner with the sovereign nation of the Grand Portage Chippewa?”

In a follow-up interview with WTIP’s Joe Friedrichs, Hicken discusses if these goals and realities can extend beyond county government to everyone who lives in Cook County. In other words, Hicken explains, it’s important to consider this a community conversation, not just a county board, or county government issue or conversation.

Listen to the full interview in the audio shared below.

Click here to view a slideshow of Hicken’s presentation.
treaties and tribal sovereignty for Cook Co officials 4.12.2021