Featured photo courtesy of Greater Bemidji, Inc.
Today is Roger Jourdain Day, commemorating Red Lake Nation’s first tribal chairman on what would have been his 108th birthday.
The City of Bemidji has commemorated the day annually since the proclamation in 2011 by former mayor Dave Larson.
The Red Lake Nation flag was raised at 7:30 this morning at City Hall.
Jourdain was Red Lake’s Chairman for 31 years, first entering the post in 1959.
He died in 2002 at the age of 89.
Jourdain’s accomplishments include helping establish the Minneapolis Indian Health Board and the Minnesota Indian Scholarship program, in addition to presiding as chairman during the establishment of the Red Lake Nation Tribal Information Center, the Red Lake Library, and the Jourdain/Perpich Nursing Home.
