Pokagon Band Chairman to be Honored by Native American Financial Officers Association

By ICTMN Staff March 14, 2012

Matthew Wesaw, chairman of the Pokagon Band of Indians, was recently named Tribal Leader of the Year by the Native American Financial Officers Association and will accept his award March 21 at NAFOA’s annual meeting in New Orleans.

“Out of more than 550 tribes in the United States, Pokagon Band caught the attention of experts for its solid finances and enterprise expansion plans,” said John Warren, Pokagon Band treasurer in a tribal press release. “Bankers have told us that some countries should take note on how we manage financial resources.”

Wesaw is a retired Michigan State Trooper, who has devoted his career to public service and has served as vice-chairman of the tribal council before being named chairman in 2009. A resident of Lansing, he has been the recipient of three gubernatorial appointments, serving on the Michigan Community Service Commission, as past chairman of the Michigan Commission on Indian Affairs, and as only the second Native American to be appointed to the Michigan Civil

Rights Commission according to the release. He now serves as that commission’s chairman. He has served as area vice-president for the National Congress of American Indians since 2009 when he was elected by leaders of the Midwest’s 27 federally recognized tribes.

“It is such a privilege to honor and recognize the excellent work Chairman Wesaw is doing to benefit Indian country,” said Bill Lomax, NAFOA president in the release. “He is truly an innovator and an inspiration.”

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http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2012/03/14/pokagon-band-chairman-to-be-honored-by-native-american-financial-officers-association-102787#ixzz1p8TtKNWA

NOTE: The first Indian person appointed to the Michigan Civil Rights Commission was Beverly Clark, Detroit attorney, a member Aamjiwnaang First Nation, Sarnia [[If my memory serves me well.)

BEVERLY CLARK, M.A., J.D. [[1982-1991)
a Detroit lawyer, made history when she became the first American Indian on the Commission following her appointment by Governor William Milliken. Prior to her appointment, she had been active in several legal and American Indian organizations, including the board of directors of Michigan Indian Legal Services. She was the first female president of the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association and also served as president of the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan.
She also chaired the Detroit Human Relations Commission. She held several positions on the Commission, including vicechair and chair. From the Civil Rights Commission 40th Anniversary book, 2003.
Matthew Wesaw, Holt, - Appointed September 2004
In 2001 Matthew Wesaw retired after serving as a Michigan State
Police officer for 26 years. During his career with the Michigan State
Police, Mr. Wesaw served at the Jackson, Flat Rock, and Lansing
posts before being promoted to Uniform Sergeant in 1986. He was
later transferred to the Criminal Investigation Division, where he
became Detective Sergeant and served in the Organized Crime
and Auto Theft Units. In 1995 he was elected to the full-time position
of Vice President of the Michigan State Police Troopers Association
[[MSPTA). He served as the Vice President of the MSPTA until his
retirement in January of 2001. Mr. Wesaw then worked as the
Director of Government Relations for the Michigan State Police
Troopers Association until 2008. He now serves as the elected
Chairman of the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, a federally
recognized tribe located in Dowagiac, Michigan. Mr. Wesaw has
been involved in many Native American organizations, including
being a past board member of the Lansing North American Indian
Center, past chair of the Commission on Indian Affairs under
Governor John Engler, and current member of the Nokomis
Learning Center. Mr. Wesaw is also a former appointee to the
Michigan Community Service Commission.Matthew Wesaw
attended Great Lakes Christian College and has a degree in
Criminal Justice from Lansing Community College. He lives in Holt
with his wife, Gloria and their daughters, Carly & Kelsey.

http://michigan.gov/mdcr/0,4613,7-13...6644--,00.html