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Who was Peter DuFault, Sr.?
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May 9 is a reservation holiday commemorating the life and
achievements of one of the most influential men in tribal politics: Mr.
Peter DuFault, Sr., legendary leader of the Fond du Lac Reservation and
the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. There are many who are not familiar with Mr. DuFault, a gentleman who made a positive impact on the lives of reservation band members as well as all tribal members of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (MCT). The following is a eulogy authored by Betty Blue, former editor of Ourselves (the MCT newspaper), upon the death of Peter DuFault: "Peter DuFault was born in 1907 to the parents of Katie and Frank DeFoe, and died January 23, 1978. A member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, and an enrolled member of the Fond du Lac Reservation, Peter DuFault, Sr., had been secretary/treasurer for the Fond du Lac Reservation Business Committee from 1952-1978. He was also a member of the MCT Tribal Executive Committee, of which he was a past president, and a tribal manager, as well as an early member of the Minnesota Indian Affairs Commission appointed by Minnesota Governor Karl Rolvaag. Mr. DuFault was also a member of the following organizations: the National Congress of American Indians, the National Indian Education Association, the National Indian Health Board, the Minnesota State Board of Health, the Indian Community Action Project, the Tri-State Community Action Project, the Governor's Manpower Council, and the MCT Educational Community and Health Planning Committee. On the Fond du Lac Reservation, he was instrumental in establishing the Wild Rice Committee, served on the boards of the Fond du Lac Manufacturing Company, and the Fond du Lac Reservation Development Corporation. The late Mr. DuFault also worked as a certified welder for 30 years at Conwed Corporation in Cloquet. The passing of Peter DuFault was not unlike the passing of the late Minnesota Senator Hubert H. Humphrey, both bear witness to a day in which many positive changes were wrought for the benefit of many people. In Peter DuFault's instance, however, change came to a narrower field, to persons whom history gave them little hope in rising from abject poverty, to people who suffered from indecent lack of education, from high mortality rates, from all the hopelessness and helplessness which poverty attends, and of persons who were victims of a system where they had no voice in creating: The American Indian. That is not to say that all such evils in Indian life have been overcome, but it is to say that change is a dominant priority today of a people who now - thanks to Pete and others like him - have a voice in their own destinies, a people who have survived to move forward in their own self-determination. The veteran leader of the Fond du Lac people exemplified the spirit of overcoming, and of overriding obstacles in his own personal life. He belonged to the company of persons who would not give up in the face of physical odds. A double-amputee for the last four years of his life, Peter DuFault, Sr., carried on in a spirit of 'business as usual,' attending meetings of the TEC, meeting the demands of work on the Tribe's Health and Educational Committees, and to the other many and varied responsibilities pressed upon him. Peter DuFault, Sr., appeared to take satisfaction with doing the everyday things such as drive a car, helping to oversee the installation of a new furnace factory on his own reservation, and of gathering his children and grandchildren around him. As one of his sons-in-law so aptly put it: Pete was given extra years of activity by the devotion of his wife Margaret, always at his side." The main Tribal Center on the reservation was dedicated in Mr. DuFault's memory, and the council chambers were named after him. Under his portrait in the chambers is written: "His many years of unselfish and unconditional service gave Fond du Lac its foundation for growth and development. In commemoration of Mr. DuFault's service, the council chambers will be referred to hereafter and forever as 'Peter DuFault Council Chambers.' Mr. DuFault, as member of Fond du Lac, we thank you." In addition, the Fond du Lac Tribal & Community College has a scholarship named in honor of Mr. DuFault. |