Curtis Leroy Kalk is an

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

politician for the

Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe ( oj, Misi-zaaga'igani Anishinaabeg), also known as the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians, is a federally recognized American Indian tribe located in east-central Minnesota. The Band has 4,302 members as of 2012. ...

, located in east-central

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Elected in 2009, Curt Kalk served at the tribe's Secretary/Treasurer. As Secretary/Treasurer, he authorized all subpoenas and official documents on behalf of the Band Assembly (the tribal council of the Mille Lacs Band) and investigated financial irregularities. Kalk also served as Speaker of the Band Assembly, the legislative body that enacts laws that regulate the Band's affairs and appropriates money for tribal government programs. Before being elected Secretary/Treasurer, Kalk served as Commissioner of Natural Resources for nine years. He has also worked for the Band's Department of Natural Resources as a deputy registrar. As the Commissioner of Natural Resources, Curt sat on the board of directors for the

Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission The Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) is an intertribal, co-management agency committed to the implementation of off-reservation treaty rights on behalf of its eleven-member Ojibwa tribes. Formed in 1984 and exercising authorit ...

; due to his natural resources background, as the Secretary/Treasurer, he also served as member of the

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...

's National Tribal Operations Committee in 2009–2011. Kalk graduated with honors from the Band's Nay Ah Shing High School in 1981; he is the first graduate from that school to become an elected official for the Band. After his high school graduation, Kalk served in the U.S. Marine Corps for four years. After his military service, Kalk worked for the federal government for 13 years, owned and operated a resort on

Mille Lacs Lake Mille Lacs Lake (also called Lake Mille Lacs or Mille Lacs) is a large but shallow lake in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It is located in the counties of Mille Lacs, Aitkin, and Crow Wing, roughly 75 miles north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul m ...

, and worked as a subcontractor in carpentry.

References

External links

The official website of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
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Biographies of Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe's elected and appointed officials
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St. Cloud State St. Cloud State University (SCSU) is a public university in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Founded in 1869, the university is one of the largest institutions in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system. Its enrollment in 2020 was approximate ...

American Indian panels
, - Living people Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe politicians People from Mille Lacs County, Minnesota Year of birth missing (living people) {{NativeAmerican-politician-stub