Following his election as chairman , Jourdain undertook a number of projects aimed at improving Red Lake 's infrastructure . Shortly after taking office , he reopened the closed Indian Health Service hospital in the town of Red Lake and worked successfully to bring running water to the reservation . Additionally , Jourdain lobbied the federal government to support housing and educational development on the reservation . Jourdain spent considerable amounts of time in Washington , D.C. , lobbying both for federal support and for the protection of Red Lake 's tribal sovereignty . Jourdain maintained Red Lake 's exclusion from the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 , which established the multi-reservation Minnesota Chippewa Tribe ; accordingly , Red Lake remained exempt from legislation such as Public Law 280 . Additionally , Jourdain formed a political alliance with U.S. Senator Hubert Humphrey , subsequently changing his initial Republican political affiliation to Democratic . In 1976 , Jourdain served as a delegate to the 1976 Democratic National Convention and in the Electoral College ; he reprised the former role in 1984
1976 Democratic National Convention
1976 Democratic National Convention
Roger Jourdain