 Well, today was a celebratory day on the Malax Indian Reservation as the Malax Band of Ojibwe held its annual State of the Band ceremony. Clayton Castle was there and tells us what is coming up for the band as well as one of its major struggles. The drums were playing and the people were seated at Grand Casino as the Malax Band of Ojibwe held its annual State of the Band ceremony. Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin delivered the State of the Band address and said there's a lot on the horizon for the band including new small businesses and a new community center. And we want to be able to provide the best that we can for the community so a new community center as well and then our old buildings we will reuse them. A key source for the band and its needs is listening to its members as Chief Executive Benjamin says that all decisions are made with the band members in mind first. We try to make sure that we're listening to them and we provide what they need for their day to day everyday life. Benjamin's speech didn't go without addressing some struggles that the band faces including the opioid epidemic which has ravaged the band as well as the rest of the United States. In 2017 12 band members died from overdoses and the band strives to take measures in the coming year to combat the disease of addiction which has generational effects. It's impacting our seven generations because today what happens today it has an impact for us in seven generations and if we have people addicted and all those social ills that are attached to that that's going to carry along with us into the future for many many years. The band strives to fight the epidemic using the ripple effect and turning negative ripples into positive ones. They all have an impact sometimes in a negative way and sometimes in a positive way and hopefully we can pull out all that positive and give that to the band members so that they can move forward in a really positive and good way. And finally I asked Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin what the stay of the band is and she said the stay of the band are the people. Reporting from the Malax band of Ojibwe stay the band address Clayton Castle, Lakeland News. Also in the coming year the band aims to open a new dialysis center in Isle for band members. They also hope to pursue a radio station to deliver information to members. If you enjoyed this segment of Lakeland News please consider making a tax deductible contribution to Lakeland PBS.