Norman Deschampe (left) met with then Governor-elect Tim Walz at a listening session in Grand Portage in late 2018.  Photo:  Boreal Community Media


From Boreal Community Media - February 11, 2019

Boreal Community Media is sad to report that that Norman Deschampe - the Tribal Leader of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa passed away Saturday due to a heart attack.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison in 2018 called Deschampe "a lifetime fighter for justice, dignity and tribal sovereignty".

Our condolences to the Deschampe family, all Grand Portage tribal members and the entire Cook County MN community.
Read this statement of tribute from The Cook County Chamber of Commerce Facebook Page.

"News of Norman Deschampe's death is very sad. It is also a great shock, as he was in terrific shape the last time I saw and talked with him, when Gov. Walz came to Grand Portage a couple months ago. 

The Cook County Chamber very well might not exist were it not for Norman. He came to one of the very first meetings the founding group held, listened to our discussion of the need to address housing issues, scarcity of workers and others, and said they were exactly the issues the tribal council deals with each time it meets. With that, he strongly endorsed the effort to organize a chamber and contributed a very significant amount of annual dues to the effort. He was a founding member of the chamber board. 

Chamber board members always enjoyed his company and his thoughts. He was a thorough gentleman and a very good man. In our first joint gala with Visit Cook County, in 2013, we presented Norman with a special leadership award for "decades of extraordinary personal service to enhancing the economic vitality, and cultural and political integrity of his community."

No one is indispensable, but Norman comes close."

Remembering the life of Norman from the website https://oralhistorynormandeschampe.weebly.com/about-norman.html