The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1990-05-02

              Federal investigation of White Earth RBC
By Mark Boswell
Editor
After a lengthy probe into the
handling of tribal funds, the
Inspector General's office will soon
send an investigative report to the
U.S. Attorney's Office in relation to
alleged mishandling of tribal monies
on the White Earth Reservation.
Although there is no timeline set
for the filing of the report, it
allegedly detail fradulent use of
travel expenses for Secretary-
Treasurer Jerry Rawley, District
Representatives Steve McCarthur
and Sharon Eid, and Chairman
Darrell "Chip" Wadena.
Jim Hanberry, of the Federal
Investigator for the Inspector
General's office in Rapid City S.D.,
was the chief investigator. He seized
financial records from the White
Earth RBC office in October after
allegations that tribal officials were
misusing funds.
The Inspector General's office, a
division of the U.S. Department of
Interior, has been scrutinizing the
handling of accounts and
expenditures at White Earth since
last year. Hanberry works in the
regional office in S.D.
Wadena confirmed the seizure of
documents in October of 1989, yet
Hanberry refused to admit even a
visit to White Earth for the six
months prior to filing the report.
Tribal council members including Wadena and Rawley
under investigation for fraudulent use of tribal funds
Wadena's administration had
come under criticism for alleged
misuse and misallocation of moneys
in both travel expenditures and
funds associated with Golden Eagle
Bingo Lodge in White Earth. The
allegations, that had gone unnoticed
for years, have finally come to a
head in the investigation.
The investigation focuses upon the
following: (l)Golden Eagle Bingo
Lodge has lost up to $57,000
annually in unaccounted for losses.
(2)Travel expenditures for RBC
members, typically high because of
the great distances traveled to and
from meetings in Grand Portage,
have also come under scrutiny in the
investigation. Allegedly there were
checks given out to RBC members
without proper documentation of
travel.
Funding intended for development
from the Department of Housing and
Urban Renewal (HUD), has not been
considered in the investigation.
Hanberry, who had conducted a
meeting between tribal members
opposed to Wadena's
administration, fielded a wide range
of allegations against reservation
officials late last year.
,   Jerry Arnold, U.S. Federal
Attorney for the  district of
Minnesota, is likely to handle the
report.
Arnold could neither deny or
confirm that the report was received;
nor would he give comment on
when the investigation would be
handled in federal court.
If the case proceeds in normal
fashion, Arnold would likely place
the case in the hands of an Assistant
U.S. Attorney, yet to be named.
"Indians win rights, whites beat up Indians;
therefore, the only solution is for the Indian
to sell rights. What ever happened to the
enforcement of laws?" See page 12.
The New Indian Wars
Fifty Cents
Founded In 1988
Volume 2
Copyright, the Ojibwe News, 1990
A Bi-Monthly Publication
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601
Experts helped fight
Red Lake fire
Redlake, Minn. (AP) - Fire-
fighting experts took over the
management of a Red Lake Indian
Reservation blaze that burned about
37,200 acres of grassland.
Specialists in the areas of
planning, logistics and finance were
pulled from the U.S. Forest Service,
state Department of Natural
Resources offices and the National
Park Service Friday to take over for
local DNR officials, according to
DNR spokesman Jim Reil.
The local DNR officials need to
get back to other business within
their region, Reil said.
The fire charred 28,160 acres
within reservation boundaries and
9,040 acres outside its limits, he
said.
The fire's north line was stopped
about one-half mile north of
reservation boundaries, Reil said.
Two air tanker drops were made
Thursday to save two occupied
mobile homes on the north side of
the fire, he said.
About 40 people from the DNR,
BIA and the Forest Service have
been working on the fire.
Two air tanker drops were made
Friday afternoon, said Dave Sterr,
fire management officer for the
Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Saunders resigns as
RLT administrator
According to information
obtained by the News, Ms. Linda
Saunders resigned as Red Lake
Tribal Administrator on Monday,
April 30. Sources told the News
that Ms. Saunders gave no advance
notice that she was leaving to
either the RLTC or tribal staff. Ms.
Saunders was reported to be
unable to work with Red Lake
Tribal Chairman Roger A.
Jourdain.
She came to Red Lake as part of
the "government to government"
agreement signed last July between
the Bureau of Indian Affairs and
the RLTC. Saunders is reported to
be in line for a BIA Superintendent
position in Oklahoma. Saunders
was unavailable for comment.
Leon F. Cook's appointment as
Acting Tribal Administrator had
long been possible consideration by
the RLTC. He has been employed
by the RLTC as Director of Social
Services since last July.
The News was unable to learn
when the RLTC would consider
Cook's appointment permanent for
the $55,000 a year position.
Levi Johnson, Agency
Adminstrative Officer, will
continue to be signatory for the
U.S. Government.
at
Violet Harper, Cass Lake, holds a medicine slick decorated with an
eagle's talon and beadwork. Her collection of Native American art
and artifacts were shown on Tuesday as part of CIS Inolan Week.
Photograph by Gayte Streier
Lawrence challenges Jourdain's residency in tribal court
In a lawsuit filed yesterday in the
Red Lake Tribal Court, William J.
Lawrence requested that the court
issue a temporary restraining order
(TRO) enjoining the Red Lake
Tribal Council from certifying the
eligibility of incumbent chairman
Roger A. Jourdain on the grounds of
non-residency.  Lawrence's
complaint alleges that the Tribal
Council's certification of Jourdain's
eligibility as to residency is a
violation of both the tribal
constitution and election ordinance
no. 33-D-90, which requires a one
year reservation residency prior to
the May 23 general election, the
complaint goes on the state that
Jourdain has been an "open,
notorious and continuous" resident
of 2309 Calihan Avenue in Bemidji,
MN since late 1979. In addition,
Lawrence further alleges that the
Council's certification of Jourdain
and rejection of his own candidacy
on the grounds of residency is a
violation of the Equal Protection
NAIAD rally against racism slated for weekend
By Mark Boswell
Editor
Joe Sayers has been committed to
the ideas of fair treatment and justice
for Indians in Bemidji for years. So
much so that, two years ago he
founded the Native Americans
Indians Against Discrimination, an
organization devoted to ridding
Bemidji of it's "racist and slanted
behavior regarding it's Native
•I
American population.
"I've seen so many instances of
racism," said Sayers, "that I thought
it was about time we did something
as a people."
This weekend Sayers and NAIAD
have planned a Rally of All Nations,
a "Gathering for the Spring,
Awakening Against Racism in
Bemidji". Last year's rally and
march against racism gathered about
150 people who participated in a
march that led from downtown
Bemidji to the Paul Bunyan Mall.
This year's event will feature
speakers at the Izaak Walton League
bandshell on the shore of Lake
Bemidji. Roger Jourdain, Chairman
of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa
Indians and Steve Cooper,
Commissioner from the Department
of Human Rights in St. Paul are
Rally/ see page 14
Clause of the 5th and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
Lawrence' complaint goes on to
ask the Red lake Tribal Court to
issue a temporary restraining order
enjoining the RLTC from certifying
the eligibility of incumbent
candidate for chairman Roger A.
Jourdain. In a statement to the News
Lawrence said "either all three of us,
Don Lussier, Jourdain, and myself
are all eligible or all ineligible
because we haven't lived on the
reservation one year prior to the
election."
"Either we have a constitution or
we don't," said Lawrence, " I guess
that well just have to let the courts
tell us."
A copy of Lawrence' complaint is
carried on page 5. Also carried is a
copy of a letter from Bemidji
Attorney Romaine Powell
requesting to be admitted to practice
law before the RLTC representing
Lawrence.
Candidates file for
Red Lake election
Desperate actions" taken by the TEC
By Mark Boswell
Editor
"Desperate actions", was the term
Earl Barlow, Area Director of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, used to
describe a resolution passed recently
by the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
Executive Committee.
The letter, dated April 18, requested
a meeting with Darrell "Chip"
Wadena, President of the Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe, in order to clarify a
previous letter sent by Wadena that
illustrated a need for a task force to
"review and evaluate all phases of the
Agency Office as well as the Area
Office".
Barlow also mentioned the MCT
Resolution No. 83-90, which was
adopted by the Tribal Executive
Committee at a meeting held in
Marquette, Mich., on March 21,1990.
According to Barlow's letter, the
TEC, "resolved to express full
confidence in Roger T. Aitken,
Minnesota Agency Superintendent, to
carry out various functions. Also
noted was the forwarding of
Wadena's letter to Dr. Eddie Brown,
Assistant Secretary for Indian
Affairs, and to "appropriate
Congressional Delegates".
In the letter. Barlow suggests that
Wadena had overstepped his authority
in conducting "government to
government" business between the
BIA and the MCT. He stressed the
distinct relationship between the two
governments as "a basic tenet" and
that "neither can compel the other to
recognize its actions unless provisions
for such recognition have been
mutually agreed to beforehand".
Barlow requested an immediate
meeting with the TEC to clarify the
language contained in Wadena's letter
which "is couched in vague gener
alities and (is) difficult to interpret."
Barlow suggested the following:
(1) Specifically, what are the
problems Mr. Aitken and his staff
are having with the Area Office.
(2) What can be done to improve
the BIA services to the thirty (30)
tribes and their membership in the
Minneapolis area.
He further stressed "encourag(ing)
Tribal Governments to exercise their
authority contained in the Self-
Determination Regulations to
redesign BIA programs to better
meet the needs of the people being
served."
By Mark Boswell
Editor
Bruce E. Graves, Redlake, was
certified by the Red Lake Tribal
Council to run for the office of
Chairman of that reservation. Graves
was previously the campaign
manager for William J. Lawrence,
who has thrown his support toward
Graves.
Lawrence made his bid for the
chairman's seat several weeks ago
and has come under scrutiny by the
tribal council because of his
residency. The Red Lake Tribal
Constitution states that candidates
must reside on the reservation in
order to be considered a candidate.
Lawrence, who does not reside on
the reservation, lives in Bemidji,
some 30 miles from the reservation.
Despite the constitutional
regulations determining who can run
for tribal office, incumbent chairman
Roger Jourdain, who has lived in
Bemidji since 1979, has made a bid
for the chair. Jourdain has held the
post for 32 years and is the only
person who has held the office of
chairman since the Red Lake
constitution was rewritten in 1958.
A resolution was allegedly passed
giving exception to Jourdain's
residency requirement. Jourdain left
the reservation after fire destroyed
his home in Redlake after the 1979
riots.
Lawrence is expected to contest
the tribal council's decision to not
accept his filing for the office.(See
page 5).
Other candidates include Gerald
Brun and Don Lussier. Lussier was
denied candidate certification
Brun, who reportedly resigned
from his post as Redlake district
representative "wanted to give the
council time to put the postition as
councilman up ffor a two year term."
Brun has only completed two years
Bruce E. Graves
Graves announces candidacy
for Red Lake Reservation
Tribal Chairman
out of the usual four year term as
Redlake representative. He has
served on the tribal council for 14
years.
Lussier could not be reached for
comment.
Candidate for chairman Bruce
Graves said, "There are three former
judges and two former prosectutors
running for office and this makes the
real issue of the election to assure
the people are guaranteed their civil
rights."
Also filing for election were three
candidates for Tribal Council
secretary; incumbent Royce Graves,
Kenneth "Red" Graves, and Bobby
Whitefeather. James Strong and
Francis "Chunky" Brun will vie for
the position of treasurer.
Francis Brun filed an injunction in
Red Lake Tribal Court agasinst the
tribal council in response to new
Election/ see page 2