The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1991-02-06

              Attorney seeks tribal determination on question of conflict of interest
A Minnesota attorney who heads
a business that serves casinos
owned by the Indian bands he
represents as a lawyer is expected
to ask the Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe to declare him free of
conflict of interest.
Kent Tupper, a non-tribal
member whose law and business
office is in Minneapolis is
expected to make the request of
the tribal executive committee
Tuesday at its quarterly meeting
at the Kelly Inn in St. Paul. For
15 years, Tupper has been
attorney for the tribe, which is the
umbrella group for 6 Chippewa
bands.
Tupper is also chairman,
shareholder and chief executive
officer of Creative Games
Technology, Inc., a gambling
management and equipment firm
that does business with casinos
owned by three of those
bands—Fortune Bay At Bois
Forte, Northern Lights at Leech
Lake and Grand Portage Casino at
Grand Portage.
Tupper is also the attorney for
Fortune Bay, Bois Forte, and
Grand Portage.
As band and tribal attorney,
Tupper negotiates with state
gambling officials over
implementation of a federal Indian
gambling law that partly governs
his one-year-old business. At a
previous meeting, chairmen of the
Fond du Lac and Mille Lacs bands
questioned whether Tupper is in
conflict.
The attorney has since advised
members of the 12 person tribal
executive committee that he does
hot consider himself in conflict.
news briefs:
CHILDBIRTH CLASS IN BEMIDJI
Birthways of Bemidji is sponsoring childbirth classes which will be
starting Thursday, February 21st at the First Presbyterian Church in
Bemidji. The classes run from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. and are taught by
Informed Birth Certified Instructor Genell Kimball. For more
information call 1-547-3893.
YOLANDA KING TO SPEAK
Yolanda King, civil and human rights demonstrator, author,
performer, and the eldest child of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and
Coretta Scott King, will speak at BSU on Feb. 6th.
Her address, titled "The Dream is Still a Dream" will begin at 7:30
p.m. in the Beaux Arts Ballroom, located in the upper Hobson
Memorial Union on the BSU campus. Admission is open to the public
without charge. A reception follows in the Terrace Lounge, located in
the Upper Hobson Memorial Union.
King's presentation is a provocative lecture and performance which
blends poetry, prose, and dramatic monologues to complement her
topics.
Born in Montgomery, Ala. in the midst of the desegregation
movement in the South, Yolanda King has been influenced by the
struggle for human rights all of her life and has grown up in a home
environment deeply involved in service to humanity. She has
participated in numerous civil and human rights demonstrations and has
spoken before countless religious, educational, civic, and human rights
groups.
Having written and directed a play at age eight, and choreographed
two musicals and directed several theatrical productions by age twelve,
King early began a career in the arts which led her to The Actor's and
Writer's Workshop in Atlanta, Ga. Here she studited acting, speech and
dance, and appeared in productions around the Atlanta area.
King continued her education at Smith College in Northampton,
Mass., receiving a B.A. with honors in theatre and African-American
studies. At Smith she co-directed and performed in the student theatre
workshop. She later went on to New York University and obtained a
M.F.A. in theatre and performed in several showcase and off-off
Broadway productions.
Committed to using her talents to serve humanity, King has
combined her active involvement in social change with her artistic
pursuits. "While it is imperative to actively challenge the forces that
deny human beings their right to a decent life . . . one must also
stimulate and alter the hearts and minds of both the privileged as well
as those who have been too long denied. Within the arts lies this
power," she explains.
Her involvements reflect his belief. King serves on the board of
directors of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social
Change, Inc., the official national memorial to Dr. King, and is
director of The King Center's Cultural Affairs Program.
In addition to working with a number of human rights organizations
and causes, Ms. King was a founding member of Christian Theatre
Artists and has taught theatre to young people and college students.
Her published works include "Using Television to Teach
Nonviolence" in Teachers Guides to Television and a column for
Black Family magazine.
She currently serves as co-director of NUCLEUS, a company of
performing artists dedicated to promoting positive energy through the
arts which is now touring high schools, colleges, churches, and
communities around the country.
King is a lifetime member of the NAACP, the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the
National Association of Negro Business and Professional Women, the
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and the
Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta. She has also been honored with
the presentation of the "Key to the City" by numerous communities
around the country, and was named to Outstanding Young Women of
America.
CIS holds 18th annual Powwow
In beautiful "spring" weather,
the 191 Native American
students at BSU, all members
of the Council of Indian
Students, held their 18th
annual Powwow last weekend.
The event began with warmup
on Friday evening, included a
feast of traditional Ojibwe
foods, and concluded with
retreat on Sunday evening. The
gymnasium floor was encircled
with many drum groups.
Honor was paid during the
weekend to American service
personnel in the Middle East
The top photo: Terry White,
Boy River, Bug School Brave.
Not pictured were Jr. Brave,
Brian Pelly; Princess, Rose
Cloud and Jr. Princess, Amy
Fairbanks. The lower photo
was taken Saturday. Photos
by Mark Boswell.
but asked them to make that
determination by resolution. He
offered to release the tribe from
his contract if they prefer. The
committee is made up of the
chairmen and secretary-treasurers
of the bands.
Generally    speaking,
professional ethics disallow
situations where a lawyer
represents both his or her own
commercial interests and a
client's related interests, said
William Wernz, Director of the
Office of Lawyers Professional
Responsibility Board in St.
Paul.
Clients may waive those
concerns after the attorney fully
informs them of potential
problems, Wernz said.
Editor's note: For some
unknown reason, the request was
either not put on the agenda for
the February meeting in St. Paul
or was stricken from the agenda.
According to federal regulations.
all attorney contracts require the
approval of the Secretary of the
Interior and require some
responsibility for review by the
BIA. However, it is unclear what
responsibility the BIA has in this
situa don.
[Reprinted with permission from the
Duluth News Tribune, Jan 30, 1991.]
~X^«z»i<^s<=;   of t:l^e^
st f-nixTLaln*^
Fifty Cents
Founded In 1988
Volume 3 Issue 14
February 6,1991 |
Copyright, the Ojibwe News, 1991
A Bi-Monthly Publication
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601
Red Lake Fire Department undergoing change
Red Lake Volunteer firemen include (1st row) left to right: Loren Stillday, Ron Cloud, Jr., James Cloud, Jr., and Keith Stately; (2nd row)
Roman "Ducker" Stately, Bruce Stillday, Dave Dickenson, Ron Sigana, Leo Desjarlait, and Anthony Infante. Also included but not
pictured are: Don May, Herman Downwind, James Whitefeather, Don Graves, Norman Spears, and Charlie Smith. Photo by Mark Boswell.
By Mark Boswell
Staff Writer
There are photos of water
damaged ceiling tiles and overused
equipment on the wall to attest to the
big changes going on at the Redlake
Fire Hall. A new heating system,
firemen's quarters, and a new coat
of paint have been added to the
facility where a much needed face
lift has been on-going for months.
Since last September, Red Lake
Reservation volunteer firefighters
and workers have been renovating
the facility in order to improve the
Department's firefighting abilities
to make the community safer.
Roman "Ducker" Stately, who has
been the Fire Department
Administrator for about 4 months, is
partly responsible for these changes.
In that time, there have been major
improvements in the Fire
Department's facility in Redlake and
in how firemen are trained for the
reservation's fire protection services.
With four large communities,
Redby, Ponemah, Redlake, and
Little Rock, an estimated 1,100
homes, the Red Lake Fire
Department has a tough beat. It has
to be ready to respond to a wide
variety of situations.
"We usually deal with 8 to 10 fires
a month," said Stately, "mostly
house and car fires, but we also do
backup for the local Forestry
Department in the case of large
brush fires."
Stately, who has been the Red
Lake District Representative for 13
years, said that he is expecting
further funding from the John
Baumgartner Insurance Placement
Service in Bemidji, where $10,375
is being contracted for, and the
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
through the Minnesota Safe Kids
state program, where funding for 2
positions in the department and
training funds are being sought.
A large part of the funding has
been requested from the Bureau of
Indian Affairs. A contract was
entered by the Red Lake Tribal
Council for $46,800. The contract,
which would pay for maintenance of
fire department vehicles and
buildings, is an unusual request for
the BIA.
"We're hopeful that this will come
through," said Stately, "the BIA has
never funded a tribal fire department
before. They said they had never
heard of it." Stately said that the
BIA has been supportive of the
renovation, and he's optimistic
about future funding.
The Red Lake Tribal Council has
distributed approximately $36,000
for remodeling the Redlake and
Ponemah firehalls. The changes in
the Redlake Hall are obvious: a new
heating system, better equipment
including a "Jaws of Life" apparatus
for use in car accidents, and the
addition of sleeping quarters in
preparation for full-time firefighters
who can man the facility 24-hours a
day. In addition to these changes
there have been additional
firefighting vehicles, bringing the
total fleet to 5 trucks. The simple
addition of much needed lockers and
proper firefighting uniforms have
added greatly to the operation.
Stately said that weekly meetings
are scheduled for the volunteer
firemen, with training sessions
taking place at these times. Training
includes attendance at a firefighters
seminar in Duluth, and a currently
scheduled training series going on in
Kelliher. A third seminar is expected
to be held in Bemidji soon.
The new fire chief has not yet been
officially signed on, but current
volunteer fireman Leo "Bubba"
Desjarlait, has been chosen to fill the
vacancy. The new assistant fire chief
will be Keith Stately. Both firemen
have been working on the volunteer
force for 12 years and have logged
hundreds of hours in the service of
the community.
Stately on fire protection
Roman Stately grew up on the Red
Lake Reservation and has lived there
most of his life. He believes that
there has been a misconception that
the BIA is responsible for fire
protection on Indian reservations but
"this is not true," said Stately. "The
BIA budgets a small amount of
monies through their maintenance
program for the fire protection of
their properties and equipment, for
both Redlake and Ponemah, it has
averaged about $13,500. Redlake
and Ponemah fire department
buildings and equipment were in a
poor state of repair due to this lack
of funding."
Stately believes that the foremost
concern of the new Tribal Chairman,
Gerald "Butch" Brun, and the tribal
council, is fire protection for the Red
Lake Reservation. To back this up.
Stately explained that upon checking
with insurance companies,
Ponemah's average rate is 9, which
means that they pay one of the
highest premium rates set by fire
insurance companies."
"Insurance companies have
informed the council that by having
a manned fire department in
Ponemah, along with proper
equipment, fire insurance premiums
could be cut in half."
The current project, revamping the
existing facilities and equipment,
and getting the necessary funding to
keep around-the-clock firefighters at
the fire hall, could reduce Red
Lake's high fire insurance premuims
also according to Stately.
Smoking kills — deaths top 400,000 in '88
Atlanta, Ga. (AP) - Even as more
Americans are quitting smoking, more
are dying from the habit as
indulgences of the 1950s and '60s take
an increasing toll, federal health
officials said Thurday.
The national Centers for Disease
Control reported that 434,175
Americans died from smoking in 1988,
up 11 percent from the 390,000 deaths
attributed to smoking in a 1985 study.
Those numbers reflect a steady, deadly
trend, CDC researchers said. In 1965,
there were 188,000 smoking deaths.
"The problem is, we are now paying
for what happened 20, 30 years ago,
when large numbers of people smoked
in large amounts," said Dr. William
Roper, director of CDC. "Even though
the percentage of Americans now
smoking is lower, the burden of the
past practice is coming clear."
That burden includes 111,985 annual
deaths from lung cancer, the leading
cause of smoking-related deaths,
Roper said. That is up from 106,000 in
1985 and 38,100 in 1965. "It takes 10,
20 years for the cancer caused by
smoking to result," he said.
Smoking also resulted in 30,851
other cancer deaths, such as mouth
cancers and pancreatic cancer, in
1988; 200,802 deaths from a range of
cardiovascular diseases such as heart
disease and arterial disease; 82,857
deaths from respirator}- diseases such
as bronchitis and emphysema, among
other causes. In addition, there were
2,552 deaths of infants attributed to
the mother's smoking and 1303 burn
deaths in fires caused by smoking.
The CDC also said 3,825 Americans
died from lung cancer caused by
others' smoking, or passive smoke. But
the CDC's statistical formulas do not
yet include passive smoking deaths
from heart diseases, which a recent
study estimated at 37,000 a year.
CDC researchers estimate that 29
percent of Americans smoke,
statistically equal to the 30 percent in
1985, but down 40 percent from 1964,
the year of the landmark surgeon
general's warning against smoking.
CDC surveys show that women are
slower to give up the habit than men
and that Americans younger than 44
smoke more than older people.
The CDC said the 1988 death rate
attributable to smoking was 12 percent
higher for minorities than for whites.
He said that although the deaths
continue to climb, heavy smokers can
still improve thei, chances if they kick
the habit. "It's never too late to quit,"
he said. "People at whatever age —25
or 85 —will benefit themselves from
stopping smoking."
i
i