The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1991-03-20

              King to Resign from Fisheries if Graves is Reelected
by Eva Spindler
Staff Writer
In an open letter to Red Lake
fishermen, Dan King, Red Lake
Fisheries Manger, announced his
resignation if Preston Graves is
reelected to the Association's Board
of Directors.
The conditional resignation
conies after a record year for the
Red Lake Fisheries. The Fisheries
paid out over $2 million dollars to
its members and reached a record
high 201% bonus in 1990.
The reason behind his conditional
resignation stems from interference
and lack of support by the President
of the Red Lake Fisheries Board of
Directors, Preston Graves.
When contacted, Preston Graves
knew nothing about the accusations
and had no comment
The 1990 season was King's first
as manager. King, who is a Red Lake
Tribal member, replaced James
Eisenrich who had been Fisheries
manager since 1958.
King has a B.A. degree from St.
Thomas University in Accounting
and Marketing and has previous
experience in sales and marketing
with Land-O-Lakes.
Preston Graves has been on the
Red Lake Fisheries Board of
Directors for 3 years.
The following is the letter in its
entirety:
I am writing to announce that I
intend to resign as manager of the
Dan King, Manager, Red Lake Fisheries Association
RUN-OFF ELECTION UPHELD
White Earth, Minn. - Though the White Earth special run-off
election held on Feb. 19th was protested by Kelly Bunker, the election
was deemed valid by election judge DeAnna Fairbanks.
At a pre-trial hearing held on Feb. 28th, Bunker presented 11
allegations about the run-off election which he felt were grounds for a
new election. Fairbanks ruled late Tuesday night that "there is a strong
presumption of the Validity of the certified election results. The burden of
proof rests with plaintiff Bunker, not only to overcome this strong
presumption, but to show that there was indeed grave and substantial
error in the election process and that had this grave and substantial error
not occurred, the election outcome would have been different. This court
does find that plaintiff has failed to make a successful showing that any
grave and substantial error existed in regard to the election of Feb. 19th."
Tony Wadena was sworn in last week.
LEECH LAKE RBC CHANGES NAME
Cass Lake, Minn. - In order to emphasize its status as the governing
body of a sovereign American Indian tribe, the Leech Lake Reservation
Business Committee has changed its name to the Leech Lake Tribal
Council, announced Dan Brown, Leech Lake Tribal Chairman.
The name change was enacted by a Feb. 13 resolution, and divisions
of the tribal government were directed to begin using the Tribal Council
designation in all business and governmental correspondence.
Brown said the Reservation Business Committee name has in recent
years proven confusing, particularly to non-Indian business and
governmental entities which sometimes conclude the RBC to be some
offshoot committee of the Reservation's duly elected governing body.
Federal, state, county, and local units of government tend to more
readily identify tribal governments as "tribal councils," said Brown.
The Reservation Business Committee name dates back to the
constitution of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. As the governing bodies
of the six member reservations were formed in 1936, the business
committee designation was intended to identify those units of government
as possessing the independent corporate authority to negotiate and enter
into contracts with other units of government and businesses. Prior to
that, existing tribal governments had been perceived to exercise primarily
political influence. "We believe this name change will more clearly
reflect our authority as a duly elected tribal council," Brown said.
AUDITOR LOOKS AT SCHOOL BUDGET
St Paul, Minn. (AP) - The state auditor's office is reviewing the finances
of the Red Lake school district, which has a $600,000 budget deficit.
Last Monday, State Auditor Mark Dayton and two of his staff
members visited the 1,100-student district, which is located on Red
Lake Indian Reservation in Beltrami County.
Depending on what the audit finds, the state may restrict the district's
spending, said Rep. Jim Tunheim, a DFLer from Kennedy who
represents Red Lake.
The school board was scheduled to meet Monday to discuss
budget-cutting options, said Ed Kroenke, acting superintendent. Those
options include laying off some of the district's more than 100 teachers
and cutting programs.
Kroenke said the district learned of the deficit in December, when an
independent auditor looked over its $8 million annual budget. The
auditor said the district's $300,000 budget reserve was depleted by
$900,000 in overspending.
Kroenke listed two main causes of the deficit. The district received
less than half of the state reimbursement it had expected for removing
asbestos from school buildings. Also, a loan for a new building in
Ponemah fell through, forcing the district to pay for it in one year.
Last month, former superintendent Burle Block resigned. Kroenke
would not comment on whether the resignation was related to the audit
RED LAKE, BELTRAMI CO. SIGN PACT
Red Lake, Minn. - The Red Lake Tribal Council and Beltrami County
entered into a historic agreement March 19, 1991 as Beltrami County
turned over control of many social service functions to the Red Lake Band.
With the county acting as the agent for the State of Minnesota
Department of Human Services, the Beltrami Department of Human
Services was established as the agency and the tribal council as the
contractor to provide social services to residents of the Red Lake Indian
Reservation.
Services will include such things as child protection, family
reunification, case management services for people with mental illness
or developmental handicaps, and families needing social services.
The county is mandated by state law to provide such social services as
child welfare and income maintenance. Now the responsibility will be
shared with Red Lake.
The county will remain financially responsible for both services and
the functions of staff, but Red Lake will do the administrating.
LEECH LAKE SEEKS VOLUNTEERS
Cass Lake, Minn. - Leech Lake Family Services, a divison of the Leech
Lake Tribal Council, is seeking volunteers interested in exploring the
possibility of becoming licensed to provide adult foster care in their homes.
This adult foster care program is desgined to serve Indian and
non-Indian people living on the Leech Lake Reservation. Adults who
will be placed in licensed foster care homes are able to care for
themselves but need a living environment which provides some support
and supervision.
Applications may be picked up at the Leech Lake Family Services Office
in the Facility Center at Cass Lake or call Ronnie Gustaf son at 335-8270.
Red Lake Fisheries Association if
Preston Graves is reelected to the
Association's Board of Directors. I
will resign because I feel that I owe
it to you, Red Lake fishermen (my
employers), to be completely and
totally honest. The only reason that
I will resign is because of the
interference and lack of support by
the President of the Red Lake
Fisheries Board of Directors,
Preston Graves. Please understand
that I am not angry or bitter, just
truthful. I also write to turn away
the false accusations that I have
distributed anonymous letters.
When I write I sign my name. As I
explain my reasons for leaving the
fisheries, I will deal with facts only.
I will not deal in rumors, insults,
innuendo or any other indirect way
of handling a difficult situation.
This is the way it is.
Even before I was hired by the
Fisheries* Board of Directors, I told
them that if they wanted a "yes
man" they should hire someone
else. They said that they did not
want a "yes man." The fisheries
board as a whole told the truth.
Preston Graves misled me. In spite
of some disagreements with other
board members, I can work with
them because they listen and are
reasonable. Some members of the
board are strongly influenced by
Preston. I don't blame them for that
or have problems with them. It is
Preston who investigates any
disagreements between the board
and me.
Preston Graves would like a
manager who does what Preston
Graves wants, not what is best for
the fisheries. I am simply trying to
do my job. I try as hard as I can
whenever I do anything. I like
being the best at whatever I do.
However, because of Preston's
interference with my duties, I
cannot do my best or do what is in
the best interest of the fisheries.
. Many times Preston has ordered
me to do things that I do not feel
would be in the fisheries* best
interest. I have refused every time.
When he loses, he tries to influence
other board members to gain
support for his ideas, or bad mouths
me behind my back. Graves claims
that he supports me but he doesn't
accept or respect my business
judgement. I pride myself on my
ability to compromise and reason
with people, but Preston wants
everything done his way.
Unfortunately for all of us, his way
is often far off target. And because
of his behind the scenes scheming, I
spend 30% of my time dealing with
political problems as opposed to
economic ones, like I should be
working on. My stance is that you
have hired me to manage, so let me
manage. If you a
my performance, then get another
manager.
Preston states that he supports me
and denies interference with my
duties as manager. Once again, the
facts show otherwise. Listed below
are the responsiblities of the
president and the manager as stated
in section five of the bylaws of the
Red Lake Fisheries Association. I
did not write these. These are the
laws that all of us must follow until
they are changed.
a) The President shall preside
over all meetings of the Association
and board directors.
b) The manager shall have the
general supervision of the business
of the Association, in accordance
with the terms of his contract. He
shall direct the production, sorting,
packing, transportation, and sale of
fish and other products handled. In
King/ See page 4
Voice   orf *:J~n
Anisttinab^
Fifty Cents
Founded in 1988
Volume 3 ls«
March 20, 1991~|
Copyright, the Ojibwe News, 1991
A Bi-Monthly Publication
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601
Major Addition to Naytahwaush Elementary
School might be ready by Labor Day
Naytauwaush Elementary School showing the new addition. Photo by Paul Boswell
by Paul V. Boswell
Naytahwaush, Minn.-A major,
new addition at the Naytahwaush
Elementary School is expected to be
ready for use by Labor Day,
according to Brent Gish, teaching
principal at the school.
"We're very excited," said Gish.
"It's been a long time coming." The
principal said the school will
continue to provide quality education
to its students but now will have the
advantage of using a modern facility
with up-to-date resources and the
latest technology.
At present the school has three
floors. The one-floor addition will
extend from the existing second floor
and house, among other things, a new
library and a computer room. New
restrooms will also be installed.
Plans call for the second and third
floor space to be rearranged, and
dividing walls will be removed in
some cases. The school will become
accessible to the handicapped with the
installation of an elevator and ramp.
And the lunch room will be
remodeled.
According to Gish, the addition is
made possible by support from the
Federal Construction 815 Funds for
school districts heavily impacted by
nontaxable assets.
The addition was sorely needed,
said Gish, pointing out that the
school's enrollment increased about 2
1/2 times in the past decade and is
currently about 160 strong. But he
said the enrollment is expected to
continue to swell as high as 175-200
in the near future.
Even with the addition, the school
will be filled to capacity, said Gish.
"We'll probably be short (of space)
from day one," he said. But he noted
that the architectural design provides
the option of building another
addition in the future.
SchOOl/ See page 10
Casino planned for Mahnomen
By Petr Kotz
White Earth Reservation Chairman
Chip Wadena has big plans for big
cash.
If the idea bears fruit, Mahnomen
could be home to northern
Minnesota's brightest nightlife.
White Earth and Mahnomen
officials are presently working out
details to build a casino in the city.
The plan calls for a full-scale casino
comparable to those in Las Vegas.
If legal obstacles can be overcome,
Wadena believes the facility will be
a drawing card for gamblers across
the Midwest.
White Earth is not the first
reservation to turn to gambling for
economic development. Nine of the
state's 11 reservations presently
have tribal-state compacts that allow
betting.
Indian-run casinos in Prior Lake,
Walker, and Morton are all thriving.
Even a gaming parlor in Duluth,
once considered a fiscal liability, is
"beginning to turn the corner,"
according to Wadena.
If the Reservation Tribal Council's
(RTC) visions prove accurate. White
Earth's could be the grandest of
them all.
Though still in the planning stage,
Wadena foresees a facility complete
with slot machines, black-jack
tables, craps, and roulette. When
fully operational, the casino will
essentially provide the same
gambling as Las Vegas or Atlantic
City—except closer to home.
The chairman thinks the attraction
should lure gamblers from as far
away as Chicago.
Yet according to the Minnesota
attorney general's office, the legality
of full-scale gambling is questionable.
It may end up in court
Mary Magnuson, a special assistant
attorney general, said there is no
precedent in Minnesota for all-
purpose casino gambling. She also
believes the RTC's proposal would
violate federal law.
Under U.S. Statutes, reservations
have almost exclusive control over
such games as bingo, pulltabs, and
tip boards. Yet more sophisticated
gambling—officially known as
Class HI games—calls for state and
federal approval.
The law further notes that any
game deemed illegal by the state
also is illegal on reservations.
Hence, the more advanced
gambling proposed by the RTC
would not be sanctioned by the state,
Magnuson believes.
Of the nine reservations with
tribal-state compacts, only one
offers blackjack. The remaining
eight are restricted to nothing more
than video slot machines.
Magnuson said this is the most
advanced form of gambling
legalized in Minnesota.
Her opinion, however, has not
been without challenges.
Two years ago, the Lower Sioux
Community in Morton filed suit in
federal court asserting that
Minnesota has the right to allow
blackjack on reservations.
The tribe won the first round of
litigation, but it remains in court on
appeal, according to Wadena.
In the meantime, the reservation
has gone into the blackjack business.
Wadena disagrees with the thrust
of Magnuson's argument, saying the
state has been paternalistic in
governing reservation gambling.
The chairman contends Morton's
victory sets a precedent for White
Earth. He further asserts that
charitable forms of roulette also set a
precedent for the RTC.
Wadena is convinced both will be
approved by the state. Others will be
soon to follow, he adds.
"If we don't get some kind of pact
I'm sure there will be a lawsuit."
J
More jobs, more money
The RTC is currently negotiating
the purchase of a 64-acre site just off
Hwy. 59. Architects are already
surveying the site for construction
possibilities.
Plans call for a basic structure at first
but the design will also incorporate
opportunities for expansion.
If expectations of success prove
accurate, the tribe has additional
plans for a motel, day-care center,
playground—even a sports and
off-track betting parlor.,
The cost of the project is presently
unknown.
Wadena expects the casino to
bring dozens of jobs to the
reservation, where unemployment
runs rampant. Though White Earth
enrollees will get special
opportunities for work, the chairman
said there would be no mandates.
"I'm sure we'll have a preference.
There's going to be 60-100 quality
jobs. These aren't going to be
minimum wage positions."
In terms of revenue, Wadena looks
to Walker as evidence of gambling's
possibilities.
He said the Walker casino,
operated by the Leech Lake
CaSinO / see page 2
Meatless meals are high
in protein, low in cost