The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1991-05-15

              Lawyer accused of manipulating Indians he's been working for
By Susan Stanich
• He's been the attorney for the
largest Indian tribe in four states for
17 years.
• He helped win a U.S. Supreme
Court decision that ultimately
allowed Indian tribes nationwide to
move into casino gambling.
• He misled some tribal clients into
contracting with him for work that
he knew was non-existent, and he's
accused of not representing the best
interests of other tribal clients.
• He's under investigation by the
state Lawyers Professional
Responsibility Board for conflict of
interest because he owns and
operates businesses that serve the
bands he represents as an attorney.
• He's praised by some tribal
officials and criticized by others.
He's Kent Tupper, a Minneapolis
attorney whose 25-year career in
Indian law is coming under seige.
An increasingly vocal group within
the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
blames Tupper for compromising
their treaty rights, for being
instrumental in losing their land, and
for manipulating the unwieldy tribal
structure—with its nearly total lack
of accountability—to his own
financial advantage.
And in recent months, three of 12
tribal officials have questioned
whether Tupper has a conflict of
interest regarding his 20-month-old
gambling supply/management
business. A Department of Interior
attorney recommended that the
matter be referred to the state
Lawyers Professional Responsibility
Board. The board had already begun
an investigation, prompted by
complaints filed by members from
two reservations.
Tupper, 59, began his career in
Indian law on the Leech Lake
Reservation in the 1960s as an
idealistic and effective attorney,
former associates say. A Marine
Corps veteran of the Korean War
era, the South Dakota native moved
to Walker within a few years after
earning his law degree from William
Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul
in 1963.
"He's probably the person I
respect most in the profession," said
Tupper's former law partner, Harlan
Smith of Walker.
In those early days, Tupper
handled everything from divorces to
major treaty litigation. He helped
close two below-standard jails where
mostly Indian prisoners were kept,
and he won a controversial treaty
hunting and fishing case for Leech
Lake. He said he got very little pay
for his efforts.
Except for land-claims issues,
tribes had no attorneys in those days,
Tupper said. As soon as he opened
his legal aid project office, he was
deluged with requests from
individuals and from governments at
other reservations, he said.
Bois Forte plans $20 million expansion
Tower, Minn. (AP) - The Bois Forte Indian Reservation is planning a $20
million expansion of the Fortune Bay gambling casino near Lake Vermilion
in northeastern Minnesota. The expansion plans include a 120-room hotel,
convention hall, blackjack and slot, machine casino, campground, shopping
arcade, two restaurants, 100-slip marina, 18-hole golf course, interpretive
center and satellite television game show. "We hope it's going to look like
Tahoe," said Cy Kauchick, president of Fortune Bay Development Co. and
adviser for the Bois Forte band. He said he hopes construction will begin in
the summer of 1992. Employment would jump from about 100 to nearly 600
people, he said, adding that many of the jobs would go to Bois Forte
members who now face high unemployment. Doris Isham, vice president of
the reservation business committee, said such an expansion could be the
economic catalyst for economic, development and decent jobs for Bois Forte
band members. "The people who want to work will get the jobs" she said.
"Our first priority (for jobs) is Indian people from on the reservation."
A $250,000 grant for improving road access and sewer and water systems
at the resort complex was being sought from the Iron Range Resources and
Rehabilitation Board. Other financing was expected this summer when the
reservation business committee votes on final approval for the project.
In addition to an IRRRB grant, the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs was
expected to contribute up to $3 million, with the rest financed through local
banks, Kauchick said. State Sen. Doug Johnson, DFL-Cook, said an IRRRB
contribution was warranted because the project would help attract tourists to
the area, eventually helping to fill nearby stores, resorts and restaurants.
Navajo Nation Today becomes weekly
Window Rock, Ariz. (AP) - The Navajo Nation J'oday becames a
weekly publication as of last Wednesday. The newspaper, which recently
began as a monthly, is staffed mostly with people who worked for the daily
Navajo Tunes Todayvn 1987 before then-tribal chairman Peter MacDonald
shut it down. The Tunes subsequently reverted to weekly publication.
The publisher of the newcomer, Mark Trahant, said the Navajo Nation
Today is employee-owned and is totally independent of tribal government.
He said it will be aggressive in covering issues that he said no one else has
wanted to touch. And he said the paper will be a strong voice for free
enterprise and the development of the private sector on the reservation.
Trahant added that he hopes it will become a daily some time next year.
Shooting Star chosen name for new casino
White Earth, Minn. - The Reservation Tribal Council has announced
that they have chosen a name for the new casino. Of over 200 entries in
the "Name That Casino" contest, and Edward LeBeau of Bemidji won,
with "Shooting Star." LeBeau will receive the $100 prize for his name.
The Tribe hopes to have the 65,000-square foot Shooting Star Casino
open for business in early November. The casino complex will include a
hotel, a restaurant, a 250-seat dinner theatre, as well as a wide variety of
casino games and slots.
Living with the HIV/AIDS virus
Presentations designed to increase public awareness of AIDS and
sensitivity to the needs of individuals and families living with the HIV
virus will.be offered from 1 to 5 p.m. May 15 at the Leech Lake Bingo
Palace, located just northwest of Cass Lake on Bingo Palace Drive.
The conference "Living with AIDS" is free and open to both
professionals and the general public free of charge. It is sponsored by
the Reservation Health Division and Leech Lake Area AIDS Task
Force. Speakers will address the topics: HIV/AIDS education and its
impact; a family perspective on HIV/AIDS; personal experience, living
with HIV/AIDS; and a single mother's perspective.
In addition, a women's gathering will be held from 9:15 to 11:15 a.m.
in the upstairs conference room of the Che-Wa-Ka-E-Gon Complex,
Cass Lake, during which Mary Janis will share her story as a single
mother living with the HIV virus. She will also talk about the
dysfunctional family and the topic of death and dying.
Free refreshments will be provided at morning and afternoon events
and drawings for door prizes will also be held at both sessions.
AIDS information line in service
Announcing the "Indian AIDS Information Line," a national toll free
line designed to provide Native specific information on HIV disease
and related issues. The Information Line offers ready access to
members of the public, community groups, media workers, and health
professionals. It is available 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m, Pacific time. It's
Free! It's Confidential! It's Accurate! It's Native Specific!
1-800-283-2437 or 1-800-283-AIDS.
Open house at Red Lake Nursing Home
In celebration of "Homes for the Aging" Week, the Red Lake Nursing
Home (Jourdain-Perpich Extended Care Facility) will be holding an
open house. This will run from 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. on Thursday, May
16th. The public is invited to attend. The Red Lake Nursing Home is
located in Red Lake and is attached to the Red Lake Hospital. For more
information, call Harry Davis at (218) 679-3400.
Funds requested for Red Lake water
Washington, D.C. - Congressman Collin Peterson recently released
a letter requesting funding for water system improvements on the Red
Lake Reservation. The letter was sent to Congressman Sidney Yates*
who chairs the Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior.
"Drinking water quality is critically important," said Congressman
Peterson. "This project would provide clean water to 370 households,
and by doing it now we can save the taxpayer money," concluded
Peterson. Peterson was joined on the letter by four other Minnesota
representatives: Congressmen James Oberstar, Martin Sabo, Bruce
Vento, and Gerry Sikorski.
Board of Rural Minnesota CEP to meet
Rural Minnesota CEP's Board of Directors will meet on Wed., May
22, 1991, at 9:30 A.m., at the Rural Minnesota CEP Administration
Conference Room, Detroit Lakes, Minnesota.
"Indian rights were in a lot of
trouble," Tupper said. "There were
all kinds of domestic problems
because of poverty on the
reservation" and, for want of legal
help, Indians' treaty rights
languished under an oppressive state
regulatory presence.
The driving force behind Tupper
was "intellectual curiosity combined
with a profound sense of justice,"
Smith said.
Tupper began working for the
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe—the
umbrella government for the bands
at Leech Lake, Bois Forte, Grand
Portage, Fond du Lac, Mille Lacs,
and White Earth—in 1974.
That year tribal officials and the
executive director, the late George
Goodwin, considered a proposal to
allow the member bands to permit
liquor on their reservations. Federal
law had long forbidden liquor on
reservations, but in 1953 Congress
allowed tribes to decide.
"The Leech Lake (leadership)
came and asked me about the liquor
ordinance," said Roger Jourdain,
then chairman of the Red Lake
Chippewa Tribe, which is unrelated
to the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
and still doesn't allow liquor on its
reservation near Bemidji.
"As I understood it from them,
some of them were madder than hell
about that—we have enough
problems on our reservations
without liquor. But they (Goodwin
and Tupper) got the (leaders) to lift
that prohibition, and I'll be damned,
the first one who bought a license
was George Goodwin and Kent
Tupper. That was the beginning of
Tupper manipulating the poor
people up there."
The tribe's liquor ordinance
became law on March 4, 1975. On
June 30, 1975, Tupper, Goodwin
and another associate established
TGL Corporation, also known as the
Y Bottle Shop, on the Leech Lake
Reservation.
Tupper sees no conflict. He said
there was not a finite number of
licenses, so he had no particular
advantage over other potential
license buyers. He said he sold his
interest in the business "a couple" of
years ago.
But Tupper's critics argue that this
blurred arrangement helped set the
tone for a more serious conflict in
the 1990s: Tupper's casino supply
and management business.
Creative Games Technology Inc.
serves four casinos on three
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
reservations: Fortune Bay at Bois
Forte, where Tupper serves as
attorney for the band and for the
casino; Grand Portage Reservation,
where Tupper served as attorney
until Feb. 28; and Leech Lake
Reservation, which has two casinos.
The firm recently installed about
500 state-of-the-art video gambling
machines at the four sites.
A casino employee at Leech Lake
said the lease rate is 37 percent of
the take. An employee at Grand
Portage said the rate there is 67
ACCUSed/ see page 8
Fifty Conts
'^ftfljiE*"
Founded in 1988
Volume 3 Issue 21
May 15,1991 )
' Copyright, the Ojibwe News, 1991
A Bi-Monthly Publication
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601
"Restless Native: David Bradley" to return home
Chippewa Family, an acrylic on canvas, 24 x 30, part of the Collection by Da\^ Bradley wlik^ is on display at the Plairis Art Museum urrtl June 30,1991.
"Restless Native: David Bradley
Retrospective" opened April 26, at
the Plains Art Museum, Moorhead,
Minn. The exhibition runs through
June 30, and includes paintings,
prints and sculpture. A gallery talk
about Bradley's work was conducted
on May 2 at 7 p.m. by Nadema
Agard-Smith.
Bradley is a native of Minnesota
who now makes his home in Santa
Fe, N.M. This Plains Art Museum-
produced retrospective will travel to
Minneapolis for exhibition at the
Pillsbury Center, July 8-19, and Two
Rivers Gallery, July 24-August 28.
"With this one-man respective, I
celebrate the completion of what,
for me, are certain sacred circles
and the beginnings of new ones,"
says Bradley. "It is appropriate
that this event takes place at the
Plains Art Museum so near to my
reservation, White Earth. The
return to my homeland is both
symbolic and poignant. It is a
pilgrimage," he continues.
Bradley left Minnesota seventeen
years ago on a search which began
in the Southwestern United States.
His journey took him as far south as
Hispanola, Costa Rica, Panama,
and Guatemala. He lived for a year
with the Mayan Indians in a very
remote spot in Guatemala on the
top of their highest mountain range.
Compared to American standards of
living, it was a very primitive
lifestyle, but he it was both
monastic and transform- ational.
When he returned to the U.S., he
spent time living among the Navajo
Indians in Arizona. He enrolled and
later graduated at the top of his
class at the Institute of American
Indian Arts (IAIA).
After graduation he started
earning a living as a professional
artist, entering the Minneapolis
and Santa Fe art markets. Bradley
has strived to maintain a sense of
honesty in his work and a reverence
for his Indian identity. Originality
in his art work has strengthened his
sense of pride and self-respect.
He grew up in Minnesota, much
of his time was spent in
Minneapolis, but he also lived in
the north woods for a time. "I still
remember working as a skilled fish
filleter at a fishing resort on the
Leech Lake Indian Reservation,
hoping to some day be promoted to
the position of Indian fishing
guide," he recalls.
He has always felt strongly about
Indian rights issues. His first
Indian leadership experience was
serving as president of the Indian
Students Club during his final year
of high school. Today, as an artist,
he has the luxury and the
responsibility to speak out and
promote causes which benefit
Indian people. In the last couple of
years he has taken time out to step
back from the hype of the art
market to return to the IAIA as a
guest lecturer, and to become
involved in the White Earth Land
Reclamation Project.
He made a pilgrimage to
Wounded Knee to be a part of the
100-year commemoration of the
Wounded Knee Massacre which
has a special significance in the
context of historical Indian rights
struggles. In his most recent art
works, he makes statements about
these struggles. He realizes that
Indians are, by definition, political
beings and that he can not steer
clear of politics, keeping his life
simple and positive. He has
become an at-large representative
and advocate of the Chippewa
people and American Indians in
general, in the art world. "It is a
responsibility which I do not take
lightly," says Bradley.
Art Gahbow, A Tribute Human being first—chief second
Oh how we—mere mortals—could
leam some basics of life by simply
taking some quiet time and reflecting
on the goodness of our departed
friend, and human being, Art Gahbow.
I was into my second term as tribal
Chairman, and newly elected
President of the National Tribal
Chairman's Association when I met
Art. Unlike most of the other leaders
he had a special quiet untapped
quality that glowed with his smile.
One would hardly suspect this
quiet man carried the burden of his
people for 19 years and held dearly
in each breath he spoke concerning
the sovereignty, dignity and destiny
of the Mille Lacs Tribe. I respected
what Art had to say because he said
it with conviction and commitment
for the best interests of Indian
people and not Art.
During the last 20 years of Indian
movement from stoicism, Indian
activism to bingoism while others
tried to STAR, he led his people and
supported others quietly and
purposefully with their consent,
evidenced by their democratic voice
of open election. I last witnessed his
latest recommendations on Indian
sovereignty that he recently shared
with the Minnesota Quincentennary
commission in preparing for the
500th Columbus Day.
We all understood each statement
he presented from the beginning of
the meeting in which he invoked the
Great Spirit to direct us all by
sharing his pipe with the participants
until his departure for another
meeting concerning his people, and
again, like many times before, it was
his wife* and family Who picked him
up to go to the next.
One of his tribal members said he
lived and breathed tribal leadership.
What an honor when it seems in
todays Indian world the big J
(jealousy) has everyone trying to be
chief first and Indian second—for all
the wrong reasons.
I know that Art was a role model
for me and I hope he has left that
quiet strength of positive leadership
in a number of other Indian or
non-Indian people. For the survival of
the Indian people—with sovereignty—
we need more chiefs like Art.
Yes, real chiefs must remember
Sitting Bull passed 100 years ago, he
was Sioux, and also did a good job.
Art Gahbow, we give you tribute,
human being, Chief 1972-1991,
Mille Lacs Chippewa. Thank you for
being Indian in a time when it is
very hard to be a good Indian.
Megwetch Art, from those of us
who care.
R.J. LaFromboise
previous Chairman, Turtle
Mountain and President NTCA
*b