The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1991-08-28

              Camp Justice protesters arrested third time
By Allen Undem
"What's your name?" asked
Mahnomen police chief Jim
Kochmann.
"Douglas Fineday."
Fineday sat among a group of
White Earth protesters on an
unfinished concrete foundation at
the site of the Shooting Star casino
in Mahnomen.
"Do you refuse to leave?"
Fineday solemnly nodded his
head.
"Then you are under arrest for
trespass. Will you walk to the squad
car for me?"
The officer's voice was
authoritative yet compassionate. He
was just doing his job. Yet the last
sentence had a tone of pleading.
But Fineday just shook his head.
"No, you'll have to carry me."
Douglas Fineday is a man of
formidable size. And in the 90-degree
heat last Thursday afternoon, six law
officers broke a considerable sweat
carrying him to the car and stuffing
him into the back seat.
For both law enforcement officers
and White Earth dissidents the event
is becoming almost routine. Last
Thursday was the third time this
month that mass arrests were made
for charges of criminal trespass.
At about 1 p.m. some 25 squad
cars from seven counties converged
on the Mahnomen construction site,
where Indian dissidents had been
protesting for financial disclosure of
the new casino's financial backers.
Twenty-nine protesters were
charged in Mahnomen County
District Court before Judge Michael
Kraker last Thursday afternoon. All
were released on the written promise
to appear in court and written
promises to refrain from trespassing
on casino property any further.
Sheriff's departments from
Mahnomen, Clearwater, Becker,
Polk, Hubbard, Clay, Pennington,
Red Lake, Beltrami, and Norman
Counties assisted with the arrests.
Five municipal police departments
also were involved, plus
conservation officers from the DNR.
Protesters say they want to meet
with White Earth Chairman Chip
Wadena and the tribal council.
Wadena, however, says no one has
contacted him requesting a meeting
since July 27, when he and Jerry
Rawley did meet briefly with protest
leaders.
He has been out of town part of
that time.
"I'm not sure they want to meet
with me," Wadena said. "I think it's
a fallacy that they want a resolution.
They have what they want now -
sensationalism and an orchestrated
media event."   .
With reference to protesters'
allegations of shady dealings with
financing the new casino, Wadena
said, "We've been open about the
funding all along."
He said $4 million of the $10-plus
million project came from an
appropriation from the White Earth
Land Settlement Act. Further funding
includes a Bureau of Indian Affairs
guaranteed loan through Marquette
Bank in Minneapolis, a loan Wadena
hopes will be approved soon.
Additionally, up to $5 million is
being pursued from Pennsylvania
Red Lake concert a big success
On Sunday, August 25th, the First
Annual Back-to-School Outdoor
Concert was held at the Red Lake
football field. The concert was put
on by the Red Lake Rehab program
and sponsored by Adam Lussier.
There were three bands scheduled
to appear. The first band, "XTC,"
failed to appear as scheduled. The
second band, "After Hours," went on
earlier than scheduled. This band put
on an exceptonal performance and
featured guitarists/vocalists Andy
Jourdain and Arlie Wiph. Lead
guitarist, Bob Maxwell, and
drummer, Bob Maxwell, Jr., also put
on excellent performances. These
guys featured a great variety of
musical styles including country
rock and rock-n-roll, which had the
crowd cheering for more. These
guys will be back at next year's Fest
for sure!
The next band to take the stage
was the "MidninM Rid?-?". These
guys didn't waste any time kicking
into high gear for a two-hour set of
classic rock-n-roll, which featured
such classics as "R.O.C.K. in the
U.S.A." by John Cougar, "Money
for Nuthin'" by Dire Straits, and
"Stairway to Heaven" by Led Zep.
Drummer/vocalist Terry Adams also
performed an awesome drum solo.
which brought back memories of
Iron Butterflies "Inna-Gadda-
Da-Vida". The bands lead guitarist/
vocalist, Dana Bonga, displayed a
dazzling array of guitar styles which
clearly demonstrated why he is one
of the areas top guitar players/
singers.,His guitar solo featured a
variety of blues/rock/and
two-handed techniques that had the
audience cheering for more. The
band's bassist, Mike Jourdain,
pounded out some mean sounds with
his hard-rockin', bass-thumpin'
style. His bass playing complimented
the band's style perfectly. Area
recording artist. Randy Bauer, joined
the "Riders" on stage for a smashing
rendition of "Runaround Sue",
"Mind Your Own Business", and
"Dancing in the Dark" on his
saxaphone. Randy, whose regular
band is called "Two's Company",
had the whole crowd cheering with
his screaming saxaphone solo. Look
for him to appear at next year's Fest.
Afterwards, a musicians' jam
session was held and other
musicians got to show their stuff.
All in all, this First Annual
Back-To-School Concert was
considered a success and already
plans are being drawn up for next
year's Fest. Watch for it.
Indian colleges get
$1 million assistance
Corporate America agreed July
16 to assist 27 Indian colleges with
$1 million in assistance this year
and a total of $2 million by the end
of next year.
That good news was reported by
the New York Times in a story that
said the USWest Foundation, a
telecommunications corporation
headquartered in Denver and the
charitable arm of United States
West, announced the program in
Washington. "The American
public, if they think of Indians at
all, largely has the perception
given to them by Hollywood," said
Jane Prancan, executive director
the USWest Foundation. "We
know the Indians to be self-reliant,
competent and professional and
the tribal colleges are further
developing these attributes. We
hope the fund-raising campaign
will portray the tribal colleges as
we know them, "Prancan told the
Tunes.
Richard D. McCormick,
president of US West, said most of
the colleges were established in
the past decade and were too new
to have attracted help from private
foundations or from companies
more accustomed to supporting
prestigious universities. He said
the major aim of the USWest
initiative is to enable the American
Indian College Fund, which
represents the Indian colleges, to
mount a national fund-raising
campaign.
The 27 colleges listed by the
Times includes five Indian colleges
(one in Regina, Saskatchewan)
that are not tribally controlled
community colleges, as designated
by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. In
addition to the Canadian college,
the others were Crownpoint
Institute of Technology,
Crownpoint, N.M.; United Tribes
Technical College, Bismark, N.D.;
Haskell Indian Junior College,
Lawrence, Kans.; and Southwest
Indian Polytechnic Institute,
Albuquerque, N.M.
Among the 22 tribally controlled
community colleges receiving
more than $20 million in funding
from the BIA this fiscal year are:
Bay Mills Community College,
Brimley, Mich.; Cheyenne River
Community College, Eagle Butte,
S.D.; Fond du Lac Community
College, Cloquet, Minn.; Fort
Berthold College, New Town,
N.D.; Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa
Community College, Hayward,
Wise; Little Hoop Community
College, Fort Totten, N.D.; Oglala
Lakota College, Kyle, S.D.; Sinte
Gleska College, Rosebud, S.D.;
Sisseton-Wahpeton Community
College, Sisseton, S.D.; Standing
Rock College, Fort Yates, N.D.;
and Turtle Mountain Community
College, Belcourt, N.D.
investors known as Gaming World
International. That group would
handle the gaming, restaurant and
hotel operations.
In return they will receive 40
percent of revenues.
Protesters believe the group is tied
to organized crime.
In answer to those allegations
Wadena says records and resumes of
everyone involved have been
submitted to the Minnesota Gaming
Commission as well as the federal
government.
"They have to pass the stringent
scrutiny of the government," he said.
Wadena is proposing a panel be
formed with mutually agreed upon
representatives from the tribal
council and Camp Justice. He said if
issues could be mutually agreed
upon the council would be willing to
act on the findings.
If that panel decided a new
election for Secretary-Treasurer was
necessary, Wadena said he would
comply with the decision.
But protesters are resistant to
meetings of representatives, saying
true democracy involves all the
people and meetings should be open
to everyone wishing to attend and
speak their piece.
"I'm not sure they understand how
democracy works," Wadena
commented.
Since June the protesters have
asked Sen. Paul Wellstone to
intervene, especially with regard to
alleged tribal election fraud.
Wellstone urged U.S. Attorney Jerry
Arnold to investigate the matter, but
last week Arnold refused, saying his
office does not have jurisdiction in
intratribal affairs.
"Paul wants to play a helpful role,
said Wellstone aide Doug Stone.
"We're going to have a meeting to
figure out what to do next."
What the dissidents do next
depends on group meetings held
each evening at "Camp Justice" in
White Earth.
Although those arrested promised
not to interfere with construction at
the casino in the future, a spokesman
said it is possible others in the group
might repeat the demonstrations.
[Reprinted with permission from the
Becker County Record, Aug. 18, 1991.]
Voice   of tlrns   Aniishtina.t>c
1
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August 28, 1991 I
° Copyright, the Ojibwe News, 1991
Protesters seek
non-Indian support
Mahnomen, Minn. (AP) -
Protesters from the White Earth
band are seeking the support of
non-Indian residents in their
campaign against the tribal
government.
This week, the demonstrators went
to Mahnomen, Waubun, Detroit
Lakes and other communities to
distribute 10-page newsletters. The
flyers recount protesters* allegations
that the tribal government has
committed election fraud, misused
tribal funds and given organized
crime a stake in the operation of a
tribal casino scheduled to open in
Mahnomen next year.
The flyer also invites readers to an
informational meeting Wednesday at
"Camp Justice," the protesters'
headquarters outside White Earth
government offices.
"We're taking it to various
communities and making sure
people are knowledgeable about
what's going on here," protest leader
Marvin Manypenny said Tuesday.
"We want to inform them that
we're not just a bunch of people
who create problems, but that we
have real concerns here."
The protests have resulted in 82
arrests for trespassing since they
began July 26.
Tribal Chairman Darrell "Chip"
Wadena has shrugged off the
protesters' allegations, calling it
election year propaganda. He
released a statement Tuesday saying
the protesters weren't interested in
resolving their differences with
tribal leaders.
Wadena said he'd arranged to
meet with the protesters Monday to
discuss their demands, but the
protesters cancelled. "I don't
understand their logic," Wadena said
in the release. "They've been
demanding to meet with us, we
agree, then they cancel. It's a
Catch-22 situation."
Manypenny said the protesters
didn't meet with Wadena because he
refused to discuss their demand that
tribal secretary-treasurer Jerry
Rawley be removed from office.
A Bi-Monthly Publication
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601
W
The Pow wow Trail is almost over for this year. B. J. Graves is shown at last weeks Ni-Mi-Win Pow wow.
Staples Tech will offer casino courses
By Susan Hamre
Staff writer
A new education program that will
directly affect Native Americans
throughout the state begins this fall.
The Casino/Gaming Operation and
Management Program, offered through
a northern Minnesota technical college,
will train Native Americans for work
on their reservations and also intends to
provide the gaming industry, one of the
fastest growing industries in the state,
with a competent, skilled work force.
Beginning September 3, the
Staples/Brainerd Regional Technical
College is offering a degree program
and credit courses in Casino/Gaming
Operation and Management. The
program is primarily aimed at Native
Americans. It is a response to the
gaming industry boom on reservations
and the need for employees to fill the
thriving industry's employment needs.
Mike Hager, reservation coordinator
for the college, wrote the "Quick
Start" proposal for the program after
receiving a request from Burman
Consultants of Minneapolis on behalf
of Mille Lacs Grand Casino officials.
Subsequent requests flowed in from the
Little Six Casino at Shakopee and
Northern Lights Casino at Leech Lake.
Hager said the proposal was
unanimously approved in mid-August
by the State Board of Technical
Colleges. The state's technical college
system will provide the approximately
$65,000 needed to get the program
started. Since the approval, Hager said,
calls have been pouring in from
around the state. "Everyone has been
over whelmingly positive about it."
Hager's staff and reservation
officials will have to work fast to get
things ready for the opening day of
classes this fall. But, Hager said things
are running smoothly so far.
Hager said he expects the program
will be "inundated by sheer numbers,"
once people become aware of it.
"MUle Lacs alone has to train at least
another 900 employees in the next
year," he said.
Mille Lacs will be the site of the first
full-time 48 credit casino management
course, according to Lynn Peterson,
Staples'  customized training
representative in charge of
coordinating the program. Classes
required range from English and
Mathematics to Pit Boss Coordination
Techniques and Basic Video Games.
Peterson has been working out the
logistics of the program, including
assisting reservations in determining
which needs are peculiar to their
situation. "It varies with each casino,
because each is in a different
developmental stage . . . Little Six
almost is in a constant need for blackjack
dealers and pit bosses," he said.
Peterson also said the program was
devised so that courses can be taken
independently of one another for
specific skills. "If someone wants just
a blackjack dealing course, then they
can take that and will be qualified for
a job dealing blackjack."
Justin Moritz, training director at
Little Six gaming operations in
Shakopee, Minn., said when he started
working there in March, gaming
operations employed about 525
individuals. Since June, when Litde Six
Courses/ see page 2
Nighthorse Campbell and Inouye address tribal conflicts
By Jim Ortiz
Staff writer
At the Arts and Tourism Symposium
held Aug. 19-23 in Albuquerque, N.M.,
Rep. Ben Nighthorse Campbell
(D-Colo.) addressed troubles with tribal
councils and tribal members. Problems
were evident many reservations.
Nighthorse Campbell commented
that tribal members from seven tribes,
mostly elders, have come to him within
the last two months angry with their
tribal councils, councils that have
signed agreements with solid waste
disposal companies to build dumps on
their reservations. He went on to say, "I
have to tell them, 'You elected them.
Don't you have a recall system?' I
found out that most of them don't have
a recall provision in their constitutions."
'They're angry with their own leaders
and come to Congress for us to fix. But
some things we can't fix. You can't run
over the tribal council without eroding
tribal sovereignty. It is a very difficult
thing, and yet the older people who
believe in taking care of the earth see it
as an absolute desecration. But the
council that was elected tries to get jobs
and money into the community; many
times they feel they have the
responsibility to do just that."
At the symposium Senator Inouye
said that "no matter how sensitive you
are at establishing a solid waste
disposal facility on your reservation,
the time may come, generations from
now, when your grandchildren and
great-grandchildren may suffer."
When asked about election fraud and
tribal conflicts, Inouye responded,
"Obviously we are dismayed with any
report of election fraud. But in our great
democracy, we seem to have it all over
the place. I'm not going to justify
election fraud anyplace. I don't think
the committee should be like 'Big
Brother' and say this is the way it
should be. If there is fraud, I think
people should have the good sense to
get rid of those who are involved. That
is the election process, after all, there is
sovereignty. I hope Indians will
remember that - sovereignty."
Native people are faced with
complex issues. There are millions of
tons of toxic waste produced each year
and we're running out of places to put
it. I say we because everyone is
involved in one way or another.
Maybe we should open up tours of
toxic waste dump facilities. What
good will money do if no one is there
to benefit from it? Seriously, waste
must go somewhere and the grand
trustee may someday dictate where it
must go. We, as a minority, hate to
guess where that may be.
The issue of tribal conflict is complex
because it involves sovereignty.
Perhaps Senator Inouye's proposal of a
native political confederacy could do
something to remedy the situation
because the government continues with
their hands-off approach.
No federal investigation; new election urged at White Earth
In a prepared statement issued
Tuesday, August 13, U.S. District
Attorney Jerry Arnold announced
that his office would not investigate
allegations of election fraud at
White Earth Indian Reservation.
Those allegations are supported by
signed affidavits from Sue
Bellefeuille, a former tribal employee,
confessing to stuffing ballot boxes in a
1990 special election.
Arnold said, "Federal penal
statutes do not extend to tribal
government elections.
"The Department of Justice has
been lobbying Congress to pass the
Anti-Corruption Act which would
provide federal penalties for election
frauds or irregularities such as the
charges brought by White Earth
Tribal members and would extend to
Indian tribal elections," Arnold said.
In a letter to Bureau of Indian
Affairs Area Director, Earl Barlow,
Arnold commented, "The decision
(not to investigate) should not be read
as any vindication of the election or
election process, nor should you
regard our decision as any answer to
the charges of election irregularities."
Barlow also said the BIA "lacks
jurisdiction and authority" over
proposed demands of a dissident
group protesting, among other
things, election fraud at White Earth.
Barlow did recommend that White
Earth Reservation Business
Committee hold a new election
implying, however, he does not have
authority to force an election.
On July 16, Senator Paul
Wellstone urged Arnold to
investigate the election. "I feel this
investigation is necessary to ensure
that the democratic principles of fair
and free elections are upheld," said
Wellstone's letter.
Tribal chairman Chip Wadena has
said he welcomes a federal
investigation, but doubted it would
happen because of the question of
jurisdiction.
,According to dissident leader
Marvin Manypenny, Arnold's
announcement comes as no surprise.
"It puts us one step closer to
achieving our goals," he said. "If no
one has jurisdiction, we've proven
that we have it. We'll deal with it."
Manypenny said the people will
use mechanisms of referendum and
recall as spelled out in the
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe's
constitution to get a new election.
He said a petition by 30 percent of
eligible voters could result in
revocation of the constitution.
There are about 20,000 people
enrolled in the tribe.
[Reprinted with permission of the
Detroit Lakes Tribune, August 75,
1991.]
Fastest growing
jobs in America
See page 8
Select Comittee
notes
Seepage 14