The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1991-09-25

              Supreme Court wants testimony on race bias in court system
St. Paul, Minn. - Persons who
have experienced or witnessed racial
bias in the Minnesota court system
are asked to testify at a public
hearing scheduled from 6:30 to 9
p.m.. Wed., Oct. 2 at the Beltrami
County Courthouse.
Members of the task force will be
at the hearing to listen to the
public's experiences and concerns
about unfairness, discriminatory
treatment or undue hardship for
racial minorities as a result of
statutes, rules, practices or conduct
at any level of the state court system
and its personnel.
Individuals and representatives of
groups and organizations are invited
to present oral testimony before the
task force and/or to submit written
accounts of racial bias they have
experienced or observed. Witnesses
may request confidentiality of
written statements. Interpreter
services will be available at the
hearings.
"The task force wants to make the
hearings as open and welcoming as
possible," Justice Rosalie E. Wahl,
chair of the task force, said. "The
hearings are informal in terms of
participants' dress and presentation.
"We, as a task force, want to do
everything we can to make
witnesses comfortable and to
encourage them to come forward
with what we know are often painful
stories about their experiences with
the court system," said Wahl. "The
testimony will be used to help
eliminate any racial unfairness in the
court system."
The Racial Bias Task Force was
created Dec. 27, 1990, by the
Minnesota Supreme Court. It is
funded by the state legislature and
contributions from law firms and
foundations.
Thirty-two members comprise the
task force which includes
representation from judges, attorneys,
civic organizations, education and
community groups. The membership
also is representative in terms of sex,
race, age and geographic areas of the
state. Among the members from
northern Minnesota is Naytahwash
attorney Peter Cannon and Joseph F.
Aitkin, director of the Minnesota
Indian Scholarship Program in
Bemidji.
"Minnesota, not unlike most other
states in the country, is experiencing
a rise in reported incidents of racial
bias in all aspects of society," Wahl
said. "The justice system is not
exempt from this phenomenon.
"Incidents of racially motivated
crimes as well as criticism of the
treatment of minorities in contact
with the legal system have risen
dramatically over the past few
years," she said. "The public must
know that even one instance of
raicsm within the judicial system is
one too many.
"Members of minority
communities must also know that
the Racial Bias Task Force is not
just another task force that publishes
a report and goes away," Wahl said.
"This task force is patterned after the
Gender Fairness Task Force that
spent two years gathering
information about sexism and is now
in its second year of implementing
recommendations. The Gender
Fairness Implementation Comittee
continues to meet on a monthly
basis. It has put into action
recomendations that have brought
about changes in legislation and
Megamall will bring jobs
By Susan Hamre
The Megamall will bring jobs and
equal opportunities to minorities and
women, according to planners.
Bloomington's Mall of America,
by the time it opens in fall of 1992,
will provide an estimated 10,000 to
12,000 new jobs for the metropolitan
community, making it one of the
area's largest employers. Some of
those jobs will be targeted at
minorities, according to Robert
Boone, the mall organization's
human resource director.
The mall organization alone will
employ about 300 people, according
to Boone, and his goal is to give
about 12 percent of these jobs to
minorities, reaching this target will
be a challenge in this market.
Twelve percent is double the
availability rate of minorities in the
work force, according to Kevin
Alaspa, labor market analyst at the
state's Department of Jobs and
Training.
Boone, a former IDS human
resources director, said he was
attracted to the position at the mall
because he sees it as a challenge.
"A lot of organizations say you
can't expect us to employ minorities
all at once ... I saw this as an
Megamall/see page 2
Begay takes over at WOJB-FM
Reserve,. Wis. - Lynn Nell Begay is the new general manager for
WOJB-FM, Woodland Community Radio. WOJB-FM is owned and
operated by the Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) Band of the Ojibwa in
Northern Wisconsin.
Ms. Begay succeeds Dick Brooks who served 6 years as the general
manager. Ms. Begay is an enrolled tribal member of the LCO Band, and
the first Native woman to head the radio station.
"My vision for WOJB is to make the station more readily accessible
to the community, and still broadcast high quality programming," Ms.
Begay said. Her long term goals are to equip the station with state of the
art broadcast and production equipment, set up two new repeater
towers, develop an on-air broadcast training plan, and increase the
volunteerism for the station.
Ms. Begay is the secretary of the Indigenous Communications
Association, and a member of the Native American Journalist's
Association.
She has a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Huron
University, S.D. Her business and journalism background includes
having owned an office supply company, and working for student and
community newspapers.
W.E. council to open temporary casino
Mahnomen, Minn. - The White Earth Reservation Tribal Council
will open a temporary casino in October near the site of the $10 million
Shooting Star casino under construction in Mahnomen, a tribal official
said. James Foster, casino director for the the Tribal Council, said the
temporary casino will be in a 5,000-square-foot building on Highway 59.
White Earth tribal officials were hoping to open at least a portion of
the 65,000-square-foot Shooting Star by November, but Foster said that
schedule could be pushed back depending on steel shipments to the
project. "We're still shooting for November, but it's starting to look
later than that," he said. "In a couple of weeks we'll know more."
The Shooting Star project includes a motel, restaurant and recreational
vehicle park. The casino, featuring blackjack and video poker and keno
machines, will be managed by Gaming World International of
Pennsylvania.
Wellstone establishes northern office
Washington, D.C. - U. S. Senator Paul Wellstone, D-Minn.t
announced that Kimberly Stokes, director of Wellstone's northern
Minnesota office, will hold office hours every fourth Tuesday in the
City Hall Conference Room in Bemidji, Minn., from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30
p.m. Stokes will be available to answer constituent inquiries, help
resolve problems with federal agencies, and act as Wellstone's
representative at meetings which he is unable to attend.
Stokes may be reached by writing P.O. Box 281, 105 Second Ave.
So., Virginia, Minn. 55792 or calling (218) 741-1074. Information may
be faxed to her at (218) 741-8544.
Marijuana discovered, destroyed
About 148 pounds of marijuana, estimated to be worth $370,000, was
discovered Sunday near the western edge of the Red Lake Indian
Reservation, according to Red Lake Police Chief Joyce Roy.
I consider this a good bust," said Roy. Red Lake police were tipped
off by a hunter who recognized the plants and called police. About 56
plants, all about 6 to 7 feet tall, were discovered in a peat bog and
eradicted. The plants were barely visible from the road, she said.
Last month, about 12 plants, with an estimated value of $37,000, were
discovered in the western part of the reservation. Roy said also that area
of the reservation is conducive to marijuana because of its good soil and
open fields. There were no marijuana discoveries last year.
Roy said the case is still under investigation, which involves Bureau
of Indian Affairs Officer John Dudley, BIA criminal investigator Julius
Schoenborn and Red Lake Conservation Officer Patrick Pierre. The
case would be tried in federal courts if anyone is charged, Roy said.
"(The growers) were probably using it for themselves and making
some bucks on it," Roy said.
Fire at Leech Lake RBC
There was a fire at the Leech Lake Reservation Business Committee
building in Cass Lake on September 8th where damage was minimal.
Cass Lake Sheriffs department said that there was "no report of fire or
damage on record." Unconfirmed reports indicated that a combustible
object was thrown through the window. When questioned about the
incident, RBC personnel indicated that no one there was "authorized to
give out information at this time."
judicial education to aggressively
work toward the elimination of
gender bias in the court system."
Persons who need further
information about testifying at the
racial bias public hearing should
contact the following persons:
Joseph F. Aitken at (218) 755-2926
or Peter Cannon at (218) 935-5322.
The Bemidji hearing is one of six
scheduled throughout the state in
October and November. The other
hearing in northern Minnesota is
scheduled Oct. 9 from 6:30 p.m. to 9
p.m. at the Holiday Inn in Duluth.
The following is a schedule of all
public hearings:
• Oct. 2, Bemidji, 6:30-9 p.m.;
Beltrami County Courthouse
• Oct. 9, St. Paul, 6:30-9 p.m.;
Auditorium; St. Paul Vo Tech
• Oct. 16, Duluth, 6:30-9 p.m.;
Holiday Inn, Room C
• Oct. 23, Moorhead, 6:30-9 p.m.;
Clay  County   Courthouse,
basement conference room
• Oct. 30, Marshall, 6:30-9 p.m.;
Lyon County Courthouse
• Nov. 6, Albert Lea, 6:30-9 p.m.;
Courtroom 3, Freeborn County
Courthouse
• Nov.13, Mpls., 6:30-9 p.m.;
Hennepin County Government
Center, A-level auditorium
• Nov. 19, St. Paul, 6:30-9 p.m.;
Room G-15, State Capitol
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Fifty Cents
T—
Founded in 1988
Volume 4 Issue 6
September 25,1991
1
Copyright, the Ojibwe News, 1991
A Bi-Monthly Publication
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601
Judge dismisses motion to drop charges in tribal protest
By Jim C Ortiz
On September 17th, forty-two
defendants appeared at the Becker
County Courthouse in Detroit
Lakes before District Judge
Kathleen Weir. The defendants are
facing charges in connection with
the sit-in at the White Earth
Reservation Business Committee
building and subsequent arrests on
July 29th and August 5th. The
protests stemmed from allegations
of election fraud and corruption in
tribal government. Protestors are
still camped in front of the
building in White Earth.
In his opening remarks, lead
council Zenas Baer stated that "the
defendants were at the building in
order to call attention to their
grievances. According to Article
13 of the Minnesota Chippewa
Tribal (MCT) constitution, tribal
members have a right to peaceful
assembly." Article 13 gives all the
rights that other citizens have:
freedom of speech, press and
assembly.
The protestors contend that there
are violations of the MCT
constitution by the current tribal
government, such as in article 8<|
(which states that all officers in a
reservation election must be
elected by majority vote) because
there are those who have been
fraudulently elected. The MCT
consitution further requires a
public financial disclosure as
stated in Article I, Sections 3 and
4, also Article 5, Section 2. The
tribal council is supposed to have
quarterly meetings throughout the
year and have a complete financial
disclosure at the end of the year.
Defendents claim there have been
no public financial disclosures in
ten years.Furthermore, the
protestors contend that tribal
officers have violated their "oath
of office," in which they solemnly
swore to uphold the constitution of
the United States, and have also
violated the tribal constitution. Miles
Lord, senior defense advisor, stated,
"Democracy is dead on the White
Earth Reservation" and called for a
dismissal of the charges.
Jack Pearson, Becker County
Attorney, stated that he was not
representing the tribal council.
However, the state contends the
tribal government has the property
rights to the building. Protestors
claim tribal officials shouldn't have
those rights if they are in violation
of the very laws they're supposed to
uphold. The defense contends that
the building belongs to all tribal
members and that they have a right
to be there.
Pearson added that Public Law
280 applies here: "Every criminal
act is regulatory." Minnesota Public
Law 280 deals with the jurisdiction
of the state to prosecute crimes of
general application throughout the
state. Regarding crimes on Indian
reservations, for instance
trespassing, the state takes the
position that they're entitled to
prosecute this and other crimes of
general applicability. After the
hearing Pearson declined to discuss
the case further, stating that he does
•rut like to "discuss pending cases."
Defense attorneys had issued
subpoenas for documents they felt
relevant to their case on September
6. The current tribal government has
refused to honor those subpoenas.
They claim sovereign immunity and
that they don't have to comply with
those subpoenas.
The defense attorneys also made a
motion for a change of venue. The
state chose to deter on that motion
until the next hearing, which is
scheduled for October 22nd, in
Detroit Lakes. The final motion was
made to consolidate the cases in
order to save time and expense,
there were no objections.
Judge Weir refused to dismiss the
trespass charges, however, she said
that the court would be taking under
advisement which documents the
The Upper photo: Tribal members outside Becker County Courthouse
after the hearing which was held September 17th. Judge Weir dissmissed
the motion to drop charges against 42 defendants involved in the sit-in.
The Lower photo: Zenas Baer and Miles Lord, attorneys for Ihe defendants,
conduct a news conference after the hearing.   Photos by Jim Ortiz
defense is entitled to and how much
of the information will be allowed at
the trial. The defense attorneys
contended that documents in the
possession of the tribal government
are vital to their case. Without those
documents they question wheather
they would receive a fair trial, which
is guranteed by the constiution of the
United States. Time will tell if
democracy is truly dead on the
White Earth Reservation.
Minorities plan summit to combat "environmental racism'
New York, N.Y. - The Commission
for Racial Justice, a major civil rights
organization, announced that it will
convene the first National Minority
Environmental Leadership Summit in
Washington, D.C, in October, 1991.
The Summit will probe "environmental racism:" that minorities,
despite being disproportionately
affected by pollution and hazardous
wastes, have long been locked out of
the policy debate.
Several hundred national and
grassroots leaders in the civil rights,
minority, environmental,
government, and corporate
communities will be invited to
attend the three-day summit. Invited
keynote speakers will include U.S.
Secretary of the Interior Manuel
Lujan, EPA Administrator William
Reilly, and U.S. Secretary of Health
and Human Services Louis Sullivan.
Summit attendees will develop a
national agenda that will help
reshape and redirect the
environmental movement in the
United States.
One result of the leadership Summit
might be the creation of a permanent,
minority-led organization that will
mobilize communities to deal with
environmental racism locally as well
as nationally.
The Commission, founded 27
years ago, is the national civil rights
agency of the United Church of
Christ, a 1.7 million member
Protestant denomination. The
Commission, which has offices in
Cleveland, New York, Washington,
D.C, and North Carolina, has been
at the forefront of this issue since
1982. Its work includes the
landmark 1987 study "Toxic Wastes
and Race in the United States."
The report conclusively
demonstrated that minority
communities contain far more toxic
dumps and related facilities than
non-minority communities. Three of
every five African Americans and
Hispanics live in a neighborhood
with a hazardous waste site.
Moreover, three of the five largest
hazardous waste landfills, 40 percent
of current U.S. commercial capacity,
are located in minority communities.
Among the report's many findings
was that race was the most
significant variable in differentiating
communities with hazardous waste
sites from those without such sites.
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, the
Commission's Executive Director
who first coined the term
"environmental racism," said "The
environment is too important to be
left to just environmentalists. The
evidence clearly shows that it's
African Americans, Hispanic
Americans, Asian Americans, and
Native Americans who are
disproportionately living with toxic
pollution in their back yards." He
added, "Our future is at stake. It's
precisely because industry doesn't
put toxic waste dumps in Beverly
Hills that we must insist on being a
part of the policy debate. It's our
environment too."
Dr. Chavis called for a partnership
to fight environmental racism,
comprised of the environmental
movement, industry, government,
civil rights, and grassroots
organizations. Summit planning will
involve leaders from all these fields.
Noting that the "green movement"
itself has long admitted that it has
failed to effectively include
minorities, Dr. Chavis called on the
leaders of the major environmental
groups in particular to actively
support the Summit.
For more information on the
Environmental Leadership Summit
contact: Charles Lee (212)
870-2077 or Roger Rivera at (202)
452-0533.
Red Lake presents plans for casino in Thief River Falls
Thief River Falls, Minn. (AP) -
Plans to build a gambling casino
here have divided the town between
those who view it as a boost to the
local economy and others who see
nothing but financial ruin and moral
decay.
At a special meeting Tuesday
night, representatives of the Red
Lake Band of Chippewa Indians
presented a plan for the casino that
includes highly favorable terms for
the city. But many in the crowd of
600 plainly were against a casino,
and most of the 35 people who
testified spoke against it, said Mayor
Bob Carlson.
"They said it was a morai issue,
that for a community the size of
Thief River Falls there is ample
gambling in the form of the state
lottery and pulltabs. They don't want
to see an increase, regardless of the
spillover into business," said Carlson,
who also opposes the casino.
The Red Lake band proposes
building the casino in a vacant 15,000
square-foot former supermarket near
a residential area, about 30 miles
west of the Red Lake Reservation in
northwestern Minnesota.
Last week, some opponents of the
casino chipped in to buy a page-long
ad in the local newspaper that
promised "BIG TROUBLE" in
return for "BIG MONEY" and "BIG
TIMES."
The ad, which is not signed, was
paid for by a group called Concerned
Families and Citizens Against
Gambling. Ken Kohler, advertising
manager of the Thief River Falls
Times, said that perhaps 25 people
had contributed for the ad but that
newspaper policy bars their
identification without their permission.
A spokesperson for the group could
not be found Tuesday night
It's not yet clear just how much
money the casino could bring into
the city of about 8,000 people. But
Carlson acknowledged that it could
result in up to 300 good-paying jobs,
two-thirds of them filled by Thief
River Falls residents.
Developers are watching to see
what happens, said Don Stewart,
community development director.
"We already have a motel under
construction. If this thing were to go
here, we know there will be a new
restaurant built very shortly, and I'm
sure there will be expansions and
other motels," he said.
A casino would draw visitors from
Grand Forks, N.D., only an hour
away, and from Winnipeg, about
150 miles north, Stewart said.
"Those people won't spend 24 hours
a day at the casino. They may be
shopping or going to restaurants or
bars," he said.
Carlson disagreed. He said that
while some Thief River Falls
businesses undoubtedly would profit
from a casino, its economic effect
will be diluted by new casinos in
Mahnomen, about 60 miles south, or
Warroad, about 80 miles north.
The ad that ran in the Times and
the weekly Northern Watch suggests
that the casino would be "a financial
parasite," sapping more money from
the community than it would return.
Money that otherwise would go to
local businesses would be lost at the
blackjack tables and slot machines,
the ad says.