The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1991-11-06

              Dissidents take on tribal attorney
Claim Cannon is wrong man for the job on racial bias task force
By Bill Pond
White Earth dissidents say they
don't want Mahnomen Attorney
Peter Cannon on the Minnesota
Racial Bias Task Force.
The task force is presently
gathering data through a series of
hearings on the issue of racial bias in
the courtroom.
Cannon, attorney for the White
Earth Reservation Business Council
(RBC), is one of 32 people serving
on the task force.
For several years the tribal
dissidents have been at odds with the
RBC and reservation chairman
Darrell "Chip" Wadena over their
governance of tribal affairs.
The dissidents have charged
Wadena with everything from fixing
elections to skimming reservation
funds.
Wadena has always denied the
allegations, contending that the
dissidents are "sour grapes" because
they've never won an election.
Likewise, Cannon has not been
immune from the fray.
Earlier last month dissidents filed
a complaint with the task force
chairwoman, Minnesota Supreme
Court Justice Rosalie Wahl.
In that complaint, the dissidents
have asked for Cannon's removal
from the task force.
Dissident leader Marvin
Manypenny said Thursday, "He's
part of the problem. He says this is
all a vendetta, but he is part of the
problem."
Cannon said Thursday that he
refuses to get into a finger pointing
war with dissidents.
"It's my intent not to get into a
debate over these issues," he said.
"I've been appointed to serve on
this committee by the Supreme
Court, and I will do the best that I
can do. The committee can make its
own decision about what is being
said."
Cannon said he was unaware of
the dissidents' complaints.
Justic Wahl said she learned of
the complaints and criticisms
against Cannon from hearings in
Moorhead and Bemidji.
Wahl said she could not attend
either hearing, but has read
transcripts from both.
"I know there is serious criticism,
but I can't say what will happen,"
she said. "It is important that the
task force remain credible. If any
member felt their presence were a
hindrance, I'm sure they would do
something to correct the problem.
But I can't speak for anyone else
when I say that."
The dissidents, however, are
asking for Cannon's removal based
on the following claims:
• that Cannon has a double standard
when it comes to reservation
sovereignty and jurisdiction.
The complaint states that Wadena
ordered the Becker County Sheriffs
Chinese claim landing in 700 A.D.
While historians continue to argue over whether Columbus really
deserves the credit for having been the first to set foot in the New
World, two Chinese researchers weighed in with evidence that the
ancient Chinese came upon the New World more than 800 years before
Columbus landed.
In addition, some evidence recently surfaced in South America of
stone statues with Negroid-like features and along with ancient stories
of African visitors on reed ships suggests visitors from the African
continent may have come to the New World hundreds of years before
Columbus arrived.
Mediator will rule in December
Wausau, Wis. (AP) - A former state labor secretary mediating a
precedent-setting gambling dispute between the Lac du Flambeau
Chippewa and the state will rule sometime after Dec. 6, a lawyer said.
Each side, under a timetable that's been worked out, will submit its final
offer for the federally required compact to Howard Bellman by Nov. IS,
said Bruce Greene, the tribe's lawyer.
Federal law allows an arbitrator to review the proposals and select one
of them for approval by the U.S. Interior Department
At stake in the dispute, which centers on how many kinds of Las
Vegas -style games She Lac du Flambeau can host, is how negotiations
with other tribes over gambling will unfold, state negotiators have said.
The 1988 federal Indian Gambling Regulatory Act allows tribes to host
any gambling that's authorized by the state but requires them to negotiate
a gaming compact with the state first.
On and off again negotiations between the state and Lac du Flambeau
have occurred for more than two years.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb selected Bellman, a Madison lawyer
and arbitrator since 1987, to mediate the dispute after the tribe submitted
him as its nominee for the job.
Each side will verbally argue its case before Bellman Nov. 25 in
Madison and final written arguments must be submitted Dec. 6, said
Greene, of Boulder, Colo.
The Lac du Flambeau, who have been operating a casino in the absence
of the compact, want to play more Las Vegas-style games, such as craps
and poker, than the state wants to allow, negotiators said.
Elder Abuse Prevention Sessions
Mary Sheguen Smith, Legal Assistant of the Anishinabe Legal
Services, will be holding elder abuse prevention sessions. Smith will
show a video tape and talk about the Vulnerable Adults Act and
prevention of abuse, neglect and exploitation of elders.
The video tape is (20) minutes long and portrays examples of abuse,
neglect and exploitation. The portrayals are by Native Americans. After
the video there will be a disscusion about issues concerning abuse,
problems that people see and what the role of service providers should
be. Smith also has some materials to distribute and hopes that everyone
can attend.
The following dates have been set to show the video and discuss the
important issue:
Nov.  7, at 11:45 am. Elbow Lake Community Center ENP site
Nov. 12, at 10:45 am. White Earth Congregate ENP site
Nov. 20, at 10:45 am, Cass Lake Facility Center ENP site
Nov. 21, at 10:30 am, Pine Point Center ENP site
Dec. 10, at 10:45 am, Inger Community Center ENP site
Dec. 11, at 11:00 am, Onigum Community Center ENP site
Senators tour WE schools
Members of the Senate Education
Committee toured six schools on
three reservations in northwestern
Minnesota last week: Red Lake,
Leech Lake and White Earth.
Thursday afternoon they came to
Pine Point to visit with staff, parents
and students.
Of course, they also observed the
condition of the facilities and gained
a sense of what the schools have to
offer.
Senator Judy Traub (DFL-
Minnetonka) said the tour made her
wish there were money available to
do something about the facilities
which are in varying degrees of
repair.
The main reason she was
interested in the tour, Traub said,
was to follow up on an early
childhood education bill she was
involved in writing and which
passed in the last legislative session.
The governor cut back the amount of
funding, but there is money
available, she pointed out.
The program is for four-year-olds
and has no eligibility requirements
like Head Start does, Traub said. On
the tour, she learned one school
administrator didn't know about the
program.
The legislation was written after
hearings last year on students at risk.
In the suburbs, she said, some
students were not participating in the
Head Start program even though
they were eligible because of the
stigma attached to its being for
children from low-income families.
Senator Cal Larson (IR-Fergus
Falls), who helped arrange the tour,
congratulated his fellow Senators on
their commitment to Indian
education.
The tour was intended to acquaint
the committee with the schools and
to hear concerns from parents and
staff prior to the 1992 session.
Also on the tour were Senators
LeRoy Stumpf (DFL-Thief River
Falls) and Jane Ranum (DFL-
Minneapolis).
Coping with unemployment
and stress
 Seepage 6
Department to arrest 53 people at
RBC headquarters and at the
Mahnomen casino site during
protests this summer.
The 53 individuals are being
prosecuted in Becker County
District Court on misdemeanor
trespass charges.
Cannon, according to the
dissidents, has failed to recognize
subpoenas from the protesters*
attorneys and has refused to turn
over documents integral to their
defense.
The dissidents question how the
RBC and Cannon could use the
system to prosecute, but then refuse
to recognize the district court.
Last week, as the dissidents made
another court appearance, Cannon
said the reservation was immune
from the jurisdiction of any
Minnesota court.
• that Cannon and a law firm partner
created a criminal court system for
the reservation while the tribal
constitution allowed no such
provision.
The dissidents claim that Cannon
and his partner both served as the
tribal court judges. They allege that
is a conflict of interest.
• and, that Cannon has not been
approved by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA) to practice law for the
tribal council.
However, the Becker County
Record could not substantiate that
regulation with the BIA.
"I resent his claims that he
represents Indian people,"
Manypenny said. 'There seems to be
a conflict of interest. On one hand he
says the reservation is sovereign and
on the other he says that it is not."
Although Cannon did not want to
discuss the objections raised by the
dissidents, he said he is merely
doing the job he was hired to do -
represent the RBC.
"I represent clients, not causes," he
said. "They see this as personal, but
it's not. I'm a business person and I
practice law. It's part of what I do."
[Reprinted with permission from
the Becker County Record.]
'■o   of tutus
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Fifty Cents
Founded in 1988
Volume 4 Issue 9
November
6 1991 I
Copyright, the Ojibwe News, 1991
A Bi-Monthly Publication
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601
4-State Intertribal Assembly meets in Green Bay
Tribal leaders discuss the BIA upcoming reorganization 	
By Barb Nelson
Representatives from the National
Reorganization of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs Task Force were
present at the Four State Intertribal
Assembly Conference in Green Bay,
' Wisconsin, last month to give tribal
leaders an update on how the
Committee is progressing.
Michael Parish, member of the task
force, said he'd like to see tribes get
budget information from the BIA
sooner than they do; he's working on
resolving that problem.
Darrell "Chip" Wadena, also a
member of the task force, told tribal
leaders that he's concerned about
completing the reorganization project
by January.
Congress has told the Committee
that they'd like to see a final report on
the reorganization project by January
of 1992 and Wadena said that the
committee will be pressed for tins;'
Wadena also said that he hopes thjt
after the reorganization is complete
that tribes in the midwest and east will
get equal amounts of funding per
capita as tribes in the western states -
right now western tribes receive
substantially more funding from the
Bureau per capita.
Gordon Dickie, member of the task
force is suggesting that the BIA use
the Minneapolis Area Office as a pilot
project for other area BIA offices. He
feels that the Minneapolis Office has
features that would make a good
model for other tribes.
Earl Barlow, Superintendent of the
Minneapolis Area Office was unsure
if the pilot project would be viable,
however he did agree that the
Minneapolis Area Office is one of the
better organized offices.
"Funding is so crucial.. . and it's
beginning to change - 75% of funds
allocated to the Minneapolis area flow
through to the tribes," Barlow said. In
some cases, administration costs have
been as high as 70%, allowing only
30% of funding to go to tribes.
Resolutions
Tribal leaders passed 10 new
Darrell "Chip" Wadena, Michael Parish, Michael Fairbanks, Gordon Dickie, and Betty
Walker, ail members of the Reorganization of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Task Force,
with the exception of Michael Fairbanks, who is the Task Force Coordinator for the Area
BIA Office in Minneapolis.
resolutions. They are as follows: Four
State Intertribal Assembly:
1. Supports the idea of the
Minneapolis Area BIA Office being
utilized as a model in developing and
implementing a new and more
effective Bureau of Indian Affairs.
2.Urges the Environmental
Protection Agency to seek adequate
congressional support to implement
EPA programs on all federally
recognized reservations.
3. Suggests to the Administrator of
the EPA that (the) EPA utilize the
Tribal Operations Committee to
streamline the EPA's entire National
Indian Program to promote
environmental protection within
Indian Country.
4. Urges individual states to refrain
from celebrating the arrival of
Christopher Columbus, instead
encouraging reconciliation and healing
among tribes.
5. Requests support of all senators in
the four state area to pass senate bill
HR 848, which suggests changing the
name of Custer Battlefield National
Monument to the Little Big Horn
Battlefield National Monument. It is
hoped that the new name will give
equal acknowledge- ment to the
Lakota/Dakota Sioux Nation including
their fallen warriors and chiefs.
6. Endorses Chairman Giashkibos of
the Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwa Nation
in Wisconsin as a candidate for the
President of the National Congress of
American Indians.
7. Will not recognize any meetings
with organizations or governmental
groups who are anti-Indian, and the
said groups will not be invited to
attend any Four-State meetings.
8. Requests Congres to set Housing
and Urban Development rent
standards lower, to 15% instead of the
required 30% of income.
9. Supports the right of any tribe to
oppose the use of artificial deer used for
entrapment on their reservations.
10. Supports the exploring of housing
needs for the elderly on member
reservations.
The Four State Intertribal Assembly
is a culmination of all tribes in
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan and
Iowa, totaling 30 tribes. Tribal
Chairmen from each reservation meet
approximately four times a year to
discuss National legislation and how it
affects their tribes, and pass resolutions
in support of the needs of their tribes.
Do certain financial, legal and procedural documents exist?
District Judge Kathleen Weir had
plenty of questions Tuesday about
the whereabouts of documents at
White Earth Reservation.
Do certain financial, legal and
procedural documents exist?
Are they available for public
inspection?
Will they be produced for
inspection by the court?
Tribal attorney Peter Cannon,
Mahnomen, had few answers.
"It is the band's position that this
court has no authority even to
inquire," stated Cannon.
Cannon believes the tribe is a
sovereign nation not subject to the
jurisdiction of Minnesota or any
government court other than the
United States of America.
However, it was the "gray area" of
sovereign immunity that brought the
issue of jurisdiction to the Becker
County courthouse.
On July 26 and Aug. 5, the tribe
requested county law enforcement
officers to come onto tribal property
and arrest protesters who were
staging a sit-in at the tribal
headquarters.
Becker County is currently
attempting to prosecute all dissidents
arrested for trespass on those dates.
Defense objections and motions
were the subject of Tuesday's
hearing.
Defense attorney Zenas Baer is
requesting that the court force
county prosecutor Jack Pearson to
assist in the procurement of
documents from the White Earth
tribe. Otherwise, argues Baer, the
dissidents will not be able to fairly
defend their case.
The documents have become the
subject of much debate on and
around the reservation. They
include checks supposedly used to
buy votes during tribal elections
and financial statements
accounting for monies some tribal
members say has disappeared.
Baer said the information is
critical to establish that the
dissidents had a right to be at the
headquarters and that they had no
way to address grievances other
than stage a sit-in.
Cannon said any attempt to force
White Earth leaders to produce
documents in a Minnesota
courtroom will be met with a
federal injunction.
Pearson argued that the
documents were simply irrelevant
to the issue of trespassing.
An additonal defense attorney.
Miles Lord, also asked that a
change of place of trial be granted.
He believes the dissidents will
not receive a fair trial from a
Becker County jury because of
racal bias.
Upon hearing arguments from all
parties, Weir decided to take the
motions under advisement. A
decision will be made at a date that
has not been determined.
[Reprinted with permission from
the Detroit Lakes Tribune.]
Wellston praises approval of $11.6 million in Minnesota projects
Senator Paul Wellstone announced
Tuesday that approximately $12
million in funding for Indian and
natural resource projects in
Minnesota contained in the Interior
Department Conference Report was
enacted last week by the Senate.
"Continued funding of these
projects is key to environmeental
protection, land acquisition for
wilderness areas and water quality
and conservation codes on several
reservations," Wellstone said.
"While we didn't get everything that
was needed for Minnesota's Indian
communities, we made some
significant progress."
There are important projects for
reservations and urban Indians
including:
• $1.1 million for the Great Lakes
Indian Fish and Wildlife
Commission.
• $450,000 for the 1854 Authority, a
group representing three Minnesota
tribes - Bois Forte, Grand Portage
and Fond du Lac - who work with
the state to conserve natural
resources and develop conservation
codes for hunting, trapping and
fishing.
• $300,000 for the Circle of Flight
Tribal Waterfowl and Wetlands
Management Program.
• $1.1 million for the Minneapolis
Indian Health Board for medical,
dental, mental health and substance
abuse treatment programs.
Wellstone worked closely with
Seantor David Durenberger to
achieve Senate approval of the
projects. He praised Durenberger's
cooperation and that of other
members of the Minnesota
Congressional delegation.
Highlights of the other Minnesota
projects funded in the Conference
Report include:
• $3.5 million for the great Lakes
Research Center to purchase a new
research boat on Lake Superior.
• $1 million for land acquisition
for the Minnesota Valley National
Wildlife Refuge in Shakopee.
• $2.7 million for land acquisition
for the Boundary Waters Canoe
Area in the Superior National
Forest.
• $1 million for land acquisition
for tracts of land in the Chippewa
National Forest.
The Interior Conference Report
now goes to President Bush for his
signature.