The Native American Press (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1992-07-17

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A LOST GENERATION: Minneapolis Public School policy towards "Indians" questionable
The official policy of the
Minneapolis Public School District
toward hiring Indians within the
school district is one of affirmative
action. In reality, the unofficial
policy is that it is okay to
discriminate against potential
Indian/Native American employees
who have applied for positions of
teachers, counselors, social workers
and administrators within the school
district.
In data provided by the school
district for 1971, the district had a
Native American student population
of 3.4%, an African American
population of 9.7%, and a White
American student population of
85.5%. During the same year, the
total staff percentage of employment
was Native American .7 (7/10)%,
African American 6.5%, and White
American 93.3%.
From these figures one can see
discrepancies concerning Indian
student population versus Indian
employment. When one looks at
credentialed personnel, the picture
becomes even more dismal.
Under the Green Administration,
African Americans made great
strides in the percentages of
administrators hired and in total
numbers of teachers hired. Indian
professionals hired as teachers,
counselors and administrators in
many instances actually fell in
numbers until just recenty. The total
percent of Indiann students in the
school district for 1991 is 7.6%,
while the total Indian certified staff
is only 1.8%, less than one percent
increase in the past 22 years even
though the Indian population
percentage more than doubled
during this same time.
One can only come to the
conclusion that the Green
Administration knew or should have
known about the discrimination
occuring against potential Native
American employees.
Dr. Donald Davis is a Choctaw
Indian. He received his bachelor of
science degree from the University
of Minnesota in 1955 in art
education and received his teaching
license from ihe State of Minnesota
the same year, which permitted him
to teach art in grades K-12 and
hisotry at the secondary level.
Dr. Davis's first teaching position
was with the Minneapolis School
District where he taught art at
Sheridan Junior High. Dr. Davis's
second position was with the
Robbinsdale School district teaching
art at the junior high level. Dr. Davis
left the teaching profession from
1959 through 1962 to become a
commercial artist and an art director.
He also recieved an additional
licensure from the State of
Minnesota to teach commercial art
in vocational classes/schools.
In September 1962, Dr. Davis was
hired by the Minneapolis school
District to teach commercial art at
the Minneapolis Vocational School
where he taught until approximately
June 1966.
In the fall of 1966, Dr. Davis took
a position within the district at
Washburn High School teaching art
and commercial art. He held this
position until February 1969 when
he became the Training and Industry
Coordinator in the work study
program at West High School within
the school district. He remained in
that position until 1978.
In the fall of 1978 Dr. Davis
worked at Marshall University High
School as the Work Experience
Coordinator until 1981. From 1982
Dr. Davis worked for the district at
Henry High School as the Training
and Industry Coordinator. In the fall
of 1983 he obtained a position
within the district at Southwest High
as the Work Experience Coordinator
which he has held to the present.
Dr. Davis holds life teaching
certificates in the areas of art, social
studies and vocational trades. He is
also licensed as a Work experience
Coordinator, a Trade and Industry
Coordinator and has been licensed
as a principal since 1976. Dr. Davis
received a bachelor degree in 1955,
a master's degree in 1970 from the
University of Minnesota, and a
Ph.D. in Educational adminstration
from the University of Minnesota in
1976.
During the year of 1968 Dr. Davis
applied for a position as an assistant
secondary principal through the
personel office with the Minneapolis
School District when the district had
less than 30 Indians hired as
professional and paraprofessionals.
At the time, Dr. Davis had 45 credits
towards his MS degree in Education.
However, he did not have a
principals certificate. It was Dr.
Davis's understanding that persons
had been hired by the district on
prior occasions as assistant
principals who were not certified,
but were working towards
certification as he was.
Sometime after the application Dr.
Davis received a letter stating that he
would not be considered for a
position as an assistant principal in
the secondary level for the school
district. Dr. Davis again applied for
a position of assistant principal in
the fall of 1975. At the time, he had
completed his doctoral program and
was planning on graduating in
Camp Justice accepts County
Attorney's settlement offer—
By Gary Blair
On July 13th, 29 members of
Camp Justice appeared for trial on
trespassing charges stemming from
last August 15 when the group was
arrested for blocking the
construction of the Shooting Star
Casino. In a surprise move,
Mahnomen County Attorney, Gerald
Paulson, offered the group an
agreement to resolve the matter
without a trial.
Camp Justice attorneys Richard
Oakes, a professor at Hamline Law
School in St. Paul, and Zenas Baer,
of Hawley, Minnesota, told the 16
members who appeared for the
hearing that they (attorneys) came
fully expecting that there would be a
trial. Attorney Baer said, "We're
ready to try the case if that's what
you want."
Peter Canon, attorney for the
reservation appeared in court earlier
that morning and had requested that
the court suppress the subpoenas for
White Earth Reservation Tribal
Chairman Darrell "Chip" Wadena,
Secretary/Treasurer, Jerry Rawley
and reservation manager, James
Foster.
After a heated discusstion that
lasted for over an hour, a vote was
taken and the group agreed to accept
the County Attorney's offer, for 100
days they will refrain from any
illegal activity at the casino site. At
the end of that time period, all
charges will be dismissed with
prejudice which means the same
charges can't be reinstated at a
later date. At that time the group
will be allowed to demonstrate any
place they choose and will be
permitted to do anything else that
is protected by either the U.S.
Constitution or the reservation's
Constitution.
The group was told by both
Oakes and Baer that the offer by
the Mahnomen County Attorney's
office was highly irregular and that
the 100 days was arrived at as
opposed to 90 or 120 days,
because the county didn't want the
agreement to appear as some sort
of sentence. Judge Russell
Anderson said of the agreement,
"From the State's view, the result
is a good one."
Recently, an previous charge of
trespassing against the Camp
Justice group was overturned in a
Becker County court. In*that
incident the group took over the
tribal headquarters that is located
in the community of White Earth.
They won the argument by
demonstrating that the building
was held communally by all
reservation members and,
therefore, they had a right to be
there.
In the Mahnomen County
incident the group was also
arrested for trespassing, but this
time the situation was somewhat
different. According to attorneys
Oakes and Baer both the land and
the casino are believed to be held
communally by all members of the
reservation, but this time the land
was controlled by an independent
contractor at the time of the alleged
trespassing.
The Gordon Construction
Company was general contractor for
the project. Harold "Butch" Gordon,
the owner of the company, is an
enrolled member of the White Earth
reservation but he is doing business
as a private entity, so the property
may not be considered by a court to
be held communally by all
reservation members during that
time. The Camp Justice group
agreed that the offer by the county
attorney was in their best interest
because the outcome was not
decided in favor of either side.
In a related matter, Erma Vizc
who is a spokesperson for Camp
Justice, told the Press that they plan
to offer the ballot boxes taken in the
June 9 election for chairman of the
White Earth reservation to the media
for viewing as soon as July 16.
The ballot boxes were removed
from the polling places in Pine Point
and the town of White Earth as a
gesture to expose the election fraud
they say is keeping Wadena and
other elected officials in office.
Rights to fish challenged by two Idaho tribes
Portland, Oregon (AP) - In the
first cross-tribal conflict over salmon
fishing in recent memory, the Nez
Perce Indian Tribe challenged
without success the right of the
Shoshone-Bannock Tribes to harvest
salmon on the Salmon River.
Nez Perce attorneys asked a U.S.
District Court judge in Portland,
Ore., to restrain the Sho-Bans from
fishing on the South and Yankee
forks of the Salmon, but the judge
denied the motion and urged the
parties to settle their differences in
Idaho.
Based on court documents, it's
clear that the dispute emerged after
three Sho-Bans crossed into Nez
Perce territory during a special
season on hatchery spring chinook
on the Little Salmon River over
Memorial Day. State authorities
cited the three Sho-Bans on charges
of fishing outside of their treaty
grounds.
Nez Perce tribal authorities were
still so upset about the intrusion that
they challenged the Sho-Bans' right
to harvest 100 summer chinook on
the South Fork and 140 spring
chinook on the Yankee Fork.
"Both seasons will result in the
harvest of fish which the Nez Perce
Tribe has reserved rights to take and
will affect the exercise of Nez Perce
treaty rights," Nez Perce attorney
Douglas Nash said in court papers.
The Nez Perce further alleged that
the Sho-Bans' fishing rights on the
Salmon River under the 1868 Fort
Bridger treaty have not been
defined, an allegation that Sho-Ban
attorney Candy Jackson denied.
For now, the matter is simmering,
but the Nez Perce Tribal Council has
refused to meet with Sho-Ban
authorities to work out their
differences, Jackson said.
"There clearly exists a difference
of opinion between the Nez Perce
Tribe and Shoshone-Bannock Tribes
as to the fishing areas of each tribal
entity," she said. "This is a matter
that the parties should attempt to
work out together."
No other parties, including the
Idaho Department of Fish and
Game, have objected to Sho-Ban
fishing on the South Fork or Yankee
Fork. As of Friday night, the
Sho-Bans had caught fewer than 40
fish on the South Fork; their season
is scheduled to end Sunday.
The National Marine Fisheries
Service, which has designated the
summer chinook as a threatened
species under the Endangered
Species Act, issued a biological
opinion saying the harvest of 240 fish
will not jeopardize the species. A total
of 9,500 summer chinook are expected
to return to the Snake River, meaning
the Sho-Ban harvest represents about
2.5 percent of the whole.
The Sho-Bans may have stepped
on the Nez Perce's toes by fishing
on the Little Salmon, but the Nez
Perce have had the chance to harvest
hundreds of chinook annually on the
Columbia River. This year, the Nez
Perce harvested about 975 spring
chinook in the Zone 6 gill net
fishery on the Columbia. The tribe
also harvested more than 600
salmon on the Little Salmon River
during the Memorial Day season,
exceeding their quota of 500 fish.
Sho-Ban angler Jody Edmo said
authorities ought to stop all parties
from harvesting and work on the
dams if they truly want to rebuild
the Columbia River salmon runs.
"If they're going to shut down
harvest, they ought to shut it down
from the mouth of the Columbia all
the way up to the headwaters and
give the fish a rest for 10 or 20
years," he said. "And then let's get
to work on fixing the dams.'
December of 1975. Furthermore, Dr.
Davis had been licensed as a
principal in the secondary level by
the State of Minnesota since July
1974. He was not offered a position,
in fact he received no
communication regarding the status
of his application, and he received
no invitation to participate in the
screening seminar.
Dr. Davis applied several times
after his 1975 application for other
secondary administrative positions
to no avail. In 1976, he applied for
the Director of Program
Development. A non-Indian was
selected. In the spring of 1976 he
applied for the Director of
Curriculum Services to no avail. A
non-Indian was selected.
In June of 1976 he applied for the
position of Assistant Director for
Intergroup Education. A non-Indian
was selected. In 1978 Dr. Davis
again applied for a position as an
assistant secondary principal. He
was not selected. Additionally, in
1978 Dr. Davis applied for the
position of "Director of Personnel in
the school district, it was "given" to
a non-Indian. In 1979 Dr. Davis was
invited to participate in a screening
seminar for secondary principals.
During the seminar process each
candidate had to pick a card with a
See Policy/pg. 3
By and For the Native American Community
~\
Fr
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Native
American
Press
We support Equal Opportunity For All People
A Weekly Publication
Founded in 1991
Volume 2 Issue 10
July .17, 1992
Copyright, The Native American Press. 1992
The stolen ballot boxes from the W.E. elections that Camp Justice has shown the media since yesterday
Video horse racing at Grand Casinos
HINCKLEY, MN- The Mille Lacs
Band of Ojibwe, owners of Grand
Casinos Mille Lacs and Hinckley,
and "Butch" Witcher, Vice President
of Gaming for Grand Casinos, Inc.,
today announced the addition of
ROYAL ASCOT, an exciting new
video horse racing game, to the over
1,500 video games of chance already
in place at Grand Casino Hinckley.
"Grand Casino Hinckley will be
the first casino in the entire United
States to house the new ROYAL
ASCOT video derby. This includes
non-Indian casinos."
Beginning this Friday, July 17th,
up to 12 players at a time will be
able to play 25-cent and one-dollar
coins (up to 50 coins per horse, per
race, with 6 horses racing) on
virtually unlimited numbers of
computer-generated races. The
winnings will be based on either a
bet placed to pick one winning
"horse" or a Quinella (picking win
and place horses winning in either
order).
Players will witness the races on
the track in front of them. Toy
thoroughbreds compete against
each other on the track, but their
movements are synchronized via
color graphics and reproduced on a
50-inch video monitor in full view
of the players in a TV relay
fashion.
Home Base/Travel Expenses of Ml AC Head Questioned
By Bill Lawrence
In June and August of 1991, the
Ojibwe News ran a story, an
editorial and a response regarding
the Minnesota Indian Affairs
Council (MIAC). They were later
published in the August 30th edition
of the Native American Press.
Investigation by the News revealed
a disorganized, unaccountable, and
poorly managed state funded
council. Despite a highly paid staff
and consultants,the Council
appeared to be ineffective in
representing the needs of the Native
American community in the state of
Minnesota.
Originally set up to, among other
things, make recommendations to
the legislature and act as a liason
between different governing bodies
in the delivery of services to Indian
people, it fails to meet the needs of
the urban Indian people. According
to the 1990 census, three quarters of
Indian people reside off the
reservation.
In 1982, both Roger Jourdain and
Art Garbow chairmen of Red Lake
and Mille Lacs Reservations,
respectively, wrote to Govenor Rudy
Perpich to complain about the
Council. Jourdain claimed it was a
social club for White Earth
Chairman Chip Wadena and Council
Executive Director Roger Head. He
suggested the money be distributed
to the separate reservations to be
used as they needed. Claiming also
that Head and Wadena exploited the
commission for their own benefit,
Jourdain stepped down from the
elected chairmanship of the Council
and withdrew Red Lake from the
Council in the early 1980's when
Head came on board. Garbow also
stopped attending meetings about
that time.
The  State  of Minnesota
Department of Finance has written a
letter to Chip Wadena, present
chairman of the Indian Affairs
Council regarding the travel
expenses and home office location
of Director Roger Head. The letter is
as follows:
Dear Mr. Wadena:
An issue has recently been brought
to my attention that I believe should
be addressed by the Indian Affairs
Council. I am asking that you, as
Chair of the Council, bring this issue
to the Council.
The issue is the "home work
station" and related travel expenses
of Roger Head, Executive Director
of the Indian Affairs Council,
Members of my staff have discussed
this with Mr. Head, and he has
agreed that the issue should be
brought to the Council.
According to Minnesota Statutes
section 3.922, subdivision 5, "The
Council shall maintain its primary
office in Bemidji. It shall also
maintain personnel and office space
in St. Paul."
Mr. Head's home work station is
currently considered to be Bemidji.
State policy is that an employee's
home work station is to be
determined based on the best
interests of the state. In practice, that
means that an employee's home
work station is where the employee
spends the majority of his or her
time. Employees who must travel to
other locations on state business are
reimburrrsed for travel expenses
incurred for travel away from the
home work station within
established guidelines.
Until very recent years, the
Executive Director spent the
majority of his time, except during
the legislative session, in Bemidji. In
recent years, Mr. Head has spent
more and more of his time in St.
Paul. In the last year, he has been
reimbursed for expenses in St. Paul
for about 90 percent of his working
days. His state-paid travel expenses
have totaled approximately $17,500
in fiscal year 1991, and $18,000 for
the first \ 1 months of fiscal year
1992.
The majority of these expenses are
for travel to St. Paul. These
reimbursements to Mr. Head for
mileage, hotel, and meals were made
because his home work station wa s
designated to be Bemidji. If his
home work station had been St.
Paul, he would not have been
reimbursed for travel expenses to
and in St. Paul, but would have been
reimbursed for any travel expenses
to Bemidji that were necessary to
conduct state business.
I am asking the Council to review
the current designation of Bemidji as
Mr. Head's home work station. If
Mr. Head will be spending the
majority of his time in St. Paul, it
appears that his home work station
should be St. Paul, with the cost to
the state thereby reduced. However,
if there is a reason why his home
work station shold not be St. Paul,
please advise us. For example, if this
is a temporary situation, and Mr.
Head soon will be spending the
majority of his time in Bemidji, then
is would be appropriate for his home
work station to continue to be in
Bemidji.
Please advise us of the action that
the Council takes including
background to the decision by
sending a copy of the relevant
Concil minutes to Geri Benting,
Asssistant Commissioner,
Department of Finance. Please feel
free to call her at 612-296-1699 if
you have any questions.
Thank you for your assistance in
resolving this matter.
David S. Roth
Deputy Commissioner
t