The Native American Press (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1992-11-20

              State Official Indicates Investigation will Uncover Worst Health Care Scandal in State's History
By Gary Blair
A Minnesota State official, who asked
not to be named and who isalso involved
in probing allegations surrounding
patient abuse and neglect at theHennepin
County Detox Center, located at 1800
Chicago Avenue So., told the PRESS
that it appears their investigation will
uncovertheworsthealth care scandal in
the state's history.
In an October 30th letter to Arthur A
Fletcher, Chairman of the U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights, State
Representative Karen Clark wrote in
heropeningparagraph: "I am writing to
formally request an investigation into
allegations of abuse of clients at the
Hennepin Detoxification Center in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. This request
follows a series of local meetings in
which clients, in particular those from
our American Indian Community, have
come forward to tell their own
experiences of abuse while patients at
the Detox Center.
Representative Clark also enclosed in
her letter to Chairman Fletcher a copy
of a letter dated SepL 22nd addressed to
Bob Olander of the Hennepin County
Detox. In the letter she asks Olander to
start "aformal investigation into several
specific incidents or allegations:
1. Allegations that an Indian client was
repeatedly raped on the weekend of
Sept. 18.
2. Two incidents, one very recent, of
clients losing fingers when they were
put in the quiet room and had the door
closed on them
3. Discharging clients with clear signs
of withdrawal.
4. Discharging clients in inappropriate
clothing for the weather conditions,
with strong possibility of endangering
clients' health.
5. Telling vulnerable adults to urinate
on themselves when they are in QR or
strap room
6. Sending clients to Hennepin County
Medical Center with no orders to return
the client, so client gets charted as
AWOL.
7. Inappropriate and/or overly excessive
force used when restraining.
8. Staff that yell, scream, and exhibit
intimidating behavior toward clients
when being admitted, thus provoking
inappropriate behavior.
On November 17th, the Detox
Coalition, chaired by State
Representative Karen Clark, met at the
Detox Center. Solutions on how to stop
the abuse and neglect were discussed
with leadership from the American
Indian community that say there is still
abuse happening to patients at this
facility. As the meeting progressed, it
was learned that five state investigators
were also in the building, two of which
were seated in the back of the room.
Irene Wade, an American Indian and
one of the two Detox Center staff that
reported the abuse, told the group that
there has been so many patient deaths at
the Detox Center that no one really
knows the actual number.
She said, "Some hung themselves and
they just cut them down and called an
ambulance." She said one of her coworkers reported that a patient with a
history of heart problems told this staff
person that he was fearful of dying at the
Detox Center., Wade said her co-worker
then reassured him that this was not
going to happen. That staff then finished
her shift and the next day she learned
that indeed the client had been found
expired in his room.
When this same staff had
conversations with another co-worker,
she learned that this person had taken
the same clients pulse on her shift. She
reported that it was very high, in facL
she couldn't get an accurate reading.
She, however, did say that this patient's
pulse was somewhere close to 170. This
same staff said she had also asked the
nurse in charge to send the patient to the
hospital and the nurse had refused.
A request was also made by the group
at the meeting to have Paul Norman,
Program Director for the Detox Center,
American Indian Health Report Released
By Mel Rasmussen
Last Friday, November 13th, the St.
Paul based organization, American
Indian Health Care Association
(AIHCA) released its two year study
abouttheexistinghealthcare, or rather
lack of available health care, for the
Native American Indian population
in an eight state region. These eight
northwestern states include, Idaho,
Iowa, Minnesota, Montana, North
Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, and
Washington.
Information for the study was obtained from various sources, ranging
from state data centers and the federal
Indian Health Service Area Offices,
to state Indian Affairs offices. According to some ofthe researchers for
the AIHCA, their attempts to obtain
information were mixed. It was about
a 50/50 split from excellent cooperation to an adverse atmosphere and
hostile environment designed to inhibit the collection of data from some
agencies.
Examples of this were obvious after
the PRESS tried to contact two such
agencies for comment on the report.
The first agency contacted was the
Minnesota Department ofHealth. The
second agency contacted was the Area
Office of Indian Health Service in
Bemidji, Minnesota.
Ms. Christine Moore, Director of
Public & Legislative Affairs, responded on behalf ofthe department.
Moore indicated that the Minn. Department ofHealth has been aware of
the ongoing problems and for the past
seven months has been seeking a new
director for a new position called
Office of Minority Health Care. This
office would be able to address the
specific issues outlined within the
report. Moore indicated also that the
Director of the Minnesota Department of Health is adamant in
developing this office and providing
a further outreach to the minority
population. The department is seeking to act as a bridge to address and
break down the barriers that are existing . Moore was glad to see the report
and felt that it will hopefully provide
a bridge to help develop a viable
health care system that will serve the
needs ofthe Native American population.
The second agency contacted was
Report/Page 3
Chippewa, Sioux among largest Indian groups
MINNEAPOLIS (AP)- Eleven
percent of the nation's American
Indians identify themselves as
members of the Chippewa or Sioux
tribes, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau.
Chippewa and Sioux are the
predominant tribes in Minnesota
and the Dakotas.
According to the data obtained
through the 1990 Census,
Chippewa number 103,826 across
the country, while Sioux total
103,255. Cherokee is the largest
tribe, with 308,132. Navajo is
second, with 219,198.
The Census Bureau
acknowledges that the numbers
may not match other Indain
population statistics.
"One major reason for differences
is that census data are based on
self-identification," said Edna
Paisano, a Census Bureau analyst.
"Persons who identified
themselves as American Indian on
the questionnaire were asked to
report their enrolled or principal
tribe. Statistics from other sources,
however, may be based on persons
included on tribal rolls or person
with a certain proportion of Indian
blood. Persons on tribal rolls could
have reported a race other than
American Indian in the census."
In many cases, Census
respondents indicated they were
Chippewa, Sioux, or a member of
some other tribe, without
designating which band.
The Minnesota Chippewa is an
example.
Officials at White Earth Indian
Reservation in Minnesota say total
enrollment in the six Minnesota
Chippewa tribes is approximately
40,000. But the Census figures
show 7,474 people identifying
themselves as belonging to one of
the Minnesota tribes.
Many of the rest likely are
included in the group of 67,747
people who said they are
Chippewa, without specifying a
local tribe, on the Census forms.
White Earth enrollment is about
20,000, with about 4,800 living on
the reservation, according to
estimates at the tribal office in
White Earth, Minn. But the Census
Bureau counts just 2,829 Indians
who identify themselves as White
Earth members.
Red Lake Indian Reservation
claims a total enrollment of about
7,800 people, with about 5,200
enrolled members living on the
reservation. The Census Bureau
lists the membership at 4,162.
The Census counts 8,713
members of the Turtle Mountain
Band of Chippewa, while the Turtle
Mountain Band in Belcourt, N.D.,
lists tribal enrollment at about
20,000, with 10,829 living on the
reservation.
The Census Bureau records show
2,139 people identified themselves
as Devils Lake Sioux. Tribal
enrollment is listed at about 5,000
say tribal officials.
The Three Affiliated Tribes lists
its enrollment at about 89,300, with
about 3,700 enrolled members
living at Fort Berthold, in western
North Dakota. The Census Bureau
lists four different categories for the
Three Affiliated Tribes:
Fort Berthold - 1,721
Arikara- 1,583
Hidatsa- 1,571
Mandan- 1,207
The Census Bureau report
indicates 6,083 people identified
themselves as members of the
Standing Rock Sioux; and 3,499
members of the Sisseton-Wahpeton
Sioux tribe. Tribal enrollment
figures were not available.
Fond du Lac Petitions Denied
By Susan Stanich
Duluth News-Tribune
At a volatile three-hour hearing
Tuesday on the Fond du Lac
Reservation, elected officials voted
unanimously to deny petitions by
voters asking for the recall of an
official and for changes in government
structure and voting procedures.
Chairman Robert Peacock said two
of the petitions, both calling for
referendums, were inappropriate
because the tribal constitution allows
for referendum only on enacted or
proposed action.
The two petitions asked that the
Fond du Lac government be separated
into three branches and that urban
voting precincts be established. The
five-man Reservation Business
Committee has proposed neither
move.
The third petition - asking that
Cloquet representative Clifton
Rabideaux be removed from office for
allegedly bribing voters and
mishandling absentee ballots - was
denied for lack of proof, Peacock said.
Rabideaux, who was sworn into
office several days after the petitions
were submitted, also voted on the
matter.
"These were very harsh charges,"
Peacock said. "The petitioners have
to bring in evidence against the
individual, overwhelming evidence,
and prove it. After an election you get
wave after wave of accusations rolling
through; anyone can say anything."
The petition was signed by more
than 130 people. It was accompanied
by notarized affidavits of five voters
that Rabideaux and his notary had
come to their homes and left with
their absentee ballots. One said that
Rabideaux also brought the ballot to
the voter. Tribal election law does not
allow hand-carrying of absentee
ballots.
Rabideaux and his notary denied
the allegation at the hearing.
According to the affidavits,
Rabideaux also directly or indirectly
promised benefits for voters, and
bought beer on two occasions.
But such actions aren't illegal under
the constitution, Peacock said, adding
that the benefits are available to
members whether they vote or not.
"And there's nothing in the
constitution that says you can't
campaign with a beer truck," he said.
The 45 people at the hearing, which
was restricted to on-reservation
members only, were angry and
disappointed with the rulings, said
Jeff Savage and Edward "Skip"
Pelerin.
"They've let Mr. Rabideaux escape
on technicalities, when morally and
ethically and culturally, his actions
were totally wrong," Savage said.
His wife, Sandi, narrowly lost to
Rabideaux in the June election. She
protested the results, but couldn't
get a hearing because the five Fond
du Lac officials fired the judge. Her
protest documents included the
affidavits that prompted Tuesday's
recall hearing.
"We've just witnessed again the
travesty of incumbents manipulating
vague and ambiguous tribal law to
their own advantage," Jeff Savage
said.
Pelerin, who lost a challenge to
Peacock in the June election, said
all five elected officials showed
with their vote that they place
their self-interest above that of
the band's.
"I think they've really hurt
themselves now," he said. "It's one
thing to fire a judge who's not from
here, but when you slap 130 members
in the face, that's something people
simply won't forget."
Peacock said he would like to give
an urban voting precinct a try in the
next election, because the absentee
voting situation is "a mess," with off-
reservation voters picking officials
who spend 90 percent of their time at
on-reservation matters. He said he
also supports separation of powers,
but that a lot of groundwork must be
done before that can happen.
investigated for his alleged involvement
in abusing patients. Brenda Adelmann,
who was one ofthe staff on duty at the
time of the alleged abuse by Norman,
gave the PRESS the following account
of what happened: "One Saturday
afternoon Norman shows up on the
Detox Center ward wearing Levis and
sweater and not dressed as usual in a
suit" He then stopped and watched the
"QUIET ROOM" (QR) monitor at the
nurses' station."
Staff told him that they felt the patient
should go to the Strap Room (to be
restrained), but, Norman ignored those
recommendations and started towards
the QRunaccompanied which is against
Detox Center rules. Adelmann said, "I
thenfollowedhim. Once inside the QR
Norman exchanged words with the
patient and the next thing she witnessed
wasNormanrepeatedlybody slamming
the patient into the floor and against the
wall. She said the patient appeared to
weigh about 110 pounds."
Other staff who also watched the QR
monitor that day say the young woman
had spit on him and made lewd remarks
about Norman's relationship with her
mother. They say before Norman left
the ward that day, he had gone into the
QR 3 different times and on each
occasion repeatedly assaulted this same
young woman. Adelmann said it was
confirmed later that the person was, in
fact, the daughter ofNorman's girl friend
and they also have the mother's name.
Those involved in exposing the abuse at
the Detox Center now say they also have
the name of the young woman that
Norman assaulted.
Kathleen Messinger, one of the
members with the American Indian
group at the Detox Coalition meeting
toldNorman, "We want you to assure us
that Irene Wade and Lynn Fitzpatrick
will be protected from further
harassment or we are not going to leave
this place until you do." After first
trying to avoid the request, Norman
finally agreed to talk with his other staff
about the matter.
Most recently, both Wade and
Fitzpatrick have reported being
concerned for their safety because ofthe
allegations surrounding drug deals
involvingdetox staffand theftofpatient's
money and food stamps.
On November 14th, Wade told the
PRESS, "The harassment has become
so bad., I had to lock my co-workers out
of my office at work in order to avoid a
possible altercation." She said both she
andFitzpatrick have had to take steps to
protect themselves from being harassed
at home.
Discussion at the meeting also
centered around finding funds to cover
the cost of installing a video recording
system for both wards of the Detox
Center. Leaders from the American
Indian community said they were going
to ask the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
for the money to purchase the video
system if the state or Hennepin Count
wasn'twillingtopayforit. Jerry Stafford,
one of the people responsible for
spearheading the efforts to stop the
abuse at the Detox Center, told the
group, "We have patient advocates
waiting to be trained, just as soon as
Hennepin County is willing to allow
them in the Detox wards."
To Stafford's remarks, Representative
Clark responded, "I have been waiting
to hear from the county Attorney's office
on that." She said, the county was
checking the state law to see if the Detox
was covered by the Patient's Bill of
Rights.
This same state Official also told the
PRESS that Norman did fire one ofhis
staff over allegation of abuse. But a closer
look revealed that this person had been a
thorn in Norman's side for sometime,
and the firing was based more on that
than the abuse. Hesaid, "It has beenpretty
well known around here that ifyou dont
give Norman a bad time, he won't give
you one either and that's why the staff
has not reported the abuse; They know
Norman will not defend them."
By and For the Native American Community        |
si_§ Native
«?i-e£
American
Press
We support Equal Opportunity For All People
A Weekly Publication
Founded ihl 991
Volume 2 issue 28        November 20, 1992
Copyright, The Native American Press, 1992
Native American Press Photo by Francis Blake
Construction at Red Lake School Worksite halts after Contractor is told that the funding for
the project has been suspended by The Minnesota Commissioner of Education.
$10,000,000 School Construction Project at Red Lake Suspended
By Bill Lawrence
In a letter dated November 18,1992,
Minnesota Commissioner of education,
Gene Mammenga notified Red Lake
Independent School District 38
Superintendentof Schools, EdKroenke
that he was suspending immediately all
constructionand payment ofstatedollars
for the elementary school building
project. Commissioner Mammenga
stated in his letter of notification, "It has
come to our attention that the red Lake
Tribal Council has not deeded the 40
acres of land to the school district for the
new elementary school building as part
of the Capital Loan Project
requirements." Mammenga further
stated that the suspension action "shall
only be rescinded when Red Lake
Independent School district 38 receives
a quit claim deed to the 40 acres of land
that is being used for the site ofthe new
elementary school. Also notified ofthe
construction suspension were Leonard
Nachman, Minnesota Department of
Education, Project Manager; Julie
Tonneson, Minnesota Department of
finance, the state's fiscal agent; Dale
Siskels, EAPC Architects, the District's
architects; and WilliamHulttinga, E&V
Incorporated, the general contractor.
The PRESS attempted to contact Red
Lake superintendent of School Ed
Kroenke, but he didnt return the call.
ThePRESS didcontactRedLake Tribal
Council Chairman, Gerald "Butch"
Brun about the matter. Chairman Brun
stated that he was aware of the letter
from Commissioner Mammenga and
that the Council had no intention of
deeding the 40 acres to the school district.
He said that the state was holding
education hostage in the exchange for
land. Brun is apparently unaware that
the Red Lake Tribe has already set a
precedent of exchanging land for
education. Inahistorical research ofthe
issue, the PRESS learned that back in
1955 the General Council of the Red
Lake Band of Chippewa issued the Red
Lake School District a quit claim deed
for 20 acres of land which is the site of
the present school facilities. This was
necessary before the existing school
building could be constructed under
Public Law 815 funds.
Chairman Brun also told the PRESS
that State Senators Roger Moe and
LeRoy Stumpf and State Representative
Robert Johnson are looking into the
matter for the council.
In related matters, the PRESS has
learned that the Red Lake School District
has not submitted their 1992 School
enrollment count to the Minnesota
Department ofEducation. According to
State Law this count is required to be
submitted the first week of October of
the current school year. According to
theMinnesotaDepartmentofEducation
officials, the enrollment count is vitally
important if the District is to come out
of its present statutory operating debt.
In an audit report prepared by State of
Minnesota Auditor Mark Dayton, and
released March 18,1992, the Red Lake
School District was found to be $1.4
million in debt. Since their only hope of
coming out of debt is by cutting costs
and increasing enrollment, the
enrollment count is extremely important
Some Minnesota Department of
Education officials have become
skeptical of Red Lake's ability to attain
solvency and cite the district recent
termination of further financial
management assistance which has
been provided by the Department of
Education.
The PRESS has also learned that a
Red Lake Parental group has been
formed because of their displeasure
with the Red Lake School Boards
handling of discipline and enrollment
matters
*