The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1994-01-21

              Native American vets receive program to
meet spiritual and cultural needs
By Gary Blair
Plans for a special program to meet
the spiritual and cultural needs of
Native Americans veterans who use
the Minneapolis Veterans Medical
Center are now being developed. On
January 6, 1994, a meeting was held
at the All Nations Indian Church in
south Minneapolis to help formalize
those plans.
Harlan Whipple, a counselor at the
vet center in St. Paul, coordinated the
two hour meeting. The program will
be patterned after an existing program at the VA medical center located at St. Cloud, Minnesota. As part of
the program there will be two sweat
lodges built on the hospital grounds
and other cultural activities. One of
the sweat lodges will be used for the
veteran and the other for family mem
bers who wish to be involved in the
veteran's treatment process.
Spiritual healers will work with
VA doctors as part of the Indian
veterans overall treatment plan. All
veterans that enter the medical facility will be given information about
the program. If he or she wants the
program's services they will be asked
to sign a form giving the hospital staff
permission to contact the program's
coordinator. Soon after that the veteran will be contacted by a traditional
healer, similar to a visit from the
hospital'schaplain. Because there are
different tribal groups that use the
hospital, traditional healers are being
sought from various tribal backgrounds.
The hiring ofthe program's coordinator has already taken place, one
the Native American staff presently
employed by the hospital will move to
that position. Initial funding for the
program will come primarily from
the hospital's chaplain services. After that it will be switched on a monthly
basis to various department budgets
within the hospital. Plans to build
community awareness ofthe program
will involve an open house for the
public sometime this summer.
PRESS sources at the VA hospital
say the medical center's administration is also building support for the
program. Those at the meeting expressed the need for more involvement in planning the program. An
American Indian advisory committee
is being formed to help oversee the
program's activities. Those that are
interested in being a member of that
committee can contact Harlan
Whipple, at (612) 644-4022.
Tammrac Refuge System ownership in question/ pg 4
Wellstone meets with Leech Lake RTC/ page 1
NAP Files counterclaim against Smith/ page 1
Comments sought on PL-93-638 amendment/ page 5
Adoption case in hands of MN Supreme Court/ pg 1
Voice ofthe Anishinabeg (The People)
1
Deer comments on Indian Gaming Audit
Indian Affairs Assistant Secretary
Ada Deer, responding to an audit report issued by the Department of
Interior's Inspector General on Indian Gaming in seven states, said Indian
tribal chairmen and tribal governments have to assume the responsibility
for their actions and must be held
accountable.
' 'These are responsible elected tribal government officials who are
signing the contracts and tribal-state
compacts..." Deer said. "We call it
self-determination ~ sovereignty ~
self-governance — autonomy. Neither
the Bureau nor the Commission will
ever ~ and we should not ~ be at the
elbow of a tribal chairperson when he
or she signs legitimate contracts
whether they be for gaming management or whatever," she said in her
statement issued December 22.
"This does not mean that the Bureau will step away and shirk any of its
responsibilities,'' Deer said.' 'But we
are necessarily limited in 'protecting'
the tribes and that is the way it ought
to be if tribal self-determination and
self-governance are going to work."
Assistant Secretary Deer was responding to a December 15 Inspector
General (IG) audit report which found
that Federal, state, and tribal governments did not effectively coordinate
their respective regulatory and oversight responsibilities under the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA)
passed in 1988.
"Neither the Act nor the implementing regulations required the
Audit/ See Page 3
The
Fifty Cents
Ojibwe
News
We Support:
Opportunity For All
Founded  in 1988
Volume 5   Issue 30
Januaryi-1, 1994
j
A weekly
Copyright, The 0_ptnve News, 1994
NAPfilesanswer/counterclaimagainstSmith
On January 12,1994, attorney Mark
Anfinson of Minneapolis filed an answer and counterclaim to the lawsuit
filed against the NAP, its publisher
Bill Lawrence and staff writer Gary
Blair by Norine Smith ofMaple Grove,
Minri.
Ms. Smith, who is executive director ofthe Minneapolis Indian Health
Board (IHB) filed the lawsuit on January 3, 1994. The suit alleges that the
NAP had defamed her in a series of
articles written by Lawrence and Blair
about financial and personnel problems at the IHB and published in the
NAP and Ojibwe News during the fall
and early winter of 1993. The NAP
and Ojibwe News carried a front page
news article about the suit in the
January 7th edition.
NAP's affirmative defenses to Ms.
Smith's suit are as follows:
10. Plaintiffs Complaint fails to
state a claim against defendants on
which relief can be granted.
11. All statements contained in the
newspaper articles referred to in
plaintiff's Complaint were or were
believed by defendants to be true or
substantially true.
12. All of defendants' actions, including publication ofthe newspaper
articles, were privileged and protected by the Constitutions of the United
States and the State of Minnesota.
13. All of defendants' actions, including publication ofthe newspaper
articles, were privileged and protected by the common law ofthe State of
Minnesota, including the privilege of
fair comment and criticism, and the
privilege covering reports on the activities of public agencies and public
figures. The newspaper articles constituted reports on matters of general
public interest and concern and con-
Answer/ See page 3
FBI recommends federal grand jury probe of
former Hennepin County detox
By Gary Blair
The FBI will be recommending a
federal grand jury to probe the client
abuse that closed the old Hennepin
County Detox Center 14 months ago.
PRESS sources say all that's needed
forthe U.S. Attorney's office in Minneapolis to move forward will be for
one person to sign a complaint.
FBI officials told the, PRESS in
October that their investigation
would focus on alleged civil rights
violations similar to those surrounding the police beating of motorist
Rodney King.
Mike Tripple, of the Minnesota
Department ofHealth Facility Complaints office says they've received a
request from the FBI to turn over
their documentation obtained in an
earlier investigation of the client
mistreatment.
In a phone interview on Tuesday,
Tripple sounded suprised to learn
that the PRESS knew about that request. "Well, yes, they (the FBI) did
ask for our information and we've
turned their request over to the (Minnesota) Attorney General's office,"
the former Hennepin County detox
site. According to Tripple, the abuse
couldn't be substantiated by their investigators because of limited
subponea powers. However, he did
Photo byJ.R.
Joe Johnson presented Sen. Paul Wellstone with a sweatshirt, from the Turtle Island Blues, at a town meeting in Bemidji.
Wellstone: American Indian tribes should retain
right to offer gaming, be accountable to members
By Brad Swenson, mgr. edit.
Reprinted w/ permission from
The Bemidji Pioneer
Cass Lake- Tribal members need
to know how gaming money is
Wellstone spent Wednesday
morning touring the U.S. Public
Health Service Hospital in Cass
Lake and meeting with Leech
Lake Reservation tribal officials
Tripple admitted. He said they did   submit a request to the U.S. Attorney raised and spent, but American   before being hosted at a luncheon
that to make sure it was legal for them to
turn crvwsuchdcctimentation without first
ob__ningpern_ssioniromttefonn^
center clients cited in the report
It would seem the state's concern
in Minneapolis for a follow-up inves- Indian tribe_ should retain their
ligation into the allegations. _.ght t0 offer gaming) u.S. Sen.
Tripple told the PRESS in Sept. of paul Weiistone, DFL-Minn., said
last year, "I felt that abuse had hefe Wednesday.
occured." Tripple says he expects the    ..The concern that some have is
for an individual's civil rights has grand jury's probe will most likely {hat Indian pe0ple have a right to
come a little too late. The old Henne- include taking a look at how his know how much money is brought
pin County detox center was dubble department   handled   previous in and gpent ._ absoluteiy true,"
the "chamber of horrors" just before complaints or reports of client abuse hesaid   "idow0rry about efforts
it was closed. However, PRESS sources going back several years.                  to take it away   It is an important
say information coming from an FBI When the PRESS requested a copy economic development tool.''
ofthe New Visions license application
agent in New York reveals the state is
now refusing to honor the request. In
fact, Tripple said that the State Attorney
General's office now has an attorney
assigned to handle the FBI's request.
Last fall the State's Department of
Health and Human Services issued
their findings on the investigation of
at the Palace Bingo & Casino. He
spent the afternoon touring the
Red Lake Elementary School and
the Red Lake Hospital before meeting Red Lake Reservation tribal
officials
Roger Aitken, Leech Lake tribal executive director, noted that
there are efforts to reopen the federal act which regulates Indian
gaming, and that the Minnesota
Indian Gaming Association opposes the effort. And if it must be
reopened, he lobbied Wellstone
that existing operations be exempt
from any prohibitive regulations.
"Lots of people want to reopen
the act, some in good faith and
some in bad faith," Wellstone
said. You have to very vigilant if
it is reopened, that reform doesn't
undercut what you are doing.."
Alfred "Tig" Pemberton, Leech
Lake tribal chairman, said the reservation is in to its third year of
"extreme audits of our gaming
for the new Native American detox
center, Tripple said he'd first have to
get permission. Twenty minutes later
he returned our call and stated, "The By Gary Blair
Attorney General's office said its not
public information until there has
been a ruling on it."
Gaming/See Page 3
Native American run detox in Minneapolis takes shape
Campbell adoption case remains in hands of
Minnesota Supreme Court
By Melissa Klenigartner
Reprinted with permission the
Bemidji Pioneer
The Minnesota Supreme Court is still
del ibcraung if it will granta discretionary
review ofthe Court of Appeals decision
to allow Carol and Eugene Campbell of
Bemidji to adopt three American Indian
childrea
The Leech Lake Band filed a petition
for review shortly after the decision was
upheld by the Court of Appeals and,
after moving in to their new home seven
daysearlier, thethree girls were removed
from the home Nov. 26.
Since that time, the Campbell's who
are white, have not seen or had any
contact with the children, who were
returned to a foster home they had been
previously. "We'rearejust sitting here
waiting," Carol Campbell said.
Meanwhile, the Campbell's legal fees
continue to mount as they fight for the
right to adopt the children, ages6,8and
9. The bill has already escalated to over
$60,000 said Carol Lauderbaugh, a
friend ofthe family.
In order to help the couple combat
their rising bill, a Campbell Adoption
Fund has beensetupattheFirstNational
Bank ofBemidji, 502 Minnesota Ave.
According to Charlie Powell, attorney
forDiane White, the girlslegal guardian,
it's only a matter of time before the
Minnesota Supreme Court decides if it
will hear the case.
" The petition had to be filed within
30 days of the Court of Appeals
decision,'' he said. As for how long the
Minnesota Supreme Court has to decide
that matter, I don't think they really
have any time guidelines to work by
unless it's regulated internally."
Since the petition for review was filed,
several amicasbriefs havebeen admitted
to the court These briefs are submitted
by' 'friends ofthe court'' and advise the
court on matters that may have escaped
the courts attention, Powell said.
It's not their function to reiterate or
advocate for a side already presented
before the court," he said. It's their
function to advise the court of matters
that may have escaped the court's
attention."
Lee Staples has been hired by the
New Vision's chemical dependency
treatment program located in Minneapolis to head their new Native
American detox center. The center
will be operated on the south wing of
the old Hennepin County detox center which closed over a year ago after
If the Supreme Court decides that it allegations of long term client abuse
won'treviewthecase,theonlyplacethe were leveled.
Leech Lake Band can take it is to the staples, who is an enrollee from the
U.S. Supreme Court. However, until a Mjiacs Lake Reservation (and not
definitedecisionismadeonthepending from tne Red lake reservation as re-
custody of thechildren, they will remain ported in an earlier article) gave his
in foster care. first interview since accepting the
The Leech Lake Band of Chippewa
newly created position.
Staples told the PRESS,
are fighting the adoption because it
believes the adoption could severely
damage the Indian Child Welfare Act,
which states that Indian children have
to be placed with an Indian family.
However, Cass County District Judge By Bunty Anquoe
J. P. Smith ruled that the couple could w/ permission from Ind
proceed with the adoption based on the Country Today
clause that allows non-Indians to be
granted custody in cases when Indian
children have "extraordinary physical
or emotional needs."
Since the children, who are
members of the Leech Lake Band,
were taken from their biological
parents by court order about four years
ago, they have been in 14 different
foster homes. Two of the three are
believed to have been sexually and
physically abused.
'I won't
tolerate any abuse. There shouldn't
have been any abuse here in the first
place. If a person has diabetes you
don't beat them.'' Staples was one of
the first in the Minneapolis Indian
community to try and address the
detox center abuse issue before it became public in Sept. of 1992. He
recalled going to our so called' 'Indian leaders" and asking for their
support to help expose the abuse that
they and a few others knew about.
"Those were some pretty lonely
times," hesaid.
' 'You know most of these programs
around here receive funding from
Hennepin County and their directors
weren't about to confront county officials." He went on to say, "These
people are supposed to be role models
for our kids, their programs are supposed to instill pride in being Indian.
What kind of role models are they?"
Staples questioned.
He went on to say, "We plan to
open our detox center on March 1st."
The county has offered $75,000 to
help open the new 36 bed facility that
will primarily serve Native Americans. Another $70,000 has also been
offered and that amount is negotiable," Staples said. The place will
employ 28 staff. Staples says he plans
to hire has many Native Americans as
possible. "We will offer proper staff
training in handling of clients. Once
DetOX/ Page 3
Jobs may go at BIA
Washington- The BIA plans to cut
12 percent of its work force overthe next
four years.
The downsizing is part ofthe Clinton
administration's plan to reduce administrative costs in all federal departments
and agencies in its 1995 budget.
The reductions are expected to begin
with the 1995 budget
Last year, Vice President Al Gore
submitted his National performance
Review - a report outlining the administration's cost-cutting strategies. The
1995 federal budget is due to be submitted to Congress in early February.
The 12 percent reduction ofthe bureau's 14,000 employees translates to
about 1,600 positions.
"It's no secret that this administration plans to reduce the federal work
force by 252,000 employees and I don't
think the BIA is going to escape these
reductions," said Carl Shaw, BIA
spokesman.
The Office of Management and Budget, the president's all-powerful budget
office, is requiring the reductions, according to congressional and
administrative staff.
The BIA is also considering consolidating its offices in Oklahoma and
regionalizing personnel offices nationwide as other possible tactics to save
money. i
Harold Monteau, a member of the
BIA reorganization task force which is
in charge of finding ways to revamp the
much-maligned agency, said the group
was not part of the reduction plan nor
Jobs/ Page