The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1994-01-28

              Minneapolis Native American liaison position
may fade into maze of 'minority affairs'
By Gary Blair
Why did Pat Amo leave her position
of nearly eight years as the City of
Minneapolis' Native American liaison?
And now that she's gone does the city
plan to fill the vacancy with another
Native American?
These are just some of the questions
and concerns that the PRESS has heard
since Amo recently submitted her letter
of resignation to the Minneapolis City
Council.With the Twin Cities' Indian
community the poorest in the nation
and the city's first black mayor in office
less than a month, the PRESS decided
to try and find some answers to these and
other questions that could effect Native
Americans living in Minneapolis.
Fifteen years ago the city council announced that they wanted to hire an
Indian representative to serve as a liaison between city hall and the Native
American community. This person was
to be selected by the community and be
officed incity hall. From the very begin
ning this position was steeped with
troubles. High staff turnover was just
one indication that there were continuing problems. City hall officials
complained that the liaison was spending too much time out in the Indian
community and not enough time at city
hall and the Indian community complained about just the opposite.
With the hiring of Pat Amo, a former
college teacher, there came the dawn of
a new era. Amo was willing to address
the real issues that effect the city's
Native American community. She advocated for a fair share of city
employment for Indians and the fair
awarding of city contracts to minority
firms. These issues became the high
points of her tenure. They also became
the reasons she decided to resign.
Recently, the PRESS has learned that
with Amo's departure the city will discontinue the Indian liaison position and
that it now plans to create a new post
under a different heading.
Donna Harris, the city's director of
neighborhood services, told the PRESS,
"I am going to see if this position can be
made into one to serve all the communities."
Harris said in a phone interview that
she will be contacting the "Indian
community's leadership" to see if she
can get their support for her proposed
changes. When questioned about
rumours that someone had already been
selected for her newly created position,
Harris strongly denied the allegations.
However, PRESS sources at city hall
say that, in fact, an afro American male
has already been slated to take over once
an agreement has been reached.
When Harris was asked why Amo
resigned, she hastily replied, "She left
voluntarily. You know, she was a contract employee and I worked hard to try
and get her "grandfathered" in as a
civil service employee.'' When told that
Amo's decision to resign centered on
her, Harris replied, "Idon'twanttotalk
Maze/ See Page 3
Funds suspended at American Indian Vets Center
By Bill Lawrence
The PRESS recently obtained a copy
of a letter dated January 20,1994, from
Three Feathers Associates (TFA) of
Norman, Oklahoma to Kenneth W.
Webster, President of the American
Indian Veterans Center, Inc. (AI VC) of
Minneapolis that funding was
suspended effective January 19, 1994.
Theletter was signed by AntoniaDobrec,
President of TFA.
The two reasons cited in the letter
resultinginthesuspensionofthe$60,(X)0
of federal funds were as follows: "(1)
The State of Minnesota does not
recognize the American Indian Veterans
Center, Inc., as a legal entity; (2) The
information provided to Three Feathers
Associates of notices of meetings,
minutes of meetings, all resolutions
from the Native American Veterans
Center, Inc., annual meetings, and all
regular and special meetings conducted
by the American Indian Veterans
Center, Inc., is insufficient and not
conducted as a legal corporation."
The letter goes on to state "In as much
as these requests outlined in a letter
dated January 12, 1994, were
^sufficient, Three Feathers Associates
will no longer honor any obligations
effective January 19,1994, at 8:00 a.m.
as stated in page 2 of the letter."
According to its Articles of
Incorporation, the AIVC was
incorporated on June 21,1991, for the
purposeof: "(1) work actively to foster
the effective delivery of existing services
to American Indian Veterans; and (2)
develop services to assist American
Indian Veterans in utilizing
underutilized resources."
The incorporators of ATVC and its
current Board of Directors are Kenneth
W. Webster, James W. Monchamp and
Collins Oak Grove, all of the
Minneapolis area. The principal
operatives of ATVC areKenneth Webster
as board president and James
Monchamp as acting interim program
director, a salaried position.
AIVC program materials indicate it
was designed to initially serve the
estimated 1,000 American Indian
veterans in the Twin Cities area and to
later expand its services to the estimated
8,000 Indian vets throughout the state of
Minnesota. The $60,000 in grant funds
was for the period of-September 15,
1993, to September 14,1994. A second
year offundingin the amountof$30,000,
also appears to be part of the contract.
According to contract terms, these
funds were to be used as a sort of seed
funds to be utilized to attract additional
Anderson resigns as GM of Red Lake
Chippewa Trading Post
By Bill Lawrence
According to information
received from several sources, the
PRESS has learned that Roger
Anderson resigned as general
manager ofthe Red Lake Chippewa
Trading post effective January 17,
1994. The same sources told the
PRESS that the reason he resigned
is that Red Lake tribal chairmen
Gerald "Butch" Brun made it
impossible for him to do his job.
Expansionofthetradingpostto include
an automotive service center, auto parts,
hardware and office products and the
addition of the Ponemah store
necessetated the build-up of substantial
inventories.
In addition the over-staffing on
orders of Brun and large credit
accounts by the tribal council and
tribal programs adversely affected
the trading post's cash flow. This
situation resulted in late payments
to vendors and utilities which in
turn began threatening to withhold
supplies, services and made
making payroll a problem.
Amounts owed to vendors is
reported to be over $300,000. A
source who wishes to remain
anonymous told the PRESS that
the situation was contrived by
chairmen Brun in order to force
Anderson to leave. As evidence of
Brun's intention, he is reported to
have made $200,000 available to
the Trading Post from casino funds
the day after Anderson resigned.
Anderson is reported to have lost
favor with Brun because he tried
to run the trading post like a
business instead of a employment
agency for Brun.
One Red Lake insider told the
PRESS that Brun got rid of Anderson
now because he wanted a scapegoat
for his own mismanagement of tribal
business affairs prior to the May tribal
elections. Anderson is the second non-
tribal member management official
terminated on the reservationthis month.
Earlier, Red Lake Schools
superintendent Ed Kroenke was
unexpectedly fired for what many
consider without cause.
Anderson had been general
manager of the Trading Post for the
past five years. During his tenure, the
enterprise had grown from annual
sales of around $400,000 to nearly
$4,000,000 and employees from 10 to
50. While manager ofthe trading post
he is reported to have developed a
good working relationship with his
employees, customers and suppliers.
Carla Lajeunesse, a Red Lake tribal
member and formerly assistant
manager was appointed by Brun to be
interim manager ofthe trading post.
The PRESS contacted Anderson at
his home but he declined to comment.
The PRESS' call to Brun was not
returned.
Casino layoffs disputed
Black Bear's point system
termed iinfair
By Sheri Vazzano
Reprinted w/ permission from:
Duluth News Tribune	
About 20 Fond du Lac band
members who were laid off from the
Black Bear Casino say they lost their
jobs as the result of an unfair point
system that discriminates against
native Americans.
The members were among 60
employees dismissed Friday.
Reservation gaming officials say
layoffs are common this time of year
when business is slow. At times like
this, they say, the employees with the
best attendance and performance
records are retained- regardless of
race.
Employees received notice
informing them they were being laid
off because of attendance and
performance records in light of the
casino's current economic condition.
But some say the casino management's
formula used for keeping track of
attendance doesn't allow for important
cultural traditions such as wild rice
harvesting, ceremonies and taking
care of sick relatives.
The casino is owned and operated
by the Fund du Lac band of Chippewa.
The formula is based on a point
system, which docks five points for
missing work without calling, four
points for un-excused absences, and
so on.
"The point system makes it seem as
if we're not doing our jobs right," said
Gerri Defoe, an information clerk
who was laid off.
Tom O'Leary, a laid off
groundskeeper, said he feels the
management bowed to complaints
from other workers when it went ahead
with the layoffs.
"The Indians have poorer work
records and the white people have
been grumbling about that, that
Indians have been getting away with
calling in sick or coming late or calling
in drunk," he said.
A group of Native American
employees angry over the layoffs met
Monday with members of the
Reservation Business Committee to
voice their concerns.
Bob "Sonny" Peacock, Fond du Lac
Reservation chairman, said the rayoffs
were based solely on records, not race.
"The bottom line is that this is a
business," he said. "You go with the
good solid workers."
He said he expects many employees
to return to work when business
conditions improve. He said laid-off
employees would be allowed to review
their records. They can also file a
complaint with the RBC, he said.
Peacock said the committee members
obtained useful information from the
meeting with laid-off employees. The
information will be used to enhance
employee working conditions in the
future, he said, including making
schedules more favorable to those with
children at home.
Fond du Lac's Black Bear Casino layoffs disputed/ page 1
Funds suspended at American Indian Vets Center/ page 1
Gen. Manager of Red Lake Trading Post resigns/ page 1
Experts say economy will benefit if dump is denied/ page 4
Joe Day named DNR community liaison officer/ page 5
Voice ofthe Anishinabeg (The People)
_
Fifty Cents
resources. TFA's contractual role is to
act as the fiscal agent for the
Administration for Native Americans
(ANA), whichisanagency oftheFederal
Department of Health and Human
Services. Program correspondence
indicate that differences of opinion
apparently arose between Ken Webster
and Jim Monchamp regarding their
respective duties and responsibilities
and use of grant funds during the three
months the program was in operation.
Their dispute appears to haveplayed the
primary role in preventing the program
from getting off the ground.
The program had been leasing space at
2309 Nicollet Avenue, South Rm 102, in
Minneapolis while it was operating It is
not known what it accomplished in its
short existence or exactly what
alternatives are possible to restart it
Program financial information
indicates that$16,085, was spent during
the months of September through
December 1993. The January 20,1994,
letter from TFA to the AIVC indicated
that Three Feathers plans to conduct an
onsite visit in the near future.
The PRESS attempted to contact Ms.
Antonia Dobrec, President ofTF A, Ker,_
Webster, Jim Monchamp and Collins'
Oak Grove of AIVC for comment but
was unable to reach any of them.
Founded  in 1988
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skly
Ojibwe
IWIews
We Support Egpual Opportunity For AU People
I
Volume 5   Issue 31
January _!8, 1994
Cnpvright, The Djitme News, 1994
Native American Press staffers Gary Blair and John Rainbird assist at a pow wow and ceremonies at Sandy Lake
St Paul Indian Health Clinic provides rides
and evening hours to betterserve community
By Delvin Cree
The mission ofthe American Indian
Health clinic is to provide high quality
health care services and appropriate
training of health care professionals
in support of the health and human
service needs of the Ramsey County
American Indian community and the
low income residents of the St. Paul
Eastside and to encourage innovation,
leadership, and excellence in the field
of ambulatory health care.
"And that's just what we are doing,' ' saidRichard Carpenter, Program
Director and Health Planner of the
clinic. Carpenter told the PRESS that
even though the mission statement
hasn' t been updated lately the services
provided by the clinic extend to other
people that need their services.
The location of the clinic is at 947
Payne Ave. in St. Paul and other
services and offices are located at 965
Payne Ave, just down the street from
the clinic. Carpenter wants people to
know that they are there within the
communitity from St. Paul to Minneapolis. "If people in Minneapolis want
a change in health care or to see what
our services are like, feel free to come
on over. We don't have any boundaries of who we take care of."
He also pointed out that they are not
in competition with otherlndian health
agencies or trying to take away their
services. "We just want people to
know that there are other options and
services out there and that we are
available."
Carpenter noted that all the services
provided by them are not in the same
building. The majority of services are
provided at the 947 Payne Ave. address while the mental health, social
work, and community health offices
are located at 965 Payne Ave., which
also includes the administration offices.
The clinic already has an excellent
reputation of providing services to
people living under the poverty level.
In 1992 the percentage of those individuals was 84.7%, many of whom
were Native American. The total number of medical encounters at the clinic
in 1991 to 1992 raised from 163 to
1,997, while the community outreach
encounters went from 61 to 375 in the
same years according to an annual
report provided by Carpenter. It was
also noted that in 1993 clinic users
continued to be predominately Native
American, to have incomes below the
poverty level, and to have either medicaid or no insurance coverage.
Right now, according to Carpenter,
a large number ofthe staff are Native
American. "Six out of ten employees
that I can think of right now are Native
American," he said. "And that is
good because our staff is sensitive to
the cultural needs and beliefs of Indian people."
The clinic provides transportation
for clients who can't get around. Presently, they have one van to pick up
people with but are hoping to expand
this aspect of service.
"One thing most people are not aware
of," said Carpenter, " is that we are
open for evening hours on Thursdays
from 5pm to 8:30pm."
All the services provided at the clinic
are available on a sliding fee scale,
with no one denied services due to any
inability to pay. The city of St.Paul
and Ramsey County are doing most of
the funding for the clinic and this
comes after the request of local officials.
The present clinic replaces the old
St. Paul Urban Indian Health clinic
that went belly-up after mismanagement problems. Since the clinic
services began a couple of years ago
the patient registration has risen to
over 1,700 patients. The services provided currently are medical, prenatal
care, community health nursing, mental health, social work services, and
dental care.
Carpenter said that there are plans
for expanding and welcomes anyone
who needs their health services.
Star Tribune to drop 'Offensive' Indian team
nicknames
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) A decision by
the Minneapolis Star Tribune to stop
using "certain offensive Indian team
nicknames'' won immediate praise from
an American Indian leader.
"I think when a major newspaper
such as the Star Tribune takes that
position, it puts a lot of emphasis on the
issue," said Clyde Bellecourt, founder
and national director of the American
Indian Movement.
"In the long run, it will put pressure
on some of these teams to make the
same decision,'' added Bellecourt, who
helped form the National Coalition On
Racism in Sports and the Media.
Tim McGuire, Star Tribune editor, and
Julie Engebrecht, executive sports editor,
said in a published statement Tuesday,
"We have come to believe that
discontinuing the use of these offensive
nicknames is the right thing to do. And we
believe newspapers make decisions about
languageall thetime," they wrote. "Many
radstarrfsexistterrrBhavebeenelimiraled
over the years."
The newspaper had not planned to
make a public announcement yet but
was  prompted  by   "community
conversation," they wrote.
Sports staff at the Minneapolis-based
Star Tribune will soon develop specific
guidelines.
The Portland Oregonian made a
similar decision about two years ago.
There are 49,909 American Indians
living in Minnesota, according to the
1990 Census.
"I think we're starting to accomplish
some of our overall goals and sensitizing
America to some of these offensive
nicknames," Bellecourt said.