The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1994-02-11

              Leech Lake Tribal Council dissolves Twin
Cities5 Local Community Council
By Gary Blair
Nearly three years ago the Leech Lake
Reservation Tribal Council (LLRTC)
announced the opening of an office in
south Minneapolis to serve their nearly
3 thousand urban enrollees. The idea
wasn't anything new, the Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe once had a Twin Cities
office that has since been closed. Although, this office (LLTCO) is still
open, the LLRTC is now faced with
growing opposition to their recent decision to change its staffing and to take
away its local control.
In a memorandum dated January 28,
1994, to Howard "Howie" White,
Chairman of the Leech Lake Twin Cities Office (LLTCO) Community
Council, Alfred R."Tig" Pemberton,
Chairman of the LLRTC wrote: "On
January 25,1994 at a Special Meeting
the Leech Lake Tribal Council reviewed
and discussed your January 23, 1994
letter. Needless to say we are disappointed that the LLTCO Community
Council refuses to accept or recognize
the decisions of the Tribal Council.
Therefore, we are compelled to make
the necessary decisions we feel are appropriate that will serve the interests of
the greater population of the Twin Cities Leech Lake members, relating to the
Twin Cities office and its operations."
"For your information, on January
25,1994 theLeechLakeTribal Council
acted officially as follows: 1. Accepted
the resignation of Ms. Judy Olson (program manager for LLTCO) effective
January 28, 1994; 2. Appointed Ms.
Carrie Day as the Acting Program Officer-Coordinator indefinitely, effective
January 24, 1994; 3. Hired Ms. Mary
White as Community Services Specialist-Secretary effective January24,1994.
In your letter of 1/23/94 we made
notice of your 'further' notation of intent. In short, the Leech Lake Twin
Cities Office Community Council is not
authorized to seat any staff person for
the Twin Cities office. Your recommendations are considered and acted
upon by the Tribal Council. In light of
the existing relationship between the
Twin Cities Office Community Council and the Reservation Tribal (RTC)
the RTC is assuming and finalizing any
and all operational decisions of the
Council/ page 3
— ■...■".'.—■
lissolves Twin Cities' Local Commun. Council/ page 1
Indian health official alleges defamation, sues paper/ page 1
U of M students demand action against director of I.L. R. center/ page 1
Webster provides documentation of mismanagement/ page 4
BIA forms internal affairs unit in response to investigation/ page 6
Voice of the Anishinabeg (The People)
i
Learn how to make a difference in the state
government process
By Sara Lawrence
On Saturday, Feb. 5 the League of
Women Voters and Common Cause
Minnesota sponsored a half-day workshop for all Minnesotans interested in
learning more about the state political
system. Held in the State Capitol Building, Cjti^ejnsJnActicjiiLeaniifowJo
Make a Difference, covered such topics as obtaining information from
government resources, learning to
follow a bill through the legislative
process, participating effectively in
the party caucus, lobbying Congress
from home, and presenting you case to
legislators.
"Our goal is to provide citizens
with information they can use to become more effective in the political
process," said Kay Erickson, president of the League of Women Voters
of Minnesota Education Fund. Joan
Higginbotham, Executive Director of
Commom Cause Minnesota added,
"As two organizations which work to
promote better government, we plan
to bring our collective expertise together and help more citizens realize
their voices can be heard in government."
The theme of the conference was
effectively portrayed in the various
workshops. Attendees left with a stack
of free booklets, lists of information
hotlines and their names on mailing
lists to receive further forms of free
literature.
Most people were somewhat surprised to learn that many state
legislators personally read all mail
from their constituents rather than
having it screened by aides which
many had assumed. In the Presenting
Your Case to Legislators workshop,
State Senator Sheila Kiscaden from
Rochester explained the intricacies of
legislator-constituent and legislator-
lobbyist relationships.
The average citizen should not un
derestimate the impact they can have
on a legislator by voicing concerns
through phone calls, and especially by
writing letters. Kiscaden stated that
legislators greatly appreciate hearing
from constituents and their testimony
sometimes carries more weight than
that of paid lobbyists in the decisionmaking process.
She advises people to follow a standard form when writing to legislators.
For example, the formal salutation for
a legislator is: The Honorable Representative (or Senator) followed by their
last name. If you don't know your
legislator's name or address you can
call 296-0504 for the Senate and 296-
2146 for the House of Representatives.
Kiscaden advises writers to keep
the letter to one page and include only
one issue per letter. Although you can
address as many issues as you want at
one time it is important to write sepa-
Process/ page 3
Fifty Cents
Ojib we
News
We Support: Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded in 19BB Volume 5   Issue 33        February 11, 1994
A weekly
Copyright, The DJibwe News, 1993
NewMexicotribespokesmantestifiesonnucIearstorage
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) It would be
about 10 yearsbefore aproposed storage
facility in New Mexico could handle
radioactive waste from Northern States
Power Co., a spokesman of an Apache
tribe said.
Miller Hudson of the Mescalero
Apache Tribe estimated Tuesday that
once agreement is reached with about
10 more utilities, it wouldtakefiveto six
years to getthe necessary federal licenses
and two to three years after that to
construct thefacility on the reservation.
Hudson and Silas Cochise, a member
of the Mescalero Apache tribal council
and project manager, testified before
the state Senate Jobs, Energy and
Community Development Committee.
It was the panel's eighth hearing on
Northern StatesPower'srequestto store
nuclearwaste in huge metal casks outside
its Prairie Island plantnearRed Wing in
southeastern Minnesota.
Even if the New Mexico proposal
becomes a reality, Northern States Power
officials have said the utility needs
legislative approval for "dry cask"
storage because storage pools inside the
reactor building will soon be full.
Cochise said the agreement with
Northern States Power announced last
week is a memorandum of
understanding and not a binding
contract. He said the tribe has not
received any compensation from
Northern States Power.
"We believe dry storage represents a
tremendous business opportunity with
minimal risk," Cochise said. "We
would be foolish to ignore a project so
large it could guarantee our economic
independencefor generations to come.''
Hudson said the project, which would
create 500 to 700 jobs, could mean up to
$50 million annually for the New Mexico
economy, with the tribe receiving about
half that amount.
Tribal officials said most New Mexico
public officials oppose the project. Gov.
Bruce King sent letters to Minnesota
Gov. Ame Carlson and to state Sen.
Steve Novak, committee chairman, to
reiterate his opposition.
"I am firmly resolved to resist any
effort to locate such a facility in New
Mexico," King said. But he said the
Mescalero Apaches area self-governing
tribe and a have a right to enter into such
an agreement.
Tribal member Donalyn Torres said
many tribal membersopposetheproject.
Novak said three additional hearings
will be held after the 1994 Minnesota
Legislature convenes on Feb. 22, with a
vote tentatively set for March 3 on the
Northern States Power proposal.
Bemidji H.S. Anishinabe Academic Olympic team, front row, Sonoma Paiz, Nina Devlin, Chamissa Goodwin,
Megan Treuer, back row, Tori Kingbird, Nokomis Paiz, Emily Aitken, Tianna Beaulieu, Laurie Bedeau,
Jessica Strowbridge, Wenona Littlewolf, Kathi Dudley, not pictured, Keith Azure, Niki Goodwin & Neil Ortiz.
f94 Anishinabe Academic Olympics competition
held in Grand Rapids
Indian health official alleges defamation, sues paper
By Wayne Washington
Reprinted W/ permission
of Mpls. Star & Tribune
Gary Blair says he can back up everything he's written. Bill Lawrence said
it's just an attempt to thwart an uncomfortably bright media spotlight.
Blair, a staff reporter of the Native
American Press, and Lawrence, the
publisher of both the Press and the
OjibweNews, are being sued by Norine
Smith, executive director of the Indian
Health Board, for defamation after a
series of articles in both Indian-run
newspapers criticized her management
of the board.
"The content of the articles when contrasted with the truth is so glaring,"
said John Bonner, who is representing
Smith. "We just don't have a choice."
Blair, who has reported for the Press for
almost two years, and Lawrence see it
another way.
Both said they are countersuing Smith
for abuse of the legal process.
Smith's complaint contends that information in articles written by Lawrence
and Blair late last year was "false,
misleading and has caused her professional and business reputation to be
damaged.
Smith would not comment on the suits
yesterday and referred all questions to
Bonner.
Some former members of the Health
Board staff have filed discrimination
complaints against Smith with the Minnesota Human Rights Department. The
Press and Ojibwe News covered that
story and, according to Smith's complaint, "began a campaign to have
(Smith) fired."
Among the articles listed in the com
plaint is one written by Lawrence in the
Press in September that says the board
was more than $80,000 in debt. The
complaint says that a Blair article ap-
pearjnga weeklater said that charges of
financial mismanagement were made
against Smith.
Notably absent in the complaint, say
Blair and Lawrence, is a request for a
retraction.
Bonner said that's because "these guys
have been told exactly what the truth
was. They just don't care."
Blair said the suit doesn't surprise him.
"That goes with the territory in trying
to expose what's really going on in the
Indian community,'' he said. "We've
taken on the hard issues, the things that
keep Indian people down, poor, oppressed. The facts aren't always nice."
SaidLawrence: "Everything we wrote,
we're fully able to defend."
Fifteen Bemidji High School Native
American students left for Itasca
Community College to compete with
eight other school districts in four
categories last Friday.
The school districts competing in this
year's event included Bemidji, the Bug-
O-Nay-Ge-Shig School, Cass Lake,
Coleraine, Deer River, Hibbing, Red
Lake and Walker.
The four categories included Speech,
Composition, Math/Science and
KnowledgeBowl (Native history culture
and language). Medals were awarded
for the top three finishers in each tier
category andateam trophy wasawarded
for the highest team score (overall).
Bemidji High School Native American
students placed first and received the
teamtrophyforhighestteamscore. This
is the 2nd Annual Anishinabe Academic
Olympics Competition with Bemidji
students placing first in last year's
competition.
Individual medals were awarded in
each category as follows:
Speech -
9th/10th Grade Competition
1st- Alice Brunk, Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig
H.S.; 2nd- Sonoma Paiz, Bemidji H.S.;
3rd- Roberta Roybal, Bug-O-Nay-Ge-
ShigHS.
llth/12th Grade Competition
1st- Wenona Littlewolf, Bemidji, H.S.;
2ndTEdwardFolstrom, CassLakeH.S.,
3rd- Tina Northbird, Cass Lake H.S.
Composition -
9th/10th Grade Competition
1st- Sarah Wakanbo, Deer River H.S.;
2nd- Deanna Dunn, Cass Lake H.S.;
3rd- Laurie Bedeau, Bemidji H.S.
1 lth/12th Grade Competition
lst-MelissaTumey, Walker-Hackensack-
Akeley HS.; 2nd Jessica Strowbridge,
Bemidji HS.; 3rd Adria Johnson, Cass
LakeHS.
Math/Science -
9th/10th Grade Competition
1st- Chamisa Goodwin; Bemidji HS. and
Ron Turney, Walker-Hakensak-Akeley
HS.; 2nd- Emily Aitken, Bemidji HS.;
3rd- Missy Johannsen, Greenway HS.
1 lth/12th Grade Competiton
1st- Foster Stangel, Cass Lake HS.; 2nd-
Jenny Johannsen, Greenway HS.; 3rd-
Niki Goodwin, Bemidji HS.
Knowledge Bowl Teams -
1st- Mike Graves, Nate King, Donis
Bunker, Don Staples, and Christine
Leith, Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig H.S.; 2nd-
Nokomis Paiz, Niki Goodwin, Nina
Delvin, Tori Kindbird, Kathi Dudley,
Bemidji HS.
U of M students demand action against director
of Indian learning resource center
Casinos need state approval to offer keno games, court rules
Mpls. (AP) Two Indian-owned casinos in Minnesota and one in South
Dakota will not be able to offer the
game of keno without state approval,
the U.S. Court of appeals ruled
Wednesday.
The ruling, which affirms a federal
district court decision, upholds National Indian Gaming Commission
regulations that classify keno as a
Class III or casino-style game, which
is regulated by the states.
Indian tribes have exclusive jurisdiction over social games and
traditional Indian gaming (class I).
The commission regulates bingo and
similar Class II games.
The ShakopeeMdewakanton Sioux
Community, Little Six Inc. and the
Lower Sioux Community in Minne
sota and the Sisseton-Wahpeton Sioux
Tribe in South Dakota appealed three
lower court decisions upholding the
gaming commission regulations to
the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
in May 1993..
The tribes said that the commission's decision to classify keno as a
Class III game was "arbitrary and
capricious.'' They filed briefs elaborating on the common history of keno
and bingo in an attempt to demonstrate a close relationship between
the two games.
In keno, players bet the house that
the numbers they select will match
numbers that are drawn. It is different from bingo in that there is more
than one winner and players select
numbers before play begins and play
against the house.
In affirming the federal district court
ruling, the Appeals Court said, "The
tribes do not suggest that the commis-
sion refused to hear evidence
concerning the common history of
keno and bingo. Nor is there any
evidence that the commission otherwise abused the rulemaking process.
To the contrary, the commission conducted public hearings and solicited
comments before promulgating rules
under its statutory authority.
"Therefore, the tribes' contentions boil down to an argument
that the commission made an incorrect decision. ... We cannot
conclude that the commission acted
arbitrarily simply because it reached
a disfavored result.''
By Delvin Cree
For the past year and a half there
has been controversy at the University
of Minnesota regarding treatment of
students at the U of M American
Indian Learning Resource Center. So
much controversy, in fact, that a
petition is being circulated at the campus for other Indian students to sign.
The petition is to be sent to the
President of the U of M Board of Regents.
The petition is the start of a
campaign to have the director of the
learning center evaluated and possibly
terminated for what students say is
unfair treatment towards them. Some
say that when Bruce Meyers took over
the learning center ayearandahalfago
things started to go sour. These students complain that they don't feel
welcome at the center anymore.
"There was this one white lady on the
phone when I went tothecenter," saidone
student at a meeting on Feb. 2. "She
looked atmeandsaid, 'Whatareyoudoing
here and what do you want!"
"It's things like that," continued
the student, "that makes an Indian
student feel uncomfortable. What business does she havetellingmeanything,
anyway?"
The petition currently circulating on
campus is not supported one hundred
percent by the Indian students. Some
say that they don't fully agree on the
termination of Meyers, although they
acknowledge the drop in attendence at
the center since Meyers took over as
director.
On Feb. 2, Robin Goodwin, a
member of the American Indian
Students Association, presented the draft
of the petition at their regular meeting.
Meyers was invited to the meeting but
didn't show up. Sources say that at the
previous meeting Meyers showed up
unexpectedly and was kicked out.
When the PRESS contacted the resource center that day to see why
Meyers didn't show up for the
meeting, Valerie Fox, one of the newly
hired counselors, said that Meyers had
called in sick.
The petition is dated January 31,1994
and reads as follows:
Dear President Hasselmo: As con
cerned American Indian students, we
are commited to the improvement of a
safe environment for the American
Indian people at the University of Minnesota. We are asking for the immediate
positive intervention in the situation at
the American Indian Learning Resource
Center. American Indian students, staff
and faculty members have been extremely vocal about the poor quality of
leadership of the Director, G. Bruce
Meyers, for over a year and a half. Dr.
JohnNobuyaTsuchida, as his immediate supervisor, has continued to allow
the turmoil to exist and in some cases
added to it.
We believe it is critical that the
following actions take place by February 15,1994:
1) Immediate evaluation or temination
of Bruce Meyers; 2) Evaluation of
Nobuya Tsuehida's hiring practices in
OMSSA Central and a written reprimand ofhis behavior; 3) Reinstatement
of Dianna Kale (who was recently
terminated from the Learning Resource Center for filing  grievances
Center/ page 3