The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1994-03-04

              Sandy Lake Ojibwe announce break with
Mille Lacs Band—Will seek federal recognition
McGregor, MN - The Sandy Lake
Band of Ojibwe, through Clifford
Skinaway (ChiefHole-in-the-Day VII),
announced Friday morning that the
Sandy Lake Band is seeking federal
recognition as an independent band.
In asserting the interests of the Sandy
Lake Band, Skinaway placed himself
squarely at odds with the Mille Lacs
Band government on a range of issues
- from treaty rights politics to attitudes
toward business. In fact, Skinaway repudiated recent harsh rhetoric directed
at the state's hospitality industry and
bar owners by Marge Anderson, the
Mille Lacs Band's chief executive.
Cliff Skinaway was in the news last
spring when he sided with Minnesota
sportsmen and others against an attempted out-of-court settlement of the
1837 treaty rights suit filed by the Mille
Lacs Ojibwe against the state of Minnesota. WhileMargeAnderson threatened
all-out commercial fishing on Mille
Lacs if the MilleLacs Band government
wins its court battle, Skinaway opposes
Indian gillnetting of game fish in Mille
Lacs Lake. "Times have changed,
and our needs have changed," said
Skinaway, 54, a longtime union member and construction worker who also
ran his own small engine repair business.
Ironically, by a cruel twist of fate, the
Sandy Lake Band finds itself hostage to
the Mille Lacs Band. Despite its prominence in Minnesota history, the Sandy
LakeBand's historic independence was
compromised when, following the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the
U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs merged
the Sandy Lakers into the Mille Lacs
Band for "administrative purposes."
The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, as well
as the Mille Lacs Band's government,
are creations of that 1934 Indian Reorganization Act.
The Sandy Lake Band's forced status
in "District II" of the Mille Lacs Band
has been costly to the Sandy Lakers.
Referring to the Mille Lacs Band gov-
ernmentandtotheMinnesotaChippewa
Tribe, Cliff Skinaway said, "They've
hidden our historic identity, they claim
our lands, and for years they've collected monies and benefits that should
have gone to the Sandy Lake Band.''
Skinaway said, "Leaders of the Mille
Lacs Band and the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, as well as politicians, talk
about 'Indian self-determination' and
'economic development,' but they've
cut the Sandy Lake Band out of everything!"
Skinaway said the new recognition
effort and separation from the Mille
Lacs Band are needed for the historic
Sandy Lake Band's survival. He said
the Sandy Lake Band urgently needs
economic development so members can
helpthemselves. "For manyyears we've
been denied the education, housing,
and program benefits aimed at Indians,
Break/ see page 3
TFA to conduct fiscal and program audit of
American Indian Vets Center
[Hie following letter, dated March 1,
1994, was addressed to Ken Webster
and submitted by him for reprint.]
As directed by the Administration for
Native Americans and the Administration for Children andFamilies, Division
of Discretionary Grants, Three Feathers Associates (TFA) willbe conducting
a fiscal and program audit of its sub-
grant award to AIVC. The audit will be
conducted on-site in AIVC's office.
The dates for the audits are March 9th
and 10th, 1991. These dates were
schedulted and confirmed with James
Monchamp on March 1, 1994.
It is expected that the office will be
open and ready for our visit at 8:30 am
on March 9th. Mr. James Nortncutt,
CPA of Hinckley & Northcutt, Chartered will be conducting the fiscal and
program audit in conjunction with Janie
Braden and myself.
In preparation for the audit, the fol
lowing information must be available:
1) all financial records inclusive of fiscal books, checkingaccounts, vouchers,
receipts, canceled checks, etc; 2) all
program reports, telephone logs, travel
logs, contact logs and any and all materials, plans and written corrspondence
relating to the sub-grant award, and; 3)
names, addresses and telephone numbers of individuals and agencies which
have been contacted relative to the sub-
grant award. We will also be
interviewing project staff, therefore,
please arrange to have Cher Miller
available for an interview on the morning of March 9th, 1994.
The audit team requests a meeting
with all the current AIVC Board members on March 9th during the afternoon
or evening. It is anticipated that this
meeting will take approximately 1.5
hours. The purpose of the meeting is to
discuss the purpose of the fiscal and
Frances Fairbanks involved in accident while driving borrowed Golden Eagles van
By Gary Blair
It's been reported that Frances
Fairbanks, director of the Minneapolis American Indian Center, has been
using one of the Golden Eagle youth
program's vans for her own personal
use. Fairbanks, who reports an annual
income of over $60,000, has been
telling her staff that she doesn't have
enough money to hire a vet to get her
Ford Bronco on its feet.
Wouldn't it be nice if all the Indian
fammeshvinginMinneapoliswhodon't
make $60,000 and who don't have cars
couldjustgoto the Indian center and use
a van anytime they wanted?
Just think, you wouldn't have to ride
the bus anymore. You could take a van
load of your friends and relatives to all
yourfavoritecasinos. And,ifyouhadan
accident as Fairbanks did last Tuesday,
itwouldn'tbeanybigdeal. Thecenter's
board of directors most likely couldn't
take action against you because
they've only had a quorum once since
they've been elected.
For sure the Indian center employees
wouldn'tsayanything. Theyknowwhat
happened to Ruth Denny, the former
editor of The Circle newspaper, when
she spoke out. Reports that came out of
the Indian center at that time say
Fairbanks was overheard telling some
of her staff, "That bitch has to go."
Tensions rise in planning for Oklahoma BIA consolidation
By Bunty Anquoe
Reprinted w/ permission from Indian
County Today
WASHINGTON- Sen. David Boren,
D-Okla., and Ada Deer, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, are at
loggerheads over a proposed consolidation of BIA area offices in Oklahoma.
Last Thursday, the state's senior senator said the BIA was illegally
proceeding with its merger plans and
threatenedcourt action to stop the move.
In a sharply- worded letter to Ms.
Deer, Sen. Boren said he was disappointed to hear that the bureau was
moving forward with its plans to consolidate its Muskogee and Anadarko
area offices since she had assured the
Oklahoma congressional delegation
at a meeting last month that the proposal would not move forward' 'until
we had reached a common understanding about it."
At that time, he had said the congressional delegation planned to kill the
plan if and when it reached Congress,
adding that the meeting with Ms. Deer
was successful and promised tobring an
acceptablealternative through tribal and
congressional consultation.
"It is therefore shocking to me that
your personal assurance appear to have
been violated by recent steps taken by
the bureau," Sen. Boren said in his
letter. ' T can only conclude that these
steps were taken without your knowledge or approval.   Otherwise, your
Commissioners meet with New Visions/ page 1
Kroenke appeals termination by Red Lake SB/ page 1
Sandy Lake Ojibwe announce break with ML/ page 1
AIM Tribunal Indictment, part II in series/ page 4
Policy-makers will listen to youth at conf./ page 5
Voice of the Anishinabeg (The People)
1
The most recent reports coming out
of the Indian center say, "She
(Fairbanks) runs the place just like the
KGB did in Russia. She has some
people that are sucking-up and others
that are too scared to say anything,
because they're fearful of being reported on."
Additional reports say Fairbanks
plans to retire this coming June provided she can find someone to take her
place that's willing to overlook her
past mismanagement of the Center.
Until then, however, the community
might want to consider helping
Fairbanks out with her transportation
problem. Maybe take up a collection so
she can get her Bronco running.
personal word would have been broken
which would be a serious matter indeed."
He also said he learned that the General Service Administration inFt Worth,
Texas, hadbeen contacted by the BIA to
begin looking for a site for the proposed
combined office.
"I also understand from internal communications within the bureau that
instructions have been given to contact
the mayors of Oklahoma City and Tulsa
and even to begin placing news-paper
advertisements for space," he wrote.
"I intend to contact the two mayors to
inform them that the congressional delegation does notwishforthemto cooperate
Tension/ see page 3
Fifty Cents
Mews
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded  in 1988
Volume 5   Issue 36
March 4, 1994
program audit, what will happen as a
result of the audit and TFA's and AIVc,
Inc. Board of Directos responsibility as
it related to the findings fo the audit. For
AIVC Board members who cannot attend this meeting, it is expected that
they make arrangements to be interviewed by telephone during the days of
the audit visit. It is recommended that
this meeting be considered a closed
meeting within the laws of the Stateof
Minnesota in that issues of personnel
will be discussed.
If you have any questions, please have
James Monchamp contact me or
Kathryn Helsel. It is our objective to
resolve the AIVC's fiscal and management issues that have been reported to
Three Feathers Associated in a professional and straight forward manner.
Signed, Antonia Dobrec, President,
Three Feathers Associates, Norman,
Oklahoma
sklu
Copyright:, The DJIme News, 1994
Spring has finally sprung on the rez. Sugar bush time is just around the corner.
Kroenke appeals termination by Red Lake
School Board
By Bill Lawrence
Edward Kroenke, former Red Lake
Schools Superintendent, recently filed
a Petition for a Writ of Certiorari with
theMinnesota Court of Appeals seeking
review of the Red Lake School Board's
January 3, 1994, decision terminating
hisemploymentcontract. In the petition,
Kroenke's attorney Douglas Skor of St.
Paul alledges that the board's action
violated his clients employment contract
and Minnesota law, is arbitrary and
capricious, denies due process of law,
and is based upon an erroneous theory
of law. In the school board's response,
attorney Margaret Treuer claims that
Kroenke's failure to sign and return his
employment contractfor oversix months
(the contract had been approved by the
board on July 29,1993, forthe 1993-94
school year) and his failure to maintain
a superintendent's license, which is a
violation of state law. The board's
response also claims that the fact that
Kroenke never signed his contract made
said contract null and void and negates
any requirement forbinding arbitration.
Kroenke's petition goes on to assert
that "in complete disregard of all
statutory, contractual and constitutional
requirements, Respondent School
District simply terminated Relator
Kroenke at its January 3,1994, meeting
even though the State had by then
renewed his license (which had lapsed
inadvertently). Given theBoard'srefusal
to provide a hearing or comply with the
arbitration requirement, the record is
insufficient to review the purported
termination on the merits." .
The two issues cited in Kroenke's
appeal were (1): Whether the School
Board acted arbitrarily and capriciously
and upon an erroneous theory of law
and in violation of Relator's statutory,
contractual and due process rights by
purporting to terminate his employment
without an opportunity for hearing and
without complying with the arbitration
requirements of the contract.
(2): In the alternative, whether the
School Board acted arbitrarily and
capriciously and on an erroneous theory
of law and in violation of Relator's
statutory, contractual and due process
rights by terminating Realtor for the
temporary lapse of his licensure. By this
appeal, Kroenke is requesting
reinstatement along with back pay and
benefits.
Both parties requested oral arguments
and permission to file written briefs.
Red Lake Independent School District
Hennepin County Commissioners meet with T ew Visions and community
By Gary Blair
It was a first for the Minneapolis
Native American community when
Gerry Stafford and three other New
Visions board members filed a court
injunction against the corporation that
they serve as board members. Stafford
says he wants to force New Visions
into developing the proposed Native
American detox center that they agreed
to. He also says they've been using the
money the county gave them for that
detox center on other things.
The PRESS has learned that the
problems now facing the chemical
dependency treatment program for Indians may result in criminal charges
being brought against certain individuals who may have misused those
funds.
Last Monday Stafford's order for an
injunction went before Hennepin
County District Court Judge Debra
Hedlund, and she approved it. She
also set a subsequent court date of
March 14, 1994, to hear additional
arguments as to how the injunction is
to be resolved.
Her decision to freeze the chemcial
dependency treatmentprogram'sbank
accounts didn't occur until there had
been a lot of vebal exchange outside
the court room between the opposing
sides. It was learned that the judge had
warned the two groups to work the
matter out between themselves or she
would order the injunction. Stafford
was told if he didn't agree to the
arbitration he'd have to post a
$200,000 bond to see the court order
through. New Visions representatives which included their director
Vicky Arabram, refused to meet with
the Stafford group, so at 2 P.M. that
same afternoon the court ordered the
injunction and since that time the staff
at New Visions hasn't been paid. In
fact, some of their last payroll checks
have bounced because they didn' t clear
their bank in time.
For the past month the PRESS has
reported on the development of the
problems now surrounding the proposed New Visions Native American
detoxification center. What's now in
question is what has happened to the
$145,000 that the county gave New
Visions to start it. At this point there
hasn't been a full accounting of those
taxpayer dollars, other than New
Visons representatives saying,'' Some
of it went for pay checks.''
On Wednesday evening of this week
a meeting was held at the Waite House
in south Minneapolis. County Commissioners Sandra Hillary and Peter
McLaughlin listened and answered
questions as a small group of angry
Indian people and concerned community members batted back and forth
the question of who's accountable for
the missing dollars. Nearly 20 people
approached the micophone and expressed their dissatisfaction with the
lack of accountability.
Joe Big Bear, Hennepin County's
contract specialistforchemical health,
told the group that three times they've
requested to see New Visions financial records on the contracted Indian
detox center and three times they received nothing.
Stafford told the group that there
isn't any books. Waving what he said
were bank statements, he announced,
"This is all there is. Joe Estrada,
received the first check for $429.00."
To Stafford's remarks New Visons
staff who were at the meeting said
nothing.
Elder Ira Sailor, who came to the
meeting in a wheelchair, was one of
the first people to speak. Sailor, 69-
years-old and from the White Earth
Indian reservation, said he sees the
problem as one of corruption within
the Indian programs in general. He
stated, "We don't have any good
leadership." And without missing a
beat he zeroed in on the Minneapolis
Indian center and its director, Frances
Fairbanks. He told of going there and
witnessing the mistreatment of an
Indian women over her request to use
a telephone. He said, "What are they
getting that money for?"
As Sailor spoke, Clyde Bellecourt,
who was also at the meeting, dropped
his head and started moving around
on his chair. Within seconds Sailor
was saying, "And one of them only
has 1/32 degree of Indian blood and
he's always on TV."
For over 10 years Native Americans
#3 8 encompasses nearly the entire Red
Lake Reservation. Its enrollment is
estimated to be 900 student and has an
annual budget of nearly $10,000,000.
Nearly all funding comes from federal
or state sources. Kroenke has been
superintendent since he replaced Burl
Block in 1991.
He is credited with guiding the district
out of a $2,000,000 deficit situation and
playing a leading role in working out
details in obtaining a $10 million loan
from the state of Minnesota for new
school construction.
At the January 3,1994, meeting, the Red
Lake School Board voted unanimously(6-
0) to terminate Kroenke's contract It also
voted unanimously to hire high school
principle Roger L. Schmidt as acting
superintendent at a salary of $68,640.
Approved unanimously again was a
resolution relating to employment status
of board members retroactive to May 5,
1989.
In veiw of the fact that Kroenke's
contract was to expire on June 30,
1994, sources have told the PRESS
that certain board members had another agenda for terminating him.
A decision on Kroenke's petition to
the Court of Appeals is expected to
take about eight months.
and others were abused at the old
Hennepin County Detox Center which
is the reason it was closed over a year
ago and also why New Visons was
contracted to build an Indian detox
center.
During that same period of time our
so-called Indian leadership in Minneapolis said or did nothing. It appears
that they were too busy drawing their
paychecks pr keeping up with the
"Jones" put in the suburbs. All the
while Indian CD programs were being mismanaged and thousands of
dollars went to hobbies, trips to powwows and sundances. Stories of fancy
hotel rooms and wild parties filled the
"moccasin telegraph."
The Waite House meeting lasted over
two hours and the Indian community
isn't any closer to a detox center then
they were when the idea was first introduced over a year ago.