The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1994-04-29

              Allegations of sexual harassment surface at
People Unlimited, Minneapolis
By Gary Blair
People Unlimited, an Affiliate of
Project for Pride and Living (PPL)
Industries, Inc., may be facing more
than just the economics of having to
downsize their 13 year old non-profit
cottage work operation.
Attorney Alan F. Muselewiz met on
Tuesday with some of the former PPL
employees effected by the recent PPL
cutbacks. The purpose of the meeting
was to explore the group's legal options and to compile information
surrounding the company's treatment
of employees and the reasons given
for their terminations.
PPL's current mission statement
says the company's purpose is "to
provide a supportive work environment for low-income people of color
who have never had adequate employment to achieve self-sufficiency."
Those who attended the Tuesday
meeting say PPL changed its mission
statement in July of 1993. Before that
time the organization's mission state
ment referred only to American Indians as their primary focus group. The
former full-time employees who are
Indians say their numbers were used
by PPL to raise funding from the
Minneapolis United Way for the
company's carreer development program and now they've been replaced
by part-time workers.
Among the issues discussed at the
meeting were allegations of past and
present sexual harassment by upper
and lower level company management. Attorney Muselewiz was told
that recently female employees who
had complained about sexual
harrassment from one of the production supervisors were moved, rather
then the male supervisor who had
been accused of the harrassment.
Roberta Brown, one of the former
employees who was at the meeting,
said, "The place is a white boy operation. They don't have any Indian
people on their board of directors.
They don't have any input coming
from the Indian community," she said.
Richard Polanski, executive director of People Unlimited; a company
that once generated more than 2.5
million dollars in annual business,
sees things differently. He says the
employee layoffs are necessary if the
company is to survive. When questioned about the sexual harrassment
allegationshewouldn'tanswer. When
asked if he was concerned that lawsuits could close the PPL operation,
Polanski said, "Yes."
Mary Head, who was at the meeting,
said her position as personnel director at PPL was funded through the
United Way career development program. She says she was let go when
she complained that the employee firings werebeing done improperly. Head
says she had been the company's personnel director for nearly two years
and was hired by the previous executive director.
Brown says the problems at the 509
Washington Ave., S., Minneapolis
Harass/ see page 2
IHB conducts closed meetings/ page 1
Jourdain seeks injunction from tribal court/ page 1
Stronger Indian gaming rules debated/ page 2
A Native tribute to Richard Nixon/ page 4
An open letter to Paul Demain/ page 4
Indian month schedule/ page 8
Voice of the Anishinabeg (The People)
^
Fifty Cents
Mystic Lake opens books, and the numbers are
large $500 million wagered at casino last year
Founded  in 1988
Ojibwe
News
Wes Support Equal Opportunity For All People
1
Volume 5   Issue 44
April 23, 1994
By Josephine Marcotty
Minneapolis Star Tribune Staff writer
In an attempt to fight criticism that
he has mismanaged Mystic Lake Casino and to slow an effort to oust him
as the top executive of the casino's
parent company, Leonard Prescott
publicly opened the casino's books for
the first time Tuesday and revealed
some staggering numbers.
Gamblers wagered $500 million at
the Prior Lake casino in the fiscal year
ended Sept. 30, 1993, a significant
chunk of the estimated $3 billion wagered in Minnesota annually.
Mystic Lake's profit margin of more
than 50 percent is one of the highest in
the industry. After paying out winnings, the casino kept $ 177.7 million
as revenues and reported $96.8 million in earnings, according to the financial data supplied to the Star Tribune by parent company Little Six
Inc. The company turned over about
$70 million to the aproximately 150
members of the Shakopee
Mdewakanton Dakota Community last
year. Each member received about
$400,000.
Prescott, the chief executive of Little
Six and a national leader in the Indian
gaming industry, also said he would
seek a criminal investigation of his
chief political rival within the tribe.
Prescott is under fire from tribal offi-
cials because of personal relationships
he's had with female employees and
allegations that thegrowth of the business has slowed because of mismanagement.
He said yesterday [April 26] that he
was disclosing the closely guarded
financial numbers to prove that he is
not mismanaging the corporation and
to show that tribal members are reaping the benefits of a tremendously
profitable business.
"For many years I have stood by and
kept my silence because I didn't want
the intratribal political battles of our
reservation to spill out into the larger
community and generate anti-Indian
feelings toward my people," Prescott
said. "Now, however, the lives, livelihoods and economic future of the Shakopee Dakota Community are on the
line and I can no longer find refuge in
silence."
In revealing the financial information, Prescott broke open for public
viewing the nasty internal power
struggles between him and his longtime enemy, tribal chairman Stanley
Crooks.
Prescott said he will ask the U.S.
attorney and the Interior Department
to investigate Crooks. Prescott alleges
that Crooks illegally added members
to the tribe's enrollment and skimmed
casino profits for the benefit of himself and his family members. Steven
Olson, the attorney representing the
Books/ see page 2
A weekly publication.
Copyright, The Ojibwe Newi, 1994
Members to get $500,000 apiece in '94
Pictured is the Indian Health Board in Minneapolis.
By Chris Ison, Staff writer
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Every enrolled member of the
Mdewakanton Dakota Community
will make an estimated half-million
dollars this year from casino profits,
casino executives said Tuesday.
Members were paid about $400,000
last year, meaning they each approached millionaire status in just
two years, whether they held jobs or
not. A family of four adults would be
paid nearly $2 million this year, under
the projections.
About 150 members of the tribe,
based in Shakopee and Prior Lake,
receive the per capita payments. The
payments have been a closely held
secret for years because tribal leaders
feared a backlash from whites—especially those who oppose Indian gaming—and from less successful Indian
bands.
Robert Wynecoop, who oversees Indian gaming for the Bureau of Indian
Affiars in Minneapolis, said the disclosure could have sweeping effects.
"I don't think any [other tribe nationally] comes near that one," he said
of the per capita figure. "It could have
a real backlash, because it's an awful
Jourdain seeks injunction from
recertification
By Bill Lawrence
Former Red Lake tribal chairman
Roger A. Jourdain filed a lawsuit in
the Red Lake Nation Court on Thursday seeking to permanently enjoin
members of the tribal council from
decertifying him as a candidate for the
office of tribal chairman. The suit also
asks for an order of the tribal court
ordering the defendants to place
Roger A. Jourdain's name on any and
all ballots used in the election for the
office of tribal chairman to be held
on May 18, 1994. Named as defendants in the suit are Gerald Brun,
council chairman; Bobby
Whitefeather, council secretary; Gus
Strong, council treasurer; and district
representatives Preston Graves, Roman Stately, Fabian Cook, Lawrence
Bedeau and Alan English.
In the complaint, Jourdain alledges
that the Red Lake Tribal Council held
a properly noticed meeting on April
18, 1994, and certified him as a candidate for the position of tribal chair-
/nan. "That a notice of the tribal election which was then prepared included the name of Plaintiff Roger
Jourdain as a candidate for the office
of tribal chairman." The complaint
further alledges that on April 19,
lot of money. I guess the Indinas have
never had money like that [reported]
in print, to see what the public would
say about it."
The per capita payment figure is
many times higher than those unofficially reported on other reservations
in the state, mostly because Mystic
Lake is the most profitable casino and
is on a reservation close to the Twin
Cities with few enrolled members.
Members under 18 receive smaller
payments than adults.
The payments were acknowledged
Members/see page 2
tribal court for
1994, "at an improperly noticed and
improperly held meeting, attended
only by the defendants with no notice
or inadequate notice to other tribal
council members, that Plaintiff Roger
Jourdain was purportedly "decertified" and otherwise removed as a candidate for the position of tribal chairman. That defendants, while acting
beyond the scope of their authority
and unconstitutionally, were improperly coerced, under the duress of improper threats made by Gerald Brun
to hold up the election and/or take
personal action against individual
Jourdain/ see page 3
IHB board conducts closed meeting -
LaRoque removed from board, Day resigns
By Bill Lawrence
Ih view of the Mn. Dept. of Human
Rights recent findings of
discrimination against IHB executive
director Norine Smith, the PRESS
planned to attend that organization's
monthly board meeting last Monday
evening. Upon entering the IHB
building that evening, PRESS writer
Gary Blair, a Native community
member and I were confronted by a
security guard and asked for
identification. After showing the
guard my business card, we were told
that no press would be allowed to
attend the meeting and were asked to
leave the premises. We asked for a
reason for being excluded and who
issued the order, but were not given
answers to either question by the
guard. Not wanting to create a scene,
we decided to leave the IHB premises.
According to sources who were at
the meeti ng, the agenda disseminated
at the meeting reveal that it was billed
as open to the public. When several
board members asked why the meeting
had been closed to the public, they
were told that the board had a lot to do
and didn't want any distractions.
According to a source, one of the
primary agenda items was to complete
the performance evaluation of
executive director Norine Smith and
to consider what action to take on the
findings of discrimination against Ms.
Smith by the Minnesota Dept. of
Human Rights.
The PRESS was unable to find out
anything   about   Ms.   Smith's
Board/ see page 3
White Earth Res. officials have issued pulltab licenses
Indians ready for Clinton meeting
MAHNOMEN, Minn. (AP) The
U.S. attorney in Minneapolis has been
asked to determine whether it is legal
for the White Earth Band of Chippewa
to license businesses to sell pulltabs
within reservation boundaries.
The northwestern Minnesota band
has issued 20 licenses in Mahnomen
County over the past several years,
the Star Tribune reported Tuesday.
Another license was issued to a
convenience store in Callaway, a
Becker County town also on the
reservation.
The businesses do not pay state
gambling taxes and their gaming has
not been subject to state regulation.
Officials of the state Gambling
Enforcement Agency and the National
Indian Gaming Commission say they
do not believe the licenses are legal
and asked for a ruling by the U.S.
attorney.
Officials of the Gambling
Enforcement Agency, the state
Gambling Control Board and the state
Revenue Department said they had
not known about the arrangement,
although tribal licensing has been
going on for at least four years.
To get a tribal license, "you don't
have to be a nonprofit organization,"
as is required by the state, said Doug
Darco, the band's pulltab manager.
"We'll license anybody within the
boundaries of the reservation, so long
as they have a business ... I don't
think we've turned down anybody."
The pulltab sites include businesses
that are located on privately owned
land, and not all of their owners are
Indians. A few nonprofit groups
canceled state licenses and elected to
operate under Indian licenses.
"It's less of a hassle," said Ron
Stech, gambling manager of the
Mahnomen American Legion post.
With the state, "they're always
digging around for stuff." And, he
said, "We can keep a little for
ourselves."
By Tracey A Reeves
Reprinted w/ permission
from the Duluth News Tribune
Washington — The last time
American Indian leaders met with a
president at the White House was in
1822, when James Monroe invited
them as a peace gesture.
Monroe thought an elaborate
ceremony with cake and wine would
help calm the Indians, who were angry
at the federal government for stealing
their land.
He was wrong. At the White House,
the Indians were forced to change out
of their native garb and don military
uniforms. Shortly after the meeting,
tensions escalated, and fighting
between the Indians and whites
resumed.
President Clinton will try to do
better Friday when hundreds of tribal
leaders converge on the White House
South Lawn for a two-hour session
being billed as the most significant
meeting to take place between Indians
and a president in modern times.
"This is not just going to be a photo
opportunity," said Duane Beyal, a
spokesman for the Navajo Nation, the
second-largest Indian tribe in the
country. "It'sourtimetolet Washington
know what the Republicans and the
othcrpresidentsbeforc them didn't want
to hear."
A White House aide said details of the
meeting are still sketchy. But the
discussion is likely to center on self-
governance - the right of tribes to run
their own governments, schools and
land. The meeting is also expected to
touch on religious freedom, economic
development for reservations and
possibly Indian casinos.
Organizers said the idea for a meeting
grew out of a dinner conversation in
September between Attorney General
Janet Reno and two of the country's
most powerful tribal chiefs, Wilma
Mankiller, and Peterson Zah,
President of the Navajos.
Mankiller and Zah went to Reno for
help in cracking down on violent
crimes on reservations. Reno pledged
to do her part and volunteered to
bring the two leaders' concerns to
Clinton, who in turn, called for his
own meeting with Indian leaders.
Organizers said formal White House
invitations have been mailed to each
of the 515 federally recognized tribes
asking them to send a representative.
Some of the invited leaders said
they will come with gifts for the
president, and there is speculation
that Clinton will present them with
medallions or some other symbolic
token.
Beyal said that if Clinton does hand
Meeting/ see page 2
Gambling fails to cure tribes' unemployment woes
By Pat Doyle, Staff writer
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Despite creating thousands of casino jobs for American Indians and
others, most tribes in the Upper Midwest report that unemployment remains at Depression-era levels for
Indians living on or near reservations.
The reports represent the first attempt by the federal government to
assess reservation unemployment
since the expansion of high-stakes
casinos in the early 1990s promised
prosperity for many tribal members.
Tribal officials in Minnesota and
Wisconsin say the figures underscore
a harsh reality. While many Indians
took advantage of the new job opportunities, years of unemployment and
school failure on reservations left oth
ers without the skills needed for the
work.
Although most tribes report that unemployment is falling—in two instances dramatically—they estimated
that 30 to 50 percent of healthy Indians living on or near reservations
were still without jobs in 1993.
What's more, some of the higher
jobless figures came from bands with
bigger, better-known casinos: the
Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa, owners of the Black Bear Casino near
Cloquet; and the St. Croix Chippewa,
owners of St. Croix Casino in Turtle
Lake, Wis., not far from the Twin
Cities.
"There wasn't nearly the number of
people working who I thought would
be working," said St. Croix Chippewa tribal planner Richard
Hartmann, who estimates that about
half of all St. Croix adults remain
jobless.
"By and large we're new to the
work game here," said Vincent
Martineau, a jobs planner and member of the Fond du Lac band of Chippewa. "We've been sitting at 70 percent unemployment for 50 years, and
all of a sudden there's jobs available
and we dive right into them and then
find out we can't do them.
"Every job was a priority for Indian
people to go after," he said. "But they
would up in an arena with a lot of
people they just couldn't beat out for
the jobs. When you're running a casino, you have to have the best people
in the positions."
To improve the competitiveness of
its members, the band is sending some
Gambling/see page 3