The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1994-05-27

              Hennepin County sets up Indian detox task force
By Gary Blair
Hennepin County Commissioner
Sandra Hillary has come under more
criticism for her gambling fever. This
time the heat is coming from Kathleen
Messinger, spokesperson for the Native American Coalition for Civil
Rights (NACCR).
Messinger told the PRESS on Monday, "The woman has been on a dry-
drunk." (Hillary also reports to be a
recovering alcoholic and the term
"dry-drunk" refers to old behavior
without the drink.)
"I feel she needs to apologize to the
Indian community because she has
been taking out her frusration with
herself on us. I'll bet she was mad
when she realized that she had given
all her money to Indian people and
that's the reason she has been so
hostile when dealing with our community," Messinger said. (It has been
reported that Hillary's gambling debts
stand at $100,000.)
The NACCR group was formed in
response to allegations of client abuse
that closed the old Hennepin County
detoxification center in November of
1992. At the January County
Commissioner's meeting Hillary told
NACCR members who accused the
county board of bungling the Indian
detox center development, "You're a
bunch of control freaks. You're power
hungry," she said. "We don't have to
give you anymore than one bed. (Re
ferring to the number of detox center
beds that would be needed to serve the
Minneapolis Indian community.)
"Do you think we are going to trust
that community with the infighting
that's been going on," Hillary said.
"You know, we need a sincere apology from all the County Commissioners," Messinger added. "If you think
about it, they're a bunch of crazies,
like a dog who chases its tail. They
chose an organization to develop the
Indian detox center that they knew
was unstable and when it failed they
blamed the entire Indian community,"
Messinger continued.
Earlier this year the county re-
Detox/ see page 3
MAIC June 2nd mtg. agenda/ page 6
"Making friends naturally" / page 1
Tribal "Hit List" for loss of sovereignty/ page 6
Echo Hawk moves to become 1st Native Gov./ pg. 2
LL. Vets Mem. Hon. Grd. sch./ page 6
Voice of the Anishinabeg (The People)
1
ATTENTION MILLE LACS PEOPLE
URBAN ENROLLES, TRIBAL ELECTED OFFICIALS
By Linda Koslowki Wade
This letter is addressed to all reservation enrollees and their tribal officials.
The tribe encourages the enrollees
to move back to the reservaton. What
for? To be dogged by those members?
The jobs pay less, cost of living is
much higher, and besides, they really
don't want the urban Indians back on
the reservation. We are too outspoken
and we place greater expectations on
the tribal officials. This encouragement to get us to move back home is
phony. Anything to get a vote. People
are still homeless on the reservations.
Where do they expect us to live?
It's very infuriating to realize that
the Mille Lacs Reservation has discounted us urban Indians and are op
pressing their own people. I was talking to a member and I said the Mille
Lacs Reservation people don't give a
damn about the urban Indians. She
stated, "No, they don't and why should
they? The people in the cities don't
have it as tough as we do."
Another member's spouse said Mille
Lacs is going to horde all the revenues
they get out of the casinos. How about
that?"
The reservation has three district
representatives that are voted in. The
urban area has a district representative who is appointed and isn't empowered to do anything for the urban
Indians.
The reservation people and those
who are employed anywhere on the
reservation are forbidden to get involved and speak out against the
reservation's businesses regarding
anything political. It's bad enough
white people in the past have oppressed us, and it's even worse when
your own elected tribal officials oppress and discredit the urban Mille
Lacs enrollees who are their own relatives. The people on the reservation
walk on eggshells around elected officials and their family members and
are afraid to say what they really
think for fear of retaliation. Some
are afraid of losing their jobs and
possibly their housing. If this isn't
oppression, what is?
The Mille Lacs Reservation people
are unable to practice their own civil
rights and most of them don't realize
what their civil rights are! Some don't
People/ see page 5
Fifty Cents
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All Peopli
Founded in 1988
Volume 5    Issue 48
May 27, 1994
1
A weekly publication.
Copyright, The Ojibwe News, 1994
Human rights investigation finds discrimination in transport of Indians in trunk incident
St. Paul, MN — Commissioner
David Beaulieu announced today that
the Minnesota Department ofHuman
Rights has completed an investigation into charges of racial discrimination against the City of Minneapolis
Police Department for the transportation of two American Indians in the
trunk of a polic squad car.
According to Beaulieu, "Our investigation has disclosed evidence which
is sufficient to indicate that but for the
race and perceived disability, the men
would not have been taken to the
Hennpein County Medical Center in
this demeaning manner and without
regard to their safety. The act is, in
itself, sufficiently unreasonable and
outrageous enough to indicate race as
a motivation. Further, our evidence
indicates that on at least two other
occasions, one of the officers detained
and transported black males in a highly
questionable manner and in violation
of the Minneapolis Police
Department's written policies and
procedures."
The incident which lead to a
Commissioner's charge of discrimination occurred on April 17, 1993,
when officers Marvin Schumer and
Michael Lardy were called to a South
Minneapolis apartment because there
appeared to be three intoxicated males
unconscious on the steps of the building. Their state of dangerously extreme intoxication is not in dispute.
After being informed that a detox van
was not available for transport, the
officers proceeded to load two of the
men into the trunk and close the lid; a
third Indian male was loaded into the
back seat of the squad car.
The Department ofHuman Right's
Findings cite the Minneapolis Police
Department's written rules and procedures for the appropriate response
in emergency medical situations. The
rules state: "Police vehicles shall not Katie Smith and her friend pose for a moment at the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School near Bena.
be used to transport persons in need^s
physical medical attention except
when ambulances are not available."
Further, the Department's Findings
point to the fact that an ambulance
was obviously cancelled as determined
Submitted Photos
Making friends naturally
Incident/ see page 3
Outlaws or In-laws, neither are funny to Natives
By Shelley Davis
A parody of the controversial song
"Indian Outlaw" has been written,
released and is, in some instances,
gaining more air-play than its predecessor.
The "Indian In-laws," written by
Cletus T. Judd, is considered even
more offensive than its predecessor,
said Elaine Harvey, Seneca. Harvey
first heard the song while listening to
her car radio. She said it so angered
her there were tears in her eyes.
"I would never try to be offensive to
anybody," said Judd. "The only reason there's anything about Indians is
because of Tim McGraw's song."
Judd said his song gets more requests
than McGraw's "Indian Outlaw."
From an artist's standpoint, Judd
wrote the song to be "funny," he said.
The lyrics of the song, as recited to
Shelley Davis by Cletus T. Judd, are
as follows: "They're my Indian inlaws Came to visit me and my squaw
Been here for a month, y'all 'Bout to
lose my mind;
Sick and tired of her Papaw Eatin'
all of my bearclaws While he's
watchin' of HeeHaw And drinking
all my wine;
I'm gonna scalp her mamaw Makin'
long distance phone calls To her
friends in Arkansas And talkin' on
my dime; They're my Indian in-laws
drivin' me up the dang wall Usin' all
of my dental floss And leave the room
smelling bad; Moved into my wigwam
Gosh all mighty, they're big bums
They order filet mignon And stick me
with the tab; They hang around my
tepee Can't wear my buffalo briefs
Ain't had me no whoopee Since week
before last; They're my Indian inlaws Hooked on Ex-lax and Geritol
Have to run 'em to the shopping mall
Four times a day; Sitting there clipping toe nails chain smoking them
Pall Malls Wish they'd get 'em a
motel But they're too cheap to pay;
Pretty soon if they don't leave I'm
going to take a pipe and pop his knee
Like Tonya did Nancy They're skating on thin ice;
They're my Indian in-laws Must be
kin to Tim McGrawBut they ain't kin
to me, nan I think I'm gonna leave my
wife;       '
'Cause my Indian in-laws Came to
visit me and my squaw Been here for
The students who attend the Bug-
O-Nay-Ge-Shig School between Cass
Lake and Bena may spend many hours
each week riding bus to their beautiful
campus, burthey are able to take
advantage of the setting in the pines
to observe many animal friends
(waesseehn-(yuk)-niigiiwug).
Several of the classes have little
creatures sharing their classrooms
with them. In addition, some classes
feed (Bineshiog) birds and squirrels
(ajidamoog) right outside their
windows. Then there's Ole Olson's
lucky fourth graders who extend
enticing invitations to birds and
squirrels, and these invitations are
accepted! The class has many photos
and a video of the squirrels coming in
on a long piece of driftwood, batting
not so much as an eyelash as the
flashbulbs go off on a camera.
Perhaps the most fascinating
feat was when a squirrel actually
lifted the lid from a five quart ice
cream container and climbed in
for a feast of ice cream.
The students have not simply
observed the little woodland friends
outside and inside their room, they
even charted the visits, done weighing
and measuring, and used reference
and resource materials to look up
information about the animals.
Respect and kindness toward the
animals has prevailed as they shared
the school year with them.
Friends/ see page 3
Tribal panel hears Prescott's case; all parties
tight-lipped
In-laws/see page 3
Daniel Brown cites reasons for his candidacy
Daniel "Dan" Brown announced
his candidacy for the position of Leech
Lake Reservation Tribal Council
Secretary/Treasurer. Dan Brown is a
former Chairman and District III
Councilman of Leech Lake.
Among the reasons that Brown cited
for his candidacy were: the many
people who came forward to urge him
to run; the need for openness and
accountability in the running of Leech
Lake governmental and business
affairs; concern for the diminished
importance and decreased services of
many of the programs utilized by
Leech Lake People; the continuing
need for constitutional change and
revised election laws, his concern that
adequate priority is not being given to
Anishinabe traditions, culture and
elders, and the need for the fair and
equitable distribution of services and
jobs to Leech Lake enrollees.
Daniel Brown served as the Leech
Lake Chairman from 1988 to 1992
and served as the District III
Representative from 1980 to 1988.
Since leaving office, Brown and his
nephew have owned and operated D
& R Trucking Company.
Brown has had a long history of
caring for Anishinabe people. He is
proud of his (almost) twenty-two (22)
years of sobriety and his work in
helping to curtail the devastating
effects of alcohol abuse upon the
Anishinabe culture, families, youth.
He's served for many years on the
Minnesota Indian Chemical
Dependency Advisory Council, as a
Director on theMash-ka-Wisen Board
of Directors and on other boards
dedicated to the prevention of
chemical abuse. He has also been
instrumental in supporting and
maintaining theMineo Detox Center
on Leech Lake, various youth
recreational and CD. prevention
programs, as well as the Ahnji-Be-
Madiz Half-Way House.
In addition to his years of work in
chemical dependency, close to his
heart is his ability and willingness to
help and comfort families in their
time of grief. Almost every family on
Leech Lake has been touched by his
involvement in the Leech Lake
Episcopal Singers. He says he does
By Pat Doyle, Staff Writer
Minneapolis Star Tribune
*
The tribal government that owns
one of the most popular casino enterprises in the nation dealt Thursday
with a bitter power struggle the way it
prefers — in secret.
Guards with portable radios stood
watch outside the closed doors of a
hearing room where Leonard Prescott
defended himselfbefore the Shakopee
Mdewakanton Gaming Commission,
a panel he once dubbed "a kangaroo
court." Notices posted on doors barred
reportersfrom the building. Prescott's
mother, Rose, was reportedly turned
away.
And when Prescott and teams of
lawyers emerged from the building
for lunch, they said they couldn't talk
because the panel had imposed a gag
order. "This hearing is 100 percent
confidential," said Jerry Snyder, a lawyer for the tribal Gaming Commission, a quasi-judicial.Why? "All of
these internal matters are confidential."
Tribal governments have a large
degree of sovereignty and broad dis
cretion in closing meetings and influencing judicial decisions. For many
years, Minnesota's Red Lake Band of
Chippewa barred lawyers from practicing in tribal courtrooms, a policy
that put tribal dissidents at a disadvantage. The Shakopee Mdewakanton
requires lawyers to obtain a tribal
license.
Prescott is not typical of tribal dissidents, most of whom are poor and
relatively powerless. A former tribal
chairman, he made nearly $1 million
Panel/ see page 3
Gerald L. White announces his candidacy for Leech Lake Tribal
Council District 1 Representative for the 1994 Tribal Election
not keep count of the number of nights
he has sat up with families, but plans
to continue as long as he isneeded
andaslongashecanhelp. He started
singing with his family and friends
when he was a young man living in
the Mission district area, but quit for
many years when he was drinking.
He began again after he became sober.
Brown says that tragedy seems to hit
Brown/ see page 3
Ah-neen aja-aya-yen. Nishou-
gahbow in Dizh-na-caaz. Cha-cha-
bawning in-doon-ji-bah.
I respectfully request your support,
as we speed towards our Leech Lake
Tribal Election, being held on June
14,1994. I respectfully announce my
candidacy for District 1
Representative for the Leech Lake
Council.
We need a Tribal Government that
can make sensible, informed decisions
regarding the future of our reservation
and its membership.
The decision that must be made will
effect our future as well as the
Anishinabe that follow us. These
decisions are many and varied, but we
should focus on maintaining and
supporting cultural traditions,
asserting jurisdiction over the lands,
waters, and resources of the Leech
Lake Reservation. Upgrade our
services for the health and well-being
of our people, their education, and
focus on bringing government back
to the people.
As District 1 Representative, I will
meet with the communities I represent
on a regular basis. I will set up a
branch office in each community to
be more accessible to you. This is
how I will set my priorities as your
Representative and bring the
government to you.
As District 1 Representative, I will
support programs in our communities
for revitalizing and enhancing our
cultural traditions. We need to work
togetherin maintaining our traditions
while we make our communities
stronger, and working together we
will solidify that goal.
As District 1 Representative, I will
be actively involved in supporting
our people in their educational
endeavors.
As District 1 Representative, I will
work on issues that will insure
adequate environmental protection
that will preserve resources for our
future. We have a great deal of natural
resource users and we need to make
sure that these needs are met now and
in the future.
As District 1 Representative, I will
work on upgrading services for the
health and well being of our members.
This will include supporting youth
sport and fitness programs,
community activities for all, organized
weekend activities, and work to make
health care more accessible for the
people of Leech Lake.
In one spirit, one voice.
Gerald White
District 1 Representative, and
Leech Lake Tribal Member.