The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1994-11-18

              Red Lake Court of Appeals hears election suit
By Bill Lawrence
Special Red Lake Tribal Judges B.J.
Jones of Mission, S.D., Mary Jo
Brooks Hunter of Mpls., and David
Christenson of Mille Lacs convened
as the Red Lake Court of Appeals in
Red Lake, MN, on Nov. 10, for about
two hours to conduct oral arguments
on the Red Lake election case. The
three judges, who are all reported to
be attorneys and of Native American
ancestry7, are non-members ofthe Red
Lake Band. They were appointed by
Chief Red Lake Tribal Judge Wanda
Lyons who had been delegated that
authority by the Red Lake Tribal
Council. According to a resenation
source each special judge was paid
$2,500 for acting as an appellant judge
in this case.
The Red Lake Tribal Council and
the Red Lake General Election Board
appellants (defendants) were represented by Red Lake Tribal Council in-
house attorney Marie Butler. Ms. Butler, who has worked for the Red Lake
Tribal Council for over three years,
is a non-Red Lake tribal member. She
is reported to be enrolled in a Wisconsin band. Red Lake tribal member and lay counsel David Brown represented two of the respondents
(plaintiffs). Three ofthe respondents
didn't appear to be represented by
anyone. These three, Tom Westbrook,
Clarence Stately, and Betty
Schoenborn had requested to be represented by NAP publisher Bill
Lawrence, but the Red Lake Tribal
Council, some ofthe appellants in this
case, would not approve his application for a lay counselor's license to
practice in the Red Lake court.
Ms. Butler in representing the tribal
council/election board appellants told
the court that the Red Lake Tribal
Court lacked jurisdiction (power) to
hear the election case because the
council had never given the court that
authority. Upon questioning by Chief
Appellant Judge B. J. Jones regarding the tribal constitution and/or code
which gave the court jurisdiction over
the council and officers in all cases
for declarator)7 and injunctive relief,
Ms. Butler seemed befuddled. She
went into a long explanation regarding Red Lake tribal traditions, much
to the chagrin of several Red Lake elders in the courtroom, including
former Red Lake Tribal chairman
Roger Jourdain. The one statement by
Ms. Butler to a direct question from
the court that drew the most reaction
of those in the audience was her an-
RL Suit cont'd on pg 3
AIM tribunal prosecution brought strong
evidence against Bellecourts
By Shelley Davis
The American Indian Movement
tribunal has been called a "sham" and
a "kangaroo court" but with the documentation given to the panel by the
prosecution the charges appeared more
genuine than not.
Unfortunately, with the small turnout for the conclusion ofthe tribunal,
hosted by the International Confederation ofthe American Indian Movement, much of the public remains
confused about the charges and how
the panel reached a verdict.
Subversion ofthe American Indian
Movement was concluded in March,
as well as the charge against Clyde
Bellecourt for the use, sale and/or
distribution of drugs and/or alcohol to
Indian people. The remainder of the
charges were heard in Rapid City,
South Dakota in November.
The Bellecourts, of the National
American Indian Movement, Inc. in
Minneapolis, were found guilty of collaborating with the United States government and other enemies of American Indian people. This verdict is due,
in part, through the Bellecourts acceptance of federal funds and funds
from defense contractors. Evidence
submitted included statements by either Vernon or Clyde Bellecourt where
they openly admit to federal funding
and funding other sources.
Also, the Bellecourts support ofthe
1990 Act for the Protection of Indian
Arts and Crafts and the Native American Free Exercise of Religion Act
served as evidence for the collaboration charge. The support of these two
acts also served as evidence for the
Complicity in Genocide charge of
which the brothers were found guilty.
The panelists stated that Clyde's
support for these acts "demonstrate
his inclination to empower the federal
government to define who is an Indian and to stipulate the conditions
that Native American spirituality can
be practiced."
It stated that through endorsing
NAFERA, Vernon Bellecourt "agrees
that the government of the United
States can define the identity and direct the participation ofNative peoples
in their spiritual ceremonies." And
that his support for the Arts and Crafts
Act "erodes American Indian sovereignty since it supports the federal
definition of Native American identity rather than firmly placing the
power to identify American Indian
people with the Native American nations."
Glenn Morris, Shawnee and university professor, testified concerning
the two acts.
Morris said the problem with the
acts is the limited definition of who
will be recognized as Indian. And by
supporting the act the Bellecourts are
"feeding into and endorsing" the
United States government's policy
with regard to externally imposed
definitions of Indianness for purposes
of practicing spirituality," Morris said.
Morris said the Confederated AIM
disagrees with a foreign government
defining identity for Indian nations.
He said identity should be left up to the
leaders of the nations and not some
external governmental force.
"When the federal courts balances
the right of Indian people to practice
our spirituality versus other compel-
Tribunalcont'donpg3
Census Bureau reports data on Indian tribes
DENVER (AP) - The Iroquois tribe
had the highest median family income
at $27,025, the Cherokee tribe was
the largest with 369,035 members
and the Navajo (48.8 percent) had the
highest proportion of people in
poverty, according to a new study.
The study, the Characteristics of
American Indians by Tribe and
Language, was being released
Thursday by Deputy commerce
Secretary David J. Barram here on
the 50th anniversary ofthe formation
of the National Congress of American
Indians.
The report, Barram said, will give
both the government and American
Indians a tool to evaluate present
conditions, which will assist in
providing directions in future efforts
for communities.
The report was based on 1990 census
data on 329 tribes with 100 or more
people in the United States.
Among the highlights:
• The Cherokee tribe was the largest
followed by the Navajo (225,298),
Sioux (107,321), Chippewa
(105,988), and Choctaw (86,231).
• The Navajo had the highest
proportion of people in poverty,
followed by the Sioux (44.4 percent),
while the Iroquois had the lowest
(20.1 percent).
• More than 10 percent of the
population had college degrees in four
of the 10 largest tribes - Choctaw
(13.3 percent), Creek(12.7), Iroqouis
(11.3) and Cherokee (11.1).
• The Creek tribe had the highest rate
of high school graduates (73.2
percent), followed by Iroquois (71.9),
Sioux (69.7) and Cherokee (68.2).
• Sioux (36 percent) and Chippewa
(33.1) had the largest proportions of
families maintained by women
without husbands, while Navajo
(10.3) and Sioux (9.8) had the largest
percentage of families maintained by
men without wives.
• The American Indian population
rose 31 percent form 1.4 million to
1.9 million form 1980 to 1990, with
the biggest percentage gain in
Canadian and Latin American tribes,
from 7,800 to 27,000, up 248 percent.
• There were 449,000 American
Indian families, including 65 percent
made up of married-couple families.
Building built by Indians will get blessing
PLYMOUTH, Minn. (AP) _ The
completion of a U S West building
renovated almost completely by
American Indian contractors will be
marked by a blessing, tobacco-smudge
ceremony and gift exchange.
"This is a first by corporations to
utilize a team of Native American
contractors," said Gae Veit, the Indian
president of Shingobee Builders in
Loretto who was hired as the general
contractor for the project.   .
The $6.9 million renovation of U S
West's Plymouth-based service and
administration building is the site of
a new consolidated switch control
center for 14 states.
Shingobee Builders subcontracted
portions ofthe work to other American
Indian-owned firms, including Forest
Electric, Red Iron Mechanical, Herb
Trimborn Painting and LaDue
Construction.
"It seemed like a fun thing to do,"
said Paul Williams, U S West's area
manager for real estate construction,
ofthe ceremony plannedfor Thursday.
Medicine men: Charlatans posing as Indian
healers prey on sick
By Denis M. Searles
Charlatans posing as American
Indian medicine men are preying on
victims of AIDS, cancer and other
terminal illnesses. They are setting
up shop in the cities, far from the
reservation, and charging exorbitant
fees for their supposed healing
senices. The fee should be the tip-off.
The mystique of pulsing drums and
chanting singers, healing rituals
depicted in movies such as "Dances
With Wolves," is causing headaches
among authentic American Indian
medicine men.
Non-Indians with terminal diseases
such as AIDS or cancer are seeking
them out in growing numbers for
cures. New-Agers and others,
forsaking their own heritage, offer
cash to attend spiritual ceremonies.
Of even more concern to tribal
spokesmen are what they call "plastic"
medicine men, or frauds posing as
medicine men. Often living in the
cities, they charge exorbitant prices
for healing and spiritual ceremonies.
Indian leaders, however, believe
medicine men lose their powers and
stir up evil and disharmony if they
leave the place where the Creator
gave them their powers.
"A lot of their power comes from
the area where they were born," says
Charles Cambridge, a Navajo and
anthropologist who teaches ethnic
studies at the University of Colorado
in Denver.
Cambridge belongs to the Folded
Arms Clan with family lands near
Ship Rock, N.M., on the Navajo
resenation.
Cambridge says most fraudulent
medicine men fall into two categories
_ apprentices who dropped out, and
untrained people who "decided to con
non-Indians for economic reasons."
He believes that when an authentic
medicine man moves to the city for
economic reasons, he has become
selfish and Will start losing his powers.
"The cures and rituals people will
undergo with him become dangerous
because these rituals have become an
evil force _ everything that is done
becomes disruptive instead of
healing," Cambridge says.
Rick Two Dogs, a respected Oglala
Lakota medicine man at Porcupine
on the Pine Ridge Resenation in
South Dakota, traces his medicineman lineage back at least 250 years.
He says when he received his vision,
he was told to stay there and help his
people.
"If you are an authentic medicine
man, the powers you draw from the
earth are here; the people we are
supposed to help are here," says Two
Dogs. "The gift to heal follows the
blood line."
"After the movie 'Dances With
Wolves' we've had a lot of people
with Sioux blood using that as a
springboard to line their own pockets"
by posing as spiritual healers, says
Tim Giago, an Oglala Lakota and
publisher of Indian Country Today in
Rapid City, S.D.
His newspaper has an ongoing series
Healers cont'd on pg 6
RL court of appeals hears election suit/ pg 1
AIM trib. hears strong evid. against Bellecourts/ pg 1
Espy says Ind. Prog, at risk in new Congress/ pg 5
Exercise like money, study says/ pg 6
White Earth members devise elect, plan/ pg 8
Voice ofthe Anishinabeg (The People)
1
Fifty Cents
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal  Opportunity  Far All People
Founded  in 1 988       Volume E   Issue 21        November 18, 1994
1
A weekly publication.
Copyright, The Ojibwe News.  1994
Staffphoto
Geese take in sunshine, on their seasonal migration south, along Lake Bemidji as Indian summer fades.
Charges dismissed in casino robbery case
By Robert Franklin
Mpls. Star Tribune
Charges were dismissed Tuesday
against three young men accused of
last year's robbery of a casino near
Cass Lake, Minn., and the case may
never be resolved in court.
The prosecution asked for the
dismissals after juries acquitted two
other defendants accused of robbing
the Palace Casino and Bingo hall on
the Leech Lake Indian Resenation,
the first robbery of a Minnesota tribal
casino.
Five young men from Cass Lake
area Indian community, all of whom
had worked for the casino, were
charged with aggravated robbery,
arson, assault, conspiracy and
receiving stolen property.
Under the dismissal order, signed
Tuesday by Cass County District
Judge John P. Smith, the defendants
could be charged again if new
evidence emerges. However, that is
considered unlikely, and authorities
said they have no other suspects.
It was an unusual story from the
beginning: boyhood friends allegedly
clothing themselves in coveralls and
ski masks for the robbery, leaving
behind nail-studded boards that
flattened the tiers on two sheriffs
cars, setting a diversionary fire,
disguising a stolen getaway car with
rust-colored paint, then ditching the
vehicle on a wooded trail and paddling
a loot-laden canoe across a lake.
Some witnesses changed their
stories between the two trials or from
their grand jury testimony, said Cass
County Attorney Earl Maus, who
asked Monday that the charges be
dismissed. "We gave it our best shot
trying to shore up their credibility
with circumstantial evidence, but it
was very difficult to do so.... Based on
differing stories, we may never know
what happened."
Delia Jones, mother of two
Dismiss cont'd on pg 3
Researcher: Too many Army medals after
Wounded Knee
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) _ The Army
awarded an excessive number of
Medals of Honor following the 1890
massacre of Lakota Sioux Indians at
Wounded Knee, S.D., according to a
former Omaha man who researched
the clash.
Jerry Green, now of Fayetteville,
Ga., told the Omaha World-Herald
recently that the 20 medals awarded
were an attempt by the Army to make
the Dec. 29, 1890, conflict appear
like "a real battle."
More than 250 Indians, including
women and children, were killed
along with about 30 U.S. soldiers,
Green said. The Lakota were fleeing
to Pine Ridge, S.D., when the fight
began along Wounded Knee creek.
The fight lasted from about 10
minutes to an hour, Green said.
Aftenvard, the military awarded
more Medals of Honor than desened
"to make it appear to be a tougher
campaign than it was," Green said.
Green outlined his research into the
matter in "The Medals of Wounded
Knee" in the summer issue of
Nebraska History magazine.
By comparison, Green said only
three medals were awarded following
the five-hour Battle of Wolf Mountain
in 1877 between 600 Indians and 436
soldiers.
That same year, only nine medals
were awarded following the five-day
Battle at Bear Paw Mountain in which
soldiers suffered a 30 percent casualty
rate, he said.
All 2,625 Medals of Honor were
reviewed by the War Department in
1916, and some were rescinded by a
panel of five retired generals. None of
those medals, however, were related
to Wounded Knee.
"It's obvious there were more
medals given than warranted," said
Eli Paul, a historian with the Nebraska
State Historical Society. But Paul,
who has done research on Wounded
Knee, questioned whether the number
of medals indicated a cover up by the
Army.
"I think the Army, officers and
men, saw an opportunity for one
last grasp at glory in the frontier
Indian wars," Paul said. "(T)hey
took the opportunity as they saw it."
2,500 from 400 tribes expected for Indian
Congress meeting
DENVER (AP) _ About 2,500
delegates and obseners from 400
Indian tribes are in Denver for a week-
long meeting of the National Congress
of American Indians.
Leaders of the Ute Mountain Ute
and the Southern Ute tribes of
Colorado are hosts forthe convention,
which runs through Friday.
The Congress was organized in
1944 and is celebrating its 50th
anniversary at the meeting. Theme of
the meeting is "Fifty Years of
Enduring Spirit: Visions for the
Future."
Speakers at the conference include
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt,
Secretary of Housi ng Henry Cisneros,
Secretary7 of Agriculture Mike Espy,
Colorado Gov. Roy Romer and Denver
Mayor Wellington Webb.
It is billed as the. largest gathering
of Indians since President Clinton
met with Indian leaders at the White
House on April 29 and his
administration held a national
listening conference in Albuquerque
a few days later.
At the forefronf ofthe conference
debate are storage of nuclear waste,
gambling, transportation, telecommunications, the state of the American
Indian family and law enforcement.
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