The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1994-12-02

              Little Earth resident files second charge of
discrimination
By Gary Blair
Another charge of tenant discrimination based on race will be filed
against the Westminster Management
Corporation of St. Paul, MN. The
company manages the Little Earth of
United Tribes housing project in south
Minneapolis. The latest allegation is
the result of an earlier complaint filed
by the same person within the last 18
months.
The Minneapolis Department of
Civil Rights charge of discrimination
reads as followings: "I, Bernadine
Gordon, the mother of a child with a
disability and a White Earth enrollee,
have rented a townhouse atLittle Earth
of United Tribes since 1986 or 1987.
I filed a charge of discrimination
against the Respondent earlier this
year. Management is evicting me in
reprisal for filing. Management is
evicting me for the presence of an
unauthorizied tenant.
I believe that I have been discriminated against in the area of real estate
(terms and conditions: eviction) based
on my ancestry (White Earth Ojibwe)
and in reprisal for opposing discrimination in violation ofthe Minneapolis
Code of Ordinances, Chapter 139.40
(e) (1) (1) (3), and the U.S. Civil rights
Act of 1968, as amended because: I
have had ongoing discrimination problems with management since 1993.
In May 1994 I filed a charge of
discrimiantion with HUD and the Minneapolis Department of Civil Rights
alleging disability discrimination reprisal for requesting accommodation.
The level of harassment increased.
My son, Apollo, was entered on the
lease. Management never gave me
copy of the lease that included this
amendment and would not admit accepting him as a tenant in unlawful
detainer (eviciton) court. The management office is staffed with Red
Lake people who are related to one
another. I think that this is a factor in
the treatment that I receive."
Gordon told the PRESS, "They
evicted me for non-material compliance of my lease. They (Little Earth
management) said I had my son
Appollo living with me and he wasn't
on my lease. When I went to eviction
court, I didn't have a copy ofthe paper
that I had signed, that showed I had
put him on my lease, because they
never sent me a copy like they said
they would. I also put my other son,
Michael, on my lease after he came
back from staying with his grandfather at Cass Lake, MN. As before they
(Little Earth management) never sent
me a copy of that change either," she
said.
Earth cont'd on pg 3
Grandpa to select '94 Ind. Turkey of the year/ pg 4
Joe Geshick provides guest editorial/ pg 4
Sentencing date set for Finn and Ellis/ pg 1
Little Earth res. files 2nd charge of discrimin/ pg 1
Maynard Swan's Pine Point Perspective/ pg 5
Voice of the Anishinabeg (The People)
j
Fifty Cents
Finn, Tanner quit tribal posts
Leech Lake leaders under fire over ethics
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
By Susan Stanich
Duluth News-Tribune
Two high-ranking figures in the
Minnesota Chippevva Tribe whose
ethics recently have been called into
question in a federal inquiry7 have
resigned their positions.
Richard Tanner resigned last week
after 21 years as di rector of education.
His actions in that capacity and as
election judge came under scrutiny by
federal officials who are investigating
allegations of corruption in the
Minnesota Chippewa tribe and at two
ofthe tribe's resenations, White Earth
and Leech Lake.
Harold "Skip" Finn, a Walker
lawyer and DFL state senator, decided
not to renew a contract with the tribe,
a tribal official said this week. As
part of the same federal investigation,
Finn was charged in August with
masterminding an insurance scam
that investigators say might have cost
Leech Lake $1 million. He pleaded
guilty in August to misusing $ 13,000.
Both men are members ofthe tribe's
Leech Lake band.
During most of his tenure as director
of education. Tanner governed
education monies for all the tribe's
six resenations and made decisions
on who would receive them. As
election judge, he determined whether
an election protest was valid. His
decisions had the effect of keeping
the incumbents in office.
Tanner declined to be inteniewed
when a reporter called for comment.
Finn has worked for the tribe in
various capacities during the past 20
years. He has sened as election judge,
and chief appellate court judge
election board attorney defending the
board's decisions.
Finn didn't return phone calls.
The federal investigation is the most
lengthy and probing ever seen in the
tribe, said elder and former band
official Lowell Bellanger of White
Earth. In a recent letter to the
Native American Press, he asked
fellow tribal members to be patient
and helpful in the investigation, so
as "not to do anything that will
jeopardize... the process... As long
as it's thorough and brings about
changes we so richly desen'e."
Meanwhile, some members ofthe*
tribe's White Earth band have drawn\
a plan for nevv elections, in which the
incumbents won't be allowed to run.
State Senate Majority Leader
Roger Moe, DFL-Erskine, said
recently that if Finn is jailed when
the Legislature convenes, he likely
would have to resign his senate seat.
Othenvise, Moe said, senators will
have to decide whether to expel
him. Such an action requires a two-
thirds vote.
The senate meets in the nevv
session Jan. 3. Finn's sentencing
date is Jan. 20.
[Reprinted with permission ofthe
Duluth News-Tribune.]
L
Founded  in 1 988        Volume 6   Issue 23        December 2, 1 994
a
A weekly publication.
Copyright, The Ojibwe New*, 1994
Hennepin County detox services
meeting needs
not
By Gary Blair
American Indians who once worked
at the old Hennepin County detoxification center which was closed due to
allegations of client abuse say they
believe the client abuse was caused by
staff who had no attachment to the
clients they were supposed to sene.
Former employees who asked not to
be named sav the client abuse was   people are my relatives. But when you
There have been numerous requests for a rebroadcast of "Song Catcher - Frances Densmore of Red wing'
-frhich aired on the FM News Stations of Minnesota Public Radio last month. Photo: Smithsonian Institution
Sentencing date set for Finn and Ellis
caused by non-Indian supenisors overlooking the mistreatment and by the
lack of the Indian community's involvement in the detoxification center
at the time.
"The Indian staff and other staff had
no one to turn to for help, so we
pretended it wasn't happening," they
told the PRESS.
"I told that one nurse most of these
complained about the way they treated
the Indian clients, they'd say, 'What
are you complaining about? We're
Indians, too.'"
Indian employees now working at
the county shelter that opened when
the old detox center closed over two
years ago, say the verbal abuse of
County contd on pg 3
By Sharon L. White
U.S. District Judge Rosenbaum has
set the date for the sentencing hearing
of Senator Harold 'Skip' Finn and
Myron Ellis, a Leech Lake Tribal
Council member and President of
Minnesota Indian Gaming
Association for the Resenation Risk
Management, Inc. scam.
On January 20,1995, the Honorable
Judge James Rosenbaum will preside
in the sentencing of Finn and Ellis.
Both men have pleaded guilty to
charges of'misapplying funds'. The
Walker lawyer, Harold 'Skip' Finn
has pleaded guilty of misusing
$13,000.
The Reservation Risk Management
insurance scam may have cost the
Leech Lake Resenation $1 million,
where both men are members of the
Leech Lake band..
The hearing will be held at the U.S.
District Courthouse, 110 South 4th
Street, Minneapolis, scheduled to start
at 11:00* am.
The federal investigation is still
continuing.
Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe to seek return Red Lake Fisheries has record setting
of historic land base
Flandreau, S.D. _ On November
18,1994, the Flandreau Santee Sioux
Tribe received a resolution of support
for the return of the land and facilities
currently housing the Flandreau
Indian School from the National
Congress of American Indians. Duane
Ross, Councilman from FSST and
official delegate to the National
Congress, presented the resolution
earlier in the week while attending
the annual congress in Denver,
Colorado. After clearing several
subcommittee and full committee
hearings chaired by John Echohawk,
President of the Native American
Rights Fund (NARF), the resolution
passed without dissent.
The Flandreau Santee Sioux Tribe
took official action by Council
resolution to seek the return of land
and property they believe belongs to
the FSST on October 13,1994. This
was followed by a series of meetings
between tribal and Bureau of Indian
Affairs (B.I.A.) officials where
Chairman Chuck Allen requested the
cooperation of theB.I. A. in the Tribe's
action.
"The Flandreau Santee Sioux
Council is going to aggressively
pursue the dream long held by
previous chairman and Councils - the
return of our historic landbase", stated
Santee cont'd on pg 3
Mille Lacs Band's draft code rules for
commericial fishing
By Mary R. Sandok
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) Documents
filed in federal court by the Mille Lacs
Band of Chippewa include proposed
regulations for commercial hanest-
ing of deer, bear and game fish by
band members in a large section of
east-central Minnesota.
The draft code filed Friday in U.S.
District Court also includes proposed
rules for spearing and netting of game
fish.
The code would regulate hunting
and fishing by band members in the
part of Minnesota where a judge has
ruled the band retains rights under an
1837 treaty.
The proposal was filed in connection with the second phase of the
treaty rights trial, which is slated to
begin in March 1996.
Jim Genia, the band's attorney, said
the proposal largely isbased on a code
governing treaty rights in Wisconsin.
It would allow spearing and netting
only on larger lakes where fish populations could sunive the more intensive hanesting methods, Genia said.
The code would allow commercial
hanest of game and fish if approved
by the band's governing body. Genia
said there is some disagreement
among band members over whether
commercial activities should be allowed.
"There are those who believe culturally it's OK, and those who believe
culturally it's not OK," Genia said.
"If we decide it's culturally appropriate, then we feel we ought to have the
ability to do it."
The first phase ofthe trial ended in
August, when U.S. District Judge
Diana Murphy ruled that the band
retained rights to hunt, fish and
gather wild rice in territory ceded to
the federal government in the 1837
treaty.
The affected area includes all or
parts of 12 counties and most of Lake
Mille Lacs, one of the state's most
popular walleye lakes. The ruling applies to all public waters within the
area and about 10 percent ofthe land.
The trial's second phase will determine how much fish and game should
be allocated to the band and the extent
of any state regulation overhand members.
In a joint statement filed with the
court Friday, the band and the federal
government said resources in the
ceded territory should be allocated
only if the state and the band agree
allocation is needed or if there is
heavy competition for a resource.
The statement says allocations are
most likely to be needed for antlerless
whitetail deer, bear, walleye and
muskellunge in lakes subjected to
hanesting methods other than angling, and lake sturgeon in some lakes
and rivers.
When allocation is needed, the statement says, the band should get half of
the "total hanestable surplus," which
is the portion of a resource that can be
hanested in any given year while
leaving enough to regenerate in future years.
Scott Strand of the attorney
general's office said state officials
will review the band's statement and
draft code before commenting on specifics. The state has until Jan. 13 to
file a response.
season
By John Rainbird
The board of directors of the Red
Lake Fisheries Association has
announc«darecordlughbonus payment
of 203% to its members for the 1994
season. The 203% final payment will
be paid out to approximately 300
fishermen and represents the highest
final payment in the association's 65
year history.
'The bonus amounts to a final
payment for the season," Dan King,
General Manager explained in a
telephoneinterviewwiththeA'eM'j. "For
example, afisheriesmemberwho earned
$5,000 during the course of the six
month, 1994 season would receive a
finalpaymentof203%or$10,500. Itis
based on the season's earnings," he
said. "As a cooperative, all share in the
profits in relation to the pounds offish
each memberturned into the fisheries."
Established in 1929, the Red Lake
Fisheries Association was founded in
Redby, Minnesota as a cooperative to
market fish for members of the Red
Lake Band of Chippevva Indians. Asa
cooperative it is owned and operated by
its members who are Red Lake
commercial fishermen. As part of its
operating regulation, it is required to
pay a 5% of gross sales royalty to the
Red Lake Tribal Council.
Although record high prices were
paid to fisherman throughout the year,
along with the highest final payment in
history, total sales were a modest $1.2
million due to an extremely large
decrease in fish production. According
to Dan King the major reason for the
record bonus is the fact that, "Fisheries
employees were able to add value to our
productbyfilleting 100%ofour Walleye
and Perch." According to King, "A
typical season in the past would mean
only 5% to 20% ofthe high value fish
(Perch and Walleye) were processed.
I'm proud of our Fisheries employees
for this tremendous accomplishment
Wesetagoalandweachievedit." Also
Fish cont'd on pg 3
Ponemah man pleads guilty to killing
girlfriend
By Dawn Schuett
The Bemidji Pioneer
Minneapolis — A 24-year old
Ponemah man plead guilty Monday
to second-degree murder for killing
his girlfriend with an axe last May.
Robert Wayne Parker, an enrolled
member of the Red Lake Band of
Chippevva, entered his plea in U.S.
District Court before Judge David S.
Doty.
According to a criminal complaint,
Parker and his girlfriend, Kimberly
Jean White, 25, also of Ponemah,
returned home May 29, to the
residence of Priscilla White,
Kimberly's mother, where the couple
and their three children lived in
Ponemah.
In the complaint, Parker said
Kimberly White was acting "crabby"
that morning. After White made a
phone call to her sister and said "Get
Robert Parker out of here," Parker
asked her what he did wrong.
Parker then walked to a kitchen
closet, retrieved a two-bladed ax, and
went back to where White stood. He
struck her in the head with the ax
once before Priscilla White attempted
to stop him by grabbing the ax handle
as he swung at Kimberly's head a
second time.
Priscilla White was unable to stop
Parker as he struck Kimberly again
while she was still standing. Priscilla
White then ran from the house with
the three children to drive, to Ponemah
where she called the Police. One of
the children, because she walked too
slowly, was left behind in the yard,
the complaint said.
Inside the house, Parker continued
to hit Kimberly White with an ax,
striking her several more times in the
head and other parts of her body.
At 7:36 a.m, the Red Lake Police
Department received a call from a
man who identified himself as Robert
Parker. He said Kimberly White was
dead and that he "chopped her up,"
according to the complaint.
When Red Lake Police officers
arrived at the Ponemah home, they
discovered White's body inside the
house. Outside, they located the
double-bladed ax with hair and blood
on it.
In a statement to the Federal Bureau
of Investigation after his arrest, Parker
said he and White had not been
arguing, he had not been drinking
and that the killing seemed "like a
dream."
As he continues to be held without
bond, Parker faces a maximum penalty
of life in prison. No sentencing date
has been set.
[Reprinted with permission ofthe
Bemidji Pioneer.]