The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1994-12-30

              Management problems persist at Little Earth
By Gary Blair
When HUD built the Little Earth
housing project nearly 23 years ago, it
was supposed to be the answer to the
growing housing shortage for American Indians living in Minneapolis.
In the early days the housing project
was managed by Clyde Bellecourt's
version of AIM. Its annual manage-
mentbudget was in the millions. Later,
the place became famous for drugs,
the rip-off of federal management
dollars and in recent years, for attempts of foreclosure by HUD.
Today it's being managed by the
Westminster Management Corporation of St. Paul, Minnesota under a
federal contract. Its 212, low-income,
Section-eight-subsidized rental units
have possibly become the largest slumlord property in the city.
This past summer a HUD inspector
reported the property as extremely
substandard: mice; cockroaches; leaking faucets; rotten window frames and
carpets that were over 10 years old
were sighted as some of those conditions.
Doug Lemon, youth activities coordinator for the housing project's tenants group says, "Westminster isn't
doing their job. I work with the kids-
-I've been in some of their homes-
these conditions effect their lives."
Lemon continued, "They live in
these conditions and Westminster still
evicts them. They're told to sign a
paper agreeing to move out or they'll
Little cont'd on pg 3
Phillips community organization establishing
$800,000 minority business loan program
Phillips Community Development Corporation (PCDC) is establishing an $800,000 minority business loan program called "The Urban Challenge Loan". The loan
program is designed to provide an
alternative financing source for individuals who either own or are
planning to start a business and who
are unable to obtain a loan through
"traditional" sources.
Secured by $400,000 from the
State's Urban Initiative Board and
a matching $400,000 from the
McKnight Foundation, the overall
goal of PCDC's program is to make
a significant impact on the creation
or expansion ofthe businesses, pri
marily minority owned businesses,
in targeted low income areas.
The emphasis will be on businesses which can provide (or have
the potential in the near future to
provide) living wage jobs for residents located in the targeted low
income (TLI) areas. The TLI areas
for PCDC's loan program include
the communities of Phillips, Central, Powderhorn, Seward, Whittier,
Corcoran, Longfellow, Elliot Park,
and Stevens Court.
Applicants who can demonstrate
that they have a viable business and/
or business plan and the ability to
repay a loan will have the best opportunity of qualifying for loans
ranging from $10,000 to $300,000
or more through PCDC's Urban
Challenge Loan program.
Loan funds can be used for normal business expenses including
start-up costs, site acquisition, renovation, new construction, inventory,
machinery and equipment, and
working capital.
The Urban Challenge Loan program is anticipated to start in late
January or early February. For more
information regarding PCDC Urban
Challenge Loan, please contact
Darryl McKinnon - Loan Fund Specialist or Dave Chapman - Economic Development Coordinator at
871-2435.
or expansion of the businesses, pri-   portunity of qualifying for loans   871-2435.
Wisconsin ti;ibe to take on Exxon over
mining plans Chippewas have money, support to fight
death struggle, but it also has enough   as deep as 2,800 feet-- coi
By Keith Schneider
New York Times
Crandon, Wis.— A fight over a proposal by Exxon Corp. to build an
immense copper and zinc mine near
the Sokaogon Chippewa reservation
at Crandon appears to be a mismatch
between the world's largest energy-
corporation and Wisconsin's smallest
Indian tribe.
But Exxon's plan to put a mine on
865 acres of North Woods has turned
into one ofthe country's fiercest grassroots environmental faceoffs. Not only
does the tribe view it as a life-and-
death struggle, but it also has enough
money and outside support to make a
fight of it.
On Exxon's side are Gov Tommy
Thompson, other top state politicians
and the state's business leaders. They
contend that the mine would help the
area's economy but not pollute its
streams and lakes. On the other side
are the Chippewas, who say that the
mine would ruin a way of life dependent on clean water to provide fish
and wild rice.
Joining them are some small-business owners who argue that a project
ofthe magnitude planned by Exxon--
with giant pulverizing mills and shafts
as deep as 2,800 feet— could wreck a
healthy rural economy based on forestry, recreation and light manufacturing.
The unemployment rate in the area
is about 5 percent, a quarter of what it
was six years ago. Several business
owners said they had worked hard to
establish an economy based on steady
use of natural resources and were fearful of the boom-and-bust pattern of
the mining industry.
"Right now, a lot of us are looking at
what it means to be a small town," said
Dorothy Kegley, the former mayor of
Exxon cont'd on pg 3
Refunds paid in 1993 to Indian Reservations pursuant
to agreements entered into by the Department of Revenue
pursuant to Minnesota Statutes, 290.60
Reservation
Bois Forte
Fond du Lac
Grand Portage
Leech Lake
Lower Sioux
Mille Lacs
Pairie Island
Red Lake
Shakopee
Upper Sioux   ■
White Earth
Totals
Cigarette
78,619.32
119,276.04
10,150.80
201,242.60
341,077.15
1,494,577.56
1,143,022.24
252,226.78
2,488,243.52
202,941.49
129,358.58
6,460,736.08
Liquor
23,863.16
36,203.56
3,066.54
61,802.68
.00
.00
821.00
78,216.07
.00
1,046.96
39,263.92
243,563.89
Sales
494,982.00
423,690.00
36,300.00
1,402,353.00
.00
.00
.00
587,005.00
.00
10,985.00
560,913.00
3,516,228.00
Petroleum
.00
3,661.00
4,123.44
32,032.00
.00
.00
.00
264,510.80
.00
.00
.00
304,327.24
Total
597,464.48
582,830.60
53,640.78
1,696,710.28
341,077.15
1,494,577.56
1,143,843.24
1,181,958.65
2,488,243.52
214,973.45
729,535.50
10,524,855.21
Source: Minnesota Department of Revenue
Six Wisconsin Chippewa Bands ask to
intervene in Minnesota Case
By Mary R. Sandok
ST. PAUL (AP) _ Six bands of
Wisconsin Chippewa Indians have
filed motions in U.S. District Court
seeking to intervene in the Mille Lacs
Band of Chippewa's treaty rights case
in Minnesota.
The six Wisconsin bands all signed
the same 1837 treaty that is at issue in
the Mille Lacs band's lawsuit against
Minnesota.
They also all were parties to an
earlier lawsuit against Wisconsin, in
which they won rights to take 50
percent ofthe available fish and game
in the northern third ofthe state.
Filing motions to intenene by
Friday's deadline were the Bad River
Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Indians, the St. Croix Chippewa
Indians of Wisconsin, the Lac Courte
Oreilles Band of Lake Superior
Chippewa Indians, the Red Cliff Band
of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians,
the Sokaogon Chippewa Indian
Community and the Lac du Flambeau
Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Indians.
Gail Lewellan, an assistant
commissioner in the Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources, said
the case could be both complicated
and simplified if the court grants the
Wisconsin bands' motions.
"If the bands did not intervene in
this particular suit, they might have
chosen the alternative route of
initiating their own suits," she said.
"I suppose this is better than having a
few new ones every few months or
years."
In August, a federal judge ruled the
Mille Lacs band retained hunting and
fishing rights on public lands in all or
parts of 12 counties in east-central
Minnesota, an area that was ceded to
the federal governmentunderthe 1837
treaty.
The trial's second phase _ in which
the area's fish, game and other
resources are to be allocated between
band and non-band members
currently is scheduled to begin in
Bands cont'd on pg 3
BIA Transfer Questioned
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) _ The only
reason for ousting the head of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs trust fund
management office appears to be his
honesty, a New Mexico congressman
and an intertribal monitor say.
Rep. Bill Richardson, D-N.M., has
asked Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt
to explain the transfer of Jim Parris to
Washington, D.C.
"My impression is that it is
happening because he dealt honestly
with the Congress and said things the
BIA didn't necessarily like," said
Richardson, chairman of the House
Native Affairs subcommittee.
Some 30 tribal leaders have written
letters of protest. A consortium of
tribal leaders who monitor the
department's handling of trust funds
has written Babbitt and President
Clinton.
"I think the only thing he's guilty of
is working with tribes and taking the
partnership seriously," said Elouise
Cobell, chainvoman of the Intertribal
Monitoring Association.
She said Parris' ouster would set
trust management back 10 years.
"I think they pulled him out of there
because he was being honest with
tribes," she said. "He was telling it
Voice of the Anishinabeg (The People)
1
Fifty Cents
OJibwwi
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded  in 1988       Volume 6   Issue 27        December 3d, 1994
I
A weekly publication.
Copyright, The Ojibwe Mews,  1994
Recently the Red Lake Warriors were narrowly defeated (81-80) by an Australian National basketball
team, the Victorian Kangaroos, before a packed gym in Red Lake. The Australian National team is
currently touring in Minnesota.
Red Lake Warriors to play Standing Rock in
finals of Bismarck Classic.
By John Rainbird
The Red Lake Warriors will play
Standing Rock, ND, Thursday night
at 8:45 pm., for the championship of
the 3rd Annual All Nations High
School Basketball Tournament, which
is being held at the Bismarck Civic
Center in Bismarck, ND.
The Classic's featured a field of
eight high school teams from
Minnesota, and North and South
Dakota. On the road to the finals, the
Warriors beat Fort Yates, ND, 87 - 65
in the first game and Cannonball /
Solan, ND, 89 - 68 in the semis.
Other first round game scores
includes: Four Winds, Totten, ND,
overTakini, SD, 66 - 64 and Standing
Rock, over White Shield, ND, 108 -
60. Standing Rock advanced to the
title game by beating Four Winds 106
- 78 in the other semi-final game.
The Red Lake Warriors are the
Classic's defending champions
having won the Classic both previous
years (1992 & 1993).
Information courtesy of the
Bismarck Tribune.
Chiapas standoff ends, negotiations to begin
From News Services
Mexico City, Mexico — Ending a
standoff in southern Chiapas state,
Indian rebels have agreed to negotiate
with the government through a Roman Catholic mediator, and President Ernesto Zedillo has ordered the
army to withdraw from two key towns.
The concessions by the Zapatista
National Liberation Army and the
government came just days before the
first anniversary of the rebels' New
Year's Day uprising, which left at
least 145 people dead in 12 days of
fighting.   .
In his first public statement since
declaring an 11 -month truce void and
deploying hundreds of armed fighters
throughout the state Dec. 19, rebel
leader Subcommander Marco "saluted" Zedillo's government for naming a commission headed by Chiapas
Bishop Samuel Ruiz to mediate the
conflict. Marcos also accepted Zedillo's
interior minister, Esteban Moctezuma,
as government negotiator.
In response to Marcos' statement,
made in a letter dated Christmas Day
but released by the church late Tuesday night, Zedillo's government said
that the Mexican army, which has
sent a force of armor, artillery and
troops to chiapas in recent days, was
withdrawing from the towns of San
Quintin and Monte Libano. Both border the Lancandon rain forest, the
Zapatistias' stronghold.
"This is another example of the
willingness of President Zedillo to
find pats to build a just and lasting
peace," the Interior Ministry said in a
communique Wednesday reacting.to
Marcos' new willingness to negotiate.
Government sources said they were
encouraged by the fact that Marcos'
Chiapas cont'd on pg 3
Casino employees fired over behavior at
Christmas party
like it is."
Parris took over the program nearly
10 years ago. The program had a long
history7 of management so sloppy
Congress called it a national disgrace.
"We've turned the corner and
straightened things up," Parris said.
"We're finally at the point where
we've got good people and good
accounting and controls."
BIA acting deputy director Hilda
Manuel ordered Parris transferred to
a new position Oct. 20, a month after
he   testified   before   a   House
BIA cont'd on pg 3
MILWAUKEE (AP) _ Ten workers
at the Potawatomi Tribe's Northern
Lights Casino were fired for "alleged
illegal gambling activities" that cost
the tribe an estimated $36,000, tribal
officials said.
The money "was improperly paid
out from blackjack operations" at an
employee Christmas parry at the
casino near Carter, the tribe said
Friday in a statement prepared in
response to media inquiries.
Casino suneillance cameras
showed some dealers and players
"were not following proper protocol
and procedure" at the Dec. 12 part}7,
the statement said.
The Milwaukee Sentinel reported
in a copyright story today that sources
believed some dealers at the party let
players sneak a peak at cards they
were not supposed to see.
Blackjack dealers are required to
move in the same fashion on each
hand they deal. Any deviation from
the procedure is supposed to alert
suneillance officials of wrongdoing.
The tribe wants the State Gaming
Commission and the U.S. attorney's
office to investigate the matter, said
Virginia Jacobson, Potawatomi
Gaming Commission chainvoman.
The alleged wrongdoing occurred
during a four-hour party open only to
the casino's 230 workers, spouses
andfriends, the tribe said. The workers
were permitted to play blackjack, slot
machines and bingo during the party.
The tribe fired nine ofthe workers
Dec. 15 and one was dismissed Dec.
15, Jacobson said.
Louis Shepard Jr., acting general
manager, was among those fired, the
Sentinel said. Shepard's father is a
member of the tribe's Gaming
Commission.
Security director Frank Shepard, a
three-year casino employee, also was
among the dismissed workers, the
report said.
Jacobson declined to disclose the
names of fired workers, but said the
acting general manager and security
director were among them.
The fired employees are appealing
to the Potawatomi Gambling
Commission, which will have final
say in the matter, Jacobson said.
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