The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1995-03-24

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Former employees file suit against Indian
Health Board and Director Norine Smith
By Gary Blair
The Minneapolis Indian Health
Board (MB) has been hit with another
lawsuit. This latest suit was brought
by six former Indian employees who
allege they were mistreated while employed by the Golden Eagle youth
program then operated by the clinic.
The suit's plaintiffs are Leech Lake
enrollees Gloria Johnson, Patricia
Yager, and Elizabeth Moore; Patricia
Thompson, Winnebago; Shirlee
Stone, Oglala Lakota; and Carol
White, an Oneida enrollee.
Named as defendants in the complaint filed in Hennepin County District Court on March 9, 1995, were
IHB's board of directors and Norine
Smith, the organization's executive
director.
It was nearly two years ago that the
Minneapolis Indian community first
learned ofthe alleged mistreatment of
employees at the clinic. In June of
1993, the Minneapolis Star Tribune
carried the breaking story that outlined a complaint made by the Minnesota Commissioner ofHuman Rights
against Norine Smith, the clime's director.
In January of 1994, Smith filed what
would be the first of two lawsuits
against the Native American Press/
Ojibwe News, its publisher William
Lawrence and staffwriter Gary Blair.
Smith alleged that the newspaper's
coverage of the unfolding events,
which also included reports of financial mismanagement ofthe clinic were
untrue and defamatory to her.
In response to the first suit brought
by Smith, publisher Lawrence
countersued Smith alleging abuse of
legal process.
In the second suit brought by Smith
she alleged that the clinic lost an
undisclosed amount of financial support as a result of the adverse news
reports.
According to PRESS sources, since
late May of 1994, federal auditors
have been at the IHB clinic examining
the organization's financial records.
The complaint filed by the former
IHB employees contains the following assertions: "Plaintiff White began
working for Defendant in 1990,Plain-
tiff Thompson began working for Defendant in 1991, Plaintiff Moore began working for Defendant in 1991,
Plaintiff Stone began working for Defendant in 1991, Plaintiff Yager began working for Defendant in 1990.
Plaintiff Johnson began working for
Defendant in January, 1989.
While working at Defendant Indian
Health Board, Plaintiffs were subjected
to repeated harassing and disparaging remarks concerning their race by
Defendant Smith. Such remarks by
Defendant Smith included but were
IHB cont'd on pg 8
Former employees file suit against IHB/ pg 1
Tribes Claim Immunity From ICWA/ pg 1
Ex-worker at detox center sues Hennepin Cty/ pg 1
Finn says Sen. lacks authority to discipline him/ pg 1
MAPP staged protest against the MLTC/ pg 1
Voice of the Anishinabeg (The People)
I
Fifty Cents
Thunder Spirit Lodge founder wins national award
By Mel Rasmussen
Mr. Daniel L. Glass, Cherokee, is
the winner of the 1994 GEICO Public
Service Award for substance abuse
prevention and treatment.
Glass, an engineering technician
with the United States Bureau of Mines
in Minneapolis, was one of four civilian career federal employees to receive this award from across the country. He received his award in Washington, D.C, March 13th, 1995, and
traveled with his wife, Joyce, to attend
the celebration.
Glass became concerned with the
lack of treatment and care services for
children and youth affected by Fetal
Alcohol Syndrome (FAS). Glass says
he was given a vision to work and
develop a program that would deal
with this issue, so he, along with his
wife Joyce, proceeded to become activists and aggressively worked to find
ways to provide this treatment and to
deal with this frightening disability.
Glass worked with the Native American community to develop a program
that would teach families who had
members afflicted with this disability
how to cope with the problem and find
support.
Thunder Spirit Lodge came into
existence over two years ago and has
gone through the growing pains of
coming to life. What once started at a
kitchen table in their home and moved
about the St. Paul area has found a
permanent location. Their present location is at 565 Kent Street, in St.
Paul.
The key to the success of the program has been with the drive of Glass
and the support of the community.
The Glasses' have adopted and been
foster parents for youth affected with
Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and because
of this experience they were able to
provide the realistic hands-on exper
tise that was needed to design and
implement their program. The program is called "Special Voices," and
deals with the direct care and treatment needs of families with children
affected by FAS.
The Glasses were recognized by St.
Paul's Mayor Norm Coleman who
supported their efforts in developing
this program. It was recognized as the
first such program of its kind in the
state and in the country. Since its
inception much support has come to
Thunder Spirit Lodge.
Dan Glass was a man with a vision.
He worked hard to fulfill this charge
made to him in this world. Through
his efforts and perseverance the Native American community and citizens ofthe city of St. Paul have grown.
For further information, contact the
Thunder Spirit Lodge at 612-290-
9920. Their staff, although small in
numbers, will gladly assist you in any
way possible.
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded   in 1988
Volume 6    Issue 39
March 24, 1995
1
A weekly publication.
Copyright, The Ojibwe News, 1995
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Finn says Senate lacks authority to
discipline him   Says federal case doesn't apply,
as*7"
aSso cites tribal sovereignty
But the chair of the subcommittee,
By Robert Whereatt
StaffWriter
Minneapolis Star Tribune
A state senator who could be expelled from office told a special subcommittee handling his case Tuesday
that it lacks the authority to force him
from the Senate.
Sen. Harold (Skip) Finn, DFL-Cass
Lake, raised several objections, including the sovereign status of Indian
tribes, all aimed at dissuading the subcommittee from acting on a complaint
by Independent-Republicans that accuses him of improper conduct.
Sen. Ember Reichgott Junge, DFL-
New Hope, said she intends to move
ahead with the quasijudicial proceeding, even while acknowledging that
subcommittee members are about to
tread some unexplored legal territory.
"We cannot delay. We must address
the questions that come before us,"
Reichgott Junge told reporters after a
two-hour subcommittee meeting.
The complaint against Finn alleges
that he was part of an insurance
scheme that siphoned money from the
Leech Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. Finn, a member ofthe band, also
tried to cover up the activity, accord
ing to the complaint lodged in January by Independent-Republicans. The
complaint is based entirely on public
documents from a federal investigation and court case involving Finn.
The 46-year-old attorney had
pleaded guilty to a federal misdemeanor charge for his part in the insurance deal. But earlier this month
before U.S. District Judge James
Rosenbaum, Finn withdrew the guilty
plea.
Federal authorities then said they
would seek stiffer felony charges
against Finn, though none has been
Photo by Kimnri Anderson St Cloud Times
About SO members ofthe Mille Lacs Anishinabe People's Party staged a protest against the tribal council
of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Saturday near Grand Casino Mille Lacs, along U.S. Highway 169.
MAPP protestors get messages from
grammar school dropouts
Finn cont'd on pg 3
KSTP hopes agreement ends ad boycott by Indian
Action stems from comments during radio show
casinos
By Ann Merrill
StaffWriter
Minneapolis Star Tribune
KSTP-Am radio has reached an
agreement with the Mille Lacs Band
of Chippewa that it hopes will pave
the way for an end to the advertising
boycott ofthe station.
Virtually all ofthe American Indian
casino operators in the state last month
organized a boycott following a Jan.
25 talk radio show on hunting and
fishing rights that included derogatory comments about Indians.
Indian-owned casinos spend at least
$10 million on media advertising in
the state each year. If the boycott
lasted one year, Hubbard Broadcasting—which operates KSTP radio and
television as well as KS95-FM—
would lose several hundred thousand
dollars, industry observers said.
The agreement, sent to 11 tribal
councils statewide late last week, does
not end the boycott. The individual
councils will decide if and when to
revive their advertising. Little is expected to change quickly.
Based on the agreement, KSTP-Am
has agreed to offer an on-air apology,
produced by Matt Michalski, who was
at the helm during the Jan. 25 show.
Michalski, who has expressed remorse over the incident, has agreed to
visit an Indian reservation. He also
will co-produce a series of radio news
shorts on Indian issues that will run
over several months.
KSTP cont'd on pg 3
By Gary Blair
No, it wasn't any spear fishing protest like those held in Wisconsin a few
years ago, but the bigoted inferences
were just the same. This time, though,
the remarks came in the form of signs
that were placed by relatives who live
on the Mille Lacs Lake reservation.
Last Saturday about 50 members of
the Mille Lacs Anishinabe People's
Party (MAPP)carried placards and
marched from Cash's Store along U.S.
Highway 169 past the reservation's
casino.
The group was protesting against
what they say has been a denial of
constitutional rights to free speech
and assembly and called for the removal of the band's chairperson,
Marge Anderson, who they say has
violated those rights.
. The group was also protesting
against the financial management of
the reservation and the lack of employee training and advancement at
the casino.
As they returned to their vehicles
they were met by signs that were posted
along the roadway they had just
walked. The signs read: "YOU!!!
SAVAGES;" "GET A JOB;" "WORK
FOR YOUR MONEY DO YOU
KNOW WHAT WORK IS!"
"PEOPLE LIKE YOU EMBARRAS
OUR RESERVATION;" "YOU SAVAGES CRAWL BACK
UNDERNETH THE ROCK YOU
CAME UNDER!!" "GET A JOB
SAVEMONEY;""MAYBEYOU'LL
HAVE A HOME AND HAVE
MONEY DUMMJE;" "IF THERE
WAS NO SUCH THING AS MONEY
WELL YOU STILL BE OUT
THERE;" "IF WE STILL LIVED IN
WIGWAMS WOULD YOU BE OUT
HERE;" "TAKE YOUR GREEDY
EYES SOMEPLACE EIS;" "GROW
MAPP cont'd on pg 3
Tribes Claim Immunity From Indian Child
Welfare Act
Band's revised code retains commerical sale provisions
ST. PAUL (AP) _ The Mille Lacs
Band of Chippewa has retained
provisions for selling deer, bear, fish,
small game and wild rice in a revised
code prepared for the second part of
its treaty rights case, according to
documents received by the state
Monday.
The band also responded to food
safety and other objections raised by
state officials to its initial code filed
in November in U.S. District Court.
A federal judge ruled in August
that the Mille Lacs Band retained
hunting, fishing and gathering rights
in a large part of east-central
Minnesota that Chippewa Indians
ceded to the federal government under
an 1837 treaty. The second phase of
the trial, scheduled to begin in a year,
will determine how game and fish
resources in the 12-county treaty area
should be divided between band and
non-band members.
The Mille Lacs Band said it
consulted with the six Wisconsin
bands of Chippewa that have asked to
intercede in the case and that its
revised code would serve as a model
for those bands.
In its response to the band's
November filing, the state said it
opposed the sale of wild game to the
public for human consumption and
wanted more precise labeling
provisions for the sale of wild rice.
While it did not rule out the
commercial harvest and sale offish,
the state said it wanted the band to
adopt food safety laws relating to fish
or agree to be bound by state law in
that area.
In their response, the bands said
they are considering measures to
regulate the processing of food for
commercial sales and have added
provisions to the code to require
compliance with applicable federal
law. They added that they are not now
challenging the application of
Minnesota food safety laws.
They said they retained provisions
for commercial harvest in the code
because the state conceded that
compliance with food safety standards
is possible with respect to the sale of
fish and may be possible in some
situations with respect to the sale of
game.
Also, they said, the state itself allows
several thousand confiscated or road-
killed deer to be donated for human
consumption each year. They also
said there may be markets for the
meat other than for human
consumption.
The bands added wild-rice labelling
provisions in the revised code.
Gail Lewellan, the Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources'
assistant commissioner for legal
affairs, said she could not comment
on the band's revised code until she
reviewed it.
By Jeff Armstrong
After more than a decade of being
shuttled about to foster homes and
institutions throughout Montana,
North Dakota and South Dakota,
James and Tanya Martin hoped they
had finally found a permanent home
with their mother on the Leech Lake
reservation. But the storybook reunion
turned out to be shortlived when Cass
County Sheriffs deputies returned
the children to the custody of a North
Dakota tribal court on February 21.
The mother, Pam Smith, has fought
to reclaim her children since they
were removed from her care 12 years
ago by the state of North Dakota, after
she separated from her husband on
the Fort Berthold reservation.
Although Smith transferred her
enrollment to Leech Lake shortly after
the separation, and the childrens'
biological father does not
acknowledge paternity, the Three
Affilliated Tribes of Fort Berthold
has maintained legal custody for the
purpose of placing the children in off-
reservation foster homes. Citing data
privacy laws, tribal officials refused
repeated requests for comment on the
case, and would not confirm or deny
the children's enrollment at the
reservation.
When Smith received the children on
a temporary visit over the past
Christmas holiday season and
confirmed the children's wish to rejoin
her family, she saw an opportunity to
assert her natural~and, she believes,
legal-right and obligation as a parent
to raise her own kids. She refused to
resubmit James and Tanya Martin to
Fort Berthold's jurisdiction in the
foster care system, where the children
have described a nightmarish regimen
of physical and sexual abuse,
incarceration in psychiatric hospitals
Child cont'd on pg 3
Ex-worker at detox center sues Hennepin
County, saying she faced retaliation
By Dennis Lien
StaffWriter
St. Paul Pioneer Press
A former employee at the old Hennepin County detox center has sued
the county, contending supervisors
and employees there retaliation against
her when she complained about poor
treatment of American Indian clients.
Irene Wade Benjamin, also an
American Indian, was fired from her
part-time job in August 1993, five
years after beginning work for the
county. Benjamin claims her work
performance was always satisfactory.
Hennepin County closed the facility
at 1800 Chicago Ave. S., inDecember
1992 after state licensing investigations that were prompted by allegations of mistreatment of clients. The
county now has contracts with two
social service agencies for detoxification services.
In a civil suit filed in Hennepin
County District Court, Benjamin said
that in August 1992, she lodged a
complaint against Robert Olander,
director ofthe Chemical Health Division of the county's Adult Services
Department, regarding treatment of
Suit cont'd on pg 3