The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1995-03-31

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MAPP meets in Hinckley
By Gary Blair
The Mille Lacs Anishinabe People's
Party (MAPP) continues to gain support. Last Saturday the group met in
Hinckley, Minnesota and more than
twenty^five-people attended the gathering. The organization was formed
in April of 1994, and has recently
been granted non-profit corporation
status by the state of Minnesota.
According to Vincent Hill, a MAPP
board member who lives in Minneapolis, the group was formed in response to violations of band members
constitutional rights to free speech
and peaceful assembly on the reservation.
On March 18,1995, about 50 MAPP
members and supporters demonstrated
on the Mille Lacs reservation. In the
St. Cloud Times coverage ofthe pro
test, Hill was quoted as saying, "MAPP
members are calling for the impeachment of Tribal Council President
Marge Anderson."
Staffwriter Rene Kaluza wrote that
MAPP members were concerned that
Indian employees were not being
trained or moved into higher-paying
jobs at the casinos. The article also
reported that the group wanted tribal
leaders to renegotiate the casino management contract. And, that they
believe too little ofthe casino's profits
benefit band members or go towards
reservation projects.
"Hill contends the band has used the
casino's borrowing power instead of
actual profits to build homes, roads
and a school," Kaluza wrote.
"In the past tribal leaders have denied allegations raised by MAPP," the
article concluded.
Hill told the PRESS at the Hinckley
meeting, "Marge has banned us from
holding meetings on the reservation,
that's why we're meeting here. She
doesn't want us discussing her management ofthe reservation."
Describing MAPP's membership,
he explained, "We have a cross section of members—some are our youth,
others are elders, some are traditional
speakers and semi-traditional people.
We also have support from other reservations whose group's face similar
issues. We all need to band together in
order to overcome these problems."
Hildred Thomas, an elder, traditional speaker, and MAPP member
from Minneapolis, told the PRESS
after the Hinckley meeting, "I am so
damn mad about what Marge Anderson said, that was printed in the Band's
newsletter."
MAPP cont'd on pg 3
MAPP meets in Hinckley/ pg 1
Fond du Lac Follies journeys to Scotland/ pg 5
Wellstone gets seat on Vets Commission/ pg 1
Overhaul BIA now, critics say/ pg 1
Anti-Indian gaming forces are mobilizing/ pg 1
Voice of the Anishinabek (The People)
\
Another LL-RTC gaming official charged
By J. Rainbird
Staff Intern
Richard Robinson Jr. a long time
LL-RTC employee has been charged
for allegedly receiving $265 in weekly
unemployment benefits from the
Department of Jobs and Training,
while drawing a monthly salary of
$2,400 as LL gaming consultant.
The complaint alleges that Robinson
received the benefits during the period
of August 29, 1992, through March
1993, for a total of $7,420, while at
the same time being employed as LL
gaming consultant.
According to the original complaint
filed in Cass County, Robinson
allegedly filed a written affidavit with
the Minnesota Department of
Economic Security in August of 1994,
which allegedly stated he knew it was
wrong to continue collecting
unemployment and get income
through his employment at the same
time.
Robinson, age 42, tendered his
resignation to the Cass Lake-Bena
school board this month after
appearing in the Cass County District
Court for an omnibus hearing on the
charges.
Robinson faces 10 years in prison
and a $20,000 fine for false
representation if convicted. Robinson
is not the first LLRTC gaming
officialcharged with financial
deception and fraud.
Previously, Leech Lake LLRTC
and Minnesota Indian Gaming
Association President and 3rd,
District Representative Myron Ellis,
was sentenced to 90 days in a federal
detention facility for excepting
kickbacks in the RRMI insurance
scam. Other LLRTC officials are
currently under federal
investigation for financial
improprieties, as more charges are
expected.
Fifty Cents
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded   in 19BB
Volume 6    Issue 40
March 31, 1995
1
A weekly publication.
Copyright:. The Ojibwe Mews,  1995
MAPP seeks media coverage beyond elected
officials propaganda
By Gary Blair
Hubbard Broadcasting has reached
an agreement with the Mille Lacs
Band that it hopes will break the
month-old advertising boycott by Indian casinos throughout the state.
The strike was started when racial
slurs were aired on KSTP-AM 1500,
one ofthe radio stations owned by the
Twin Cities broadcasting giant. However, the PRESS has learned that
Hubbard's return to the days of "big
buck" casino ads will not be without
additional incident. Reports say the
general offices of Hubbard Broadcasting located at 3415 University
Avenue in St. Paul will be the site of
a protest this Monday at 10:00 A.M.
by members ofthe Mille Lacs Anishinabe People's Party (MAPP).
According to Vincent Hill, the
group's spokesperson, the radio station has agreed in-part to produce a
series on Indian issues as part of the
agreement to end the boycott. "So far,
Ginny Morris, the radio station' s general manager, has tried to give some
of our MAPP members the brush off,"
he said. "She says she not interested
in our issues."
"We want Mr. Hubbard to hear our
concerns about the Mille Lacs Lake
reservation," Hill continued. "We want
the news media to start reporting on the
real issues that effect our people. We
want people to know the real status of
Indians and not only what our tribal
leaders tell them," he said.
Morris told the PRESS on Tuesday,
that she's not going to be put in the
middle of the reservation's internal
problems. "I am not going to be used
that way," she said. "I have to go with
what the tribal elected leaders tell me."
According to a March 21,1995 Minneapolis Star Tribune article, KSTP
will offer an on-air apology by producer
Matt Michalski whose Jan. 25 show got
out of hand.
Ginny Morris says for her part in the
"peace treaty" process she will visit
different reservations to educate herself.
The remarks about Indians that got
the station in trouble were made by
program substitute Mark Zelenovich
who said, "Hey, c'mon guys, get over it
You lost. Give the Indians more money
and wine to shut them up."
As part ofthe agreement Zelenovich
won't return to the station
The Mille Lacs deal also calls for a
journalism scholarship at the University of Minnesota to an interested
Indian student and a better awareness
of employment opportunities with the
broadcaster.
Photo by WJL
- The sign of Spring appears, as Migiizi was found looking over Bemidji's lake shore.
Wellstone gets seat on veterans committee
Finn probers will use subpoena power
By Robert Whereatt
Minneapolis Star Tribune staff
writer
A special Senate subcommittee investigating the conduct of Sen. Harold
(Skip) Finn decided Wednesday that
it will subpoena witnesses to appear
before it next month if they refuse to
appear voluntarily.
Be deciding to employ its infrequently used power to compel testimony, the Special Senate Subcommittee on Ethical Conduct indicated
that it intends to go beyond the exist
ing federal court record in pursuing a
complaint of improper conduct against
Finn, DFL-Cass Lake.
"We need to establish our own evidence," said Sen. Ember Reichgott
Junge, DFL-New Hope, the
subcommittee's chairwoman.
The informal decision to go outside
federal court records also indicates
that the subcommittee's work will
take additional time and could stretch
beyond the May 22 adjournment deadline for the 1995 legislative session.
The complaint against Finn, the only
American Indian in the Legislature,
was lodged by Independent-Republi
cans who are asking that he be expelled from the Senate.
The complaint alleges that Finn
"breached his ethical duty to the Minnesota state Senate and the people of
Minnesota" by defrauding the Leech
Lake Band of Chippewa.
Finn, 46, a member of the band,
helped set up an insurance company
to handle and manage reservation insurance claims. He then allegedly filed
a phony insurance invoice with the
Tribal Council and gave the money to
a fellow tribal member.
Finn cont'd on pg 3
By Kris Henry
StaffWriter
Mpls. Star Tribune
Washington, D.C. _ With a
looming re-election campaign that
promises to be brutal, Sen, Paul
Wellstone, D-Minn., may be able to
garner some political points with his
latest committee assignment —
Veterans' Affairs.
He announced Monday at the
Veterans Service Building in St. Paul
that he will replace Ben Nighthorse
Campbell on the committee. The
Colorado senator recently switched
parties and became a Republican.
Reducing delays in processing
veterans' appeals, improving
treatment of post-traumatic stress
disorder, and helping atomic veterans
will be some of Wellstone's top
priorities.
"Without question, atomic veterans
are our most neglected group of
veterans. I'vebeenworkingespecially
closely with Minnesota veterans of
the U.S. Army's 216th Chemical
Service Company who took part in
Operation Tumbler Snapper, a series
of atmospheric nuclear bomb tests
that took place in Nevada in 1952,"
he said.
Earlier this month Wellstone urged
apresidential panel to give the benefit
of doubt to veterans who were "treated
like guinea pigs in uniform" when
disbursing compensationfor radiation
experiments conducted during the
Vets cont'd on pg 8
Suit  against  casino   reopens  tribal
sovereignty issue
Anti-Indian gaming forces are mobilizing
By Bunty Anquoe
Indian Country Today
Washington Bureau
Washington — The Coeur d'Alene
Tribe, in announcing their plans for a
national lottery, has stirred-up a
hornet's nest.
Rep. Robert Torricelli, D-N.J.,
flanked by lawmakers from Nevada,
Idaho, New York and Massachusetts,
last week renewed his legislative attempts to quash the expansion of Indian gaming.
The New Jersey congressman first
sought to change the federal-Indian
gaming law in 1993 when he and
casino mogul Donald Trump led legislative efforts to force state gaming
laws on tribal land.
His latest bill seeks the same and
also calls for a two-year moratorium
on tribal casinos. The measure is expected to be introduced within two
weeks.
At a Capitol Hill press conference,
he resurrected allegations that tribal
gaming enterprises are rife with organized crime and are "untaxed, unregulated and out of control."
The Justice Department has consis
tently testified before Congress that
there has not been "a widespread or
successful effort" by organized crime
to infiltrate Indian gaming.
Rep. Torricelli's proposed bill would
dramatically change the 1988 Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act. It turns up
the flame on the already heated controversy over who controls gambling
in Indian country.
The congressman told reporters curtailing the burgeoning Indian gaming
industry is becoming increasingly necessary, especially in light ofthe Coeur
d' Alene' s bid to launch their National
Indian Lottery — a gambit that could
become the largest lottery in U. S. history.
The 1,300-member Idaho tribe's operation could eclipse the 17-state
Powerball lottery by linking 36 states
and the District of Columbia, where
lotteries are permitted. Players, armed
with credit cards, would call a toll-
free "800" telephone number to buy
their tickets. The tribe estimated the
first jackpot to top $50 million and
those following to soar into hundreds
of millions.
Barring court injunctions, the tribe
expects to kick-off the venture by fall.
Rep. Torricelli complained, "There
was always the potential someone was
going to use (the gaming law) to establish a nationwide lottery. Finally,
somebody did. It was always a problem waiting to happen...The state lottery cannot compete. The Indians are
talking about a $200 million jackpot
now that is untaxed and unregulated
with no contributions back to the public. No state can compete. They will
put the state lotteries out of business."
He called the tribe's venture "an
unwanted interference" in state lotteries. He said the Coeur d'Alene tribe
should not be able to conduct the
contest without the consent of affected
states because it would undermine
states who depend upon lottery revenues to fund government operations
and institutions.
"In my own state of New Jersey, the
lottery is a critical part of funding
education, veterans benefits and health
and human service institutions," he
said, but denied the bill is about competition.
Rick Hill, chairman of the National
Indian Gaming Association, said the
Coeur d'Alene lottery issue was "the
match that lit the fuse" that incensed
anti-Indian gaming interests to mobilize their forces. He also said the Coeur
Forces cont'd on pg 6
By Pat Doyle
Minneapolis Star Tribune staff
writer
The power of Indian tribes to run
mostly independent governments
came face to face Wednesday with an
83-year-old woman injured in a tribal
casino who is fighting for a chance to
have her lawsuit heard in state court.
Sylvia Cohen of Edina sued the
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux, owners of Mystic Lake Casino, blaming a
broken hip and other injuries on a
swivel chair in the casino.
The tribe says the case is without
merit. But the case is overshadowed
by a more fundamental issue: the limited sovereignty of Indian tribes.
Cohen^ sitting in a wheelchair
Wednesday, listened as a lawyer for
the tribe argued that the case should
be dismissed from Scott County District Court because the tribe's sovereignty gave it immunity from lawsuits. District Judge Michael Young
said he will rule soon.
As the power of tribes to run casinos
and other businesses has grown, so
too has conflict between tribes, the
general public and the state over limited tribal sovereignty.
In recent years in Scott County,
judges have dismissed at least 15 lawsuits that accused the Shakopee
Mdewakanton casinos of liability for
accidents or for alleged sexual harassment, said Joseph Plumer, a lawyer
for the tribe.
The sovereign powers of tribes are
not absolute but have been defined by
more than 150 years of court decisions, treaties and other acts of Congress.
Although the powers of tribes have
ebbed and flowed over years, the autonomy of tribal governments has generally grown in the past two decades.
Suit cont'd on pg 8
Overhaul BIA now, critics say
By Tracey A. Reeves
Duluth News-Tribune staffwriter
Washington — For years, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has been criticized as one of the most poorly run
agencies in the federal government.
It's a place, say its critics, where
failed policies and crooked leadership
have resulted in as much money being
wasted as spent on American Indians.
And for years, lawmakers and Indians have tried to reform the BIA, only
to see their efforts blown away with
each shift ofthe political winds.
But this year could be different.
With the Republican takeover of
Congress and the party's pledge to
make government more effective and
less costly, some say the time is right
to reorganize the BIA and make it
more accountable to the nation's native people.
To that end, Sen. John R. McCain,
R-Ariz., chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said he will
introduce legislation later this year
that gives tribes more of a say in how
BIA money is used.
The specifics ofthe legislation have
yet to be worked out. But the fact that
McCain has promised to write a bill
with heavy input from tribes has Indians across the country hopeful that the
BIA will one day be able to shed its
poor image for a more respectable
one.
"At first I didn't think it could be
done, and even now I wonder," said
Darrell Wadena, president ofthe Minnesota Chippewa Tribal Executive
Committee. "But the tide in Washington is turning. There seems to be a.
genuine interest in turning around the
BIA."
If Indians are skeptical of BIA reform, it's because they know the history ofthe agency.
The BIA was created in 1824 as part
ofthe now-defunct War Department.
In 1849 the agency was transferred to
the Department ofthe Interior, where
it remains today, managing the trust
funds and social and educational programs the federal government set up
for Indians to make up for the way it
treated them decades ago.
Almost from its inception the BIA
has had a shaky reputation. In the
early days, BIA leaders were accused
of using the agency to their own benefit.
Today, many Indians and non-Indi-
BIA cont'd on pg 3
5