The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1995-04-07

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MAPP presents grievance against Mille Lacs
tribal council
By Gary Blair
MAPP organizers say they plan to
protest again on Monday at Hubbard
Broadcasting. Vincent Hill, the
group's spokesperson, says this time
they plan to invite more people. The
protest is scheduled to start at 9:00
A.M. Other organizers in the group
say the earlier arrival is necessary to
allow for those on "Indian time."
Hill says MAPP will once again try
to present the group's reasons for
requesting air time from Hubbard
Broadcasting. "We want to present
our list of grievances that we'd like to
discuss on their radio station as part of
the agreement they made with Marge
Anderson," he said. "We still believe
Mr. Hubbard is the caring person that
he once was to Indian people."
Hill says he stopped by KSTP television the day after the first protest. "I
was looking for a document that I
thought I'd left there by mistake," he
said. "Did you know they have a big
headdress displayed at the television
Station? It was given to them by the
Dakota people for helping them with
food years ago," Hill explained. "That
headdress was presented to Mr.
Hubbard who was then the vice president."
The following is a copy ofthe grievance letter MAPP plans to present to
StanleyHubbard, President ofHubbard
Broadcasting this Monday:
March 18, 1995, M.A.P.P., Inc.
Grievances, 1) WHEREAS,MilleLacs
Ojibwe Tribal Council (MLOTC) officials Marge Anderson, Chairman,
and David (Mosay) Sam, District I
MAPP cont'd on pg 5
W.E.R.T.C. to put casino in trust status/ pg 1
MAPP presents grievances against MLTC/ pg 1
Band plans gill netting season/ pg 1
Red Lake leader testifies in Congress/ pg 6
Pine Point (Ponsford) Re-Union/ pg 8
Voice of the Anishinabek (The People)
\
Fifty Cents
Controversy reigns atthe National Museum
ofthe American Indian
By Mel Rasmussen
The National Museum of the American Indian in New York City has been
open for several months. Throughout
this time period of its existence, and
its original inception, there has been
controversy concerning their right to
exist in society today.
There are several areas that present
obstacles forthe museum and its staff.
All are interlocked in their functions
and must be separated out to show
their influence. In one arena there is
the existence of the old breed versus
the new breed of Anthropologists
working at the museum and across the
country. Their interpretations of Native Americans have impacted the perception of Native Americans for hun
dreds of years.
On another level there is the art
critic and the journalists who have
impacted the museum and its functions. This criticism of the museum,
has come from several major news
critics, including the Wall Street Journal and the New York Observer. Their
biased reports appear to reflect the
feelings on the dominant culture and
how "Art" is viewed by that society
today.
The George Gustaf Heye Center is
located in lower Manhattan at the foot
of Wall Street. The stunning edifice of
federal opulence and magnificence
known as the U. S. Customs House of
New York is the new home of the
collection that resides in the National
Museum ofthe American Indian. The
building reflects a governments de
sire to show its might and grandeur to
the world around it.
Today, this museum lies within the
Smithsonian Museum system. The
National Museum of the American
Indian is part of an ambitious project
sponsored by the federal government.
Its purpose is to provide a proper
educational facility for the enhancement and growth ofthe Native American traditions and art that have been
gathered by this country's museums
and collectors over the years.
The Heye collection of Native
American remains, art and materials
was brought and purchased from other
museums and institutions. It is part of
a pattern that a majority of other institutions are guilty of also. One cannot
Museum cont'd on pg 5
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal  Opportunity Far All People
Founded   in 1988
Volume E    Issue 41
April 7, 1995
1
A weekly publication.
Copyright. The Ojibwe Mews, 1995
W.E.R.T.C. to put casino in trust status
By Ned Newbery
When the Shooting Star Casino
was constructed several years ago,
it was built as a commercial business.
Darrell "Chip" Wadena/White
Earth Tribal Chairman: "It was
much easier to get the funding when
it was not in tribal trust, because
there are certain requirements in
order for investors to protect their
investment, you you know what I
mean." As the casino grew, so did
the amount of money the tribe was
paying to the county [Mahnoman]
in property taxes. Today, the
casino's property taxes make up a
quarter of the county's two million
dollar budget. If the casino is placed
in tribal trust, the county will have
to provide the same services it does
now— without the casino share of
490 thousand dollars. Charles
Pazdernik/Mahnoman County
Commisioner: "It's had to cut
services when you're at the bare
bones minimum already. Unlike
the state and federal, we've never
had any luxury or services. We've
done mostly what's been mandated
by the state and federal
governments." And with the casino
going off line, you have to find
other sources?
Commissioner: "well, we're
hoping the feds will come through-
-1 mean, they're the ones that put it
in trust for us." Tribal officials say
they're not trying to get out of paying
taxes, but they would rather have
control,... of where the money goes.
They say the money they save by not
paying property taxes will be used
for projects like the construction of
low income housing. They are also
considering imposing a tax of their
own, Darrell Wadena/White Earth
Tribal Chairman: "Any other
income we derive from any other
means will go towards to alleviating
that need, and it is quite a deficit."
Tribal officials say they plan to
work with the county and city of
Manomen to provide services,
because the casino has 12-hundred
employees that will require some
type of local government services.
[Reprinted with permission from
KTHT-TV, Channel 11, Fargo, ND.]
Band plans gill netting season
Photo by Gary Blair
Tviembers of MAPP demonstrate in front of KSTP headquarters in St. Paul to educate Twin Cities media.
MAPP protest receives lukewarm coverage
from mainstream news media
By Pam Schmid
ST. PAUL (AP) _ Members ofthe
Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa will be
arrested if they take part in a proposed
gill-netting season off the reservation
this spring, state officials said
Monday.
However, "We expect this issue to
be decided in the courts rather than
on the water," said Gail Lewellan,
assistant commissioner of the
Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources.
The netting option is part of a
summer fishing season for band
members submitted to the DNR for
review. The season, beginning May
1, would allow members to obtain
permits to take a total of 5,000 pounds
of walleye with gill nets on Lake
Mille Lacs.
The season also would set increased
bag limits for hook-and-line fishing
for other species in all waters in a 12-
county area of east central Minnesota.
A federal judge recently reaffirmed
hunting and fishing rights in the 12-
county area that were granted to the
band in an 1837 treaty.
The second phase ofthe Mille Lacs
band's treaty right trial is scheduled
to begin in about a year. That is when
the region's fish, game and other
resources will be allocated between
Indians and non-Indians.
In December, the band announced
plans to spear northern pike on the
lake during its off-reservation fishing
season. The DNR said that the
proposal's seasons and limits were
nearly identical to those that apply to
Band cont'd on pg 6
Woman's suit against Indian tribe
dismissed   Shakopee Sioux have immunity
By Gary Blair
The Twin Cities news media apparently had mixed emotions about
Monday's protest staged in front of
Hubbard Broadcasting by members of
the Mille Lacs Anishinabe People's
Party (MAPP).
More than 30 people took part in the
two hour demonstration. Numerous
requests to meet with Stanley Hubbard,
the corporation's president, were denied.
Vincent Hill, one of the group's
organizers, said they wanted to have
their concerns heard. Notice of the
protest was sent via fax to nearly a
dozen local news organizations. Of
those, only five responded and of those,
only two provided coverage of the
event.
The Minneapolis Star Tribune carried a small story about the protest the
next day entitled, "Indian protesters
seeking access to KSTP programs."
The article contained no by-line.
Vincent Hill said he received a phone
call after the protest from a Star Tribune reporter who apparently wrote
the story. A PRESS inquiry revealed
that this journalist is with the business
section of that newspaper.
The St. Paul Pioneer Press metro
section displayed a large color picture
of some of the protesters and their
signs that spelled out the theme for the
demonstration. However, readers the
PRESS spoke with say there wasn't
enough information under the picture
to fully understand what the protest
was about.
Television stations that dispatched
news crews to the Hubbard Broadcasting location on University Avenue gave different reasons for not
reporting the event. One ofthe KMSP
channel 9 news anchors told the
PRESS, "They must have 'killed the
Media cont'd on pg 3
Ojibwe languageclassshares tribal heritage
By Pat Doyle
Minneapolis Star Tribune
staff writer
A Scott County judge has
dismissed the lawsuit of an elderly
woman injured at Mystic Lake
Casino in Prior Lake, ruling that
the Indian tribe that owns the casino
has limited sovereignty that protects
it against such claims.
"A long line of cases limits the
power of state courts over a suit
brought against a federally
recognized Indian tribe," District
judge Michael Young said Monday.
He said immunity from suits
applies not only to the Shakopee
Mdewakanton Sioux's tribal
government but also to the casino
that it owns.
"It is not within the power of this
court to modify this reality, even for
a sympathetic victim," Young said.
"Congress granted Indian tribes
immunity, and only Congress can
waive or modify the immunity."
The case involved Sylvia Cohen,
83, of Edina, who said she broke a
hip last October when she tried to
sit on a swivel chair.
Cohen said she fell after the chair
sprang away from her. She said her
recovery from injuries included 10
days in a hospital and two months
in a nursing home. She also said
she now uses a wheelchair at times
to get around.
The insurance company for the
Shakopee Mdwakanton Sioux,
which owns Mystic Lake, sent
Cohen a $5,000 check. But she said
the amount was inadequate, didn't
Suit cont'd on pg 3
By Anne Bretts
Duluth News Tribune
DULUTH, Minn. (AP) _ Ojibwe
language is meant to be spoken, to be
passed on from one generation to
another through the tribe's elders.
So why did Judith Vollom, an Indian
woman who grew up far from the
reservation, write it down in a book?
And teach it in classrooms filled
mostly with Caucasian students?
"We knew that we had to start writing
things down or it would be lost," said
Vollom. Her book, "Ojibwemowin," is
part of aburgeoning movementto create
a formal curriculum on the Ojibwe
language, history and culture for
schools, colleges and the tribes
themselves.
"Ojibwemowin" means Ojibwe
language. The book is already being
used in more than 40 school districts,
tribal schools and colleges in
northeastern Minnesota and Canada.
The book evolved from the stacks of
worksheets Vollom has compiled in
14 years of learning the language,
and teaching it at Vermilion
Community College in Ely and
Mesabi Community College in
Virginia.
The book is more than a grammar
text, although it does feature clear
lessons on the complicated rules for
forming Ojibwe words and sentences.
There are cultural lessons, from the
meaning of the four seasons to the
process for harvesting and preparing
wild rice.
These are lessons Vollom still is
mastering herself. Like many Indians
now in their 40s and 50s, Judith
Vollom spent most of her life away
from the reservation, in a mixed family
where her parents wanted to spare
their children the harassment often
inflicted on Indians. Their solution
Ojibwe cont'd on pg 3
Tribal chairman keeps seat despite indictment Senate votes to demand limited disclosure
By Matt Kelley
AGENCY VILLAGE, S.D. (AP) _
Russell Hawkins says he will keep his
job as chairman of the Sisseton-
Wahpeton Sioux Tribe despite a
federal indictment and efforts to oust
him.
"It's just politics," Hawkins said
with a shrug during a break in a tribal
council meeting last week.
Hawkins' opponents on the 15-
member council tried to suspend him
last month, saying his February
indictment on a federal conspiracy
charge reflected poorly on the tribe.
But the vote on the suspension
proposal deadlocked 7-7 after
councilman Arnold Ryan, a former
interim tribal chairman, abstained.
Hawkins voted to break the tie and
keep his job.
Opponents say that tie-breaking vote
showed Hawkins' desire to keep power
at any cost.
"I think the man should be removed
in a hurry because it's destroying the
credibility ofthe tribe," said Maynard
Bernard, who narrowly lost the
chairman's race to Hawkins last year.
"That's supposed to be an honored
position, and we've got a man who's
been indicted. That man should be
out of there."
The tribal council could revisit the
issue this week, however. Voters in at
least two reservation districts are
seeking recalls of council members
who supported Hawkins. That could
lead to another suspension vote
Tuesday or Wednesday.
Critics say Hawkins has rewarded
supporters with jobs, housing and
money and punished opponents with
firings and other retribution. He was
first elected chairman in 1982 and
lost a 1992 re-election bid to former
tribal judge Lorraine Rousseau, who
was in turn ousted by the tribal council
in mid-1993 and replaced by Ryan.
Hawkins says he brought economic
Chair cont'd on pg 3
of gambling records
By Dale Wetzel
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ Despite
warnings that it was a breach of trust,
North Dakota's Senate approved
legislation Thursday that demands
limited disclosure of Indian casino
gambling records.
The bill revives a smouldering issue
that has been dormant for six weeks,
since Gov. Ed Schafer and Attorney
General Heidi Heitkamp refused to
obey a Senate Judiciary Committee
subpoena to produce the documents.
Senate Republicans supported the
measure as an assertion of the
Legislature's rights. "We make the
laws, not the governor," said Sen.
Darlene Watne, R-Minot.
Democrats opposed the bill, saying
it violated the state's promise to five
Indian tribes that negotiated gambling
compacts with the state three years
ago. "The damage that has been done
... may be irreparable," said Sen. Dan
Wogsland, D-Hannaford, the Senate
minority leader.
Sen. Les LaFountain, D-Dunseith,
a member of the Turtle Mountain
Band of Chippewa tribe, was the most
vehement objector.
"I have nothing to gain from this,
folks," LaFountain said. "I am not
looking for another political office.
I'm not even looking for friends. I'm
looking for something to honor this
agreement."
Schafer and Heitkamp say the
records are confidential under
provisions included in the agreements,
which former Gov. George Sinner
signed over a four-month period in
1992.
Under the compacts, the tribes
agreed to provide independent audit
Records cont'd on pg 3