The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1995-04-14

              MN Indian Gaming Assoc. President Myron
Ellis serves sentence at Leavenworth
By Bill Lawrence
Myron Ellis. Leech Lake Tribal
Councilmember and president of the
Minnesota Indian Gaming Association, began sening his 90-day prison
sentence April 12 at Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Leavenworth,
Kansas.
Ellis was convicted of misapplying
funds ofthe Leech Lake Band of Chippewa Indians. He plead guilty to accepting $13,345 in kickbacks from
Minnesota Senator Harold "Skip"
Finn, also a member ofthe Leech Lake
band and the band's attornev.
Finn illegally obtained the money
he paid Ellis by fraudulently billing
the Leech Lake band through his insurance company Resenation Risk
Management, Inc. (RRMI).
Finn pleaded guilty" to a similar
misdemeanor charge but changed his
plea at his sentencing hearing in
March when it became apparent U.S.
District Judge Rosenbaum was going
to sentence him to jail time. Now Finn
faces felony charges.
In addition to the 90 day sentence,
Judge Rosenbaum also required Ellis
to pay restitution ofthe $13,345 of
misapplied funds, a $5,000 fine and
placed him on 1 year supenised pro
bation after completion of his sentence.
Ellis made a March appearance before Judge Rosenbaum as well. At
that time the judge recommended that
Ellis sene his 90-days at the Federal
Medical Center Prison in Rochester,
Minnesota. However, the decision to
incarcerate Ellis at Leavenworth was
made by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons
regional office in Kansas City, MO.
According to George Hart at the
Bureau's district office in Minneapolis, MN, the bureau took into consideration Ellis' medical problems as well
as space available in placing him at
Leavenworth.
Myron Ellis serving sentence at Leavenworth/ pg 1
Art critics abound in the Big Apple/ pg 5
Hopi's vote down gaming/ pg 1
Bug School recognizes excellence/ pg 8
MAPP seeks support from 'Bud Grant group'/ pg 1
Voice of the Anishinabek (The People)
1
Ellis sentenced to 30 days and $1,280 in fines and court costs for 3rd DWI in ten years
In a related matter, the PRESS
just learned that Ellis pleaded guilty
on March 24, 1995, and was sentenced on April 10, 1995, for his 3rd
DWI in 10 years. According to Cass
County" court documents, Ellis' plea
agreement indicates that counts one
through three for the three DWI separate violations, driving over the
centerline and driver allowing open
bottle, were dropped.
The sentence stems from an incident which occurred in the city of
Walker, MN on April 8,1994. The six
charges against Ellis were subsequently filed on April 27, 1994.
In pleading guilty to his 3rd DWI
in 10 years, Cass Countyjudge Haas
sentenced Ellis to 1 year in jail and
a $3,000 fine, but stayed all but 30
days of the sentence, which is to be
sened concurrent with his federal
time and stayed $2,000 of his fine.
This means no additional jail time
and only one third of the maximum
money fine for the six charges.
Judge Haas also placed Ellis on
supenised probation and required him
to undertake CD evaluation and follow the recommendations. In addition to the $1,000 fine Ellis received
he was also required to pay $280 in
court costs and law library fees.
The
Fifty Cents
Ojibwvi
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
MAPP seeks support from 'Bud Grant group'
Founded   in 1988
Volume E    Issue 42
April 14, 1995
1
By Gary Blair
The Mille Lacs Anishinabe People's
Parry7 (MAPP) has rescheduled another protest for 9:A.M., Monday,
April 17, at the headquarters of
Hubbard Broadcasting in St. Paul,
Minnesota. Last Monday the event
was canceled due to the cold weather.
Regarding this Monday's protest,
the following press release has been
issued. From: Vincent Hill, Chairman of Mapp, Inc., P.O. Box 7282,
Mpls., MN 55407. Residence telephone (612) 722-6546.
MAPP, Inc., The Mille Lacs Anishinabe People's Part>7, AKA, The Mille
Lacs Anishinabe People's Discussion
Forum, will be conducting its second
protest demonstration against the
KSTP/ Hubbard Broadcasting Headquarters in St. Paul on Monday morning, April 17, 1995; between 9:00
A.M. and 11:00 A.M.
Hubbard Radio Broadcasting publicly insulted and demeaned American Indian people on 1-25-95, which
resulted in advertising revenue boycotting of Hubbard Broadcasting by
Minnesota Indian gambling casinos.
To recoup thousands of dollars of
valuable advertising money losses,
Stanley Hubbard and his daughter,
Ginny Morris, are currently proposing a suspicious peace treaty with
Marge Anderson, Chairman of the
Mille Lacs Ojibwe tribal council.
MAPP opposes this "Hubbard-
Anderson peace treaty" based on the
following: 1) The MN Indian gambling casinos in and of themselves do
not represent the best interests of, nor
are they cross-sectionally representative of, tribal enrollees residing on
and near reservations and in urban
MAPP cont'd on pg 3
A weekly publication.
Copyright, The Ojibwe Mews, 1995
Word from White Earth
By Gary Blair
According to federal investigators
in Minneapolis, the government's recent probe of voting fraud on the
White Earth resen'ation is now completed and has been submitted for
probable charges. In addition, the investigation into construction fraud
involving the building of the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen is near-
ing completion as well.
Nearly two years ago the PRESS
carried its first story on the
government's probe into corruption
on the northwestern Minnesota reservation. Early reports indicated federal
authorities were looking into the tribal
council's involvement in income tax
evasion, bid-rigging, kick-backs and
other illegal schemes.
Gordon Construction, Inc., the general contractor who built the
resenation's multi-million dollar casino, has been named in that investigation The construction company is
owned by Harold "Butch" Gordon who
is a resenation member.
Previously, the PRESS reported that
federal indictments were scheduled to
be sened at White Earth this month.
However, since Minnesota Senator
Harold "Skip" Finn, a Leech Lake
enrollee, withdrew his guilty plea to
federal misdemeanor charges in early
January, reports say prosecutors have
postponed those indictments. Finn is
expected to be recharged with a felony
for his involvement in a phony insurance scam that cost the Leech Lake
people millions of dollars.
The White Earth resenation has been
the focus of numerous news reports in
past months. Recently the PRESS reported that a "child pornography ring"
could be operating on the resenation
after a youth advocate announced the
discovery of a video tape involving
people she knew.
Additionally, reports that prostitutes
are active at the casino have become
Word cont'd on pg 3
.The sugar bush camps, like this one on Leech Lake Reservation, are nearing the end of the season in the
northland. Snow and ice have hindered some collecting and processing but reports indicate a good year.
Minnesota fights Indian-sponsored lottery
Ho-Chunk Nation president critical of study
on Indian gambling
BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. (AP)
_ A study of Indian-run gambling in
Wisconsin is flawed and incomplete,
the president ofthe Ho-Chunk Nation
Indian tribe contends.
Tribal president JoAnn Jones said a
study that said overall state economic
gains of $326.7 million from the 17
Indian casinos are reduced
substantially when the social costs of
compulsive gambling are included is
"counter to every other study we are
aware of on casino gambling."
Jones said the study for the
Wisconsin Policy Research Institute
"apparently fails to take into account
the tax benefits and reductions in
welfare spending attributable to
Indian gaming."
She said Ho-Chunk research shows
that Indian gaming will benefit state
taxpayers by more than $150 million
this year.
"The savings come from reductions
in Aid to Families with Dependent
Children (AFDC) and Relief to Needy
Indian Persons," she said Monday.
"Increased income and UC
(unemployment compensation) taxes
from casino employees and suppliers,
and increased sales and gas taxes
collected from customers, also benefit
taxpayers."
Tribe's vote rejects casino at Winslow
Washington, D.C. (AP) _ Minnesota is one of four states pressuring
telephone companies not to carry calls
to the 800 number of nationwide Indian-run lottery to protect their own
gambling revenues.
Announced last month by the Coeur
d'Alene tribe of Idaho, the National
Indian Lottery is designed to be played
with a telephone call and a credit card.
The four states, which have state-
run lotteries, say the Indian lottery is
illegal under state and federal laws.
AT&T has notified the attorneys general of Minnesota and Connecticut
that it won't provide a toll-free phone
network for the lottery. Florida and
Rhode Island also asked long-distance
companies not to sene the lottery.
AT&T and MCI have been negotiating with the tribe to provide the 800
senice. "We agree that there are some
questions about the legality of this,"
AT&T spokesman Mike Lordi said
Tuesday. "I presume we would work
with any attorney general who asked
us not to provide service."
MCI had no comment. In a letter to
the tribe last week, Sprint said it was
"not interested in providing service"
for the lottery.
Leaders ofthe 1,300-member tribe
said the game would be offered in the
36 states, plus the District of Columbia, that have lotteries. Tickets would
be sold by phone or mail for a minimum purchase of $5; orders would be
confirmed by mailgrams. The lottery
is set to start this fall.
"We're not going to blink. We're not
going to go away. We think for the most
part the phone companies are going to
hang in with us," said David Matheson,
general manager of the tribe's gambling operations. Matheson accused the
states of "economic racism." States do
not stop residents from using the telephone to gamble on lotteries in foreign
countries or through off-track betting
operations in the United States, he said.
The tribe has offered to share some of
the proceeds with all 50 states and with
Indian tribes that don't have gambling
operations.
State officials contend the lottery
would break state laws against betting
with credit cards and telephones and
violate a federal law against interstate
transmission of gambling information.
The National Association of Attorneys General recently passed a resolution declaring the lottery illegal
and urging the Justice Department
and National Indian Gaming Commission to block its operation. The
Justice Department had no comment
Tuesday.
"The bottom line goal is to see that
the lottery in the present form does
not go into operation," said
Minnesota's attorney general, Hubert
Humphrey II.
Lotteries generate nearly $10 billion
instate revenuesannually. Minnesota's
lottery turns back $80 million to the
state. Connecticut estimates that a national lottery would cut its state lottery
sales by 25 percent, or $50 million.
KYKOTSMOVI, Ariz. (AP) _ The
Hopis have survived for thousands of
years without gambling and should
continue to do so, their leader said
after Hopi voters rejected a casino
gambling proposal.
"It was a loud and clear message
that culture is more important and
more valuable than the money," said
tribal Chairman Ferrell Secakuku.
The final tally released this morning
showed a casino proposal losing, 986
votes to 714.
Turnout was unusually high as
residents of the resenation 190 miles
northeast ofPhoenix voted on whether
to authorize their government to
negotiate a gambling compact with
the state of Arizona. More than 6,000
members ofthe 10,000-memberHopi
tribe were eligible to vote.
For comparison, about 800 voters
cast ballots in December 1993 when
the Hopis updated their constitution.
Tuesday's turnout was about twice
that.
The Tribal Council authorized the
referendum after gaming companies
inquired as to the tribe's potential
interest in casino gambling operations
like those many other tribes have
embraced. Secakuku approved ofthe
vote but opposed turning to gambling.
"I believe the gaming (issue) is
over," he said Tuesday after votes
were tabulated. "We have survived
thousands of years in a harsh land.
Hopefully, we're here to stay another
thousand years."
Secakuku said the tribe, which still
needs revenue andjobs, now will look
to its taxing authority, pointing out
that a tax code already is under
development. And the tribe will take
a new look at its Winslow industrial
park for other possible use.
The tribe estimated the casino _
which under state law could have up
to 900 slot machines _ could have
brought $15 million in annual
revenues while creating up to 600
Rejects cont'd on pg 3
Casino revenue seen as totaling $605 million a year
Parents vote to keep "Squaw1 in school name
SQUAW LAKE, Minn. (AP) _
White and Indian parents have
ovenvhelmingly rejected a proposal
to change the name of Squaw Lake
School in northern Minnesota.
The Parent Teacher Council voted
26-2 Thursday night to keep the name
of the elementary school in Squaw
Lake, a town of about 140 people on
the Leech Lake Indian Resenation.
Teenagers Angie Losh and Dawn
Litzau have campaigned to eliminate
the   term,   "squaw,"   from   all
geographic names in the state. They
say it is derogatory reference to
American Indians and a French
corruption of the Iroquois word for
vagina.
About half a dozen lakes in Minnesota
are named "squaw."
The Cass County Board agreed to
change the name ofthe unincorporated
area where Losh lives from Squaw
Point to Oak Point. The community is
on Leech Lake, north of Walker.
A bill that would delete all such
geographic references in Minnesota
by mid-1996 passed unanimously in
the state Senate and is awaiting action
on the House floor.
Principal Margaret Kilpela said
white and Indian parents both
expressed the view that the term was
offensive only when used in a
derogatory manner.
The parents' vote will be relayed.to
the school board, which has the
ultimate authority to make a name
change, Kilpela said.
MILWAUKEE (AP) _ Wisconsin's
17 tribal casinos likely generate total
gross revenue of about $605 million a
year, and most of the wagering is
done by lower-income people and
retirees, a study has found.
The study, prepared for release
Monday, was done for the Wisconsin
Policy Research Institute, a
consenative think tank, by Professors
William Thompson and Ricardo
Gazel ofthe University of Nevada at
Las Vegas and Dan Rickman of
Georgia Southern University.
A survey of casino patrons found
more than one-third of respondents
were retired, nearly 80 percent were
Wisconsin residents, the average total
wager per visit was $101 and the
average loss per visit was $50.
"The average person inteniewed
had a household income between
$20,000 and $30,000 per year. More
than one-fourth had incomes below
$20,000, with 10 percent below
$10,000," the study said. "Only one
in eight had incomes above $60,000."
The report said that, based on survey
results and assumptions built on
gambling experiences elsewhere, the
researchers concluded the 17 casinos
had likely total gaming revenue of
$605.4 million, plus another $60.5
million in non-gaming revenue.
Information for the report was
obtained in inteniews last year with
a total of 697 patrons of Potawatomi
casinos in Milwaukee and Carter, the
Ho-Chunk casino at Baraboo, and the
Oneida casino near Green Bay.
Researchers also used car counts in
casino parking lots to gather data on
home states of the players.
The report concludes that economic
gains for local areas should be
interpreted in determining future state
policy on casino gambling, "with
casinos as being transfer payments
from the rest of the state and out-of-
state patrons."
"The economic gains have assisted
inachievingvery positive community-
growth projects, and they may
continue to do so," it said. "However,
the gains also must be seen largely as
being the result of gambling activity
by lower-income persons and
retirees."
The institute described Thompson
as the nation's leading expert on
casino gambling. Gazel is a UNLV
assistant professor of economics, and
Rickman, a professor of economics,
is a specialist in statistical modeling.
Inouye urges Native Americans to fight for rights
group's annual conference that is   after his speech. "Well, they've been
being held in Waikiki this week.        waiting for over a century now for the
Inouye, who is Vice Chairman of  promises to be kept, I think it's about
HONOLULU (AP) _ It's high time
all Americans understand the laws of
the land had been violated and that
American Indians have paid their
dues, said Sen. Daniel Inouye in a
speech on Monday to the National
Indian Housing Council.
His comments came during the
the Indian Affairs Committee, urged
native Americans to take a stand.
"They were promised security, they
were promised housing, health care
and education," Inouye told reporters
time.
Inouye also urged the council to
tour Hawaiian homelands, so they
could better understand the ongoing
problem.