The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1995-06-16

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U. S. Justice  Department continues
investigation at White Earth
By Gary Blair
The findings of a long awaited investigation that was first reported by
the PRESS two years ago became
fruitful June 7 with the.indictments
of State Senator Harold "Skip" Finn,
Leech Lake Resen'ation Chairman
Alfred "Tig" Pemberton and Secretary Treasurer Daniel Brown. Last
week's edition ofthe PRESS carried
the complete charges against the trio
involving an insurance scam that
bilked nearly one million dollars from
Leech Lake reservation's coffers.
Finn was the resenation's attorney at
the time of the alleged fraud and a
member ofthe tribe; Pemberton and
Brown are elected members of the
tribal council.
The federal indictments that were
issued by the U.S. Attorney's Office
in Minneapolis contained 26 counts
including theft, money laundering,
obstruction of justice and mail fraud.
The investigation that lead to the formal charges was conducted by the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Department of Interior, the same administration that oversees the Bureau of
Indian Affairs. All three defendants
appeared in federal court last week,
entered pleas of not guilty and posted
bail at $5,000 each.
In January of this year Finn withdrew a guilty plea to misdemeanor
charges when it became apparent the
judge was going to sentence him to
jail time. Now, Finn faces much
stiffer sentencing if found guilty of one
or all ofthe added felony charges.
The U.S. Attorney's office in Minneapolis is also rapping-up their investigation that involves alleged corruption on the White Earth Resen'a
tion. A large group of people is expected to be indicted as soon as another federal grand jury is seated. Anticipated to be charged are members
ofthe resenation's business committee members and some non-Indian
employees of the tribe. The charges
predicted in this justice department
round up include income tax evasion,
bid rigging, kick backs and election
fraud that involved the use ofthe U.S.
Mail.
It was reported on Tuesday of this
week numerous grand jury subpoenas
were sened at the White Earth reservation. Some people receiving the
subpoenas were involved in the voting/mail fraud investigation of last fall
where absentee ballots contained
names of deceased persons and others who didn't vote at all.
Justice cont'd on pg 6
Leech Lake RBC holds on to money, power
as members demand change
By Jeff Armstrong
In an attempt to fill the leadership
vacuum created by the indictment of
the top two officials ofthe Leech Lake
reservation, Anishinabe band
members publicly demanded a
meeting with the Tribal Executive
Committee of the six-reservation
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, a freeze
on non-essential Leech Lake
expenditures, and a suspension of
state contacts with indicted officials.
All three demands were promptly
dismissed, delayed, or disregarded by
the TEC, the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
and Minnesota Governor Arne
Carlson, respectively. Tribal, federal
and state officials pled lack of
jurisdiction, saying the crisis must be
resolved at the resenation level.
"We're kind of taking a business as
usual perspective in regard to tribal
programs to keep those programs
operating," said BIA Agency
Superintendent Frank Annette,
responding to requests for Bureau
auditing by about a dozen tribal
members attending a June 13 press
conference. The conference was
hastily called to speak out against a
closed-door meeting that day between
Gov. Carlson and officials ofthe 11
recognized tribal governments in the
state.
"They're one goddamned crooked
outfit—the BIA, the Chippewa Tribe,
and the RBC," fumed Lawrence
Gotchie as he exited the meeting.
"They're going to keep on ripping us
off as long as they can. The people
have to take action to get rid of 'em."
A spokesman for the ad-hoc group,
Franklin (Doc) LaRose, said the state
should not recognize the Leech Lake
officials, particularly in talks affecting
tribal sovereignty. "[The Leech Lake
RBC] had no right to deal with our
treaties, our inherent rights. And
now [the state] can use this as ,a
political bargaining tool to get out of
the situation they're in now, like
[White Earth Tribal Chair Darrell]
Wadena did with the White Earth
land claims. What we're saying is
they never had the authority to begin
with to deal with our treaties. They
should not be up there now under
indictment with that political tool in
their hands," LaRose said. "We don't
know what went on in negotiations;
we don't even know what's on the
table."
A letter sent to Carlson and MCT
President Norman Deschampe, signed
by LaRose and other grassroots
Change cont'd on pg 3
Exxon   Declares   Complete   Ban   on
Reservation Living
Bv Mel Rasmussen
For over forty years the United
States has declared its position in
determining a safe level of the quality of air and water within its boundaries. The formation of the Environmental Protection Agency and other
related governmental laws and agencies were created to protect the rights
of all of this country's citizens.
Today the Mole Lake Sokaogon
Chippewa Tribe of Northeastern Wisconsin finds itself embroiled in a debate about water quality standards.
The major plaintiffs in their development of water standards consist of
two totally unrelated entities. One is
a governmental entity and the second
is a corporate entity. These two entities are the Wisconsin Department of
Natural Resources and the Crandon
Mining Company, (CMC), a subsidiary of the Exxon Corporation.
The Sokaogan Band in keeping
with a federal mandate by the Environmental Protection Agency. (EPA),
recently implemented their tribal
water quality standards. Public hearings have been held for comment on
the standards. The Tribe, like other
tribal governments are playing
catchup to implement these standards.
Since EPA's inception in the 1970's
local, county and state governmental
units have been able to draw upon
federal moneys to upgrade and protect their natural resources and be in
compliance with the federal Clean
Water Act, (CWA). However, Tribal
governments have only in the last two
to five years been able to tap into federal funding to develop these standards. The funding for tribal entities
was not available prior to this time
window. In spite of this restriction,
the Sokaogan Band met its obligation
to fulfill the 1995 deadline set by the
o 24 federal charges/ pg 1
Justice Dept. continues investigation at WE/ pg1
LL RBC holds on as members demand change/ pg 1
Exxon Declares Complete Ban on Res. Living/ pg 1
Sandy Lake celebrates Centennial/ pg 8
Voice of the Anishinabek (The People)
1
The
Fifty Cents
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded   in 1988
Volume B    Issue 51
June IE, 1995
1
A weekly publication.
Copyright, The Ojibwe Mews.  1995
Federal Government.
On March 27, 1995 the Tribe issued its proposed Water,Quality St;i
dards. (WQS), and held open public
hearings. Open oral testimony was
taken at hearings and information
and comments taken in by the Tribe.
Since this time the Tribe has continued working with the EPA in refining its standards. The Sokaogon Band
has been informed by EPA that its
WQS meets the federal requirements
and approval of its WQS should not
be a problem.
CMC sent a representative to the
WQS hearings held in Mole Lake,
WI, but offered no testimony. A thirty
day window was kept open for written comments on the Tribe's WQS.
CMC rather than provide oral testimony followed through with a written comment package received just
prior to the deadline set by the Tribe
Exxon cont'd on pg 8
Photo by JCO
Native American women in the law profession were honored recently at a ceremony at Bemidji State University
(bottom row) Anita Fineday, Shirley Cain, Margaret Truer, (top row) Leah J. Carpenter, Michelle T. Paquin,
Patricia Keahna, and Marny E. Stately. Missing from the picture are E. Marie Butler and Dee Fairbanks.
Native American women  in the law
profession honored
By J.C. Ortiz
Respect and Honor was the theme
of a gathering to honor Native
American women in the law
profession. The event was held on
Saturday June 3, 1995 in the Beaux
Arts Ballroom on the campus of
Bemidji State University. Over a
150 family members, friends and
colleagues turned out to show
support for these women at the first
time event.
A flute performance by Dan Buffalo
opened the event followed by a
welcome by Carole Vandal, the host.
It was a very serene feeling with the
soft lighting, colorful flowers, and
candlelight centerpieces and
wonderful flute music as the evening
began.
The pipe ceremony was conducted
by Tom Stillday and Kathy Munnell
assisted, both spoke inspirational
words congratulating the women on
their achievements.
On several occasions the women
were respectfully referred to as
Ogiichidaa Equay (women warriors).
The women were honored for their
continuing efforts for our people.
Some ofthe women have been in the
struggle for many years.
Area community members planned
and volunteered to make this elegant
event a success.
The event was funded by the Otto
Bremer and the Ford Foundations.
Finn pleads innocent to 24 federal charges bi A Director says federal budgetcuts would
demanded that Finn resign
immediately, but the lawmaker told
reporters outside the courthouse that
he will not.
"I don't see why I would," Finn
said. "I'm not convicted of anything;
I'm not guilty of anything; I've been
accused of something."
Finn said he would not make any
decisions about his political future
until the criminal case is resolved,
which he expects will occur before
the Legislature reconvenes in January.
On Wednesday, a federal grand jury
indicted Finn on 24 felony counts.
Also indicted were Alfred "Tig"
Pemberton, theband's chairman, and
Daniel Brown, its secretary-treasurer.
Pemberton, who faces nine counts,
and Brown, who faces five counts,
pleaded innocent earlier. They also
were released on $5,000 unsecured
bonds.
By Mary R. Sandok
ST. PAUL (AP) _ State Sen. Harold
"Skip" Finn has pleaded innocent to
federal felony charges that he and two
others conspired to steal nearly $1
million from the Leech Lake Band of
Chippewa and to cover up their act.
The Cass Lake DFLer, a tribal
member who once served as its lawyer,
entered his plea Friday during a 10-
minute appearance before U.S.
Magistrate Judge Franklin Noel.
Finn was released on $5,000
unsecured bond, which Noel said
means he will pay no money unless he
fails to appear for future hearings or
othenvise violates terms ofhis release.
Trial was set for Aug. 14.
If convicted, Finn faces automatic
expulsion from the Senate.
Independent-Republicans   have
Justices rule congress limited by same strict standards
federal program that offered special The affirmative action.ruling's
help to small businesses owned by impact appears to jeopardize
racial and ethnic minorities.
It, sent the Colorado case back to a
federal appeals court for further study
of whether a federal program to help
minority businesses unlawfully
discriminates against white-owned
companies.
"Federal racial classifications, like
those of a state, must serve a
compelling governmental interest and
must be narrowly tailored to further
that interest," Justice Sandra Day
O'Connor wrote for the court.
The three are accused of engaging
in a conspiracy beginning in 1985 in
connection with Reservation Risk
Management, a tribal corporation that
administered the band's self-
insurance plan.
The indictment says the company
was controlled by Finn, and that
Pemberton and Brown were the band's
representatives on the company's
board. It accuses the three of cheating
the band out of nearly $1 million of
the $1.5 million the band paid to the
company in premiums.
The felony indictment follows
Finn's withdrawal in March of a guilty
plea to a federal misdemeanor charge
of misusing more than $13,000
belonging to the band. Federal
prosecutors then dropped that charge
and sought the more serious felony
charges from a grand jury.
be hard on tribes
SPOKANE (AP) _ Proposed cuts in
the federal budget would have a
devastating effect on Indian tribes,
the director of the U.S. Bureau of
Indian Affairs says.
Money for tribal welfare, child care,
job training, schools, libraries, senior
citizens and water systems could be
lost, BIA Director Ada Deer said.
"This is going to have a dire impact
on the lives of everyday Indian
people," she said Tuesday.
Deer was in Spokane for the
National Congress of American
Indians' midyear meeting, which
concludes Thursday. The NCAI serves
as an information clearinghouse and
lobbying group for 180 U.S. tribes.
Republican proposals for welfare
reform include replacing $60 billion
in federal programs with block-grants
for state programs, but Deer said
Indians don't usually fare as well
with the states.
Also, a proposed $214 million cut
in theBIA's$1.9billionbudget would
hurt roads, schools and economic
development on reservations, she said.
Some of the cuts amount to a
"termination" of the government's
treaty responsibilities to Indians, Deer
said.
"When these treaties were signed,
there was a lot of flowery language _
'As long as the rivers will run,' and
that sort of thing," she said.
"That didn't mean at the whim of
Congress. They (tribes) are not asking
for special treatment. They are asking
Congress to honor its obligations."
And Indian gaming does not seem
to be every tribe's ticket to self-
sufficiency, said Michael Anderson,
BIA's deputy assistant secretary.
About 100 ofthe nation's 500 tribes
run casinos and only about 20 are
making money, he said.
"Overall, most tribes are not doing
that well," Anderson said.
"The myth that gaming's going to
take care of all the needs is wrong in
many cases."
Tribal turmoil spills into housing, gambling programs
Bv Richard Carelli
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The
Supreme Court dealt a potentially
crippling blow to federal affirmative
action programs Monday, ruling in a
Colorado case that Congress is limited
by the same strict standards as the
states in offering special help to
minorities.
In a splintered and complex 5-4
vote in a case involving a white
Colorado Springs contractor, the court
stopped short of striking down a
programs under which federal
agencies award more than $ 10 billion
a year in contracts to minority-owned
firms in compliance with
congressional directives on
affirmative action.
Those programs have come under
attack as fostering "reverse
discrimination" against whites and
businesses owned by them.
The court signaled a fundamental
Strict cont'd on pg 3
BELCOURT, N.D. (AP) _ Former
members of two tribal boards who
were fired by Turtle Mountain Tribal
Chainvoman TwilaMartin Kekahbah
say the action threatens the tribe's
gaming and housing programs.
Kekahbah and her council made
appointments last week to 10 tribal
boards, including the housing board
and the gaming commission.
The council also voted to fire Don
Morin, the executive director of the
Turtle Mountain Housing Authority,
for what council members said was
financial mismanagement and
violation of employees' rights.
Morin shut down the housing
authority office Monday, and said it
will stay closed until the Bureau of
Indian Affairs recognizes a tribal
government. The BIA is expected to
do so within the next few weeks.
Morin said the council's actions
could cause construction delays on 60
new reservation homes because
federal Department of Housing and
Urban Development officials won't
know who to deal with.
"It's going to start affecting people's
homes now and their lives," he said
Tuesday. "It's too bad it's gone this
far."
"They'll get built," Kekahbah said.
She added that the council is working
to get even more homes built on the
reservation for the more than 200
people who are on a waiting list for
homes.  '
Kekahbah said she has asked HUD
to re-open the housing authority to
deal with immediate housing issues.
She said some workers are ignoring
Morin's order to stay home "because
they know they have a job to do."
Kekahbah refused to talk about the
dismissal of the gaming
commissioners.