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

              Wech Lake Members lead suit against
indicted tribal officials
By Jeff Armstrong
At least 250 members of the
Minnesota Chippevva Tribe filed suit
in federal court June 30, seeking an
injunction to block indicted tribal
officials from receiving an estimated
$3 million in state payments in July
for the suspension of hunting and
fishing rights and immunityfrom state
taxes.'
No hearing date has been set by US
District Judge Richard Kyle, but the
court has granted a request to waive
filing fees due to the inability of the
plaintiffs to pay. The lawsuit asks
that the injunction "be granted with
all due speed," in light ofthe fact that
the payments are due "within the next
several weeks." Plaintiffs claim that
if there is any delay, "irreparable harm
will be done to the members of the
Leech Lake band of Chippevva
Indians."
Initiated by Leech Lake activist
Walter (Frank) Reese and signed on
to by mostly fellow reservation
members, the suit names as defendants
Alfred (Tig) Pemberton and Daniel
Brown, who sit on the six-reservation
MCT's Tribal Executive Committee,
in addition to serving as the Tribal
Chair and Secretary Treasurer of
Leech Lake. Brown and Pemberton
were indicted last month on
conspiracy charges for allegedly
collaborating with state senator and
former MCT Chief Judge Harold
(Skip) Finn in an insurance scheme
to defraud the band of more than $1
million. A third band council member,
Myron Ellis, is serving the remainder
of a 90-day incarceration in
Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary,
where he was sentenced April 12 for
participation in the fraud.
Pemberton and Brown remained
unavailable for comment, failing to
return press calls.
Reese, a longtime reservation activist
and former candidate for Leech Lake
tribal chair, said funds from
agreements with the state of
Minnesota are not subject to the same
reporting requirements as federal
revenue. "The only place that nobody
has any monitoring is the compacts
they have with the state for hunting
and fishing and taxes," said Reese.
Because Chairman Pemberton and
Secretary Treasurer- Brown have
virtually sole discretion over the use
of reservation funds, Reese said, the
transfer of state payments would
amount to padding the pockets of
corrupt official at the expense of tribal
members. "Right now they can just
write vouchers for themselves or any
of their friends. What we're trying to
do is to put an injunction on them
from using that money for their own
personal use. According to the (MCT)
Suit cont'd on pg 5
LL Members lead suit against indicted officials/ pg 1
PPL, Two or More, and AIOIC receive grant/ pg 1
Fond du Lac Follies by Jim Nortrup Jr./ pg 3
Native reviews of 'Pocahontas'/ pg 4
Indigenous nations unite at Alaska conference/ pg 8
Voice of the Anishinabek (The People)
3
PPL, Two or More, and AIOIC partnership receives $1 million grant
Fifty Cents
Minneapolis, MN - Project for
Pride in Living, Inc. (PPL), Two or
More, and American Indian OIC
Community Job Training Center
(CJTC), in partnership, have received
a $1,000,000 Youthbuild Implementation grant from the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD).The grant will be used to provide training in building trade skills,
educational services, apprenticeships,
and job placement for at-risk youth
and young adults.
The excitement of this joint community project is its ability to offer a
comprehensive job skills and job
placement program for inner-city
young people most in need of positive alternatives to limited employment opportunities and the attraction
of fast-money schemes that increase
the incidence of crime and unsafe
streets.
The Youthbuild Program enables
young people to participate in the
renovation of inner-city houses, where
they gain valuable hands-on work experience and job readiness skills. At
die same time, participants attend academic classes directed toward earning a high school diploma, GED certificate, or post secondary degree. In
addition, the community gains increased availability of safe, affordable
housing for low-income families and
homeless persons.
PPL will provide the first phase of
housing construction training, work
experience and leadership training
primarily to high school aged (16-18)
youth, and will function as a "feeder"
ofyounger
participants to Two or More, CJTC,
and other programs. Academic classes
will be provided by local accredited
high schools. Upon graduation from
Grant cont'd on pg 3
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded   in 19B8
Volume 7    Issue Et
July 7, 1995
i
A weekly publication.
Copyright, The Ojibwe News,  1995
Unequal Justice Similar offenses, different treatment
By Jeff Armstrong
Leon Butcher and Craig Pouliot
were accused of similar offenses, both
charged with recklessly causing the
tragic automobile death of a young
person or persons. But the vastly different treatment accordedth'
provides a useful glimpse into why it
is so often argued that a dual system
of justice exists in northern Minnesota.
In one accident, a white couple died
in a high speed chase by a relative of
the Native man they had run down
with their Chevy Blazer during a racially-charged confrontation. Leon
Butcher pursued the drivers of the
vehicle which had apparently deliberately injured his cousin, Roland
Hunt. According to a first-hand account from a passenger in the Blazer.
the vehicle overturned when the
,nked the
wheel towards the left' while traveling at 100 m.p.h. speeds. Eiynk and
his wife Anji died, while the remaining three passengers were injured.
Hunt died several months later of intestinal bleeding, an injury possibly,
but not definitively, linked to his be
ing struck by the victims ofthe ensuing auto accident.
As Butcher's attorney, Zenas Baer,
persuasively argued in court, Butcher
was immediately identified as the culprit by Cass County Sheriff's Deputies. He was questioned without being read his Miranda rights, charged
with second decree mpider bv Count)
Attorney Earl Maus, and held on
$250,000 bail—a staggering amount
which went unchallenged by then-
Leech Lake public defender Larry
Kimbaii, who now works directh for Nation s symbol deserves constitutional protection
Justice cont'd on pg 4
Desecration or freedom of speech/expression? Native people have fought both against and for the U.S.A.
Native Americans have fought in every conflict since World War I, in larger numbers than any other minority.
Dispute over spear fishing could end up in
federal court
LELAND, Mich. (AP) _ A tribal
fisherman's longstanding quarrel
with local officials over spear fishing
could end up in federal court as a test
case of Indian rights to fish, hunt and
gather.
George "Skip" Duhamel pleaded
no contest Thursday to possessing an
illegal fishing device. In return,
Leelanau County Prosecutor Tom
Aylsworth dropped three related
charges.
Duhamel, 34, could be fined $500
and jailed for up to 90 days.
"The importance isn't my freedom
or my fines or what they will do to
me," he said. "Just because I've done
this doesn't mean I've given up. It is
the best way, I feel, to establish these
rights sooner. My spirit is not broken."
Duhamel said he entered the plea
bargain so the case could be taken to
federal court sooner.
He is a member of the Grand
Traverse Band of Ottawa and
Chippevva Indians. Inspired by the
case, the tribal council has agreed to
start pressing for Indian hunting,
fishing and gathering rights.
Tribal attorney Bill Rastetter said
the tribe now must decide whether to
seek U.S. Justice Department backing
in a federal case aimed at clarifying
tribal rights.
The tribe and four others that signed
an 1836 treaty with the U.S.
government are considering filing a
separate federal complaint. The others
are the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of
Chippevva Indians, the Bay Mills
Indian Community, Little Traverse
Bay Band of Odawa Indians and Little
River Band of Ottawa Indians.
All five are drafting or have drafted
inland hunting, fishing and gathering
regulations. If the state recognizes
those regulations, a federal court case
would not be needed, Rastetter said.
Jim Ekdahl, the state Department
of Natural Resources' coordinator of
Indian issues, said it is too soon to
comment on potential negotiations or
litigation over inland rights. But he
predicted the matter would come to a
head within a year.
Duhamel said Rastetter advised him
to enter his no-contest plea, the legal
equivalent of conviction. If he had
fought the charges, the tribe would
have had to lay out all the arguments
it would use later in federal court.
And the tribe needs more time and
resources to plot strategy, he said.
Duhamel said the grounds for his
appeal to federal court will be that a
tribal court already convicted him for
the same incident. Tribal Judge
Michael Petoskey earlier found
Duhamel guilty of subsistence fishing
without a proper tribal fishing license.
District Judge James McCormick,
who accepted Duhamel's no-contest
plea Thursday, ruled that Petoskey
did not have jurisdiction in the case.
By Arne Carlson
St. Paul -- Amid the patriotism an
enthusiasm generated by the Fourth
of July holiday, there is a positive
surge in American values occurring
in the halls of Congress ~ in the form
of a proposed constitutional
amendment banning the physical
desecration ofthe United States flag.
In fact, the House of Representatives
has just overwhelmingly voted in
support of a Flag Protection
Amendment.
Some have criticized this move as
an assault on American ideals like
free speech. Just the opposite is true:
The Flag Protection Amendment
stands on its merits as a sound revision
to the Constitution and a reaffirmation
Symbol cont'd on pg 6
Analysis  suggest 46  questions  for
affirmative action programs
BIA reaffrims recall of six tribal council members
By John MacDonald
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) _ A special
Bureau of Indian Affairs commission
has upheld the recall of six members
ofthe Turtle Mountain tribal council.
The six, who had attempted to oust
Tribal Chairwoman Twila Martin
Kekahbah, violated the tribe's
constitution by meeting in February
without her or without elected Vice
Chairman Gaillord Peltier, according
to the ruling issued Friday.
The ruling was signed by tribal
government officer Paul Picotte of
the BIA's Aberdeen, S.D. area office.
It was the February meeting that
sparked a five-month dispute over
leadership on the reservation. The six
council members voted to elect a new
vice chairman while Kekahbah,
Peltier and Councilman Matthew
McLeod were in Bismarck meeting
with state lawmakers to discuss Indian
gambling records.
The six had accused Kekahbah,
Peltier and McLeod of illegally paying
themselves consulting fees before,
taking office in January.
Kekahbah said Friday that although
she is pleased with the BIA decision,
she believes supporters ofthe recalled
members will "continue to attempt
disruption," on the reservation in
north central North Dakota.
"I pretty much made up my mind
long ago that as long as the 'six-pack'
has an audience, they're going to
cause problems," she said in a
telephone interview after reviewing
the decision. "And based on that, I
hate to say this, but I don't think I can
let my guard down yet and I won't."
Carris LaRocque, one of the six
councilmen recalled during an April
11 election, told KMOT television he
and the other five council members
will appeal the BIA decision to the
Interior Department's Board of Indian
Appeals.
The other five recalled council
members could not be reached for
comment Friday. None of them
Raphael DeCoteau, Bruce Morin,
Melvin Lenoir, Lee Gourneau or Doug
Delorme _ has published telephone
numbers in the Belcourt area.
Picotte, vvhom the BIA appointed to
look into the dispute, said that since
neither Peltier nor Kekahbah was
present at the February meeting, any
action taken then or at any subsequent
meetings is void.
"Action by the six members at any
meeting held by them where neither
officer was present are not recognized,"
Picotte wrote.
The six recalled council members
refused to recognize results ofthe April
11 election. Instead, they scheduled
their own election to recall Kekahbah,
PeltierandMcLeod. ButunderPicotte's
decision, thataction also wouldbe void.
*
By Pete Yost
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Because of
the recent far-reaching Supreme Court
ruling on affirmative action, federal
agencies must explore the origins and
workings of their own programs, the
Justice Department says.
A 37-page analysis by Assistant
Attorney General Walter Dellinger
that suggests 46 questions agencies
should answer was distributed
Wednesday to their general counsels.
Dellinger said a history of general
societal discrimination is not a
sufficient basis for affirmative action,
but if the discrimination is more
particular, a program "may satisfy"
the standard set in the June 12
Supreme Court ruling.
The court said federal racial
classifications, like those of a state,
mustserve a compelling govern-mental
interest and must be "narrowly
tailored." The case involved a program
for awarding federal highway
contracts, but it applies to other federal
affirmative action programs.
No affirmative action program
should be suspended before it is
evaluated, wrote Dellinger, who heads
the Justice Department's Office of
Legal Counsel. He added that the
questions he compiled are "a
nonexhaustive checklist" in the review
process. Among them:
What is the nature ofthe evidence
of discrimination? Are the statistics
based on minority underrepresentation in a particular sector
or industry compared to the general
minority population? Or are the
statistics more sophisticated and
focused?
Since the adoption ofthe program,
have additional findings of
discrimination been assembled by
Congress or the agency that could
serve to justify the need for the
program? If not, can such evidence be
readily assembled now? Has the
program ever been adjusted or
modified in light of aperiodic review?
Is there evidence of what might result
if the racial classification were
discontinued?
Particularly vulnerable, in light ofthe
court ruling, are programs that weren't
set up by Congress, Dellinger wrote.
Courts "are unlikely to accord" such
programs "the same degree of
deference." However, he said the high
court "hinted that atleastwhereafederal
affirmative action program is
congressionalfy mandated,... standards
might apply somewhat more loosely."
Also in question are affirmative
action efforts that make race or
ethnicity a requirement of eligibility
for positions or benefits. They "are
less likely to survive constitutional
challenge than programs that merely
use race or ethnicity as one factor to
be considered," Dellinger wrote.
Native American funds cut in House budget
WASHINGTON (AP) _ An $80
million program that helps public
schools educate Native American
children would be eliminated by cuts
that House budget writers want to
make in federal Indian programs.
The cuts approved by the House
Appropriations Committee this week
would close down the Education
Department's Office of Indian
Education, which runs the school
subsidy program.
Reservation schools that are
operated or funded by the Interior
Department's Bureau of Indian
Affairs would not be affected.
The Education Department
program pays for teachers' aides and
tutors as well as programs to
encourage Indian children stay in
school. At least one district uses some
of the money to buy gift certificates
for students with good attendance
records.
Along with abolishing the office,
the House committee approved a cut
of 3 percent in next year's budget for
the BIA and a slight decrease in
funding forthe Indian Health Service.
The BIA cuts would eliminate a
$2.6 million college scholarship
program and $10 million in
guaranteed loans for tribal businesses.
"If you understand that Indians are
at the bottom of the socioeconomic
ladder, any cuts hurt," Ada Deer, the
assistant Interior secretary for Indian
Affairs, said in an interview Thursday.
She said, "it makes no sense to cut
opportunities for education."
The Indian programs are contained
in an $ 11.9 billion appropriations bill
that funds operations of the Interior
Department, the U.S. Forest Service
and several other agencies. Overall,
programs funded under the bill were
cut 11.5 percent from current levels.
Republican congressional aides said
lower-priority programs like the
Education Department office were cut
to make sure there was money for
Budget cont'd on pg 3