The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1995-07-14

              Appeals court rules Little Six immune to
SUit     Sites lack of direction from Congress, higher courts
By Gary Blair
"Little Six immune, court rules"
were the headlines on the front page
of the Minneapolis Star Tribune this
week. Behind the scenes, sources at
the Mdewakanton Dakota Community, better known as Little Six, Inc-
Mystic Lake Casino, wish there was
another way to handle the lawsuit
brought by former casino security
guard Jill Gavle who filed the appeal
after a lower state court ruled against
her.
Roseanne Campagnoli, public relations representative for the Shakopee
tribe said, "It's been messy, but we had
to defend ourselves." She added,
"You're the first media that's con-
Jury rules in
staffwriter in
MINNEAPOLIS _ A Hennepin
County District Court jury has
acquitted NAP publisher Bill
Lawrence and reporter Gary Blair
who were accused of libeling Indian
Health Board director Norine Smith.
Bill Lawrence was busy getting out
the newspaper in Bemidji and Gary
Blair's car hadbroken down, so neither
was in the courtroom last Thursday
when a Hennepin County District
Court jury acquitted them of libeling
Indian Health Board Director Norine
Smith.
No matter. Their victory in the 18-
month-old legal battle was no less
sweet, they said, especially because
they had represented themselves to
save legal fees.
Smith sued Bill Lawrence, publisher
and owner of the Native American
Press and the Ojibwe News, and Gary
Blair, a staff writer, last year over
tacted us since the ruling."
Gavle charged in her suit that
Leonard Prescott, then president of
the Mystic Lake Casino, forced her
to have sex with him during the time
that she worked there and eventually
fathered her child.
Gavle told the PRESS earlier this
year, "The first time he forced me to
have sex with him was in a $750.00
per day room in a downtown Minneapolis hotel. There he beat me when
I said no and later told me I was fired
when I told him that I was pregnant
with his child, then he threatened to
kill me," she said.
Gavie's complaint alleges a number of sordid incidents involving
Prescott for a period of time lasting
less than a year. Gavle, who is white,
also named two other Little Six officials in the complaint which includes
sexual harassment, defamation, assault and battery, race discrimination
and other offenses. Charges Prescott
and the others deny.
The three judge appeals panel issued a 15 page opinion that said Little
Six, Inc. had not waived its immunity against nontribal lawsuits when
it registered as a foreign corporation
doing business in Minnesota. The
panel stated in its opinion, "Our dec-,
laration that a tribal business corporation has no sovereign immunity for
off-reservation activities is unwarranted in the absence of direction from
Congress, the Supreme Court of the
Immune cont'd on pg 3
Appeals court rules Little Six immune to suit/ pg 1
Jury rules in favor of NAP in Smith libel suit/ pg 1
Leech Lake Housing sued for negligence/ pg 1
HR Comm. announces dispute res. project/ pg 3
CL AMVETS to participate in the dedication/ pg 8
Voice Of the Anishinabek (The People)
TI
1
Fifty Cents
favor of NAP publisher and
Norine Smith libel suit
seven articles published in the fall of
1993 that charged her with
mismanaging the Health Board.
Smith contended the information
in the articles by Lawrence and Blair
were "false, misleading
and...otherwise defamatory" and
damaged her professional reputation.
The stories said the board was more
than $80,000 in debt under Smith's
leadership.
The Indian-run newspapers, which
have a weekly circulation of 12,000,
are distributed in the Twin Cities and
in northern Minnesota.
Lawrence said their sources and
witnesses, including former Health
Board employees and board members
who criticized Smith, convinced the
jury that the stories were sound.
The verdict "was a victory for the
community," he said. "The
community rose up to challenge an
abuser and exploiter and chose to
use us as a vehicle."
John Bonner, the attorney who
represented Smith, said he and his
client were surprised by the verdict
and plan to appeal.
"The defendants tried to portray
themselves as victims and argued that
we were trying to put them out of
business rather than the real issues in
the lawsuit, that there were flat-out
lies about what, in fact, had
happened," he said. "1 think the jury
was thinking about something other
than the facts when they made their
decision."
Lawrence said the court battle has
cost him thousands of dollars in legal
fees, and he said his newspapers have
lost more than $30,000 in advertising
because of a boycott by casinos.
"They don't like or scrutiny. We're
kind of a reality check for tribal
governments," he said.
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All  People
Founded   in 1SB8
Volume 7    Issue 3
July 14, 1995
1
A weekly publication.
Copyright, The Ojibwe News,  1995
Leech Lake Housing sued for negligence
By Jeff Armstrong
A Leech Lake couple answered a
federal eviction suit by resen'ation
housing with a counterclaim for more
than $35,000 in damages stemming
data negligent management. Sued
for back rent in US District Court,
Silas and Carol Blue claim they began
withholding lease payments in
December 1990, when Housing failed
to repair faulty pipes which regularly
flooded their basement with raw
sewage. The Blues' suit against the
Leech Lake Resenation Housing
Authority alleges that the agency may
have contributed to Carol Blue's
miscarriage at the time by allowing
such unsafe conditions.
"I was carrying out raw sewage in
buckets," said Blue. "They wouldn't
come fix it because tliev said it was
my fault. But it turned out that it was
backing up because the pipes were
messed up," she said.
According to Blue, even minor
repairs took weeks or even months to
complete. On one occasion, the
Anishinabe woman said, she brought
a window in for repair in the fall and
did not get it back until the following
spring. "That winter wc had to block
off my daughter's bedroom and put
blankets around the window. But wed
see windows lined up all along the
Housing garage." she said.
Housing's unlawful dctainei el..:"
charges the Blues with failing to pay
rent from February of 1989 to
September 1994, seeking to collect
$3,000 from the couple. Although the
lease submitted with the complaint
Sued cont'd on pg 3
Native American Press/Ojibwe News celebrate recent court victory. Have a great day, We are!
Education official says state aid does not
buy jurisdiction
Runoff election scheduled at Ho-Chunk Nation   ByJefTArmstrong
BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. (AP)
_ The Ho-Chunk Nation, forced by a
tribal judge to hold a runoff election,
will select a tribal president and four
legislators next month.
During a June election, eight
candidates ran for president and
Chloris Lowe Jr. was declared the
winner with 32 percent ofthe vote.
But Judge Mark Butterfield ruled
the Ho-Chunk constitution required
winning candidates to receive a
majority of votes.
The runoff ballot will include Lowe
and incumbent President Jo Ann
Jones, who received 30 percent ofthe
vote. Butterfield said Jones should
remain in office pending the Aug. 15
election.
Four, four-year terms on the tribal
legislature also are being contested.
Tribal leaders discuss proposed cuts
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP)_ Proposals
to cut the Bureau of Indian Affairs
and the Indian Health Senice could
vastly reduce senices for Indians,
tribal leaders from three states said
Monday.
Gregg Bourland, chairman of the
Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe in South
Dakota, said spending for Indian
programs should be viewed as an
entitlement, much like Social Security
or Medicaid.
"My tribe ... gave up 80 million
acres so that half of the state of South
Dakota, a portion ofthe state of North
Dakota and a large portion of
Wyoming and Nebraska could exist,"
Bourland said at Monday's meeting
in Bismarck. "So who is more entitled
than us?"
Cuttingthe agencies'budgets would
amount to "just letting the bureau and
the IHS off the hook and freeing them
from what we think are their trust
responsibilities," said Russell Mason,
chairman of the Three Affiliated
Tribes in North Dakota.
The tribal leaders are also concerned
about a proposal to turn back $52
million to 17 tribes in the Dakotas
and Nebraska.
The BIA wants the tribes to come
up with a plan to divide the money.
The leaders said that could cause
squabbling between the tribes.
Jay Taken Alive, chairman of the
Standing Rock Sioux, expressed
bitterness at the size ofthe financial pie
the tribes are being asked to cane up.
"We're not talking about a regular
sized pie, we're talking about a pot
pie," he said. "And now we're taking
a look at this pot pie and trying to
divide it up some more."
The leaders said they are
considering court action to stop the
BIA and the IHS from implementing
the proposal.
In a jurisdictional dispute which
could have far-reaching effects for
Anishinabe residents of the Leech
Lake resenation, Cass County Judge
Michael Haas agreed to consider a
prosecution argument that state
funding of the Bug-o-nay-ge-shig
School allows Minnesota to enforce
state truancy laws on its students.
Haas has yet to rule on an April 17
motionbyTimLaRoseandPam Smith
challenging the court's authority over
two of their sons charged with chronic
absence from the Bug School, and a
related motion by Roxanne LaRose,
whose daughter at the Cass Lake
public school was also charged with
truancy.
But a public defender for Smith and
Tim LaRose said testimony by Yvonne
Novack, director of the MN Indian
Education office, at the confidential
July'11 hearing supported the
arguments of the defense. "I was
puzzled as to why the State of
Minnesota put that person on the
stand because she established that
there was no agreement in place to
grant the state jurisdiction," said
attorney Ted Lundrigan, who had
initially objected to Novack taking
the stand without prior notification.
While US Public Law 280 imposed
state jurisdiction over criminal law
on many reservations, juvenile
infractions are not generally
considered crimes.
Lundrigan said prosecutor Jon Eclov
cited only state statutes in his
arguments, which have very limited
applicability to the case. "It's still the
state's laws, and the whole question
in this case is whether the state laws
apply. Just because it's on the state
books doesn't mean they have any
right to exert it on the resenation,"
said Lundrigan. "Just because the
United States extends foreign aid to
other nations, that doesn't give them
the right to dictate the affairs of the
country receiving it. But that's
essentially what the state is trying to
do here, to tell the tribe how to
administer its educational system."
Novack said she testified that the
Bug-o-nay-ge-shig School, a BIA
contract school, receives
supplemental aid from the state to
even out funding with other districts.
She said, however, that there is no
explicit or implied waiver of
sovereignty involved in accepting
the money.
In fact, the language ofthe relevant
state law, MN 124.86, tends to
reinforce the principle of sovereign
immunity. The statute exempts tribal
schools from state election laws and
taxation, also providing for a process
through which "the school not be
subject to specified statutes related
to independent school districts."
Tim LaRose said the case is merely
a contemporary version of a
centuries-old US policy of breaking
up Native families and criminalizing
indigenous traditions. "They're
trying to say that they more or less
own us. Butyoucan'tbuyasovereign
government," said LaRose. "If we
aren't allowed to raise our own kids,
how can we pass on our culture?"
Hudson Casino plan faces opposition from
Minnesota Delegation
Kennedy praises 'Memominee Way" of
forest management
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ Some
members ofMinnesota's congressional
delegation have sent a letter to the
White House opposing a proposal to
convert a greyhound race track in
Hudson, Wis., into a casino.
They're joining forces with
Minnesota tribal leaders, who are
worried they'll lose money if a casino
is built so close to the border. Hudson
is closer to Minneapolis and St. Paul
than the casinos at Prairie Island and
Hinckley. It is closer to St. Paul
residents than Mystic Lake Casino in
Prior Lake.
"We have carried on an intensive
effort to stop this," Larry Kitto, one of
the lobbyists for the Minnesota tribes,
said last week. "This is a very serious
matter for Minnesota and Wisconsin
tribes."
Sen. Paul Wellstone, D-Minn., said
the delegation is involved because
Minnesota casinos provide thousands
of jobs for state residents. Wellstone
and the state's six DFL House
members sent the letter June 12.
Kitto said they have concentrated
their lobbying efforts on the state's
DFL congressional delegation because
Democrats would have more influence
on a Democratic president and Interior
Department secretary than a
Republican would.
The Minneapolis office ofthe Bureau
of Indian Affairs has recommended
approval of a casino in Hudson, saying
it would not saturate the casino market
in the metropolitan area.
The Minnesota Indian Gaming
Association submitted its own
economic study, by the Peat Manvick
accounting firm, which says a new
casino would take $ 114 million from
five existing casinos. But it said that
the impact could be as much as 30
percent to 3 5 percent, or $ 168 million
ofthe $450 million to $495 million in
casino winnings in 1993 and 1994.
The Florida interests who own the
St. Croix Meadows race track have
been losing about $7 million a year
since it opened in 1991. They formed
a partnership called Four Feathers
with three Wisconsin Indian tribes to
convert the track.
IfthelnteriorDepartment approves,
the tribes will buy the $40 million
track and 55 acres of land and install
a casino. The Washington BIA office
is considering the proposal. Bruce
Babbitt, secretary of the Interior
Department, would make the final
decision.
If Babbitt approves, Wisconsin Gov.
Tommy Thompson has the authority
to veto it. He has said several times
that he would do so.
KESHENA, Wis. (AP) _ The
majestic pines and hardwoods ofthe
Menominee Indian Resenation drew
praise fromvisiting environmentalists
looking for ways to manage tribal
resources in Canada.
"This forest is internationally
known," said Robert F. Kennedy Jr.,
a senior attorney for the National
Resources Defense Council. "It's
probably the most successful example
of a sustainable resource there is."
Kennedy, son of the former U.S.
attorney general who was assassinated
while running for president, and S.
Jacob Scherr, another attorney for the
NRDC, visited the resenation with
members ofthe Nuu-chah-nulth tribe
of- Vancouver Island in British
Columbia.
The Nuu-chah-nulth, a consortium
of 14 tribes in the Clayoquot Sound
area, is interested in the Menominee
forest as a model for its own resource
presenation program. It is seeking to
manage its timber differently than
the clear-cutting prevalent for decades
among commercial companies.
Clear-cutting "has caused
devastation ofthe coho salmon stock,"
said Clif Atleo, head of the Nuu-
chah-nulth delegation. "We want to
see them change how they look at
logging."
The group toured facilities of
Menominee Tribal Enterprises and
part of the forest. Kennedy praised
what he called a holistic approach to
forestry exercised by MTE.
"The way we should measure the
value of forest resources is by the jobs
and income they produce. ... A good
environmental policy is identical to a
good economic policy," he said.
In working with the Nuu-chah-
nulth, "we kept looking and the same
names kept coming up _ Menominee
and the Yakima tribe in Washington,"
Kennedy said.
"It's amazing that the only people
doing sustainable development work
are native peoples. It is the Menominee
way we're looking for _ a way to do
things that the Nuu-chah-nulth would
bring to Canada and change the way
the entire country is doing things."
Atleo said he wanted to take forest
management principles followed by
the Menominee back home to Canada.
Larry Waukau, president of
Menominee Tribal Enterprises, said
the delegation also should take away
strategies for working with
governments and industry.
"We hope they will better
understand how the different
institutions function within the forest
operation," he said. "We hope we are
helping with the presenation of their
culture."