The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1995-09-15

              Wadena 'faces the music' in federal court
By Gary Blair
Contempt for those recently indicted
for corruption on the White Earth resen'ation was apparent last Tuesday
when all six defendants made an initial appearance in federal court in
Minneapolis. The accused were ridiculed by many of the Indian people
who attended the two court sessions
where the defendants, as expected, entered pleas of not guilty.
Arraigned in the 44-count indictment alleging theft and embezzlement, election fraud, and money laundering were White Earth Tribal
Chairman Darrell "Chip" Wadena;
Jerry Rawley, the resen'ation's Secretary Treasurer, Committeeman Rick
Clark; White Earth enrollee Peter
Pequette; Leech Lake enrollee Henry
Harper; and White Earth enrollee
Carley "Baby Doll" Jasken.
Chip Wadena's arraignment was
held last and separate from the others
because of court scheduling.
Five of the accused were booked,
photographed, and fingerprinted before the hearings but Baby Doll was
already on file for a previous obstruction of justice charge, and others, that
took place last year while the investigation was going on. However, those
charges were withdrawn without
prejudice and Jasken, it was reported,
thought she was off the hook. Jasken
had been caught shredding election
documents requested by federal investigators probing the election fraud allegations. In truth, the U.S. Attorney's
Office had decided to prosecute Baby
Doll with Wadena and the others
rather than individually.
After his court appearance, Wadena
and his attorney, John Brink, left the
court house by a side door and ran
into a nearby parking ramp. They
were then followed by a group of angry protesters who had been waiting
for them to leave. The pair then
waited in the parking ramp for a time
before driving out. Brink was driving
a new, light-blue, Chevrolet Geo when
he appeared. He was confronted by the
protesters waiting at the exit. One of
the protesters shouted, "There's his attorney," as the car shot out into the
traffic.
Wadena, however, found a different
exit from the parking ramp apparendy
trying to avoid the crowd. Nevertheless, he turned back onto the same
street that the protesters and news media were waiting for him. Wadena
was driving his wife's new, black,
Cadillac Eldorado, one of the newer
new cars tribal members say he's purchased for her.
Upon spotting Wadena's resenation
license plates, some ofthe protesters
moved into the street and were yelling, "Thief!" as Wadena waited for
the traffic light to change. A television camera crew had positioned
themselves on the top level of the
Court cont'd on pg 3
Wadena 'faces the music' in federal court/ pg 1
Ojibwe man killed as Ontario police open fire/ pg 1
More facts on Finngate/ pgs 3 & 5
Turtle Mountain tribal judge impeached/ pg 6
Smoke Signals and Pow Wow Trail/ pg 8
Voice of the Anishinabek (The People)
i
Ojibwe man killed as Ontario police open
fire on land activists
The
Fifty Cents
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
By Jeff Armstrong
The Sept. 6 shooting of unarmed
Anishinabe protesters by Ontario
Provincial Police (OPP) has further
inflamed tensions in a summer marked
by Native resistance across Canada.
3 8-year-old Anthony (Dudley) George
was killed and 15-year-old Nick
George seriously injured when police
opened fire on members ofthe Kettle
and Stony Point Ojibwe bands
occupying a park and military base to
recover resene land appropriated
more than half a century ago. Dudley
George had been one of the first
members of a group known as the
Stoney Pointers to permanently settle
on the military base last July after a
federal court refused to hasten the
cleanup and return of more than 2,000
acres of Stony Point land.
Ontario police could not be reached
for comment, but they have offered
contradictory explanations, first
claiming to have been fired upon and
subsequently to be attempting to
protect an individual from a group
carrying baseball bats, or, variously,
to have fired on a bus attempting to
drive through police barricades.
Although the OPP has dismantled
roadblocks and withdrawn from the
park, they continue to maintain a
heavily-armed presence in the
surrounding area. Ontario Premier
Mike Harris says he will not negotiate
with the band unless and until it ends
its "illegal occupation."
But if the provincial invasion was an
attempt to intimidate Natives, it has
backfired on Ontario, according to a
Kettle and Stony Point band council
spokesperson. "At one point there
were less than 100 people involved,
but the ranks have swelled quite a bit
since the shooting," said Linda Henry.
She said the crisis has allowed the
Ojibwe cont'd on pg 3
Founded in 1988       Volume 7   Issue 1 2      September 15, 1995
1
A weekly publication.
Copyright, The Ojibwe Newe,  1995
Canadian Indians propose U.N.-style
peacekeepers for standoff
100 MILE HOUSE, British
Columbia (AP) _ Indians occupying a
cattle ranch they say is sacred land
proposed Tuesday using U.N.-style
peacekeepers to avoid violence with
police. A Canadian official rejected
the idea as "totally unacceptable."
The Shuswap Indians recommended
asking Indians from other countries
to keep the peace at Gustafsen Lake in
central British Columbia after
gunfight between the Shuswap and
police on Monday injured one person.
The province's attorney general,
Ujjal Dosanjh, rejected foreign
involvement, saying the standoff was
a law enforcement matter.
"To inject a third party into this
process, and an alien one at that, is
totally, totally unacceptable," he said.
Earlier Tuesday, a soldier driving
an armored personnel carriers that's
part of a police cordon around the
ranch was injured by a police stun
grenade. He was hospitalized with
undetermined injuries, said Royal
Canadian Mounted Police Sgt. Peter
Montague.
The idea of U.N.-style third-party
observers is part of the Shuswap Indian
group's negotiation strategy, said
spokesman Nathan Matthew.
"That is one ofthe issues that we are
trying to negotiate, to have
interveners, peacekeepers, monitors
to witness whatever happens at the
camp to ensure that there is due
process," he said.
The dispute has been simmering
for months but escalated in June after
a Shuswap named Percy Rosette
ignored ah eviction notice to leave a
small cabin on James Cattle Co. land.
Rosette and his supporters say the
land is sacred, the site of an annual
sundance ceremony, and never has
been ceded by treaty. About 3 0 people,
some non-Indians, are believed to be
in the camp.
In another Indian standoff, a
meeting Tuesday failed to convince
Chippewa Indians to leave an Ontario
provincial park that they claim is a
sacred burial ground.
Ontario Premier Mike Harris stuck
to his refusal to negotiate until the
Indians leave Ipperwash Provincial
Park on Lake Huron.
"When the government is taking a
hard line and so are some of our
Standoff cont'd on pg 6
Young artists took part in this year's 3rd Annual Traditional Pow Wow, Exhibition and Artist Gathering
in Mille Lacs. Participants were able to paint on refuse containers that would remain on site.      Photo by jco
Tentative agreement reached in public
defender turmoil
Wadena pleads not guilty, then faces
angry crowd    Indian leader chased after hearing
By Pat Doyle
StaffWriter
Minneapolis Star Tribune
One of Minnesota's most powerful
American Indian leaders faced two
opponents Tuesday: the federal government and a crowd of Indians who
packed a Minneapolis courtroom and
later chased after him with jeers.
The arraignment of White Earth
Tribal Chairman Darrell (Chip)
Wadena on charges of embezzling
hundreds of thousands of dollars from
casino construction was as much political theater as a court hearing.
It attracted a Who's Who of tribal
dissidents from several reservations
who long have voiced a variety of
grievances against their leaders, especially Wadena. He formerly headed
the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, the
umbrella organization for the White
Earth and five other bands and one of
the largest tribal groups in the nation.
In the courtroom, Wadena and five
other White Earth tribal officials and
election workers pleaded not guilty to
corruption charges. U.S. Magistrate
Judge Jonathan Lebedoff allowed
them to be free pending trial, which
is set for Oct. 30.
Outside the courtroom, a throng of
opponents wasn't waiting for a trial
court to pronounce a verdict. "Hey, we
got you, we got you, you're going to
jail," tribal member Dennis St. Clair
yelled as Wadena walked through a
gantlet of dozens of jeering people in
the hall outside the courtroom.
As Wadena left the federal building in Minneapolis, another White
Earth tribal member yelled, "Thief,"
and a crowd of Indians chased
Wadena and his attorney across the
street and into a parking garage,
where they waited awhile before driv
ing away.
Earlier, when Wadena was in court
waiting for the arraignment to begin,
he looked somber sitting at the defense table. About 35 Indians watched
him in the courtroom, and some called
out to him before Lebedoff appeared.
"It's about time," one young man
said, referring to the indictments.
"Shame on you," said White Earth
tribal member Roberta Brown, wagging her finger at Wadena, her cousin,
who didn't react.
At a separate arraignment Tuesday,
White Earth tribal secretary treasurer
Jerry Rawley, Tribal Council member
Rick Clark and three election workers also pleaded not guilty.
While Rawley and Clark conferred
with their lawyers in the courtroom
after the hearing, longtime White
Earth dissident Vernon Bellecourt
Wadena cont'd on pg 3
By Nate Bowe
Bemidji Pioneer
A Red Lake attorney who ran the
9th Judicial District Public Defender's
Office for nearly a year was placed on
administrative leave June 30~accused
of mismanagement and intimidation
ofthe district's 32 public defenders.
The 9th Judicial District includes
Bemidji and encompasses 17 counties
in northwestern Minnesota.
Chief Public Defender Marney
Stately, who earns about $66,000 a
year, was placed on paid leave while
her conduct in office was investigated
Ojibwe hockey great to be inducted into
Hall of Fame Henry Boucha to be honored
After years of thrilling hockey fans,
Indian people, Minnesotans, and
people of the U. S. with his outstanding
achievements in the world of hockey,
Henry Boucha will be inducted into
the Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth,
Minnesota on September 16, 1995.
The former Ojibwe skater led his
Warroad, Minnesota high school team
to the state bantam championship in
1964 before starring in the 1972
Olympics and going on to the pros.
In his first professional contest as a
member of the Detroit Red Wings in
1973, Boucha broke a record which
had stood for 41 years by scoring six
seconds into a game with the Montreal
Canadians. He went on the win
acclaim as the NHL Rookie of the
Year.
But just two years into a career with
limitless potential, Boucha suffered a
devastating eye injury in an attack
with the butt-end of a stick by Boston
Bruins enforcer Dave Forbes.
Although he played five more seasons
and underwent three major eye
surgeries, Boucha neverfully regained
his sight and was forced to retire in
1977.
Fond du Lac Tribal and Community
College recently created a scholarship
in Boucha's name to honor his
by John Stuart, who heads the public
defender's system statewide.
The Board of Public Defense asked
Stuart to investigate in May, after
receiving complaints from "about two-
thirds of the people who are employed
in the district, and seven or eight
judges," Stuart said in an interview.
For her part, Stately said through
her attorney, Andrea Rubenstein of
Minneapolis, "wedon'twanttodignify
it with any comments. There have
been a lot of unfounded statements
and weprefer notto respond to them."
But Stately earlier told the Native
American Press newspaper that she
ran afoul ofthe predominantly white
male enclave of the judicial district
simply by her presence, and by trying
to carry out the mandate for which
she was hired~to restructure and
racially diversify the defense system.
Employees told Stuart they were
afraid to discuss work problems with
Stately because "they were afraid of
being fired by Ms. Stately if they
brought up a problem," he said.
He gave the example of a 10-year
veteran public defender who called
the state office in Minneapolis to see
why his check was late. Stately found
out and "said he shouldn't go over her
Defend cont'd on pg 3
Indian leaders protest BIA budget cuts
WASHINGTON (AP)_ Hundreds
of American Indians flew into
Washington this week to dissuade
lawmakers from going fonvard with
a major cut in federal Indian programs.
They staged a rally and vigil at the
Capitol on Tuesday. One tribe put up
atepeevillageontheMall. The Indian
leaders also are doing plenty of old-
fashioned lobbying with members of
Congress and Clinton administration
officials.
"All ofthe Plains Indians are here
this week to get Congress to live up to
the promises ... to Indian country,"
said Caleb Shields, chairman of the
Assiniboine and Sioux tribe of
Montana.
The Senate approved a 15 percent
cut in the Bureau of Indian Affairs
that tribal leaders said Tuesday
amounted to an attempt to destroy
tribes by strangling their
governments.
"The United States is trying to
exterminate Indian people by non-
appropriation," Shields declared at a
news conference before the Capitol
vigil. He likened federal funds to the
buffalo that tribes once relied on before
they were destroyed in the 1800s.
Without the money, "we'llbe unable
to function as a tribal government
and provide services at the local level,"
he said.
In Oklahoma City, about 300 Indian
protested the cuts on the steps ofthe
state Capitol building.
The signs they carried read: "Cut
Foreign Aid, Not Native Americans,"
"Honor Our Treaties," and "Social
Welfare and Treaty Rights Are Not
the Same."
"Why Does Congress Want to Hurt
Me?" readasign carried byone Indian
child.
The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
from Minnesota bought a full-page
advertisement in the Capitol Hill
newspaper Roll Call saying the budget
cut would "hurt the most vulnerable
Americans."
Some 300 tribal leaders and
hundreds of other tribal members
Protest cont'd on pg 6
achievements as an athlete and
community leader. Boucha is
currently directorof Indian education
for the Warroad school district.
"We must recognize our people for
their outstanding achievements Henry
Boucha is a remarkable human being,
who is a great hockey player, a leader
in his community and an Anishinabe
icon," said FDLTCC President Jack
Briggs.
The induction ceremony begins at 2
p.m. Saturday at the Eveleth Hall of
Fame. Prior to that, Boucha will
appear in a parade and receive a
warrior bonnet from former Red Lake
Tribal Chairman Roger Jourdain.
Tribal official says boy's death will lead to
stricter enforcement
FLANDREAU, S.D. (AP) _ The
Santee Sioux Tribe plans stricter
enforcement of its dog control
ordinance after a pack of pit bulls
attacked and killed a 7-year-old boy,
a council member said.
Jeffrey Marshall Allen died
Thursday night when six pit bulls
attacked him as he rode his bicycle
road on a gravel road northeast of
Flandreau.
Council member George Allen Jr.,
a cousin ofthe boy's mother, said it
was illegal to keep pit bulls and other
vicious dogs on tribal land. But he
said the ordinance had not been
enforced.
"There's not supposed to be any pit
bulls or rottweilers or anything like
that," said Allen. "But we don't have
a dog catcher or animal control."
The boy's body was found on non-
tribal land, but the dogs had been
kept on a farmstead owned by the
tribe, said Allen.
No charges have been filed. Moody
County officials said they still were
investigating the case.
Allen said the council had been
discussing dog control for the last
two weeks. He said he knew of other
banned dogs that were kept in
Flandreau.
"They're not supposed to be here,"
he said. "Our ordinance says they
shouldn't.