The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1995-12-28

              Dig sheds light on Stone Age nomads
Evidence that nomadic
people lived along the
Yellow Medicine River
Granite Falls, MN (AP) - It took
them three days and 115 centimeters
of soil to travel back in time about
8,000 years. A team of archaeologists
has found evidence that nomadic
people lived along the Yellow
Medicine River near its confluence
with the Minnesota River in the stone
age, hunting huge bison with stone-
tipped spears and gathering wild
plants.
Traveling in communities of
between 30 and 100 people, the
nomads lives were rugged at best, and
"very harsh in winter," according to
LeRoy Gonsior, an archaeologist with
the Minnesota Historical Society.
"Winter was the defining time," said
Gonsior ofthe ancient society that he
and three colleagues have uncovered
by probing the rich soils where the
Yellow Medicine and Minnesota
rivers andHawk Creek come together.
Starting in early November, the
team made 17 excavations of plots 2
meters square and 115 centimeters
deep in Upper Sioux Agency State
Park. The treasures they found are as
valuable as anything discovered in
King Tut's tomb, only the currency is
different. The area contains a wealth
of knowledge, not gold. Small pieces
of stone called chert, bison bones and
charcoal ash are the rewards of six
weeks of work.
For the Paleo-Indian people of 8,000
years ago, this was almost certainly a
place to find refuge and food in winter.
It's probably also the place where they
met in the best of times; their
Nomads / cont'd page 3
Voice ofthe The People
1
Arizona state gaming officials question
tribe's poker games in casinos
IGRA defines Class 2 games as those in which the
players do not play against the house
Pboenix, AZ(AP)— The lawfulness
of poker games being operated out of
theFortMcDowelllndian Community
*is being challenged by state gaming
officials. Questions about the way the
tribe collects a fee for each hand dealt
and the way it takes a cut from the
card-room jackpot were raised in a
letter sent to the tribe earlier this
month by the state gaming
department.
Director Gary Husk said the tribe
may be operating the poker games as
casino-style gambling, which would
be a violation of the tribe's compact
with the state. Only slot machines
and keno parimutuel wagering are
allowed under the tribe's compact.
Fort McDowell, which is located
near the Phoenix suburb of Scottsdale,
opened its card room three years ago.
Tribal officials said the games were
non-casino style, or Class 2, as defined
by the federal Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act. "The state is saying
that the way we are making a profit
from these games is illegal," Tribal
Chairman Clinton Pattea said. "We
thought they were Class 2, Now,
they're saying that they're not."
The gaming department letter
marks the first time that any agency
formally has raised the issue with
tribal officials, althoughsomegaming
regulators and investigators privately
have said the games were being
operated as casino games ever since
the room aes opening. "Weaere looking
at whether the gam js meet the Class
2 requirements," saidHusk,who hopes
to meet with tribal officials next week
to discuss the games.
For each hand of poker dealt at Fort
McDowell, the casino collects a $2
fee from the winnings. In addition,
the dealer collects a $1 fee from the
pot. The Indian Gaming Regulatory
Act defines Class 2 games as those in
which the players do not play against
the house, meaning that the house
does not have a stake in the game, as
it does in blackjack.
Games / cont'd page 3
Native
Fifty Cents
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded in 1 SOB        Volume B   Issue 11        December 28, 1995
1
A weekly publication.
Copyright, Native American Press,   1995
Sitting Bull's surrender site proven
Williston,ND(AP)- Itisafactthat
Sitting Bull surrendered to the U.S.
military at Fort Buford in July 1881,
but no one knew for sure exactly in
which building the ceremony took
place until now.
After a year of research, Fort Union
Site Supervisor Paul Hedren said he
has concluded that SittingBull handed
over his rifle in Commanding Officer
DavidBrotherton'squarters, which is
now a museum at Fort Buford.
"I think that we've dpcumesited with
absolute certainty that the building
that stands at Fort Buford today is the
very building in which the surrender
took place," Hedren said. "I think this
lends considerable new importance
to the site of Fort Buford."
It also provides an opportunity to
memorialize an American Indian
leader who was born, reared, and died
in this area, and who put his people
first and reacted with dignity to the
changing face of the plains, Hedren
said.
"This state has done quite a job of
embracing Custer and embracing
Roosevelt, whoare adopted sons. But
SittingBull is arguably NorthDakota's
most famous native son," Hedren said.
"And here is an episode in our back
yard, here in Williston."
Poring over an assortment of
published and unpublished documents
at Fort Union, the state Heritage
Center in Bismarck and the National
Archives in Washington, Hedren said
he pieced together a more specific
picture of that summer day. While
soldiers at the fort went about their
ordinary routine so as to not alarm
Sitting Bull, some 35 male tribe
members and 15 whites crowded into
Bxathsrton's a^oiiung sU'ingv
and parlor, Hedren said. The crowd
Site / cont'd page
Leech Lake Anishinabe warming up their drum for the new year.
"Nineteen hundred and ninety-five: The NAP Year in Review-
By Jeff Armstrong
You read it here first: 1995 in the
Native American Press/Ojibwe News.
NAP Jan. 20 Mille Lacs band announces plans to open spearfishing
season in wake of favorable 1837
Treaty ruling; tribal chair Marge
Anderson proclaims 1995 the year of
the child.
NAP Jan. 27 Wisconsin Anishinabe bands (but none from Minnesota)
request intervenor status in Mille Lacs
treaty case. Lower Sioux Chairman
Jody Goodthunder fired upon in
home. Myron Ellis, Leech Lake RBC
rep. and president of the Minnesota
Indian Gaming Association, set for
jury trial on 3rd DWI.
NAP Feb. 3 Senate Ethics Subcommittee defers action on Skip Finn, vice
chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, until sentencing on guilty plea to
misapplying Leech Lake finances.
Mescalero Apache overwhelmingly
reject NSP-led plan to store nuclear
waste from all over U.S. on reservation.
NAP Feb. 10 Leech Lake students
Angie Losh and Dawn Litzau succeed
in removing term "squaw" from geographic names in Minnesota. Roy
Martin acquitted on sexual assault
charges after being held six months
with virtually no supporting evidence.
Leon Butcher of Leech Lake charged
with murder for pursuit of vehicle
which ran down his cousin.
NAP Feb. 17 Turtle Mountain
Chair Twila Kekahbah defies order to
appear in tribal court to explain consultation fees. Mescalero tribal housing employee begins "petitioning" for
a new vote on nuclear storage.
NAP Feb. 24 Red Lake members
launch petition seeking recall of tribal
council. Casinos pull advertising from
KSTP after racist remarks aired; Hubbard Broadcasting makes concessions.
Red Lake boy's basketball team undefeated at 19-0.
NAP March 3 14-year-old White
Earth girl charged with murder in
stabbing of mother's abusive mate.
Mpls. Natives continue challenge of
affirmative   action   hiring   of
unenrolled "Indians" in City Fire Department.
NAP March 10 Sen. Skip Finn
withdraws guilty plea after learning
of prison time, now faces felony
charges. Red Lake Warriors remain
undefeated in winning semifinals,
advance to title game with Bagley.
NAP March 17 Myron Ellis sentenced to 90 days prison for role in
Leech Lake insurance scam 50 members of Mille Lacs Anishinabe Peoples
Party protest near Grand Casino, call-
ingfor Marge Anderson's resignation.
NAP March 24 Former detox employee Irene Wade Benjamin sues
Hennepin County for retaliation
against her for complaining of maltreatment of Native clients. Finn
claims tribal sovereignty precludes
discipline by MN Senate; Ethics chair
Ember Reichgott Junge vows to move
forward with hearing.
NAP March 31 Ethics subcommittee asserts power to subpoena witnesses for Finn hearing, set for April
21,22. MAPP seeks support from Bud
Grant's treaty rights opponents.
NAP April 14 Myrtm Ellis sentenced to Leavenworth, reportedly on
paid leave from RBC.
NAP April 21 MN Court of Appeals hears case, will determine
whether tribal casino management
company possesses sovereign immunity from suit.
NAP April 28 Tim LaRose and
family challenge state jurisdiction
over child custody, mandatory public
school attendance.
NAP May 5 Alignment with anti-
treaty forces spurs dissent within
MAPP. Pam Smith regains custody of
her daughter after 12 years of placement by Fort Berthold in abusive foster homes.
NAP May 12 PraMe Island Dakota
remain divided over enrollment, election issues. Spearfishing in Wisconsin nets record walleye haul.
NAP May 19 Mille Lacs drinking
water fails to meet EPA standards.
Grand Casino employee files discrimination charge against company.
NAP May 26 Prairie Island member Dennis Wells charged in state
court for third time with trespassing
for entering tribe's casino. Ponemah
family fights Red Lake/Beltrami
County social services, courts for return of children removed from home
without hearing.
NAP June 2 BIA director Ada Deer
blocks Shakopee Mdewankanton
from lowering enrollment standards
in constitutional amendment vote.
NAP June 9 Leech Lake Secretary
Treasurer Dan Brown, Tribal Chair
Tig Pemberton, and former tribal attorney Skip Finn indicted for stealing $1 million in reservation funds;
members call for immediate financial
oversight and end to recognition of
indicted officials.
NAP June 16 Leech Lake members
demand meeting with MCT Tribal
Executive Committee over indictment
of top officials; BIA Superintendent
Frank Annette says Bureau will continue "business as usual perspective."
Finn pleads innocent to 24 federal
charges.
NAP June 23 Gaiashkibos voted
out as Lac Courte Oreilles chair.
NAP June 30 Mahnomen County
deputy Kevin Penner arrested, accused of raping White Earth women
at least "40-50 times;" numerous
counts of excessive force and abuse
of authority. Resort owner on White
Earth charges reservation youths to
use beach on stolen land.
NAP July 7 Backed by 250 tribal
members, Walter Reese sues indicted
Leech Lake officials in attempt to
block RBC access to state payoffs for
hunting, fishing and tax rights.
NAP July 14 Hennepin County jury
finds unanimously that the Native
American Press/Ojibwe News did not
libel Indian Health Board director
Norine Smith in a series of articles
on the subject. MN Appeals Court
finds Little Six, Inc. immune from suit
by former employee. Cass County argues that state funding for Bug-o-nay-
ge-shig school extends state jurisdiction; state witness Indian Education
director Yvonne Novack disagrees.
Leech Lake Housing countersued for
negligence by Silas and Carol Blue
in response to federal eviction pro
ceedings.
NAP July 21 PRESS investigation
finds inflated, possibly illegal, rent
charges to IHB by COPE 1 holding
company. Haudenosaunee Six Nations
Confederacy presents U.N. with $700
million proposal to clean up Great
Lakes;
NAP July 28 Cass County District
Judge Michael Haas determines that
state has no jurisdiction to enforce truancy laws on reservation. Fond du Lac
announces closure of Spotted Eagle
elementary school in Duluth.
NAP Aug. 4 Red Lake member
Chad Thompson, the father of a two-
and-one-half year old boy killed on
the St. Croix reservation in Wisconsin, demands justice after a botched
investigation by county sheriffs results
in light sentences. Previous investigations into abuse of the boy by his
mother'sboyfriend were hampered by
a jurisdictional dispute between Red
Lake ^nd St. Croix.
NAP Aug. 11 Described alternately
as moving and chaotic, the North
American Indigenous Games are held
in Blaine, MN. Ottertail Power cuts
electricity to Leech Lake four-plex at
RBC's request in effort to evict
Michelle LaRose. Hennepin County
Medical Center seeks to collect bill
from Native men transported there in
police car trunk, after successful civil
rights suit.
NAP Aug. 18 Heart of the Earth
Survival School director Tim
Woodhull and board president Clyde
Bellecourt shakeup school staff amid
accusations of mismanagement and
arbitrary rule.
NAP Aug. 25 50 members of
Keeweenaw Bay Anishinabe reservation in Michigan take over Tribal
Center, demanding new elections and
the restoration of 202 members
stripped of full membership. The denial of voting rights to the 202 was
an effort to preserve Chairman Fred
Dakota's dictatorial hold on power
after his son failed to win reelection
as tribal judge and voters overwhelmingly rejected his attempt to create a
private management company to run
the tribe's casino. Cont'd Page 3
Finn's trial delayed
Attorneys for MN Sen. Harold (Skip) Finn, a
former Leech Lake tribal attorney, will have an additional month to prepare for Finn's trial on a 24-
count federal indictment for stealing more than
$1 million from the Anishinabe reservation. Finn
had been set for trial Jan. 8, but lead defense attorney Doug Kelley's scheduling conflict forced
yet another delay, according to a clerk for U.S.
district judge Michael Davis.
Along with co-defendants Alfred (Tig)
Pemberton, Leech Lake tribal chair, and Daniel
Brown, the reservation's secretary treasurer, Finn
is scheduled for trial Feb. 12.
The Cass Lake native was able to convince his
senate colleagues to defer any ethics investigation until the conclusion of what promises to be a
lengthy trial, and Finn may hope to stretch the legal proceedings beyond the legislature's tentatively scheduled April 15 adjournment date.
Kelley has also stated that the defense would
appeal a guilty verdict on jurisdictional and other
grounds.
N M tribes reject order to close casino
gambling operations by January
Los Angeles Times
DENVER - Setting the stage for an historic clash in court -- or
possibly on Native AmericanJands - the 10 tribes operating
casinos in New Mexico on Friday rejected a federal order that
they close the lucrative operations by Jan. 15 or face forfeiture of
their gambling devices.
Facing the loss of their economic base, a few of the tribes have
threatened to block federal authorities who try and pull the plug
on the games that employ more than 3,000 people and generate
$200 million annually -- plus millions more in commerce with
surrounding non-Indian communities
One ofthe tribes, the Pojoaque Pueblo, says it will close the
portion of state Highway 285 that runs through the reservation
and toward the Los Alamos National Laboratories to all but
emergency vehicles for at least one day starting Jan. 6.
"We are like a cornered, wounded animal," said Pojoaque
Pueblo Gov. Jacob Viarrial, whose tribe borrowed over $30
million to develop its "Cities of Gold" casino enterprises. "We are
willing to die or go to prison to protect Indian gaming."
The ultimatum from U.S. Attorney John Kelly follows banning
Las Vegas-style gambling in New Mexico and invalidating state-
tribal gambling compacts signed by Gov. Gary Johnson in March,
approved by the Interior Department and published in the Federal
Register as law.
At stake, Native American leaders say, are 150 similar
compacts approved in 24 states involving 123 tribes that use
gaming proceeds to pay for infrastructure projects, economic
(Gambling / cont'd page 3)
i