The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1988-06-08

              Insular
Affairs
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The
Letters
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Our History
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Cook's
Corner
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Oji bwe
"News by and for the Ojibwe Nation"
News
Copyright Ojibwe News 1988
THIRTY-FIVE CENTS
Founded at Bemidji, Minnesota in 1988
Volume 1  Issue 3
Wednesday, June 8,1988
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601
Red Lake Sawmill Court Case
By Francis Blake
NEWS Correspondent
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT, Dockets Number 85-5272 and
97-5188. (Red Lake Band of Chippewa
Indians, Red Lake, Minnesota, and
Roger A. Jourdain, Chairman, Red
Lake, Minnesota, v. Earl J. Barlow,
Area Director, Minneapolis Area Office, and Rex Mayotte, Superintendent, Red Lake Agency, Bureau of Indian Affairs, United States Department of the Interior, Donald Hodel,
Secretary of Interior, U.S. Department
of Interior.)
Filed on May 2, 1988, the United
States Court of Appeals ruled on the
Red Lake Tribal Council's complaint
of August 3, 1983 to transfer $800,000
from the "Sawmill Account" [U.S.
Trust Account No. 14X7285] to the
operating budget of the Red Lake
Tribal Council. The Court rules to "require the Secretary [of the Interior] to
determine the viability of a forest products business on the Red Lake Reservation," in "an informal decisionmaking process." If the Secretary of
the Interior feels that this $800,000 can
be spent on forestry on Red Lake
Reservation, then this money will stay
under the control of the United States
Government, in the "sawmill
account."
Approximately 11.9 trillion dollars
($11,900,000,000,000.00)   worth   of
limber has been taken off,of the Red
Lake Indian land which the Red Lake
Indian nation kept under the 1863
Treaty (see map). The United States
Government has, under White Euro:
pean law, claimed Trusteeship over Indian people since 1824, explaining
"But now take a community that is not
free...a prison, an orphan asylum, a
regiment of soldiers. That is not self-
governing; that is under control; that is
a ward of the people. ... That is
precisely the position which we are in
with reference lo the Indians. They are
under control. They are our wards.
They are not free, not self-governing."
Under this trusteeship, the $11.9
trillion, which should be in the Red
Lake indian forest account has shrunk
to $800,000. According to the original
complaint filed by the "Red Lake
Band of Chippewa Indians, Red Lake,
Minnesota, and Roger A. Jourdain,
Chairman, Red Lake, Minnesota,"
this $800,000 trust accouni includes
"iribal income derived from ihe sale
and operation of iribal resources."
This suit was filed by "Tribal At-
torneys" Edwards, Edwards and
Bodin of Duluih. Tribal Attorneys are
"duly appointed" and approved by the
Secretary of ihe Interior. Under White
Unilcd States law, nobody can be sued
twice for the same thing. This suit,
along with all ihe cases heard by the
United States Court of Indian Claims,
is orchestrated, by the United States
Government and the attorneys which
ihe U.S. approves "for" Indian tribes,
to protect the United States from
future lawsuits over the liabilities
which the U.S. Government owes Indian people: reparations, payment for
land and resources stolen, damages,
compensation for genocide and forced
acculturation. The presenl case is also
a red herring to divert public attention
from the legitimate claims of Indian
people.
The Aci of May 18, 1916 (39 Stat.
123, 137-8), amended on August 3,
1956 and again on August 28, 1958,
used White law to "create a forest
reserve" oui of forest which had
already existed for hundreds of
thousands of years on sovereign Red
Lake Indian land. This Act, as amended, gives ihc Secretary of the Interior a
blank check to administer our forest
and operate ihe Red Lake Sawmill.
Seciion 9 of this Act reads, "...The
Red Lake Indian Foresi shall be ad-
minisiered by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with principles of
scientific forestry thai will encourage
the production of successive timber
crops for the benefit of the Indians of
the Red Lake Band, and he is hereby
authorized to harvest, sell, and
manufacture such marketable timber
from any tribal lands within the Red
Lake Indian Reservation as he may
deem to be advisable and, if the timber
is the growth of Red Lake Indian
Forest, in keeping with the foregoing
principles,...(b) to establish nurseries
and otherwise provide for the
reforestation of said lands, and to construct sawmills and other facilities for
the manufacture into marketable products of the limber harvested from said
lands... and (e) lo employ such persons
and use such means as he may find
necessary to carry out the purposes of
the foregoing provisions. Any proceeds derived from sales of timber or
limber products under this paragraph
may be expended in payment of the expenses of any of the activities authorized by this paragraph, including construction expenses."
According to the Solicitor's opinion,
July 31, 1951), "Under a provision in
an annual appropriation act which
states, without limiation or exception,
that tribal funds may be advanced to
Indian tribes for 'such purposes as may
be designated by the governing body of
the particular tribe involved and approved by ihe Secretary,' it is legally
permissable for the tribe, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Interior, to use ihe net proceeds from the
operation of a tribal sawmill for the
purpose of meeting supervisory and
scaling costs incurred in the sale of
reservation timber. ... in connection
with the sale of cordwood and cedar
from Little Pine Island." [The money
from the Little Pine Island timber has
disappeared.]
In 1958, the Bureau of Indian Affairs refused to recognize the Red Lake
Tribal Council, and the 1958 Amendment to the Forestry Act read that the
Secretary of the Interior could do
whatever he wanted to Red Lake Indian Forests "without Tribal
Consent" "because there was no
Tribal Council." Under these White
laws, the United States Government
can do whatever they want to what
they haven't already destroyed of the
Red Lake Indian Nation's forests,
without our consent. Secretary of the
Interior Douglas McKay explained the
U.S. Government's attitude about
"consent" in 1955, "In short, it seems
to me that the principle of Indian 'consent'... has most serious Constitutional
implications... I believe it would be extremely dangerous." The Forestry Act
openly violates Indian human and civil
rights, as well as International Law. Instead of talking about this, the Tribal
Council has disenfranchised ourselves
and our future generations, and participated in an orchestrated suit about
$800,000 which is already spent.
The 1916 Act as amended required
the Secretary of the Interior to administer the Red Lake Indian forests
"for the benefit of the Indians of the
.Red Lake Band." According to Tribal
Council Resolution 236-82, during the
six months between October 1, 1979
and March 31, 1980, the operating loss
of the Red Lake Mill under the administration of the Secretary of the Interior was $314,752.62. [According to
the Department of the Interior, which
published an account for Congress on
June 24, 1958, the balance of the Account on January 31, 1958 was
$1,455,440.29.] The Tribal Council requested a full audit of U.S. Trust Account No. 14X7285, the "sawmill account," but the U.S. Government
would not provide it. Using the
Freedom of Information Act, this
reporter and other members of the Red
Lake Indian community have also requested accounting of the four "U.S.
Trust Accounts" [including a second
sawmill account, No. 14X7785] of Red
Lake Indian peoples' money held by
the U.S. Treasury under White law.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs Trust
Office would not provide accounts of
these trust funds to enrolled members
of the Red Lake Band and descendents
of the signers of the Treaty (who the
money belongs to), claiming that "it
would  take  too  many  man-hours,"
Continued on   page 2
Chief Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig
Graduation
By Judy Lawrence
NEWS Correspondent
The gymnasium of the Chief Bug-O-
Nay-Ge-Shig School was the scene of
the 1988 graduation ceremonies for 26
seniors.
Master of Ceremonies Larry Aitken
introduced the many participants including John Paupart, who gave ihe
commencement address. Poupart is the
Minnesota Ombudsman for Corrections.
While Ailken described Poupart as
courageous, Poupart confessed lhat
there was a lime when he couldn'l have
led a group of ihrec in silent prayer,
now he speaks with apparent ease to
audiences all over.
Indians have a proud history and it
is no accident lhat Indian people are
here today because many have 1'oughl
before lo preserve the Indian way of
life. There are many negative impressions aout Indian people. When these
impressions are cast upon Indians, it
becomes easy and acceptable to conform to these impressions and lo be
poor. According lo Pourpart, the
worst poverty is poverty of ihe mind.
The students and audience were urged
to stand up against these negative impressions, meet ihc challenges, and
take the risks along ,ihe way without
fear.
In closing, Pouparl encouraged his
listeners to take a message from ihe
eagle (which is the school's mascot).
The eagle is a proud bird which soars
high and is not content lo slay in one
place.
Salulalorian Anita Johnson urged
her   classmates   lo   remember   their
cultural heritage and to learn more of
the Ojibwe language, lo feel the heartbeat of the Ojibwe nation. Anita stated
her belief that learning the Indian
culture should come more from home
lhan school. Remembering oral traditions, listening lo Ihc elders and taking
advice handed down will help them to
speak up for what they believe, concluded Anila Johnson.
Sarah Liltlewolf lold her audience lo
iry their best and hoped all would out
and accomplish what they set out lo
do.
Before ihe diplomas were presented
by the R.B.C, Rick Coackcr, Legion
Commander, awarded Cheryl
Washington and Sarah Lililewolf each
a $500 scholarship.
Robeson County Justice
Committee Will Search For
Candidate to Run Against
"Killer D.A." on
Independent Party Line
The Robeson County Justice Committee announced at a memorial service yesterday in Pembroke's town
park that a search committee has been
formed to identify a candidate who
will run for Superior Court Judge
against Joe Freeman Britt, the
notorious district attorney of Robeson
County, on the independent New
Alliance Party line.
The New Alliance Party recently
filed more than 60,000 nominating
petition signatures to get on the North
Carolina ballot, one of the least accessible in the country. The parly has
been conducting a nationwide ballot
access drive to put independeni
Presidential candidate Dr. Lenora
Fulani on the ballot in all 50 states and
the District of Columbia. Dr. Fulani
calls her independent campaign "a
crusade for fair elections."
According to Helen Oxendine, the
administrator of the Robeson County
Justice Committee, running a candidate against Britt—known as "the
Killer D.A." for having sent more men
to Death Row, most of them Black and
Indian, than any other district attorney
in history—is. vital. "It's a mailer of
life and death for the people of
Robeson County. It's putting our lives
in Joe Freeman Brill's hands to lei him
walk into that office and lake over that
judgeship."
Among those honored at yesterday's
memorial service was Julian Pierce, a
Lumbee Indian attorney who was running against Britt in the Democratic
Party primary when he was killed. Re
quests to have the primary filing dale
extended to that Britt would not run
unopposed were turned down. Pierce,
whose name remained on the ballot,
was given a symbolic victory by the
voters, but with no Republican running in November, Britt was
automatically set to become Superior
Court judge.
The memorial service paid tribute to
others whose murders have gone unsolved or who have died under
mysterious circumstances. It is widely
believed that they were killed for
speaking out against the involvement
of the local political establishment in
the drug running operation that is a
mainstay of the impoverished county,
or otherwise challenging the political
status quo.
&