The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1988-05-24

              Sacred
Land
see page 2
Encampment
Continues at
Cass Lake
see page 4
Presidential
Candidate Visits
See page 3
Walking
For Justice
see page 6
The
Oji b we
News
"News by and for the Ojibwe Nation"
© Copyright Ojibwe News 1988                 THIRTY-FIVE CENTS
Founded at Bemidji, Minnesota in 1988                      Volume 1
Issue 1                  Tuesday, May 24,1988
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601
Red Lake Housin
Overpays Tribal
Per Diem
By RAYMOND C. BEAULIEU
NEWS Staff Writer
RED LAKE, MN—The Red Lake
Tribal Council overpaid per diem
payments to the Tribal Housing Program's Board of Director's and Credit
Committee members.
In documents recently acquired by
the NEWS, the Red Lake Tribal Council received a letter dated June 2, 1986,
from the Minnesota Housing Finance
Agency informing the Red Lake Housing Finance Corporation was in "violation of that certain loan agreement by
and between the Red Lake Band of
Chippewa Indians, the Red Lake
Housing Finance Corporation and the
Minnesota Housing Finance Agency."
According to the letter, "Effective
November 16, 1984, the Minnesota
Housing Finance Agency (MHFA)
limited honorariums, per diems, travel
expenses or fees to any Board and
Credit Committee members for attendance at meetings to $35 per member.
The Red Lake Housing Finance Corporation continued to pay honorarium
for meetings at their prior rates which
were: $250 per Board member per
meeting and $200 per credit committee
member per meeting, plus mileage for
credit committee members."
The letter went on to state that the
Red Lake overpayment was a deliberate violation on the conditions of the
loan. The excess per diem and mileage
payments amounted to a total $38,340.
As a result of the violation, the letter
states, the Red Lake Housing was temporarily suspended until certain requirements were met by the Tribal
Housing Finance Corporation which
were; "cease making any disbursements under the MHFA-Red Lake
Housing Program, including, but not
limited to, any disbursements for administrative fees; transmit to the Minnesota Housing Finance Agency any
and all monies contained in the revolving loan fund for the MHFA-Red Lake
Housing Program; supply the MHFA
with an accounting for all transactions
and disbursements which have occurred with respect to and from the
revolving loan fund for the MHFA-
Red Lake Housing Program and,
transmit to the MHFA all monies it
receives in conjunction with, or with
respect to, the MHFA-Red Lake Housing Program.
This letter continues "the temporary
suspension of the MHFA-Red Lake
Housing Program will continue until;
all unauthorized and inappropriately
spent administrative fees, including,
but not limited to, excess honorariums
and mileage, have been repaid to the
MHFA-Red Lake Housing Program
by the recipients of such monies, and,
in no event shall such repayments come
from the administrative budget or
from other monies allocated to the
MHFA-Red Lake Housing Program;
and, The MHFA has received
assurances, acceptable to it, that the
practice of paying excessive
honorariums and mileage, and of paying honorariums for multiple meetings
held on the same day and at the same
location, has ceased and will not occur
in the future."
The Tribal Council responded with
Council Resolution 99-86. The resolution acknowledges the breach of the
loan and states "that the practice of
paying excessive honorariums and
mileage and of paying honorariums for
multiple meetings held on the same day
and at the same location,, has ceased
and will not occur in the future."
The-Tribal Council repaid the overpayment with money from the General
Fund of the Red Lake Band.
Red Lake Tribal Chairman, Roger
Jourdain, could not be reached for
comment.    _concluded_
see page 2
Sohappys
Released
From Prison
WASHINGTON, DC (IPN)—
Yakima elder David Sohappy, Sr. will
be released from the Geiger Correctional Facility in Spokane on May 17,
and his son David Sohappy, Jr. will be
released May 18, said Senators Dan
Evans (R-WA) and Daniel Inouye
(D-HA).
Early releases were granted by the
U.S. Parole Commission on March 17,
for the two men who had been sentenced to five years in prison for
federal convictions of illegally catching
salmon from the Columbia River.
. "I am delighted with the action of
the Parole Commission," said Evans.
"I think it was wrong for the Sohappys
to be sent to federal prison in the first
place to serve sentences for what essentially were violations of tribal law."
The sentences given to the Sohappys
were excessive, given the nature of
their offenses, said Evans.
Earlier in March, U.S. District
Judge Jack Tanner refused to go along
with a recommendation by the Justice
Department that the Sohappys'
sentences be reduced so they could be
released immediately.
Inouye, the chairman of the Senate
Selection Committee on Indian Affairs, stepped in, saying he would demand a Senate investigation of Tanner's decision if it was necessary.
"I think any objective study of the
case would show justice has not been
served," commented Inouye on the
five year sentence imposed on the
Sohappys.
David Sohappy, Sr., 62, was
sentenced to five years for selling 317
fish to undercover federal agents who,
were conducting a 1981 and 1982
"sting" operation that became known
as "Salmonscam." David Sohappy,
Jr., 29, was convicted of illegally selling 28 fish, was sentenced to five years
in prison.
"I could sell heroin to a child and I
would get less than three years," In
ouye said. "I could burn down a
house, I could sexually abuse a child
and I'd get less than three years."
Inouye and Evans sent a letter to
President Reagan this week protesting
the imprisonment of the Sohappys,
asking the president to commute their
sentences.
"Tragically, the Sohappys were
caught in the middle of a struggle between the federal government and the
Yakima Tribe that should not have
taken place," Inouye said. "Indian
tribes themselves have the greatest interest in the preservation of fishery
resources. The tribes should have
primary responsibility to enforce
fishery laws against tribal members."
The senators will continue to push
for prison release dates even earlier
than the ones set by the parole commission, said Monica Thompson, a
spokeswoman for Evans.
(KW'n/edvith permission from
The Circle, Minneapolis, MN)
Lakota "Special Chief"
Denounced
MISSION, SD (IPN)—Elders from
the Rosebud Reservation have signed a
petition stating that a businessman
who was named a "Special Chief" in
ceremonies at the reservation does not
represent the Lakota people.
About 80 Lakota elders gathered to
sign the petition that said they object
to naming Phillip J. Stevens, a
millionaire from Irvine, California
who claims he is a descendant of a
jSioux Chief, to the position of special
chief.
The ceremony, which occurred on
March 26, saw Stevens presented with
a shield,, a headdress and an Indian
name. Stevens has been initiating a national media campaign in support of
having the Black Hills (Paha Sapa)
returned to the Sioux. He claims about
38,000 of the 68,300 Sioux support his
efforts.
Stevens wants the Sioux to back a
proposal that would return about 1.3
million acres of the Black Hills returned to the Sioux.
An Indian group filed a complaint at
a federal court in Rapid City, seeking a
temporary restraining order. Stevens is
impersonating an Indian and his claims
to Indian ancestry are unproven, the
complaint said.
(Reprinted with permission from
The Circle, Minneapolis, MN.)
Protestors' Profile
By BOB JOURDAIN
|Ojibwe News Correspondent
Perhaps many of you out there have
wondered at the situation in Cass Lake
and speculated what type of person
becomes known as a "dissident,"
"Protestor" and so forth. When a
writer is thrown into such an environment to do a story but suddenly finds
no one to write for — the Ojibwe
Times is history — he instinctively does
th: next best thing. Being the versatile
fellow he is, he thinks "Profile;" then,
he sets out to study and observe what
opportunity has conveniently placed
before him. The writer might
legitimately class the protestors as
"Dreamers" but it soon becomes evident there is much more to their
dreams.
Where do these people come from?
And what are they like?
It could be that there is a
"protestor" in your family. Maybe it's
that oddball person with the madness
for morality, the penchant for propriety; or, maybe he possesses any other
adverse quality that might conflict with
the ever-growing decadence of modern
society. In short, the person in question requires decency in life. That sort
of person does not compromise what is
right in favor of personal gain. As a
group, the protestors are curiously indifferent to the material persuasiveness
that overcomes others. However, this
does not indicate that they are "one
brick shy of a load."
On the contrary, they are a
knowledgeable, intelligent, and articulate group of individuals. It goes
without saying that their role, as protestors, is not governed by an intelligence deficiency, or psychological
deformity, that compels them to do
what they must. Often times, they are
all that stand in the way of another inequality, or another injustice, about to
be perpetrated on the Indian people.
So, protestors, like the Ojibwe People
for Justice, are governed by decisions
based on insight, research and open-
minded learning. It might be interesting to know what motivates these
people.
It is their children. For their
children, the Ojibwe People for Justice
focus on long-range goals rather than
the immediacy of present jobs, the
dollar that can be gotten now, or that
comfortable life that a compromise of
principles would bring. Instead, they
opt for retaining Indian lands, treaty
rights,   and   the   right   to   a   self-
government meant to serve the people.
Should these goals never be achieved,
then the legacy to the Indian children
can only be more oppression and suffering. In view of this, the protestors
remain hopeful.
Certainly their frustrations are
many, but the Ojibwe People for
Justice hang on to their hopes that
tribal leaders will hear their concerns
Election reform, a constitutional convention, and the censoring of any
leader violating tribal constituion are
not unreasonable requests to the protestors. After a month of peaceful protest, there now are hopes of a start of
negotiations. Perhaps this could bloom
into a full-fledged constitutional con
vention.
When that day comes, the dreams of
the protestors will be realized. A convention, handled in a constructive
manner, can only serve to unite the
Ojibwe people. With a great potential
for prosperity, a united Ojibwe Nation
could re-structure a form of govern
ment that would be definitive of
governments everywhere.
Perhaps, when classing the protestors as "Dreamers," this writer was
quite correct. But let's all realize that if
they are dreamers, their dream is a noble one.
Judge Rules
Against
Lawrence
STATE OF MINNESOTA
Plaintiff,
vs.
WILLIAM JOSEPH LAWRENCE,
Defendant.
The above-entitled matter came on
for trial before the Honorable James
E. Preece, Judge of District Court, on
the 30th day of December, 1987, in the
courtroom  of the  Beltrami  County
Courthouse, in the City of Bemidji,
County of Beltrami, and State of Minnesota.   Thomas   J.    Keyes,   Esq.,
Beltrami County Attorney, 523 Minnesota   Avenue,    P.O.    Box    1653,
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601, appeared
for and on behalf of the State of Minnesota. Romaine R. Powell, Esq., and
Robert M. Wallner, Esq., Attorneys at
Law, Bemidji, Minnesota 56601, appeared for and on behalf of the defendant, who was also personally present
in court.
The parties having stipulated to the
relevant facts in this matter, the Court,
upon considering that stipulation, the
entire file, and all of the police records,
and the memorandums submitted, now
makes the following:
FINDINGS OF FACT
1. That the Defendant is an enrolled
member of the Red Lake Band of
Chippewa Indians.
2. That on August 30, 1987, the
Defendant was transporting in his
truck nearly 2,000 pounds of walleye
fillets, consisting of approximately
4,200 to 5,000 walleyes.
3. That the walleyes in the Defendant's possession were purchased from
persons the Defendant knew to be
enrolled members of the Red Lake
Band of Chippewa Indians, who commercially fish on the Red Lake Reservation.
4. That the Defendant possessed,
purchased, and intended to sell these
fish to locations off the Red Lake Indian Reservation.
5. That the Defendant has a
wholesale food handler's license issued
by the State of Minnesota.
6. That the Defendant has been
charged with three gross misdemeanors
for the Illegal Sale and Purchasing of
Fish pursuant to Minnesota Statutes
97A.501, Subd. 1; 97A.015, Subd. 44;
97A.325; 97A.015, Subd. 48; 97A.301,
Subd. 1; and 97A.015, Subd. 4 of the
Minnesotas Game and Fish Laws.
CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
1. That the Minnesota Game and
Fish Laws, under which the Defendant
has been charged, are valid and applicable to the Defendant, William
Lawrence.
2. That the Defendant's wholesale
food handler's license does not exempt
him from the State Game and Fish
Laws.
ORDER
Based upon the foregoing Findings
of Fact and Conclusions of Law;
IT IS HEREBY ORDERED:
1. That the Defendant is found guilty of the offenses of Illegally Buying
Fish under Minnesota Statute, Sections
97A.501, Subd. 1; 97A.015, Subd. 4;
97A.325, Subd. 1; as charged.
2. That the Defendant is found guilty of the offense of Illegally Selling
Fish under Minnesota Statute, Sections
97A.501, Subd. 1; 97A.015, Subd. 44,
and 97A.325, as charged.
Dated this 16th day of May, 1988.
James E. Preece
Judge of District Court
Lawrence commented that "he was
disappointed that Judge Preece didn't
issue a memorandum addressing the
important legal issues raised by this
case. The case brought up Treaty
Rights, the Indian Commerce Clause,
and (DNR) Commissioners Order No.
1303."
f