The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1988-10-12

              STATE:
Posse Comitatus on increase
in state, experts say
page 2
NATIONAL:
Hatch seeks amendment to
Indian Civil Rights Act
page 3
FAMILY PAGE:
Woodswomen group brings
mothers and children closer
page 7
Red Earth,
White Earth
scheduled
to air
The movie based on the
book Red Earth, White
Earth written by Bemidii
State University English
Professor Will Weaver, will
be aired on CBS Oct. 13 at
8 p.m.
The movie stars Timothy
Daly who portrays Guy
Pehrsonn, a California
businessman who is summoned backed to his
family's farm by his dying
grandfather. There, he
discovers political turmoil
between the white farmers
and local Native
Americans, led by his
boyhood friend Tom
Little wolf.
The film also stars Ralph
Waite and Genevieve
Bujold.
Minneapolis
man killed
in accident
A Minneapolis man was
killed in a one car accident
near White Earth last
Saturday. Police said Alvin
Conrad Downwind, 43,
was pronounced dead at
the scene and another
individual was injured.
Both parties were
transported to the
Mahnomen County
hospital.
At 4:30 p.m. on Oct. 8,
the two men were
traveling on a county road
in Oakland township on
White Earth reservation
south of Rock Dam when
the vehicle went out of
control and rolled over.
The name of the injured
man was not available.
Man charged
in death of
minister
Faribault, Minn. (AP) -
An 18-year-old Faribault
man was charged Wednesday with attempted first-
degree murder and first-
degree burglary in the
stabbing of a Lutheran
minister in his home.
Jeffrey DeLoss Bentiey
was charged in Rice
County District Court in
the multiple stabbing of the
Rev. Mark Thompson, who
remained in critical
condition Wednesday at St.
Marys Hospital in
Rochester.
Thompson, the
42-year-old pastor of Our
Savior's Lutheran Church
in Faribault, his wife,
Marge, and the couple's
teen-age son and daughter
apparently were awakened
when intruders broke into
their home around 1 a.m.
Monday, Police Chief Jerry
Reuvers has said.
Thompson tackled one of
the intruders and, with the
help of his wife and son,
detained the 18-year-old
until policswered the
family's emergency phone
call for help.
A 15-year-old boy was
arrested later by police.
The
Ojibwe
News
"News by and for the Ojibwe Nation"
Copyright Ojibwe News, 1988
FIFTY CENTS
Founded at Bemidji, Minnesota in 1988
Volume 1 Issue 21 Wednesday, October 12,1988|
A Weekly Publication
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601
President signs bill
relieving tribes of
administrative chores
Vandals destroyed a house in Rice Lake on the White Earth Reservation. According to people living near the
home, the previous tenants were evicted approximately a year ago, leaving the building vacant and
vulnerable to such destruction. One individual stated *The parents go to bingo and leave the kids
unchaperoned... Look what happens." Photo by Mark Boswell.
Washington, D.C. (AP) -
President Reagan on
Wednesday signed a bill
designed to ease administrative burdens on Indian
tribes in connection with a
program to transfer some
governmental powers from
Washington to the tribal
governing bodies.
The bill amends a law,
enacted in 1975, that provides
for tribes to contract for
health, housing, social and
government services that
otherwise would be provided
by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs.
The new legislation
responds to requests from
tribes who said the 1975 act
imposed burdensome
administrative requirements
on them.
Among other things, the bill
exempts tribal construction
MIEA conference begins Thursday
By Mark Boswell
Assistant Editor
Elections for seven positions
on the Minnesota Indian
Education Association Board
of Directors will be held during
their annual conference in
Detroit Lakes Oct. 13-15.
The Board members' terms
that will be ending this year
are: (Three year terms, three
positions available) Larry
Aitken, Don Day, L. "Jack*
Briggs, flo wiger, and Jerry
Staples; (One year term, one
Kosition available) Warner
uss, Clarence Roy, Lavon
Lee, Kent Smith, Sharon
Romano, and Jill Beaulieu-
Wilkie; (Post Secondary
Students, two postions
available) Dale Beaulieu and
Tina Edwards; (High School,
one postions available) Todd
Staples.
An election to fill the
upcoming vacancies will take
lace at the conference on
lay
13-14. Nominations
place
thur
sdav
and Friday, Oct.
were
closed on Sept. 1.
The theme of this years
conference is "1988 and
Beyond: Balancing Education
and Culture." The MIEA
identity while striving for an
education in American society
will be highlighted throughout
the seminars and presentations during the three-day
event. Twenty-four presentations are scheduled. (See
page 8 for a listing of events.)
"After all, that's what
we're all about... kids.
-Jeanne McDougal!
n
organization and the
conference were formed four
years ago to "establish and
maintain communications and
the promotion of quality
education and unity for
American Indians and/or the
express purpose of continuity
of communication and
on-going statewide education
activities."
Emphasizing the problems of
maintaining Native American
Highlights of the conference
will be an Opening Ceremony
and Invocation by Dorothy
Sam; keynote address by
David Larsen, chairman of the
Lower Sioux Indian
Community, greetings by
Darrel "Chip" Wadena,
chairman of the Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe; keynote
address by Dr. David Beaulieu,
manager of the Minnesota
Department of  Education,
Indian Education. The general
assembly wil be presided over
by flo wiger, MlEA board
president.
According to Jeanne
McDougal I, one of the
organizers for the conference,
"We're doing a special agenda
just for the kids. This special
programming will include
■"Student Day" at Detroit Lakes
Area Vocational Technical
Institute. This will coincide
with the conference and give
high school students a chance
to participate in the otherwise
adult-education oriented
programs. McDougall said,
•"After all, that's what we're all
about... kids."
Conference organizers are
optimistic that the diverse
collection of presentations will
appeal to a broader audience
of conference goers. Everyone
is invited to attend.
House provides final
approval on Indian
Constitution Bill
Washington, D. C. (AP) - A
bill to streamline the adoption
of Indian tribal constitutions
has gone to the White House
after being given final Congressional approval.
The bill, sponsored by
Republican Rep. John J.
Rhodes III of Arizona, cleared
the House Thursday on a
voice vote approving Seriate
amendments.
The measure will also
strengthen tribal control oveV
its own government structure.
The legislation gives the
Secretary of the Interior up to
180 days after submission to
call an election for a new
tribal constitution or bylaws,
or 90 days in the case of an
amendment to a constitution
or bylaws.
"Since the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, tribal governments have been hampered in fulfilling their organizational goals," Rhodes said.
"The fact is, the Secretary of
the Interior has the power to
thwart a bona fide tribal
election to adopt a new or
revised constitution."
Once the tribe ratifies the
constitution, the Secretary
has 45 days to accept or
reject it, otherwise it becomes
effective automatically.
The House passed the original bill on Dec. 7, 1987 and
the Senate passed a similar
bill, along with several
unrelated technical amendments, on Sept. 30, 1988.
Minnesota voters to
decide lottery,
environment issues
Water rights measure
approved by House
Washington, D.C. (AP) -
The House on Tuesday gave
final congressional approval
to legislation intended to
settle long-standing water
rights claims by the Salt
River Pima-Maricopa Indian
community in Arizona
The legislation, sent to
the White House by a 411-8
vote, would set water
allotments for the Indians
and specify the steps that
the Interior Department
must take to provide the
water.
It also requires the
department to rehabilitate
the tribe's existing irrigation
facilities and to build new
facilities on the reservation.
It would set up a trust fund
with federal and state
monies to enable the tribe to
further develop and maintain
these facilities.
By Gene LaHammer
Associated Press Writer
St. Paul, Minn. (AP) - The
hotly debated proposal to
establish a state lottery and
the warmly embraced plan
for an environmental trust
fund get their final hearings
before Minnesota voters on
Nov. 8.
The two issues join a
little-noticed effort to
establish six-member juries
in some cases as proposed
constitutional amendments
on the general election
ballot.
The lottery issue, debated
by lawmakers for at least a
decade, finally made it to
the ballot when the 1988
Legislature agreed to
designate half the proceeds
from a lottery's first five
years to an environmental
trust fund. But state Sen.
Dennis Frederickson,
IR-New Uim, termed an
"unfortunate perception" the
idea that the two proposals
are tied together as
constitutional amendments.
If approved the fund would
exist even without the help
of a lottery - although not as
comfortably. Lottery
supporters estimate a
lottery would mean $20
million to $55 million
annually for the trust fund,
com pared with the
estimated $8 million it would
otherwise receive through
part of the state cigarette
tax. Funds could also come
from other sources, such as
gifts.
The remaining $20 million
to $55 million in expected
annual lottery proceeds
would go to rural economic
development programs
under the auspices of the
Greater Minnesota Corp.
At leas,t three
organizations have been
formed to promote passage
of the environmental trust
fund and there is no
announced opposition.
"It's the only bill I have
had during 32 years in the
Legislature that I have not
received one letter in
opposition to it," said Rep.
Willard Munger, DFL-Duluth.
Support for the lottery,
while according to public
opinion polls remains high,
is much less than
unanimous. And the effect of
opposition by a group of
prominent church leaders
remains to be seen.
Public opinion polls over
the years have consistently
shown that two-thirds to
three- fourths of all
Minnesotans support a
lottery.
contracts from federal
procurement rules and
regulations and provides that
money not spent in one fiscal
year can be carried over to
the next year.
The bill also contains a
provision saying the secretaries of the interior and health
and human services shall
reduce funding to Indian tribes
if directed to do so by a
member of Congress in a
statement accompanying a
conference committee report.
Reagan said this provision is
unconstitutional because only
the two houses of Congress
and the president can take
actions altering the legal
duties of executive branch
officers. However, he said, the
rest of the bill remains valid
despite the unconstitutional
provision.
Chairman
Jourdain
admitted
to hospital
It has been learned that
Red Lake Tribal Chairman
Roger Jourdain was
admitted to North Country
Hospital in Bemidji this
week.
Although it is believed
that Jourdain may have
suffered a heart attack,
hospital officials would not
confirm it, nor would they
say when he was admitted.
Hospital officials said all
they could report was that
Jourdain was in "good"
condition.
J
Drought makes
pumpkins
scarce
Minneapolis, Minn. (AP) -
Minnesotans in search of the
Great Pumpkin may be disappointed as the drought of 1988
continues to haunt pumpkin
growers.
Even in Anoka - the Halloween Capital of the World -
the summer drought has left
many farmers with small,
green, ugly pumpkins, and
only a few of those.
Pumpkins are in pretty
short supply. We're looking at
35 percent of a normal crop,"
said Anoka County extension
agent.
"It will be real difficult for
people to find the monster
pumpkins they're used to
getting. Anyone looking now
is out of luck."
The drought attacked
budding pumpkins, Buchite
said. If they didn't die as
seedlings or blossoms, they
fell off their stems too early as
green softball- sized melons.
"Many of the pumpkins we
do have that have developed
are still green," he said. "The
size of the pumpkins are
small. Prices are a little
higher, but not excessive."
Bonnie Dehn, owner of
Dehn's Garden in Anoka
County's Andover, knows
what Buchite is talking about.
She normally has 35 acres to
42 acres of pumpkins. This
year she has about 21 acres.
"We've got a lot of green
ones because of the drought,"
said Dehn, adding that some
roots burrowed down 15
inches to find water, about
seven inches farther than
usual.
"The pumpkins that did
come back set on so late that
they are not as orange as
they should be," she said.
\