Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2002-03-08

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY      2
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
SMOKE SIGNALS OF UPCOMING EVENTS 5
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Commentary
Tribal election,
again...
page 4
Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe Housing,
Director Ricky Wuori
files for bankruptcy
page 1
King recall election
set for March 13
pagel
State district judge
orders child returned to
mother, says Red Lake
Tribal Court violated
constitutional rights
pagel
Commentary
Political season
opens on
Minnesota Ojibwe
reservations
page 4
State district judge orders child returned to
mother, says Red Lake Tribal Court violated
constitutional rights
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
Meghan Brun
By Jeff Armstrong
In a dramatic reconsideration of
his earlier ruling, Beltrami County
district judge Terrance Hotter this
week struck
down a state
judicial order
enforcing a Red
Lake court
judgment which
ultimately led to
the arrest of
Jawnie Hough
on felony
charges and the
seizure of her
four-year-old child.
Holter found that the father,
Donald Brun, Jr., knowingly
violated standing state court
orders—a divorce decree and an
order for protection—when he
"failed to procure written consent
from Petitioner to remove the
subject child from the state of
Minnesota" to the Red Lake
Reservation. The judge further
ruled Brun "did perpetrate
misconduct on this court" by
obtaining a tribal court order
revoking the mother's legal custody
of the child and failing to inform
Hough of a state court comity
petition to enforce the order.
"As a parent and primary
physical custodian, the Petitioner
has important and substantial legal
rights which are constitutionally
protected and require due process
to alter or change," the judge
wrote. 'This court recognizes that
parental rights are a fundamental
right under the United States
Constitution, which requires
a reliable due process prior
to depriving a citizen of
those substantive rights."
Holter expressed "serious
doubts as to the impartiality
and/or due process
protection afforded
Petitioner in Red Lake
Tribal Court."
The court ordered that
Meghan be returned to the
care of her mother before 5pm,
March 10.
Hough had contended that she
was never informed of the Red
Lake hearing or the state comity
proceeding until her daughter was
taken from her at a University of
Minnesota hospital Jan. 10,2001.
The Leech Lake woman maintains
that she was never allowed to
defend her rights or to question the
parenting abilities of her ex-
husband, who has been convicted
of domestic assault.
Felony charges against Hough of
deprivation of parental rights were
conditionally dismissed Jan. 28,
2002. Judge Holter implied that
Beltrami County Attorney Tim
Faver may have filed a criminal case
against the wrong party, accusing
Brun of violating rhe statute under
which Hough was charged.
Faver said he was unaware ofthe
ruling and expressed no regrets for
his criminal prosecution of the
mother.
"The idea behind this statute is
that people not resort to self-help,"
said Faver. "Instead of parents
pulling kids back and forth, if
you' ve got a beef let the court settle
it."
The county attorney said judges
should be responsible for ascertaining in such cases whether there is a
contrary ruling in effect from
another jurisdiction.
"The courts, in my mind, should
require people to tell them whether
there are any outstanding court
orders from a different court," Faver
said.
Judge Holter also issued the
unusual directive that the Bruns not
utilize the Red Lake court in any
future custodial motions.
"While the practices ofthe Red
Lake Tribal Court may be indicative
of tribal notions of self-government
and sovereignty, these procedures
are seriously defective if the Tribal
Court seeks to have its judgments
enforced and recognized by other
tribal courts, other state courts, or
federal courts. The circumstances
as they have developed mandate
that subsequent
proceedings take place in a neutral
forum providing appropriate due
BRUN to page 3
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Volume 14 Issue 14
March 8,2002
King recall election set for March 13
By Bill Lawrence
On Wednesday March 13, Red
Lake Reservation voters will make
tribal history by going to the polls
to decide the political fate of
former treasurer Dan King. King
who was elected in 1998 and
resigned on February 26, not only
has the dubious distinction of
being the initial target of the
recently passed tribal recall
ordinance but also is the tribal
council officer whose liberal
spending of tribal funds apparently provided the motivation for
its enactment. Stating that he "had
done nothing wrong" and
"criticizing the recall ordinance as
being unfair," King continues to
blame others for his recall. The
recall election of King will be
historic because it will be the first
attempt at Red Lake to recall a
tribal council member despite the
council being mandated to enact
such an ordinance by the Red
Lake Band of Chippewa's Revised
Constitution of 1958.
Under pressure from Red Lake
tribal members, a split Red Lake
Tribal Council (RLTC) enacted
Recall Ordinance No: 1-2001 on
October 9,2001. Tribal members
had become concerned about the
management of tribal funds ever
since an exchange of several
letters between tribal officers
involving allegations of a state of
chaos in the council came to light
over two years ago. These
concerns turned into outrage when
over $12 rnillion in overruns at the
River Road Casino and Water
Park project was made pubhc last
year.
Less than a week after the
Recall Ordinance was enacted,
Red Lake tribal members began
circulating a petition seeking the
recall of treasurer King. The recall
petition listed two violations by
King: 1) that he did not submit
regular monthly statements and
reports of all his transactions and
has not rendered regular financial
statements to the tribal council;
and 2) that he spent tribal funds
without proper authorization from
the tribal council by resolution and
duly enacted in legal session, and
that he has not made records of all
his expenditures available to either
the tribal council or members of
the Band. King has made no
attempt to challenge either of tht
charges made against him.
After two delays caused by a
need to cure defects in addresses
and overcome challenges to a half
dozen signatures, the RLTC
accepted the petition of 1700
certified signatures on January 12,
2002 and set the recall election of
ELECTION to page 3
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe candidates for
April 16th primary
By Clara NiiSka
The following is a listing of the
108 certified candidates for tribal
council and representative seats up
for election this year in the
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe bands
- Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Grand
Portage, Leech Lake, Mille Lacs,
and White Earth. There were 83
certified candidates in the MCT
primary two years ago, on April 18,
2000.
All positions on the MCT
reservation councils are four-year
terms, with elections staggered
every two years. This year,
elections will be held for each
reservation's Secretary/Treasurer,
and for half of the representatives'
positions. The two candidates
receiving the most votes for each
seat in the April 16th primary
election will advance to the June
11,2002 regular election.
Filing dates for the MCT
elections ran from 8:00 a.m.
February 21,2002 through 4:30
p.m. on Monday, March 4,2002.
After filing has been completed,
the council for each reservation
must certify the candidates mnning
for office on that reservation.
The tribal council at Red Lake
reservation operates separately
from the MCT. An election will be
held on Wednesday, May 15,2002
to elect three officers and six
district representatives to the Red
Lake tribal council and to vote on
any referenda submitted by the Red
Lake tribal council. Filing for the
Red Lake elections opened on
February 28lh, and will close at
4:00 p.m. on Friday, March 15lh. If
no candidate for any Red Lake
office wins by a majority of votes
in the May 15Ul elections, run-off
elections will be held on that
reservation.
Leech Lake Band: Fourteen
candidates were certified for the
Leech Lake tribal council Secretary/Treasurer position by the tribal
council at a special meeting on
March 6. Current incumbent,
Linda Johnston, will not seek reelection. Certified candidates are
(in order listed by Leech Lake
tribal council): Walter "Frank"
Reese, Jennie (Wind) Reyes, Fred
K. Jackson Jr., Arthur "Archie"
LaRose, Bob Whipple, Birdena M.
Cloud-Lyons, Sally Fineday
Morrison, Clayton Alex Rainey Jr.,
Richard Schulman, Victoria F.
White, Diane E. White, Dennis
Banks, Wil Humphrey, and Donna
L. Day.
All those who filed for District I
and District II representatives were
certified by the Leech Lake tribal
council. Candidates for District I
representative are: Burton "Luke"
Wilson (incumbent), Peter D.
White, Ralph W. Schaaf, Alfred
PRIMARY to page 3
On the team: (bottom row L-R): Dan Smith, George Bailey, Challenge Johnson, Brian
Lawrence, PatGreen; (middle row L-R): Phil Jourdain, Rowdy May, Dan Jourdain, Robin Kelly,
manager Wes Jourdain; (top row L-R): coach Kevin Sigana, Kenny Graves, Charles Goodwin,
Dominick Johnson, Jeremy Neadeau, Matt Graves, Rawn Graves, coach Nolan Desjarlait.
The Red Lake Ogichidaag
(Warriors) boys basketball team
blitzed Blackduck 72-47 on Monday, March 5, and advanced to the
District 29A title game on Saturday afternoon at the BSU Glass
fieldhouse. They will meet the
Clearbook-Gonvick Bears, who
hud cruised by Baudene 72-59 in
the second game of the evening.
The Red Lake -Clearbrook-
Gonvick winner will advance to
the Section 8A tournament at
UMC on March 14-15, probably
to face Pine to Prairie League
champion Norman County West
in the opening round.
The Ogichidaag go to the finals with a fine record of 21 wins
and only 5 losses, and has beaten
Blackduck twice during the season by 8 and 31 points. Most of
the Red Lake's losses were against
much larger schqols, like Minneapolis North and Patrick Henry.
Red Lake's games this season included a cliffhanger against Nevis
on January 15lh in which the
Ogichidaag won 84-82 in double
overtime, and a solid winning
streak of 17 games.
Cheerleaders: (bottom row L-R): Leslie Bald Eagle, Ann
Marie English, Jessica Johnson; (top row L-R): Aleisha
Pemberton, Ashley May, Liz White, advisorTammy Johnson.
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Housing
Director Ricky Wuori files for bankruptcy
Debts includes monies owed to Minnesota Indian Economic Development
By Jean Pagano
The man in charge of housing
for the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
(MCT) is in Bankruptcy Court
trying to hold on to his own
housing. Housing Director Ricky
Wuori and his wife have filed for
Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection in
U.S. Bankruptcy Court. The
Wuoris claimed in their bankruptcy
petition that the economic
problems they are facing are the
result of a failed business attempt
to run a bar and restaurant, Player's
Sports Bar & Grill, located on the
Leech Lake Reservation east of
Walker, Minnesota.
Ricky Wuori, who earned more
than $49,000 from the MCT last
year, also realized an income of
$38,253 from the Sportsmen's
Pizzeria, and an undisclosed
income from the Player's Sports
Bar and Grill, located on the
reservation. Interestingly, the
Pizzeria earned an identical amount
of money the year before as well.
The Wuoris have a long list of
creditors, including the Minnesota
Indian Economic Development
Fund of Saint Paul, a State Indian
Business Loan from the Indian
Affairs Council of Bemidji, and a
loan from the City of Cass Lake to
relocate the business.
The Minnesota Indian Economic
Development Fund lent the Wuoris
$16,000, of which $1,380 has been
paid. However, since this payment
of $1,380 was made within the last
90 days, the amount may have to be
returned by the Minnesota Indian
Economic Development Fund, as
part of bankruptcy proceedings.
Additionally, a $52,000 loan from
the State of Minnesota via the Indian
Affairs Council is now in default. A
court trial on this matter is scheduled
for October 22,2002. This loan was
for the Player's Sports Bar & Grill.
The First National Bank of
Walker issued two mortgages to the
Wuoris that were secured with the
Wuoris's Day Care business, the
Sportsmen's Pizzeria and three of
the Wuoris's six vehicles. The
Player's Sports Bar & Grill is in
default.
The Wuoris list six vehicles as
assets: a 1978 Pontiac Trans Am a
1979 Trans Am a 1985 Ford F-250,
a 1988 Chrysler, a 1993 Honda
ATV 4-Wheeler, and a 1999
Pontiac Grand Am. Additionally, a
1994 18' Sea Ray boat is listed.
Ricky Wuori has worked in the
Housing Division of MCT for the
BANKRUPTCY to page 3
THbes gain in race for Arizona Cardinals stadium
Associated Press
PHOENIX - While a football
stadium on a reservation might
have seemed far-fetched a decade
ago, it soon could become reality.
At least one of three tribal
proposals is set to be a finalist in
the sweepstakes for the Arizona
Cardinals football stadium,
according to state Tourism and
Sports Authority officials.
Tribal governments have
become sophisticated bargainers,
willing to trade off certain
sovereign legal rights to attract
private investment and economic
development within their reservation borders, said Jim Grogan,
sports authority chairman.
An explosion of casino and
resort development on reservations
ringing Phoenix attests to the
changing nature of doing business
in Indian country.
Five stadium sites are technically
in the running, but one in east
Phoenix is an unlikely finalist
because it has no municipal or
financial backing.
That leaves one municipal site in
Mesa, and sites sponsored by the
Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation,
the Gila River Indian Community
and the Salt River Pima-Maricopa
Indian Community.
The sports authority board on
Tuesday will pick at least two
finalists.
While board members have not
publicly discussed the merits and
flaws of each site, it is virtually
certain that at least one of the tribal
sites will make the cut.
And it's the Gila River
Community's proposal that has
been ehciting the most enthusiasm
from the board.
"They not only have the cash,
they have the infrastructure, they
have a resort there and they have
world-class golf," Grogan said.
"And we can do all this without
one penny of local taxes."
MnSCU board
takes stand on
discriminatory
mascots
Associated Press
ST. PAUL - The Minnesota
State Colleges and Universities
Board of Trustees has gone on
record opposing the use of
discriminatory logos, names,
mascots and nicknames by its
member institutions and by
opposing teams.
All 34 presidents ofthe
MnSCU system support the
board's decision, said Board
Chairwoman Mary Choate. ■
"The board supports this
stand and hopes to underscore
its importance through this
resolution. We believe that
acknowledging and ehminating
discrimination in all its forms
on our campuses requires a
continuing effort on many
MNSCU to page 3
IHS doctors disciplined for sexual
misconduct, medical errors
ByMattKelley
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Dr. Thomas
W. Michaelis spent two months in
an Ohio prison in 1991 for trying to
molest four teen-age girls.
He then worked for eight years as
an obstetrician-gynecologist in an
Indian Health Service hospital in
Arizona, paid $ 101,000 a year by
the government despite a law
barring the hiring of sex offenders in
agencies serving American Indians.
IHS officials fired Michaelis last
year. By then, he had examined
hundreds of women at the Phoenix
Indian Medical Center after
registering with local authorities as a
sex offender.
Michaelis said he told IHS
officials about his convictions for
attempted molestation, but the
agency hired him in 1993 anyway.
"They knew about it up front,"
Michaelis said. "I guess they needed
a doctor eight years ago."
At least 21 doctors who worked
for the IHS between 1996 and 2001
have been punished or denied
licenses by state medical boards for
offenses ranging from abusing dmgs
to neglecting patients who later died,
an Associated Press review of
disciplinary records found.
Officials at JUS, the federal
agency charged with providing care
to 1.5 million American Indians,
acknowledge that background
checks on their doctors are often
inadequate. It's just one of many
problems they blame on a lack of
money.
"In general, there is no secretarial
staff to support the medical staff
activities," said Dr. Craig
Vanderwagen, the agency's chief
medical officer.
"Many of our people are seeing
40 patients a day or so. Then, your
IHS to page 6