Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2002-03-15

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY     2
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
SMOKE SIGNALS OF UPCOMING EVENTS 5
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Commentary
To those concerned
with the Indian Health
Board
page 4
Red Lake family
refuses to comply
with court order to
return child to mother
pagel
Bug O Nay Ge
Shig Target
Market crew
creates memorial
page 3
King recalled
RLTC appoints Darrell
Seki to fill remaining
term of treasurer
pagel
Commentary
Red Lake reservation
community organizes
to tackle drug
problem
page 4
King recalled
rviny recaiieu
RLTC appoints Darrell Seki to fill remaining term of treasurer
By Bill Lawrence the charges made against him in    writing and contain the reasons
VOICE       OF       THE       PEOPLE
By Bill Lawrence
Based upon official election
returns, 1677 or exactly 25% of
the 6709 eligible voters of the
Red Lake Band of Chippewa
voted in the March 13 Recall
Election of former Red Lake
Tribal Council treasurer Dan
King. The 1677 votes cast
fulfilled the 25% voter requirement ofthe tribal Recall
Ordinance enacted last October.
In addition, 1448 voters or
86.34% ofthe votes cast were in
the affirmative to recall King.
229 voted against the recall. The
1448 votes cast in favor ofthe
recall substantially exceeds the
60% affirmative voter requirement ofthe Recall Ordinance.
King, who resigned on
February 26, had been the target
of a recall petition since last Fall
for allegedly mismanaging the
financial affairs ofthe Red Lake
Band and failing to perform
several of the constitutional
duties of the office of tribal
treasurer. The petition charged
King with spending tribal funds
without authorization of the
tribal council and failure to
submit monthly financial
statement to the tribal council
and band membership. King
made no attempt to respond to
the charges made against him in
the petition. Press/ON attempted
to contact King for comment,
but his reservation phone had
been disconnected without
leaving a forwarding number.
Red Lake resident and tribal
member Jim White told Press/
ON in a telephone conversation
that King recently moved his
doublewide mobile from the
reservation to an unknown
location.
Petition organizer Archie
King told Press/ON by phone
that he was "delighted with the
recall election result and that he
was happy for Red Lake." "You
know that despite all the
problems and ill-will that Dan
has created up here, we knew
that after he (King) resigned it
was going to be hard to get
people to show up and vote, and
it was," he said. "Well I'm glad
it's over and I'd like to especially thank all those who
helped with the petition and of
course all those who signed it
and voted."
According to RLTC secretary
Judy Roy, "any member of the
Red Lake Band voting in the
Recall election has five days to
contest the election results." She
said "any contest must be in
writing and contain the reasons
for the contest." She said "the
contest has to be filed with the
General Election Board and the
Board has ten days to act on the
contest."
Despite the fact that many
tribal members considered the
election to be moot, the relevance of a successful recall is
that, according to the Red Lake
Tribal Constitution, it prevents
King from ever running for
tribal office again.
The election results were
available nearly instantaneously
after the polls closed at 8:00
p.m. because the Band used an
electronic voting system for the
first time. According to Secretary Roy, in implementing the
voting system tribal officials
were assured that the counts are
extremely accurate. A breakdown of the election results is
on page 7 of this edition.
At its regular monthly
meeting on March 12, by a vote
of 7-0 the RLTC appointed
Darrell Seki to fulfill the unexpired term of former treasurer
Dan King. The treasurer's seat,
along with eight other seats (the
offices of chairman and secre-
RECALL to page 7
Red Lake family refuses to comply with state
court order to return child to mother
By Jeff Armstrong
A Red J^ake family has defied a
state judge's order to return a child
whose custody they acquired
through dubious tribal and state
court motions to the care of her
mother.
In a March 4 ruling, Beltrami
County district judge Terrance
Holter ordered Donald Brun, Sr.,
his wife Geraldine Brun and his
son Donald Brun, Jr., the girl's
father, to return custody of five-
year-old Meghan Brun to her
mother, Jawnie Hough, before 5
p.m. March 10.
Invalidating an earlier mling,
Holter held that Donald Brun, Jr.
"did perpetrate misconduct on this
court" by obtaining u state coud
order enforcing a tribal court
judgment without providing notice
to Hough or iitfoiming either court
of two previous orders granting her
custody. Holter found that the
tribal court failed to provide for
due process in depriving the
mother of "a fundamental right
under the United States Constitution" and ordered that any future
proceedings be held "in a neutral
forum."
Hough said she waited for the
Bruns in the company of a Bemidji
police officer at a pre-arranged
meeting place until well past the
hour ofthe court's Sunday
deadline. The Anishinabe woman
said she was disappointed—but not
surprised—by the family's failure
to comply with the judicial order.
"I figured they wouldn't show
up," said Hough. "They still think
they can run and hide behind
reservation lines."
Anticipating such a response by
the Bruns, the district court order
had directed "the Beltrami County
Sheriff.. .to take physical custody
of the child and return the child to
the jurisdiction of this county and
Petitioner" in the event ofthe
paternal relatives' non-compliance.
Beltrami County sheriff Keith
Winger could not be reached for
comment, but other county law
enforcement staff said they were
unaware of either the order itself or
any attempt to enforce it.
Red Lake director of public
safety Pat Mills, whose cooperation
would likely be needed to enforce
the court's directive, said he had
received no request for assistance
from county officials.
"I have had no contact with the
County Attorney or law enforcement personnel on this matter,"
said Mills. "Ii they call us. we will
refer them to the tribal court."
Donald Brun, Jr. could not be
located for comment. His father
hung up the phone when this
reporter identified himself.
Brim's attorney, Michael
Ruffenach, denied any role in his
client's refusal to return the child or
any other alleged misconduct.
"How am I a party to the
misconduct of my client?" asked
Ruffenach, accusing Press/ON of
biased coverage ofthe case.
Ruffenach wrote to judge Holter
on March 7, requesting a stay of his
custody order which the attorney
concedes was not granted. The
following day, Ruffenach wrote to
opposing counsel Frank Bibeau,
stating that "my client is not going
to return the child." According to
the March 8 letter, Meghan Brun,
whom Ruffenach refers to as
"Agnus" in his previous letter, "is
under the jurisdiction ofthe Red
Lake Juvenile court." Ruffenach
said Red Lake social services
called his office March 7 to inform
the attorney that the tribal agency
had taken custody ofthe child
without providing further details.
Willa Beaulieu, a tribal court
employee named by the attorney in
his March 8 letter, failed to return a
call from the press to confirm the
assertion.
Ruffenach maintains the central
issue in dispute is the jurisdiction of
the state court to reconsider its
comity order, which the attorney
claims has never been explored by
the courts. He said no determination has been made whether to
appeal the state decision.
"If the Red Lake court had
authority to issue its decision, what
jurisdiction does Minnesota have to
lift it?" the attorney asked.
Beltrami County attorney Tim
Faver said the county has no
written extradition agreement with
Red Lake, only an informal
arrangement pertaining to criminal
matters. Faver said he would
review the case for potential
criminal offenses if a formal
complaint is filed, but he also
expressed confidence that the two
law enforcement agencies would
jointly resolve the dispute.
"I assume the Sheriff's Department would ask for the cooperation
of the Red Lake Police Department
and I assume that they would
receive it," said Faver.
Faver said any contempt of court
charges would have to be initiated
by Hough or her attorney in a
motion to judge Holter.
Coleen Rouley, a legal adviser to
the Minneapolis FBI, said state
criminal charges would likely have
to precede a federal indictment.
However, Rouley said the Bureau
would examine the state court files
on the case to assess whether it had
jurisdiction in the matter.
web page: www.press-on.net
'tee*
Native
American
Press
Ojibwe News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2002
Founded in 1988
Volume 14 Issue 15
March 15,2002
Former IHB treasurer
Stephanie Autumn,
who resigned on
March 4, 2002.
Acting IHB Clinic
Director Dr. Terril Hart
Photos by Clara NiiSka
Health care in Minneapolis: Conflict at
IHB continues
by Clara NiiSka
Pubhc conflict has erupted
again at the Phillips neighborhood clinic at 1315 East 2401
Street in south Minneapolis. On
March 4*, Indian Health Board
Clinic (MB) treasurer and board
of directors member Stephanie
Autumn resigned. Autumn
wrote in her letter of resignation,
"I find myself questioning board
process and protocol... The
Board has not kept their word
and commitment to staff and
community..." She concluded,
"Indian Health Board was
founded on Indigenous thought,
philosophy and practices, to not
recognize and afford staff
opportunities to repair the
discord internally, find commonalities and solutions with Board
and the community that we serve
may be the final undoing for the
organization."
Dated March 8th, eight IHB staff
and former staff wrote a joint letter
to MUID (Minneapolis Urban
Indian Directors), asking MUID
"for your assistance in protecting
IHB from destruction." The HUB
staff detailed key grievances, and
sought the help of MUID in
organizing community meetings to
address the problems at the long-
troubled clinic. The medical
practitioners reportedly went to
MUID with the backing of Clyde
Bellecourt and Franny Fairbanks,
asking for "help" from the urban
Indian directors in "to sponsor an
open meeting to ah these issues
with the community."
Press/ON made a number of
phone calls. KimMammedaty,
chair ofthe IHB board of directors,
called back just as this newspaper
was going to press. IHB Acting
Director Penny Scheffler did not
respond. Resigning IHB treasurer
Stephanie Autumn did not respond.
Mammedaty answered Press/
ONs questions precisely. "In
response to Stephanie Autumn's
letter" of resignation, she said, "my
understanding is that it was widely
distributed. I think that is unfortunate ... I was surprised by the letter
from Stephanie. She has been a
very active board member."
Mammedaty said that "perhaps"
Autumn "had some expectations"
in which she was disappointed.
"Maybe she did not understand her
role as a board member of a
nonprofit.... Board members have
a legal obligation." Mammedaty
said that she was "sad and
surpised" that Autumn's letter had
circulated in the community to the
extent that it had.
The Chair of the IHB board
responed to the March 8,h letter to
MUID by saying that "there are a
IHB to page 5
The New Indian Wars: Culture or Casinos?
Divergent Views Fuel a War of Words
By Jean Pagano
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ)
published an editorial on March
1,2002 entitled "Big Chief
Pataki." The editorial has
generated a lot of interest,
hostihty, and hand wringing in its
wake. The editorial details
Governor George Pataki's
dealings with the Seneca Indian
Nation, the Mohawk Tribe, and
the Oneida tribe of New York
State. The governor has the
power, enacted by the legislature
last year, to negotiate gambling
pacts with the tribes for six new
casinos. Pataki claims that the
casinos will help revitalize the
depressed Buffalo/Niagara Falls
and Catskills areas. Part of the
deal to open the casinos is for the
tribes to settle some longstanding land claims. Additionally, unions will have the right to
organize some ofthe new
casinos.
Part of the uproar caused by.
the editorial has to do with the
terms that were used by its
author, Micah Morrison. Terms
such as "Big Chief Pataki," "new
Indian Chief," "traded beads with
unions" and "Great White
Father" are terms that can evoke
very negative emotions in Indian
Big Chief Pataki
New York State has a new Indian chief and gambling boss, two jobs
that seem to go together these days: Governor George Pataki. We doubt
New Yorkers will enjoy the spoils as much as the politicians, lobbyists
and gambling interests who cut this sweetheart deal.
In the wake of September 11 and facing a budget deficit, Chief
Pataki rushed a package through the state legislature granting himself
the power to negotiate gambling compacts with Indian tribes for six
new casinos. It promises to be a political jackpot for the Republican
Governor, who faces re-election this fall and claims gambling will help
the economically depressed Buffalo/Niagara Falls and Catskills areas.
In return for cashing in, the Indians are also settling some ancient land
claims. Mr. Pataki also traded beads with unions, which won the right to
organize some ofthe new casinos.
PATAKI to page 6
country and exacerbate sensitive
memories of a not-so-distant past,
and Morrison's honie use of them
has inflamed some writers for
Indian newspapers.
The WSJ editorial further
claims that the rush for recognition among Indian tribes has
more to do with the lucrative
gambling industry than anything
else. It concludes by saying that
"The history oflndian gaming
is.. .that it promises more than it
delivers."
Couple the editorial with news
reports on March 1st detailing
how former Clinton administration official Michael Anderson
granted recognition for the
Nipmuc Indian tribe of central
Massachusetts, the Mohawks and
the Duwamish Tribe of Seattle
after he left office. Anderson
took over as acting head of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs on
January 3, 2001, came back to
the Bureau on January 22nd, 2001,
three days after his term ended,
and signed some papers which
were later backdated to create the
appearance that they had been
signed before he left office.
Anderson is now a partner in a
law firm that represents Indian
tribes.
CULTURE to page 5
The Wall
Street Journal
loses respect
It will be very difficult from this
day forward to have serious
respect for The Wall Street
Journal, a newspaper with which
we have often disagreed but had at
least appreciated for its range of
writers and coverage and for its
long-term existence. The appreciation vanished this week as we
read The Journal's March 1
editorial, entitled "Big Chief
PataJri," which excoriated New
York Governor George Pataki and
took a pretty wide stereotypical
and prejudicial swipe at American
Indians.
Now, the criticism of a
politician is not beyond our scope.
No doubt, over the seasons, we
have taken the New York
governor to task ourselves on a
number of issues. Most recently,
however, we have seen his
approach of using Indian
economic recovery options to
ameliorate his state's financial
woes and land claims as pragmatic and open-minded. The New
York governor, we beheve, is
generally on the right track with
Indian nations across the state. His
plan to negotiate six new casino
compacts with Indian nations,
JOURNAL to page 6
Coalition seeks dismissal of
Wisconsin Oneida lawsuits
Associated Press
UTICA, N.Y -Acitizens group
is asking a federal judge to throw
out 40 lawsuits recently filed by the
Oneida Tribe of Indians of
Wisconsin.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin
Oneidas' attorney, Arlinda
LocJdear, said tribal leaders were
considering a proposal made by the
coalition that would allow the tribe
to drop the lawsuits while preserving its land claim rights.
The American Land Rights
Coalition filed papers Tuesday in
U.S. District Court in Utica to
intervene in the case and have it
dismissed. The landowners who
belong to the group have not been
sued by the Wisconsin Oneidas, but
they meet the criteria the tribe has
established, said Leon Koziol, the
coalition's lawyer.
"Why wait for us to get sued?"
Koziol said. "We need to get
involved and get the whole thing
dismissed."
Locklear said she doubted the
group's motion would succeed. She
noted that Koziol was filing papers
on behalf of people who haven't
been sued yet.
"I think he's getting the cart
before the horse here," Locklear
said.
Under a proposed land-claim
settlement made public last month
by the state, local counties and the
New York Oneidas, the state and
federal government would
contribute to a $500 milhon payout
to the three branches ofthe.
Oneidas. In exchange, the New
York Oneidas would give up their
claim to 250,000 acres of central
New York land. Gov. George E.
Pataki, however, has said it is
unclear if the federal government
will pay its share.
The Wisconsin Oneidas have
opposed the settlement because it
would not provide them with any
land within the disputed claim area
in Oneida and Madison counties.
The Wisconsin Oneidas wanted
to ensure time did not run out on
their ability to file a lawsuit, which
is the reason lawsuits were filed
against landowners over the past
month, Locklear said.
Nevertheless, Locklear said the
Wisconsin tribe would consider a '
proposal made by the coalition
suggesting either a voluntary
withdrawal ofthe lawsuit under a
court-approved stipulation or a stay
pending congressional action.
"We are taking a very hard look
at ideas proposed by Mr. Koziol
and his client that could result in
the dismissal of these suits,"
Locklear said.
Both ofthe options would
remove landowners from the issue,
giving them "peace of mind," but
would allow the Wisconsin
Oneidas to sue them again if a
settlement couldn't be reached with
the state, Locklear said.