Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2002-08-16

              INDEX
McNair Scholars
Grand
Goodbye and
Response to
1 Commentary
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
2
Program sponsors
Portage
good riddance
"Safeguarding the
M New Red Lake
NEWS BRIEFS
3            hjP^
three Native
Rendezvous
funds or risking
1 council
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
1     ff^aHfl
American students
Days
them"
1 generates
CLASSIFIEDS
7    ■<•    ■
at U of M
i positive vibes
ell
page 3
page 3
page 4
page 4
| page 4 •
LaRose reports on first month in office
Group reports they have over 500 signatures to recall Hunt
By Bill Lawrence
Over 150 persons attended the
Public Meeting held by Leech
Lake Tribal Council secretary/
treasurer Archie LaRose Monday
evening, August 12, at the Vets
Memorial
Building in Cass Lake.
LaRose opened the meeting by
stating that after his, "first month
in office here is my report to you.
I am finding that our financial affairs are in pretty bad shape. I
have trying to do my job and
learn as I go, but I have been getting a lot of opposition from the
rest of the council. I have had a
hard time getting information and
they, the rest ofthe council won't
let me hire the staff 1 need to do
my job. It's like they got something to hide or something."
There was a continuance ofthe
Temporary Restraining Order
(TRO) by judge Peggy Treuer,
halting the forensic audit which
had begun on Tuesday August 6
by Majestic Eagle Mentoring,
Inc., examining Leech Lake tribal
payroll funds. LaRose said that
he intends to keep the pressure on
REPORT to page 8
MN Supreme
Court committee
shelves tribal
enforcement
order
By Jeff Armstrong
The Minnesota State Supreme
Court rules committee unanimously recommended deferring action on a controversial provision
which would have required blanket
state enforcement of tribal court orders. While the committee refused
to allow pubhc testimony at its
third hearing on the subject Aug.
24 in St. Paul, committee members
agreed that a truly open forum must
precede adoption of the rule.
"I strongly beheve it merits further consideration with proper pubhc notice and broader input," said
state judge Lawrence Collins.
If adopted, the rule would have
established a higher standard of
recognition for tribal rulings than
that apphed to foreign court judgments. To overcome the presumption in favor of the rule, an individual challenging the validity of
the tribal court order would have to
prove that the court lacked jurisdiction, utilized fraud or coercion,
failed to provide notice of the hearing, or refused to apply state judgments in a reciprocal manner.
Emergency apprehension and protection orders would have been
ORDER to page 5
Rules Committee rejects "Full Faith
& Credit" proposal
by Ed McGaa
The Minnesota Supreme Court
Rules Committee met August 14lh
at the Centennial Building at 2
p.m. to consider the proposed
"Full Faith and Credit Rule in the
Blazing Star conference room.
The committee discussed the July
10,2002 meeting regarding the
petition on recognition of tribal orders and judgments. Oral comments or presentations were not a
part ofthe meeting, which drew approximately 20 in the audience.
Members ofthe rules committee
were Hon. G Barry Anderson,
REJECT to page 5
photo: Clara NiiSka
The Hon. Edward C. Stringer, Associate Justice of the Minnesota
Supreme Court (center), listens as David Herr of Minneapolis, co-
reporter of the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on the Rules of Civil
Appellate Procedure {right), discusses the Rules Committee's resolution to reject the Tribal Court / State Court Forum's proposed "Full Faith
and Credit" rule. Although the committee rejected the proposed rule
unanimously at its August 14th meeting, committee members have left
the door open to future consideration of Minnesota court rules prescribing acceptance of tribal court orders by the state judiciary.
Physicians fired from IHB to open new clinic
by Clara NiiSka
Dr. Carol Krush, Dr. Lori
Banaszak, and Dr. Lydia Caros, all
of whom were fired from the Indian
Health Board in the midst of pohtical turmoil earlier this year, have
joined forces and are founding a
new non-profit family practice clinic
in the Phillips neighborhood in
south Minneapolis. Nurse Susan
Hibbs is also part of the group
founding the Native American
Clinic, to be located in the Ancient
Trader's Market shopping center,
next to a Walgreen's.
"It is really exciting," Dr. Caros
told Press/ON. "Patients are waiting, we run into them everywhere
... it's great to know about the
community's support" for the clinic.
The Native American Clinic will
be located just a few blocks from
the Indian Health Board clinic,
which Doctors Krush, Banaszak,
and Caros tried to reform from
within. Then, after Dr. Caros was
fired in February, her supporters
shifted to more pubhc tactics, including a letter open letter signed by
Banaszak and Krush and pubhshed
in the March 22nd issue of Press/ON;
the letter resulted in Banaszak and
Krush being fired for insubordination. "I knew when I [said], 'put my
name on it' tliat I would get in
trouble," Dr. Krush told Press/ON
shortly after she was fired, "But, I do
not regret it. It had to be done. If
my getting fired is what it takes to
get this mess cleaned up - I'm not a
martyr, but at some point you have
to stand up."
The fired doctors, along with patients, community supporters and
activists, picketed the IHB clinic,
and in April a demonstration outside
CLINIC to page 5
Justice Department's COPS office awards more than $2
million in grants to tribal police departments in Minnesota
Washington, D.C. - The Department of Justice, Office of
Community Oriented Policing
Services (COPS) announced that
it is awarding $34.8 milhon in
grant funding to 150 tribal pohce
departments in 28 states today.
The grants were awarded
through COPS Tribal Resources
Grant Program (TRGP), which
provides funding to help "tribal
police departments hire officers,
purchase basic equipment, procure crime fighting technology,
and secure training and technical
assistance," according to the Justice Department publicists.
"Throughout the U.S., the de
mands on all law enforcement
agencies are increasing. Tribal
law enforcement agencies ... are
seeking more effective methods
for safeguarding the communities
they serve," said COPS director
Carl Peed. "These grants provide
... resources that ultimately translate into more effective law enforcement practices, better community policing, and safer neighborhoods," Peed continued.
The TRGP is part of a broader
federal initiative to bolster the capacity of tribal law enforcement
agencies. AU federally recognized tribes with established pohce departments are eligible to
receive TRGP funding. Additional information about tribal
policing programs is posted on
the COPS website at http://
www.usdoj .gov/cops/
In Minnesota, tribal pohce departments were awarded a total of
$2,035,643:
The Bois Forte reservation received a $48,292 grant for equipment and training.
Fond du Lac. reservation received two grants, $145,395 for
equipment and training, and
$375,000 for hiring; and the
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Su-
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Volume 15 Issue 11
August 16,2002
Newly elected Red Lake tribal chairman Gerald "Butch" Brun
RED LAKE - In ceremonies held at the Red Lake Humanities Center on Tuesday,
August 13, Gerald "Butch"
Brun and the other five winners ofthe July 17 run-off
election were sworn into office. The swearing-in began
with a pipe ceremony and
prayers by Ron Cobenais, and
flag- and honor-songs by the
drum group Eyabay.
Brun, recovering from a
slight stroke that hospitalized
him briefly last month, was
sworn in by outgoing tribal
chairman Bobby
Whitefeather. Brun ousted
Whitefeather in the run-off
elections by a 462 vote margin, regaining the chairmanship by 57% ofthe vote after
Whitefeather's eight years in
office.
"I would like to thank everyone here for showing up as
you did at the election," Brun
Lake tribal council officers greet their constituents after
swearing in ceremonies
told the hundreds of Red Lakers
who attended the swearing-in
ceremonies. "I'll do the best job
I can."
After Brun took the oath of
office, promising to fulfill his
duties as tribal chairman according to 'Anishinabe heritage and
traditions,' Whitefeather pre
sented the new chairman to the
crowd, and urged that the audience to love and take care of
each other.
Secretary Judy Roy, who was
re-elected in the May 15 general
elections at Red Lake, then
swore in the other tribal council-
CEREMONYtopage6
South Dakota and the Politics of Denial:
ACLU files suit to enforce
Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act
By Jean Pagano
The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is
regarded by many as the law that
increased the power of African
Americans in the South by removing the cliscrirninatory election systems ofthe day. The Voting Rights
Act was amended in 1975 to afford
similar protections to Native
Americans as well as other language minorities by requiring states
to obtain federal approval before
putting any changes in election law
in place. In the years since 1975,
the courts have overwhelmingly
viewed this amendment as pertaining
to even minor changes in jurisdictions. The ACLU suit Elaine Quick
Bear Quiver et al v. Joyce Hazeltine
et al seeks to remedy what the
ACLU describes as 30 years of ignoring the Voting Rights Act by the
state of South Dakota.
Native Americans comprise over
8% of South Dakota's population.
Two South Dakota counties, Shan-
ACLU to page 7
International
human rights
commission finds
land claims
process violates
indigenous rights
By Jeff Armstrong
In an unprecedented opinion,
the Inter-American Commission,
on Human Rights upheld a complaint against the United States by
members of the Western Shoshone
nation who charged the federal
RIGHTS to page 7
Native American Heritage Night helps Twins snap losing   Red Lakers
streak,defeat the Baltimore Orioles 6-0 George Head,
Jeffrey Dolson,
Alana Brown
plead guilty to
assault
Minneapolis - Three members
of the Red Lake Band of
Chippewa pled guilty to assaults
that occurred in the Barton's
Camp subdivision ofthe reservation on January 19,2002.
Today, just two days into his
federal trial for assault, Robert
George Head, Jr., age 45, pleaded
ASSAULT to page 6
Turtle Mountain tribe again
facing turmoil
By Blake Nicholson
Associated Press
BELCOURT, N.D. — Turmoil is nothing new on the
Turtle Mountain reservation,
where an ousted chairman is
fighting in tribal court to get his
job back at the same time federal prosecutors are moving
against his predecessor and six
others.
Seven current and former
tribal officials, including the
acting tribal chairman, have
been indicted in the past month
on charges ranging from embezzlement to witness tampering.
Many people in Belcourt, the
biggest city on the reservation of
about 11,000 people, shy away
from discussing the indictments,
which have not stopped the government from functioning. Those
who will talk about them are unhappy.
Tribal leaders "are supposed to
be in it for the people, not for
themselves," said Jimmy
LaRocque, 75, a lifelong resident.
"I hope they catch them all."
"In our culture, what goes
around comes around," said
Cynthia Azure, 46, during a visit
TURMOIL to page 6
photo credits: Clara NiiSka
The Sisseton Wahpeton Vietnam Veterans and Kit Fox Society presents the colors during the Native
American Heritage Night pre-game ceremonies at the Twins - Orioles baseball game on August 13^.
By Maxine V. Eidsvig
Before a crowd of more than
20,000 people, the Minnesota
Twins beat the Baltimore Ori
oles Tuesday night, snapping a
losing streak that was beginning
to alarm baseball enthusiasts.
Coincidently, it was also Native
American Heritage Night. Jerry
Dearly, an enrolled member of
HERITAGE to page 8
Leech Lake: Land of rice and rich resources
By Renee Ruble
Associated Press
CASS LAKE, Minn. - Late
each summer, the clatter ofthe
wild rice harvest returns to the
pockets of water that flow across
northern Minnesota.
For hundreds of years, members of the Leech Lake Band of
Ojibwe have paddled these waters to gather the native grain that
feeds them physically and spiritually.
Band members leave their office
jobs during harvest to pray, to feast
and to preserve their ancestors'
ways. With some 40 reservation
lakes producing wild rice, Leech
Lake has the largest natural wild
rice production among the state's
11 American Indian bands.
"The rice is a part of us," said
band member Gerald White. "It's
mentioned in all our prayers."
The harvest also is an example
of a band fighting to protect its resources and traditions at a time of
economic growth that's changing
the face of its reservation.
The Leech Lake Reservation is
677,099 acres of prime land in the
LEECH LAKE to page 6