Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2002-09-27

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
NEWS BRIEFS
2
3
Do "the other
people" accept
responsibility?
Reader objects to
publication of
Nagorski letter
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
4
CLASSIFIEDS
7
r,~~~    A
page 4
page 4
Presentation of
evidence for recall of
Chairman Eli O.Hunt
page 4
Audrey Thayer is
best candidate for
County
Commissioner
page 4
Commentary
Shakopee Mdewakanton
enrollment problems,
IIM problems endemic
to BIA
page 4
Defiant Red Lake man asks judge to overturn
custody order for lack of jurisdiction
By Jeff Armstrong
While the Minnesota Supreme
Court contemplates adoption of a
rule which would presumptively
bind state courts to enforce tribal
court orders, the justices would do
well to consider the case of Jawnie
Hough.
As a resident of Bemidji at the
time, Hough sued ex-husband
Donald Brun, Jr. for divorce in
Beltrami County in 1999. Alleging
several incidents of spousal violence and abuse, including one
which resulted in Brun pleading
guilty of fifth degree assault,
Hough was awarded custody of her
daughter and granted a protection
order against Brun.
Unbeknownst to the Anishinabe
woman, however, Brun had obtained countervailing divorce, OFP
and custody orders against her in
Red Lake tribal court, without apparently disclosing the existence of
the conflicting state court orders.
Hough's child was taken from
her and she was charged with parental abduction Jan. 10,2001, on
the strength of a state court "comity" hearing of which she had no
prior notice. District Judge
Terrance Holter granted the father
custody based on the Red Lake
tribal court order, but the judge
subsequendy overturned his ruling
because Brun "did perpetrate misconduct on this court." On March
4,2002, Holter ruled that Bran's
actions violated Hough's fundamental constitutional rights.
"As a parent and primary physical custodian, [Hough] 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 sub
stantive rights."
Holter ordered Brun to return the
child to her mother no later than
March 10, but Hough continues to
wait for the final chapter of the
nightmarish saga Although her legal custody ofthe girl under state
law is hardly in doubt, a Minnesota
agency recendy ordered Hough to
pay hundreds of dollars in back
child support for Meghan on behalf
of the father—again under threat of
criminal punishment.
"He was supposed to be paying
me $290 a month," says Hough.
"The state can come after me, but
they can't touch him. They're trying to collect child support from
me back to when I had Meghan at
home. They said they couldn't collect from him because he's on the
reservation. As long he runs to the
reservation, he can get away with
murder."
Brun appeared before Judge
RED LAKE to page 3
Armstrong, Lawrence appeal freedom of the press case
Press/ON reporter Jeff
Armstrong and publisher Bill
Lawrence filed separate appeals on
September 23 in the civil rights
case Armstrong vs. Mille Lacs
Band of Ojibwe. U.S. Magistrate
Judge Raymond Erickson, of
Duluth, Minn., dismissed the suit in
late August, finding that the Mille
Lacs Band police officer Marc
Garbinger had probable cause to
arrest Armstrong. The arrest occurred at a pre-meettng ofthe tribal
executive committee ofthe Minnesota Chippewa Tribe at a meeting
room at the Grand Casino Mille
Lacs on the Mille Lacs reservation.
Armstrong was arrested and
charged with trespass, and incarcerated for four hours, or during the
duration of the meeting, in the
Mille Lacs County jail.
Armstrong's beat included covering meetings of the MCT tribal executive committee in the past.
Early last summer, Armstrong and
Lawrence settied the part of the
lawsuit against Mille Lacs County
and the Mille Lacs Sheriffs' Department. Lawrence said he felt it
necessary to appeal because he
thought Judge Erickson made an
erroneous decision about the probable cause issue. He felt that it
needed to be reviewed at a higher
level because of its importance.
Lawrence beheves that TEC
chairman Norman Deschampe did
not have the legal authority to exclude Armstrong from the pre-
meeting, or during the time that
they were waiting for a quorum of
the TEC to show up. If that was allowed, than any official could close
any meeting from pubhc scrutiny
by excluding anyone they didn't
want before the meeting started.
After a quorum is present and the
meeting has officially convened,
government meetings are required
to follow open meeting laws. The
must actually vote on whether or
not to go into 'executive session,'
and the circumstances under which
an executive session can be called
are sharply constrained, for example including discussion of personnel matters.
"I don't feel that our rights of
free speech and freedom ofthe
press can be so arbitrarily and capriciously denied or taken away,"
Lawrence said.
Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment results: Native
students scores improve for grade 5, slip for grade 3
By Jean Pagano
The results of the Minnesota
Comprehensive Assessments
(MCA) for the state's 3rd and 5,h
grade students were-released this
week. The MCA is given to students in March and the results are
usually released in July. Due to
budgetary constraints, the results
this year were not released until
September.
The tests have been given to
Minnesota students in the 3rd and
5* grades since 1998. Underthe
President's 'Leave No Student Behind' initiative, students must be
regularly tested beginning in the
third grade. While Minnesota's
testing does not cover ah of the
grade levels from 3 through 12, the
state is considering expanding the
testing program. While there are no
passing levels in the MCA, the results are closely watched and
schools are evaluated based upon
the results that are generated.
Scores are broken into five levels, Levels I, Ha lib, HI, and IV.
Level I students are described as
having gaps in the knowledge and
skills necessary for satisfactory
work in the state's content standards. Level Ua students have partial knowledge and some ofthe
skills necessary for achieving satisfactory work in the state's content
standards. Level Db students are
working successfully on grade-
level material and are on track to
achieve satisfactory work in the
state's content standards. Level Dl
students demonstrate solid perfor
mance and competence in the
knowledge and skills necessary for
satisfactory work in the state's content standards, and Level IV students demonstrate advanced academic performance, knowledge,
and skills that exceed the level necessary for satisfactory work in the
state's content standard.
For grade 3 students, testing is
given for reading and mathematics.
For both of these categories, general scores across all students fell
slightly this year. The average score
for reading in grade 3 was 1486.2.
Reading scores for Native 3rd
grades were at 1386.2. This number was slightly below last year's
average for Native students of
SCORES to page 8
William Mitchell College of Law holds court proceeding
on case involving the Lower Sioux Court of Appeals
On September 23, 2002, the
William Mitchell College of
Law conducted Tribal Court
proceedings on the Lower Sioux
Court of Appeals case, Pulk v.
Blue. The event was open to the
public. According to Jill Esch,
president of the American Indian Law Student Association at
William Mitchell College of
Law, "having the Tribal Court at
William Mitchell is a unique opportunity for law students and
the public to observe a court
system that is separate from the
federal and state judicial systems."
The proceedings began
promptly at 9:00 a.m. with tribal
court judge Andrew M. Small
presiding, joined by associate
judges Steven F. Olson and Susan L. Allen. Judge Small made
the opening remarks outlining
the event. He began by informing the audience in the packed
auditorium that there are currently 570 recognized tribes in
the United States and 300 formally organized tribal courts.
Several other points of information that he provided included
that there were no separation of
powers in tribal government;
that tribal courts were thriving
and respected; that Congress has
plenary powers over Indian
tribes; and that the legal system
encompassing tribal courts involves a "unique area of law."
A handout was provided listing
APPEALS to page 3
Judge reinstates suit against
governor over gaming compacts
By Jenny Price
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. — A state
appeals court Thursday reinstated
Dairyland Greyhound Park's lawsuit against the governor, which
seeks to bar the administration
from renegotiating compacts that
allow American Indian tribes to
run casinos.
The 4th District Court of Appeals decision overturned Dane
County Circuit Judge John C.
Albert's ruling dismissing
Dairyland's claim because it
failed to name the tribes in its
lawsuit.
Albert noted in his decision
that tribes are considered sovereign nations, which gives them
the ability to claim immunity to
such lawsuits.
The appeals court agreed with
the circuit court that the tribes
have an intense economic interest
in the lawsuit because of the revenue they get from their casinos.
But the appeals court also said
if the lawsuit is not aUowed to
continue just because the tribes
can't be named, "an important legal issue having significant pubhc
pohcy implications will evade
resolution."
Dairyland's lawsuit claims that
LAWSUIT to page 3
Court gives Arizona governor power
to make Indian gaming deals
By David Kravets
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO —A federal
appeals court has overturned an order that was blocking Arizona's
governor from negotiating Indian
gaming compacts without the
Legislature's consent.
But Thursday's decision may
have httle impact. As Gov. Jane
HuU's powers were embroUed in
litigation, three gambling measures
qualified for the November baUot.
If one wins, that measure is expected to guide Arizona's gambling
future.
"If a baUot measure passes, it
would supersede the old laws that
are the subject of this lawsuit," said
NeU Vincent Wake, an attorney for
POWER to page 3
Senate defeats
proposed
moratorium on
federal tribal
recognition
By Mehssa B. Robinson
Associated Press
WASHINGTON —The U.S.
Senate Monday rejected an argument by Connecticut Democratic
Sens. Christopher Dodd and Joseph Lieberman that federal tribal
recognition be frozen until the process is reformed.
The Senate voted 80-15 to table
a moratorium proposed by the
Connecticut senators. The vote es-
sentiaUy kiUed the plan and shut off
further debate.
Lieberman, realizing the proposal would be defeated, said during the debate that concerns about
the recognition process wiU persist
as more communities grapple with
traffic, strained pohce and fire services, and other affects from casinos run by federaUy recognized
tribes.
"This is a problem that's not going to go away," he said. "It's going
to be felt more and more around
the country. Our aspiration is to
MORATORIUM to page 3
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A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2002
Founded in 1988
Volume 15 Issue 17        September 27,2002
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photo credit Clara NiiSka
Eugene L. White-Fish, president of the National American Indian Court Judges Association (NAICJA) and
judge of the Forest County Potawatomi tribal court in Wisconsin, gave a presentation to the Minnesota Tribal
Court State Court Forum in Shakopee on September 20h, whUe MiUe Lacs Anishinabe elder Vince HiU listens.
White-fish gave a presentation on tribal courts, and in the context of the forum's lobbying efforts to gain Minnesota Supreme Court acceptance ofthe forum's proposed 'FuU Faith and Credit rule" despite the Supreme Court
rules committee's unanimous rejection ofthe rule, "if NAICJA can assist you in any way, give me a caU."
White-Fish was not on the agenda for the September 20th Tribal Court State Court Forum, which after opening preliminaries originaUy included only a report on the September 13"1 Board of Governor's response to the
FuU Faith & Credit proposal, and forum consideration ofthe "Supreme Court Hearing set for October 29,2001"
for consideration of the forum's proposed rule to grant tribal court decisions the fuU force of Minnesota state law.
, > The forum's September 20,h meeting, according lo tribal attorney and forum chair Andrew SmaU's statements
to Minnesota court admimstraubn, was iniually slated to be a' closed" meeting. However, after pressure from
he media and citizens' groups, forum organizers made non-publicized changes to the forum agenda with White-
Fish's presentation open to the pubUc.
The forum then intended to go into "executive session," excluding the media and concerned members ofthe
pubhc, although not apparentiy planning on excluding invited guests. However, after on-the-record objections
ly community members and attorney Randy Thompson's promise to file a judicial ethics complaint if the Minnesota judiciary who are members of the Tribal Court State Court forum met in private with tribal attorneys, the
meeting was iriformaUy adjourned during an intermission.
Danish journalist wants to enhance European
understanding of Native American culture
by Clara NiiSka
Danish journalist Michael von
Bulow, age 40, has been a journalist for sixteen years. For the past
nine years, he's worked for one of
he world's oldest newspaper
houses, Berlingske Tidende, which
was founded in 1749 and is now on
the internet at http://
www.berUngske.dk/
Bulow has just completed a two-
week study tour of "Indian country" in South Dakota and Minnesota including visits to Pine Ridge,
Rosebud White Earth, Red Lake,
Leech Lake, and MiUe Lacs reservations. He also visited with Indians in the Twin Cities metro area
including Ed McGaa Dave
Larson, and members ofthe Native
American Journalists Association.
He visited with indigenous people
on the White Earth reservation and
had arranged for visits with tribal
leaders at Red Lake and Leech
Lake but found that "geographical
Photo: Clara NiiSka
Danish journalist Michael von Bulow
with the watchdog of public interest,
"Animush."
distances are a factor larger than I
anticipated'' and ran out of time on
this trip. He says that he hopes to
come back to Minnesota for another
visit
Bulow told Press/ON, "I had a
headline for this project before I left
home: 'Contemporary life and setf-
perceptions of Native Americans
kvingintheUS."' He said "I've
been studying Indian history for a
couple of years, and I've been reading the books avaUable in my country. But, I wanted to reach a deeper
BULOW to page 3
New Indian
Resource Center
at Bemidji State
Lee Cook, a Red Lake enroUee
who has worked a broad range of
Indian services agencies over the
years, started as the executive director of the American Indian Re-
CENTER to page 8
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux community
enrollment problems
Editor's note: Ever since the Minnesota Sioux War of 1862, the
Mdewakanton Sioux people of
Minnesota have had identity problems. Since 1969, the
Mdewakanton community has
also had enrollment problems.
Press/ON recently received a copy
of a letter sent to former Assistant
Secretary of the Interior for Indian
Affairs Kevin Gover from Barbara
Feezer Buttes, a Mdewakanton descendant, dated March 6,2000.
The letter addressed enrollment
and identity problems ofthe Minnesota Mdewakanton Sioux of
Prior Lake. According to Ms.
Buttes, neither Gover nor anyone
else from the Department of the
Interior or the Bureau of Indian
Affairs ever responded to her letter. Ms. Buttes told Press/ON that
shortly after Gover received the
letter, he resigned from the Department and went to work for the law
firm of Leonard, Street and
Deinert, the firm that represents
the current tribal government of
the Mdewakanton Shakopee
Sioux Community.
The letter has also been sent to
U.S. House Committee on Re
sources and the U.S. Justice Department.
Because of its meticulous research going back to the organic
documents founding the Minnesota
Dakota communities, in-depth
documentation and analysis, and
historical importance to the Minnesota Sioux/Dakota community and
the issues it covers, Press/ON decided to reprint the letter in its entirety.
Mr. Kevin Gover, Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs
United States Department ofthe Interior, Office of the Secretary
1849 C Street NW, MS 4140-MTB
Washington, DC 20240
Subject: The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community EnroU-
ment Problems and the Minnesota
Mdewakanton Sioux Identity
Dear Mr. Gover:
I write to you as a professional
anthropologist who has for decades
observed and studied the ongoing,
corrupt and iUegal situation in Prior
Lake, Minnesota. For your information, I enclosed a copy ofthe
American Anthropological Association Code of Ethics, to which I am
professionaUy bound as a researcher. As you know, the compelling
poUtical situation involving the
Minnesota Mdewakanton Sioux in
Prior Lake likely represents the
most momentous set of issues facing modem American Indians. In
my April 26,1999, letter to you, I
outlined some of the fundamental
problems at Prior Lake and I stated
my overaU bias with regard to the
issues.
In the legal, federal documents,
an already complex history of
Mdewakanton Sioux pohtical
identity grew more comphcated
with the events that occurred after
the 1862 Minnesota Sioux War.
The federal government helped
Minnesotans exile most
Mdewakanton people from the
State in 1863. The exdes eventuaUy became part of a coUective
pohtical entity known as the
Santee Sioux of Nebraska. The
Mdewakanton people who remained in Minnesota after the
1862 War were redefined during
the 1880s by a series of Congres-
SHAK0PEE to page 6