The Native American Press (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1993-03-12

              White Earth bid to increase casino
managers fees is denied by board
By Bill Lawrence
In a decision dated March 3, 1993,
Kathryn A. Lynn, Chief Administrative
Judge of the U.S. Department of
Interior's Board of Indian Appeals,
affirmed a decision ofthe Minneapolis
Area Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA). The decision modified the terms
of the management contract between
the White Earth Tribal Council and
Gaming World International (GWI) to
manage the tribe's Shooting Star Casino
in Mahnomen, MN.
The decision, which is believed to be
the first involving the National Indian
Gaming Act (NIGA) of 1988, increased
the take for the tribe in the split of casino
profits from 60% to 70% and reduced
theshareof GWIfrom40%to 30%. The
decision also reduced the term of the
contract from 7 years to 5 years and
orderedtheBIA to reconsiderits decision
of treating casino development costs as
operating expenses as opposed to debt
service and thereforefromgross receipts.
One result ofthe decision will be to
increase gaming profits for the tribe.
This is unusual because it was the
the appeal. According to background
facts ofthe decision, early in 1991 the
tribe entered into negotiations with
GWI to manage the operation and
provide training in gaming management for tribal members. Despite some
disagreement between the tribe and
the BIA as to whether the document
submitted was a draft or a proposed
contract, it was approved by the BI Aon
March 6, 1992 as modified by increasing the split of gaming profits
from 60/40 to 70/30 in favor of the
tribe, reducing the term from 7 years
to 5 years and adding the requirement
of charging development costs off as
operating expenses. The tribe appealed the approved amended contract
to the Board of Indian Appeals shortly
thereafter. Despite a lot of controversy on the White Earth Reservation,
the Shooting Star Casino was opened
by the tribe on May 25, 1992.
In their brief, the tribe, who was
represented by attorney Peter W. Cannon of Mahnomen, MN, challenged
the authority ofthe BIA to review the
contract in view of the passage of the
National Indian Gaming Act. The
dling of its review of the contract on
procedural grounds. The appeals
board rejected both challenges by ch>
ing sections of the U.S. Code
authorizing the BIA to review this
type of contract despite the fact that
NIGA regulations were not in force.
The board also found that the BIA's
procedural review ofthe contract did
not violate existing BIA regulations.
In addition, the tribe challenged the
BIA's decision to reduce the split of
casino profits to 70/30 on the basis of
reasonableness in view ofthe alleged
investments by GWI. According to
information in the decision, GWI is
alleged to have initially invested
$5,000,000 in the casino and, due to
unexpected costs and.hotel furnishings, its investment has increased to
over $7,500,000. The board rejected
the tribe's argument by stating that
even if that were the case, it did not
justify more than the 70/30 split.
Additional information from the decision reflected that the BIA showed
the board that the tribe had already
invested$l 1,800,00 fromits WELSA
AIM'S charitable status is in question
White Earth loses court case in appeals court
AIRFA meetings conclude in Minneapolis
Hennepin Detox Issue still alive
Marge Anderson speaks out on gambling
UNION has successful conference
Incident reports substantiate
abuse at Hennepin County Detox
tribe's governing body that requested tribe also challenged the BIA's han-  Legal/See Page 4
Gambling on the future
By Gary Blair
On March 9, 1993, The Press received eight of the more than 100
incident reports that had been filed
with the state of Minnesota health
officials encharged with probing the
patient abuse at the old Hennepin
County Detox Center. The following
is what one American Indian man
wrote about his experience as a client
at the detox center before it was closed
last fall:
"During my last admission to ARC
(Alcohol Receiving Center), while
still intoxicated, one ofthe other clients performed felatio on me and then
he performed anal intercourse with
me. As a result, I have pain and
swelling inside my rectum, and I believe I may have been infected with
gonorrhea or clap and wish to get a
shot for it of some powerful antibiotic
because I've been feverish for three
days."
Another report described the near
fatal beating of a man who was sober
at the time. He was beaten by a security guard on the first floor ofthe old
detox center. A portion of the report
is as follows: "I heard on of the
janitors ask the gaurd, 'Ed, what's
going on in there?' (There was a loud
rumbling.)Ed's response was, 'That's
Virgil working him over.' I got up
and went to the door which has a
small window in it and observed
Robinson pull  up off the
floor by his hair, knee him, hove him
into the chair and vorce his nightstick
against 'sthroat. 's
complexion turned red and it was
obvious his airway was being blocked
by the pressure."
In addition to these two reports,
there are more than 100 others that
were never addressed by the state of
Minnesota, Hennepin County and the
American Indain community for over
ten years. This is the abuse Irene
Wade was complaining about at the
meeting reported in the March 5 edition of The Press.
Detox/See Page 3
Ms. Marge Anderson, Tribal
Chairperson, Mille Lacs Band of
Chippewa
By David Hawley
Reprinted by permission of
St Paul Pioneer Press
In a small banquet room at Grand
Casino Mille Lacs, Marge Anderson,
chief executive of the Mille Lacsband of
Chippewa, is performinga routine duty
for any chief of state: She's making a
speech.
A matronly woman with thick, tinted
glasses, Anderson is addressing an
awards luncheonfor four casino security
guards who last October used their
emergency training to save the life ofan
infant who was choking. The audience
is a mixture of reservation and casino
officials, both American Indian and
white.
It's clear that Anderson will never win
prizes in oratory. In a flat, colorless
monotone, sheplowsthroughaprepared
text. Meanwhile, James Jarvis
Harrington, the baby who almost died,
competes for audience attention as he
wriggles on his mothers lap.
Suddenly, while describing- the
emergency, Anderson's voice begins to
shake. She gasps, tries to continue, then
stops. "I'm sorry," she murmurs,
struggling through tears. She takes
several deep breaths, smiles softly and
sets the text aside.
"Jarvis is my namesake," Anderson
says. For this audience, her statement
explains her emotions. It is a
Chippewa custom to honor an adult
after the birth of a child in a naming
ceremony. What appears to be just
another routine occasion is revealed
for what it really is. The equivalent
of a clan celebration, a moment in
the life of a close knit community.
The participants at this occasion
aren't all Indians. Even so, the chief
executive comes across as
everybody's selfless godmother.
She's far more than that. At 60,
Anderson is presiding over what
may be the most profound change
for the Mille Lacs band since white
people came to Minnesota.. Fueled
by millions in profits from two
casinos and the first bond issue (for
$15 million) ever floated by an
American Indian tribe, the Mille
Lacs Chippewa are engaged in a
massive effort to rebuild their
reservation.
Thousands of acres of former
reservation property have been
bought back from non-reservation
owners. The tribe is building roads,
water and sewage-treatment
systems, erecting two schools, a
day-care facility, a hospital-sized
clinic, two community centers, and
two massive log buildings
ceremonial events. More that 50
new houses will be built this year
and an equal number of existing
homes, many of them built under
Housing and Urban Development
Department programs in the late
1970's,arebeingrehabilitated. And
that's only the plan for this year.
Plans for 1994, called "Phase Two",
include a public works facility, a
huge government center, a third
community center for the tribe's
biggest district, plus more houses
and more home renovations.
Tribal government has swelled
to more that 300 employees and
consultants - from teachers to
garbage collectors, from cops to
appeals court judges. Some 65
separate programs are administered
from tiny, cluttered offices in a
temporary trailer complex across
the road from the casino.
But underneath the bustle and
exhilaration of dreams being carved
into reality lurks a profound
pessimism and bitter cynicism that
is the legacy of generations of
despair:
Something will surely happen,
something to destroy the dreams.
Indians now have a monopoly on
Minnesota's multibillion-dollar
casino industry, but the Minnesota
Legislature is debating a proposal to
expand video gambling to taverns
and similar establishments. If the
proposal is enacted, "We'll be finished
before we've barely gotten started,"
Anderson says. For a brief moment
she dwells on bitter certainty:
"It's history repeating itself," she
mutters.
Then her gaze narrows, "Well, we're
not going to give up without a fight:
we're going to tell our side of the
story," she says. "And, meantime,
we're going to build as fast as possible.
We're going to diversify. We can't just
depend on gaming for our survival."
Anderson's problems are not all
external. Within the tribe, details of
the building programs continue to bei
debated hotly, sparked by regional
interests among band members who
live on scattered tribal holdings that
are separated by distances of 80 miles
or more.
And, in addition, there is the
controversial Mille Lacs fishing
treaty, which was approved Tuesday
in a special tribal referendum. Held to
determine the will of band members,
the non-binding plebiscite sets the
stage for a struggle in the legislature,
where sporting groups and others
oppose the proposal.
Anderson worked hard to generate
support for the proposed treaty
agreement, visiting homes for face-
to-face talks with band members. Her
tactic apparently succeeded with
reservation residents, but tribal
members who don't live on the
reservation - and they account for
nearly half of the 2,500 members of
the band - tended to vote against the
proposal.
If the agreement is approved by the
Legislature, the size of Mille Lacs
reservation lands will more than
double - from about 6,000 acres to
nearly 13,500 acres. More land is a
Anderson/Page3
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Founded in 1991       Volume B  issue 44      March  IB, 1993
1333
Photo by Mel Rasmussen
Respected Lakota elder, Pete Catches, arrives to provide testimony at AIRFA hearing.
Tribes gather and meet to address AIRFA
Paul Ogren Meets with Indian Community
to explore Gubernatorial Options
By Mel Rasmussen can concerns and needs in the state
Paul Ogren, former Representative
of District 14A, recently met with
members ofthe Native American community to discuss his options in
pursuing the race for governor in the
state ofMinnesota. Ogren met to hear
the concerns and gain a better understanding of the problems that are
occurring within the state ofMinnesota.
Numerous questions were asked of
Ogren about his understanding ofthe
issues within the community. Ogren
stated numerous times that the needs
of the Indian community have not
been truly represented by the existing
structures within the state nor by the
supportive organizations that were
allegedly representing Native Ameri-
Some ofthe key issues that Ogren
stated that he would back and support
would include legislation and support for all forms of tribal recognition
by the state ofMinnesota. This would
include recognition of the Pipestone
Band and the Sandy Lake and Lake
Lena Bands, continued strengthening of the issues dealing with the
religious freedoms ofNative Americans, complete recognition by the state
ofthe sovereignty ofthe tribes.
Ogren pointed out that he has had a
major concern for the issues in the
past for Native Americans in this
state. He cited his work at providing
the funding and building ofthe new
Fond du Lac Community College on
the Fond du Lac Reservation. He felt
that through efforts like this that the
barriers to discrimination and understanding by all sides of the various
communities would create a change
in the state.
Ogren also pointed out that there
had to be major changes in the delivery systems of services to the Indian
community. He listened as members
of the metropolitan Indian community discussed and pointed out how
there is a breakdown in services from
the reservation to the urban community.
Ogren felt that it was important to
let the Native American community
know that there is a need for their
involvement in the political process.
He urged all members of the Native
American community throughout the
state to become involved as this was
the way to make a difference.
By Mel Rasmussen
Monday, February 8, 1993, was the
day when the Nations of Turtle Island
came together in the Midwest to present
their views concerning the American
Indian Religious Freedom Act
amendments. The site of this meeting
was at Augsburg College and over a
thousand Native Americans gathered
from across the midwest to present their
views.
But, it became apparent that because
ofthe issues and self-importance ofthe
federal government, time was of the
essence, and it did not truly lend itself to
thismodern day gathering ofthepeople.
Even though the venerated elder and
spiritual leaderfrom SouthDakota, Pete
Catches, stated the ancestors and spirits
were here with us, this meeting was
reminiscentofandinessencean instant
replay of other meetings in the past that
have occurred with the federal
government and their designated
representatives. However, this time it
was apparent that the children of the
tribal leaders who faced the government
in the signing of the treaties were
prepared this time and would not let the
and coerce them in this day and age.
The opening statements by Senator
Daniel Inouye were words from the
past. It was apparent that even though
he felt a sense of empathy with the issues
that were to be discussed, his spirit
brought out the ever present negative
energies that the federal government
has used to deal with its Indian Problem.
Inouye believes in what he is doing for
the Native American community but
his presentation smacked of patronage
and condescension. Again, time was of
the essence and it appeared there was
going to be a problem allowing the
people to speak out on the issues at
people captured the essence of the
problems that face Native Americans
and addressed these issues with the
force and powerful quiet dignity that is
the strength ofthe Native Americans in
this country.
Gaiashkibos, the Tribal Chairman of
the Lac Courte Oreilles Band of the
Lake Superior Chippewa Indians and
the President ofthe National Congress
of American Indians stated itbest in his
testimony. He said "I come before you
with some misgiving that time and
context does not allow testimony of this
panel from high spiritual leaders and
practitioners from other tribes and pan-
hand. Theself-containedimportanceof  ln&™ religious groups. My misgiving
the Senate Select Committee staff and
their small specious views ofthe issues
were evident throughout this staged
event.
However, even with these constraints
there were a number of speakers who
spoke the truth and gave the messages
ofthe people to the federal government.
Powerful testimony was given by such
speakers as the venerable Peter Catches,
Orville Looking Horse, Betty
Greencrow, Gaiashkibos, John Sun
Child Richard Watkins, Bernard Red
is thatyour committee and the religious
conclaves of our society may not hear
the deep spiritual values and tenets of
our American Indian religions that
survived with my people down through
theages, and to which we so tenaciously
cling today as a matter of religious
freedom. I pray for forgiveness for all of
us in this room today, if oversight or
omission causes important spiritual
omission in our quest for freedom of
religion for all People. I do have with
me, however, the written commitment
greatwWtefathers'representativesabuse   Cloud Eddie Benton Benai. These   Hearings/Page 4
To Report Instances, of theft, embezzlement and misuse of your gaming funds, call the U.S. Department of
Interior Inspector General's Hotline at 1-800-424-5081. Your calls will be kept confidential.