The Native American Press (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1993-03-19

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Judge rules Lower Sioux Band breaking
law in gambling payments
ST. PAUL (AP)
A federal judge says the Lower Sioux
Band is breaking the law in denying
paymentsfrom Jackpot Junction Casino
profits to some band members. U.S.
District Judge Paul Magnuson Monday
ordered the band to hold 30 percent of
thepayments from the casino atMorton
in a trust fund while the Department of
Interior reviews the restrictive payment
policy. The band denied payments to
some tribe members for three years
without obtaining the department's
permission, Magnuson said.
If the departmentdetermines that tribe
members have been wrongly deprived
of payments, the trust money could be
used to compensate the Indians who
weren't paid. Congress gave bands the
option of distributing a share of casino
profits to their members, but it said
nothing about paying some members
while excluding others, the judge said.
The Lower Sioux Band now pays a
total of about $364,000 a month to some
of its members. Magnuson said
depriving some members of payments
could violate civil rights. Two other
SiouxbandsinMinnesota also distribute
part of casino profits to members. The
Prairie Island Band gives money to
everyone it considers a member. The
Mdewakanton Band near Shakopee is
more restrictive. Neither has been
challenged in court
Minnesota's seven Chippewa bands
usecasinoprofitsforreservationprojects
rather than distributing the money
amongtheirmembers. TheLcwer Sioux
Bandbegan givingper-person payments
in 1990.Since then ithas given monthly
paymentsto 149adultsandl25children.
Each adult received about $4,300 in
1990, about $37,000 in 1991 and about
$33,000 in 1992,thejudgesaid. Children
received a smaller amount, placed in a
trust account until they become adults.
While the Bureau of Indian Affairs
recognizes 612 enrolled members ofthe
band, at least300 adults and an additional
number of children who claim
membership received no money during
the period. According to a lawsuit filed
by the Indians who got no money, most
of those denied payments live outside
the reservation. However, about 47
enrolled members live within
reservation boundaries, according to
the lawsuit. By refusing payments for
some residents while giving money to
others, the band's residency
requirement may be arbitrary,
Magnuson said.
Initially, the band set a 12-month
reservation residency requirement for
receiving casino payments. However,
members returned to the reservation
as the casino business thrived, and
band leaders changed the rules to
require members to have lived on or
within 10 miles ofthe reservation in
August 1990 to be eligible for
payments. Members who move to the
reservation after that date are
ineligible unless a majority of the
members already receiving the money
accept them.
Tribal Chairman Jody Goodthunder
defended the policy as a way to keep
money on the reservation for people
most deserving of it. He said the band
may appeal Magnuson's ruling if the
Interior Department won't endorse
its policy regarding casino profits.
Mille Lacs Negotiations fail in Senate committee
Native Red Lake Artist starts business
Fond du Lac College sponsors classes in Ojibway
stories
Governor Carlson loses negotiations battle
Questions are again asked about Community leaders
Judge orders Jackpot Junction Plan to BIA for review
Review of MAIC continues
Tobacco use clears the Mn Senate
By Harold Iron Shield
Tobacco has been part ofthe cultural
and spiritual life of American Indians
for centuries, however, state laws ban
smokingortheuseofany tobacco products in public school buildings.
A bill was introduced by Senator Skip
Finn seeking an exemption from such
state laws. "Tobacco, when used in a
ceremony, becomes a sacred item,"
said Larry Aitken, who was giving testimony at a recent committee hearing
on the bill. "Before theestablishment of
western laws," he continued, "the indigenous American Indiancommunities
had for centrales possessed, procured
and used forms of what modern man
defines as tobacco.''
The bill, Senate File-97, provides for
the exemption from the prohibition on
the use of tobacco products in the
public schools to permit use for spiritual or cultural purposes. In other
words, it would be illegal for Native
American spiritual people to perform
a ceremony while in a public school
building according to state laws. Various presenters in the public school
system throughout Minnesota support the bill because they feel
honorable to the ceremonies and do
not want to involve themselves in
anything that would be illegal under
state law.
On March 8,1993, a congressional
hearing was held to protect the religious rights of all Native Americans
throughout the nation. Ceremonies
which use tobacco are a part of this
protection, however, state laws infringe upon these rights. Because of
Minnesota's anti-smoking policy, tobacco use through ceremonies clashes
with the law.
The bill was referred to a committee and a hearing was held and recently
sent back to the senate floor with new
language for debate. The bill passed.
At this time the bill is in the House of
Representatives and still pending. It
is in the hands of a committee awaiting a hearing. If this bill passes the
House, it will go to Governor Arne
Carlson to be signed into law. No
tentative date had been set for the
House hearings at press time.
By Bill Lawrence
On March 17, The Press sent the
following letter to Joann Stately, who
is the recently elected President ofthe
Board of Directors ofthe Minneapolis
American Indian Center. In addition
to the information we previously reported on, this will enable us to proceed
with our review of the management of
thelndian center and inform the people
it was implemented to serve. It is for
them to decide if the center is meeting
their needs and if not, what action will
be taken.
A review of the MAIC became of
interest to The Press after numerous
complaints were made about the inadequacy of its operation. This would be
in direct contradiction to the substantial claims made by its staff and board
of providing housing, education, and
social services to the Indian community. In view of the AP reports
indicating that Minneapolis Indian
people have the highest rate of urban
poverty in the nation and score very
low in other areas as well, we felt a
review of some of the organizations
that are supposed to be serving the
people was warranted. The letter is as
follows:
Dear Ms. Stately:
In order that The Native American
Press can present the facts as responsible journalists, we hereby request to
review and make appropriate copies
ofthe following documents beginning
at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, March 22,
1993. Had our requests of August 5,
1992, and December 15, 1992, been
complied with in a spirit of cooperation maybe some of the negative
publicity your organization has received could have been avoided. The
required documents are as follows:
1. Copies of all contract and grant
awards from all sources (i.e., private
foundation, city, county, state, federal
and tribal governments) for the past
two (2) years. Please include copies of
all financial and narrative reports required to be prepared for all the above
requested contracts and grants for the
past two (2) years.
MAIC/SeePage6
Tims Largest Weekly Native Newspaper In North America
i
Native
First Native American Casino Management
Seminar planned [
Wm
Equal Opportunity For AM
Founded In IHS I     Volume B   Issue 45    March  IB, 1333
By Mel Rasmussen
The St. Croix Chippewas of Wisconsin
are sponsoring the 1 st Native American
Casino Management Seminar which
willbeheldonMonday,May3,1993, at
the Holiday Inn Entertainment &
Convention Center in Stevens Point,
Wisconsin.
The purpose ofthe seminar is to meet
with other Native American
ManagementTraineesorManagers and
discuss casino management issues with
each other. By joining together for a
common goal and acommon mission, it
is the hope that Native American casino
workers can continue to make their
casinos the best in the country.
The keynote address to the group is
tentatively scheduled to be given by
Mr. Leonard Prescott of Mystic Lake
Casino in Minnesota. Further
discussion will be held at informal
round table sessions that will be
facilitated by the St. Croix
Management Trainees. The
discussion groups will include such
topics as "Guest Services",
"Management Companies", "Off-
Reservation Gaming", "Sharing".
However, there will be other topics
discussed that will have an impact on
the gaming industry in Indian Country.
The closing remarks will come in a
evening dinner session. The closing
statements will be given by Mr. Morris
Anderson, general manager atthe Hole-
in-the-Wall Casino in Danbury,
Wisconsin, which is owned by the St
Croix Chippewas.
According to the management staff at
the St. Croix casino there is a need for
the development of these types of
seminars. Thepurposeoftheseseminars
is to go beyond the current public
relations ploys currently being by the
different gaming associations. It was
felt that the employees and managers
were the key players in keeping the
gaming industry viable and healthy.
Only byongoingtrainingseminars could
this be accomplished to give all ofthe
casinos a forum to address common
interests and problems.
For further information and to pre-
register for this seminar, contact JoAnn Downs at 1-800-846-8946.
1
Copyright, Tnm niativm American
1BB3
Racism comes in all colors
By Gary Blair
Most recently, your writer visited
Chanh'sFamilyBarber Shop, located at
2550 Bloomington Avenue South in
Minneapolis. I, like many other neighborhood people, patronize this barber
shop for their fine haircuts and reasonable prices. However, with this visit I
witnessed something that I feel American Indian parents in South Minneapolis should be made aware of so they can
help put a stop to it.
Upon entering Chanh's barber shop, I
stood with my back to the entrance.
Within seconds, the door opened be-
hindmeandlheardwhatatfirst sounded
like Asian people talking. But, when I
turned around, I witnessed four Ameri
can Indian youth trying to mimic the
sounds that accompany many of the
Asian languages. They made the loud
noises for a few seconds and then they
turned and ran out ofthe place laughing.
At first the incident took me by surprise. It wasn't until I saw the hurt looks
on the faces of Chanh VO and his wife,
did I realize what had happened. VO
told me that this had been happening on
a regular basis for the past year and he
wished that it would stop.
VO said it has been different ones each
time it's happened and he doesn't view
the teasing as harmless fun. Instead, he
has becomefearful. He said with hisbest
English, "I want to tell them please
don't hurt me. I won't hurt you."
VO opened his shop about three years
ago. I believe most people who have
taken the time to get to know him would
say that both VO and his wife are very
friendly, but what some may not know
is what brought them to this country.
Most likely, those youngsters who have
been doing the teasing don't remember
the Vietnam War and how people from
South Vietnam came here when it ended
out of fear for their lives. [South Vietnam was the side we were fighting with
to stop the spread of communism.] VO
remembers the war well because he
served as a military officer in the Vietnamese Armyforthirteeriyears. He was
burned by napalm from a B52 strike.
Racism/Page 5
Governor Arnie Carlson's last view of the Mille Lacs Treaty Settlement!
Governor's staff aides fail to get votes for
Mille Lacs Agreement Passage
...       ^....j   o *„..   commercial sale. At the end of the senate hearing in
The band would be given 7,500  the early morning hours, after hearing
By Harold
Rasmussen
Iron Shield & Mel
American Indian Research and Policy
Institute is established
By Mel Rasmussen
Last fall at Hamline University a
new organization was born. This new
kid on the block is called the American
Indian Research and Policy Institute.
Its roots came out of a forum on
American Indian Policy that was
sponsored by members of the Native
American legal community.
Since last September, a working
group from the legal community met
to identify and discuss the comments
presented by the attendees of this
seminar. This has been a ongoing
process and is expected to continue
for some time into the future.
In January, members ofthe institute
met and established a new board of
directors. There are still several seats
open and volunteers are being sought
tofill these positions. Since the board's
inception there have been several
areas that have been worked on. One
area was on the formulating of bylaws and articles of incorporation.
The second area was in attempting to
sponsor an Indian Elders' gathering
in preparation for the American
Indian Religious Freedom Act field
hearing that was held in Minneapolis
two weeks ago. However, due to
financial restrictions the institute was
unable to set this program up.
The Institute has filed its papers of
incorporation and are currently in the
process of filing for non-profit status
with the federal government. This
activity, in conjunction with a funding
proposal placed with the Bush
.
.b/i
Foundation will be the starting point
for a Policy Center in the upper
Midwest. This is a goal ofthe members
of the Institute and neatly dovetails
with similar discussions ofthe same
idea that is occurring around the
country.
Currently the group is working on
developing a training sessionfor federal
judges. This session is beingplannedby
the Hamline School of Law, members
ofthe Institute, and ofthe Minnesota
American Indian Bar Association.
Tentatively this training session will
occur in the summer of 1993.
If someone is interested in
volunteering for any type of work or
as a board member for the Institute
they can contact the Policy Institute at
612-641-2279
As many opponents and proponents
came to the capitol to testify on the
Mille Lacs Treaty issue this past
Tuesday.
Bud Grant, a more common person,
told legislators that he can't support a
"' secretly negotiated" agreement that
takes away our land, our water, our
money and our resources."
At this point, Senator Skip Finn,
intervened and asked, "What do you
mean our land, our water and
resources when my people are
indigenous, to the land you speak of."
The committee also heard testimony
from David Aubid, a treaty rights
iadvocate who urged the committee to
vote for a court hearing. "We are not
,-treated fairly on this issue," Aubid
?said, "I want this to go to court. The
Mille Lacs Band does not represent
jtne," he concluded.
The current settlement that
(legislators are being asked to ratify
would pay the Mille Lacs Band, $8.6
c million or 10 million if spread over
j.the next three years to limit the
hunting, fishing and gathering rights
in the ceded areas.
Members would not be able to
harvest game fish, big game for
acres of state land and exclusive use
of 6,000 acres of Mille Lacs lake,
where tribal members could spear
and net fish.
The Mille Lacs issue poses a
"complex situation." And so, the
Indian law experts made an attempt
17 hours of testimony. Senator Steve
Morse made a motion to table hisbill,
the committee majority voted in favor
of the motion and the meeting
adjourned.
The Mille Lacs Treaty issue will
prolong and perhaps, will end up in
to create a understanding of all of court after all. The bill will be heard
this.
"Water is like a sacred trust, water
is for everybody," said Bud Grant.
"Spearing is illegal and netting is
unsportsman way of catching fish."
Dick Sternberg, former DNR
fisheries biologist and Save Lake
Mille Lacs Association spokesman,
said the exclusive tribal fishing zone
in Lake Mille Lacs and the permitted
gill netting of walleye under the
proposed agreement could provoke
violence.
A resolution from the Minnesota
Chippewa Tribal Executive
Committee has introduced as part of
the testimony. A resolution that gives
its support to the Mille Lacs band to
negotiate with the State ofMinnesota.
Senator Steve Morse, introduced
Wednesday in a House committee
hearing.
Political   update   of   the
settlement hearings
Senator Kevin Chandler-DFL,
District 55, spoke about the hearings
and commented on the failure ofthe
Governors aides and staff to pull out
the support for the negotiated
settlement. According to Chandler
the Governor was not able to deliver
the horses necessary to ensure the
passage ofthe negotiated settlement.
The Senate Environment and
Natural Resources Committee voted
to table the agreement after Senator
Steven Morse, DFL-Dakota, and chief
  legislative sponsor of the proposed
an amendment to be enacted as part of settiement, criticized the Governor
the state's negotiated effort not to  for not being abie t0 SUpply the
interfere with treaty rights with the
Mille Lacs Band. Mille LaCS/See Page 5