The Native American Press (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1993-08-06

              Controversy surrounds key figure in SRcasino
proposal
Medure's dealings in Minnesota criticized
By Steve Hart and James Sweeney
Staff writers Santa Rosa, California
The man who wants to bring casino
gambling to Santa Rosa is a
controversial figure on the Minnesota
Indian reservation where he runs a
$20 million gaming complex.
Tribal leaders in Minnesota say
Angelo Medure, 64, is a businessman
'who is bringing prosperity to the
White Earth Indian Reservation.
But Indians dissidents say Medure
is ripping off the tribe, leaving most
Indians with nothing.
"Nobody knows where the money
goes,'' said Lowell Bellanger, a Chip
pewa Indian who opposes the tribal
casino. "Our people are still sitting
on the welfare bench."
Federal authorities also have been
critical of business arrangements between Medure and the White Earth
Chippewa tribe. The Minnesota casino was cited in a federal report that
said tribes have lost millions of dollars because of theft, fraud and
mismanagement by outside gaming
management firms. White Earth Tribal Chairman Darrell "Chip" Wadena
dismissed the critics saying Medure
is a "straight shooter" who has kept
his word to the tribe. "It's been good
for both sides," said Wadena.,The
tribe has about 20,000 members, with
almost 5,000 living on the reservation in western Minnesota.
He said hundreds of Indians are
working at the Shooting Star hotel-
casino complex and profits are being
used to finance the new tribal businesses. The casino, which has	
computerized slot machines and
scores of blackjack tables, pulled in
$2 million over Memorial Day weekend alone, Wadena said.
Medure, who owns several construction companies in Pennsylvania,
is a partner in the $75 million gam-
Medure/SeePage3
Tribal border rally called self-serving ruse by
some
By Susan Stanich
News-Tribune staff writer
[Reprinted with permission of News-
Tribune]
A call from the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe president for tribal members
to rally at the Canadian border this
week is being described as a self-
serving ruse by some members.
Darrell "Chip" Wadena, who also
serves as chairman of the tribe's
White Earth Reservation, sent a letter to members ofthe 36,000-person
tribe last month, calling them to gath-
er Thursday at the border at
International Falls. He asked them to
'' show support to enforce and uphold
the treaties recognizing the rights
that indigenous people have in respect to international borders,
freedom of movement, exemptions
from customs and other rights.''
But some of his White Earth constituents say that Wadena is interested
only in expanding his own gambling
operation to Canada, and is using a
treaty that guarantees Indian people
unencumbered border passage as a
tool to keep federal, provincial and
state authorities at bay.
He's never shown this kind of interest in indigenous ortreaty rights in all
his 17 years in office, Erma Vizenor,
White Earth activist, said.
"Chip Wadena is asking the TEC
for support of a rally on the Canadian
border, to ball himself our to criminal
activities with Gaming World International, '' Lowell Bellanger of White
Earth wrote last week to members of
the Tribal Executive Committee.
"...He is giving the TEC and every
tribai gaming industry a bad name...
Rally/See Page 5
By Mel Rasmussen
On Saturday, August 7, 1993,
Ms. Ada Deer will be sworn in as
the new Assistant Secretary for
Indian Affairs of the Department
ofthe Interior. The ceremony will
take place at the Woodland Bowl,
as part of the Menominee nation
Pow-wow, in her hometown of
Keshena, Wisconsin.
Ms. Deer will be making crucial
decisions regarding issues which
will affect Indian policy. She will
also be establishing policies on
Indian affairs, and act as a
coordinator and liaison between
the U.S. Department ofthe Interior
and other federal agencies which
provide services or funding to
Indians. Another part of her
responsibility will be to represent
the department in its dealings with
Congress. As Assistant Secretary
of Indian Affairs, she will be
responsible for providing the
Secretary of the Interior, Bruce
Babbitt, with detailed and
objective advice on matters
involving Indians and Indian
affairs.
In a PRESS interview conducted
with Ms. Deer in February, 1993,
she was asked what her first action
would be if she was selected as the
new Director of the Bureau of
Indian Affairs. She stated, "I know
that there has been this on-going
study concerning the Bureau. We
need to review it and build a net.
Also Mr. Clinton, the President
needs to issue a presidential
statement affirming government
to government relationship
holding the trust agreements up.
This is the type of leadership that
I would look for from the President.
I would consult with Babbitt and
tribal leaders and try to help tribes
advance according to their
decisions."
Tribes from across the nation
have been invited to attend a
celebration honoring Ms. Deer, as
she becomes the first Menominee
and woman to head the Bureau of
Indian Affairs. Among the guests
invited are such distinguished
tribal leaders as Glen Miller,
Menominee Tribal Chairman,
Gaiashkibos, La Courte Orreille
Tribal Chairman and current
president of the National Congress
of American Indians. Also former
Tribal Chairman, Roger Jourdain
from the Red Lake Band of
Chippewa will be attending.
Ms. Deer has devoted most of
her life to helping others, whether
it be on the national, state, or
local level. She has worked as a
school social worker, a community
service coordinator for the Bureau
of Indian Affairs, and as a advocate
for the American Rights Fund.
Glen Miller, Menominee Tribal
Chairman stated, "The celebration
will give the Menominee people
the opportunity to demonstrate
their appreciation of Ada's
accomplishment to the entire
country. We are very proud of Ada
and want to share her talents with
all people, Indian and non-Indians
alike."
As Ms. Deer takes office, it is
time to watch and see if she can
come through and truly help
Native Americans. But it is also
up to the Native American
community to do something about
it. In a, past interview Ms. Deer
also stated the following, "I would
encourage all the young people to
get the best education they can
get. To be a part of the solution
and not a part of the problem. To
understand the tribal history and
culture and to prepare themselves
and the tribes for the.21 st century. We
live in a country with a lot of freedom
and a lot of opportunities. There have
been problems because no place is
perfect, but we have a new
administration, a new president,
a chance now for a new leadership
all across the society. I think
everyone should update their
thinking and really work to
improve their tribal communities
or their communities in the urban
area and work together to make
our country what it should be for
everybody."
Statement of Ada Deer before the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs
Mr. Chairman, Mr. Vice-Chairman,
and other distinguished members of
the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, my name is Ada Elizabeth Deer
and I am proud to say I am an enrolled
member of the Menominee Indian
Tribe of Wisconsin. I would like to
thank you for your time and courtesies
shown me during our recent interviews and for the opportunity to appea r
before you today. I am honored that
President Clinton and Secretary Babbitt have nominated me as the first
woman to be Assistant Secretary for
Indian Affairs. I embrace this
administration's theme of change. I
have dedicated my life to being an
agent of change, as a Menominee, as
a social worker and as a human being.
I come before you with rich and
diverse experiences, including extensive travel in Indian Country. I also
have been enriched by many wonderful friends, some of whom I would like
to acknowledge, for they have helped
shape the person I am today. The late
Philleo Nash, former BIA Commissioner, enlarged my visionand inspired
me to work for the Bureau. The late
National Urban League Executive
Director Whitney Young's work and
deeds truly exemplified what it meant
to be a good social worker. Former
HEW Secretary John Gardner lent me
a deeper and richer understanding of
what it means to be a public servant
and what leadership embodies.
And most importantly, LaDonna
Harris, founder of Americans for Indian Opportunity, taught me that every
challenge is an opportunity and that
' 'No Indian problem exists. There is,
instead, a basic human problem that
involves Indians." Their collective
wit, vision, and conviction reinforced
in me - that one person can make a
difference!
Personally, you should know that
forty years ago my tribe, the
Menominee, was terminated; twenty
years ago we were restored; and today
I come before you as a true survivor of
Indian policy.
I was born on the Menominee Indian Reservation in Wisconsin, a land
of dense forests, a winding wild river,
and streams and lakes that nourish the
land, animals, and the people. I am an
extension of this environment that has
fostered my growth and enriched my
vision. An appreciation and reverence
for the land is fundamental to being
Indian.
Our family of seven lived in a log
cabin on the banks ofthe Wolf River.
We had no running water or electricity. Yet, while all ofthe statistics said
we were poor, I never felt poor in
spirit. My. mother, Constance Wood
Deer, was the single greatest influence on my life. She instilled in me
rich values which have shaped my
lifetime commitment to service.
She was born into a Main Line
family in Philadelphia. She was a
non-conformist from the beginning.
Her father was a minister, and had
hand-picked a minister's son for her
to marry. But my mother, instead,
chose nursing school. Her first nursing job was in Appalachia and her
next job was as a BIA nurse on the
Rosebud Sioux Reservation in South
Dakota. She rejected the Bureau's
policies and procedures, and approached nursing with a deep
appreciation for the culture and values of the people. At Rosebud, she
wore moccasins, learned to ride horseback and even spoke some Lakota. I
still run into people from Rosebud
Deer/See Page 3
Deaconess mural saved from destruction/ Page 4
Negotiators fail in Gambling deadline/ Page 5
Jimmy "Ironlegs" is sited in Michigan/ Page 5
Angel Medure of Shooting Star still under scrutiny/ Page 1
Questions asked about Mille Lacs "Traditional" Pow Wow/ Page 4
Ada Deer to be sworn in at her home reservation/ Page 1
By and For the Native American Community
]
The
Fifty Cents
mencan
We Support Equal Opportunity Fur All People
Founded in 1991        Volume 3    Issue 13 August 6, 1993
)
A Weekly Publication
Copyright:, The Motive American Press,  1993
Ada Deerto besworn in as Assistant Secretary
for Indian Affairs
■ohEF
Photo by Gary Blair
Pictured is part ofthe mural that is being rescued from destruction by the Little Six Construction workers.
Little Six construction company saves
inspirational mural
By Gary Blair
When Native American Artist Daryl
No Heart was commissioned to paint
a mural at the St. Mary's Deaconess
Hospital in Minneapolis, he viewed
the opportunity as an honor. The request for the wall painting came in
the wake of a suicide by a sixteen-
year-old Native American girl who
was attending treatment at die hospital's chemical dependency program
for youth. The hospital located in
south Minneapolis has a contract with
the Canadian government to provide
chemical dependency services for that
country's Native American youth.
Because of what happened, No Heart
who is formerly from South Dakota,
said he wanted to paint something
special and spiritual. The painting
was part of an overall effort by the
hospital to make the treatment program more culturally sensitive and to
help prevent such an occurrence from
happening again. But, the events that
were to unfold next give the words
' 'Preserving Indian Art and Culture''
an all new meaning.
No Heart, who is an accomplished
artist, says he completed the huge
painting in April of 1992. In January
of 1993 he learned the hospital
planned to move their treatment program, and the mural, which was
located in one of their large meeting
rooms, was scheduled to be destroyed
by new construction.
"The painting has a strong message, and I wanted to save it." he
said. "I was told only one side ofthe
wall could be removed and that was
• the side with the painting on it." No
Heart says, "David Walsh, the hospital's chemical dependency treatment
director, was the only staff member
that was supportive of my efforts to
save the mural."
He said, "I received only one letter
of support and that came from a non-
Indian and to that woman I am very
thankful.'' No Heart said he received
the most support from the Honorable
Judge R. A. (Jim) Randall of the
Minnesota Court of Appeals. He said,
"The judge called it a crime ifthe
painting was going to be destroyed
without trying to save it. I even tried
to get help from the Native Art's
Circle (a program funded to help
promote Native American Artists),
but they weren't interested in doing
anything." No Heart said.
"I even had an art expert take a
look at trying to save the painting, but
they wanted $30,000 and that was
without any guarantee.'' At one point
No Heart said he just about gave up.
It wasn't until he talked with Steve
Dorr and Tom Landray of the Little
Six Construction Company did things
Mural/See Page 4
Northern Minnesota Citizens meetto establish
coalition on Racism
By Mel Rasmussen
Because of the problems and fear
that are ongoing within the city of
Bagley and Clearwater County,
several local citizens decided to meet
and organize a new coalition to deal
with these issues. The major issue is
the ongoing racism and racial bias
that has come to light within the
local, county and law enforcement
agencies.
According to members of this new
coalition there is a major concern
over the safety of Native Americans
in Northern Minnesota. Their varied
and group consensus was that this
type of selective racism cannot
continue. Members of the group
addressed the human rights charge
that hasbeen filed against Clearwater
County. But the real problem has
come within the county law
enforcement agencies who have been
trying to control and direct the
information that may become
available to the Minnesota
Department of Human Rights.
In a evening meeting in Bemidji, a
group of members from a three county
area gathered to discuss their fears
Racism/See Page 5
Heart Warrior Chosa gathers supporters for
four day vigil in Ely, Minnesota
By Mel Rasmussen
Heart Warrior Chosa of Ely,
Minnesota, is sponsoring a four day
vigil at the Fall Lake Public Landing in
Ely, Minnesota. In her press release
statement she states that the aim of her
vigil is to gather public supporters to
protest the closure of the three truck
portages which serviced fishermen into
the BWCA and to pray for the only
fresh watershed of its purity and
magnitude on this North American
continent.
' • Chosa went on to ask for help in
rebuilding her family cabin which was
mysteriously burned down just before
die truck access portages were closed.
She also statedthat the Forest Service
has Uireatened to arrest her if she
returns to her lifetime home on Basswood
Lake in the BWCA.
The vigil will be from August 7 to
August 10. It will begin with a sunrise
Pipe ceremony on August 7th. After the
ceremony the group is planning to
proceed to Basswood Lake and start
construction on a new cabin.
For more information and directions,
contact Heart Warrior at (218) 365-2663.
V