The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1993-09-10

              Trujillo picked to head Indian Health Service
AP President Clinton on Wednesday
nominated Dr. Michael Trujillo, a Native American who has spent his career
working to improve health care for
Indians, to be the next director of the
Indian Health Service.
Trujillo, 49, who hails from the
LaGuna Pueblo Tribe in New Mexico,
was chosen over four other applicants,
includingDr. GeraldHilL a professor of
medicine at the University of Minneso-
ta-Duluth, and Dr. Lois Steele, a UMD
graduate who founded a program in
Grand Forks, N.D., to recruit more
Indian students into medicine.
If confirmed by the Senate, Trujillo,
chief medical officer for the federal
government's Indian Health Service
division inPortland, Ore., will succeed
Dr. Everett Rhodes, who retired in
March after 11 years.
Michael Lincoln, a Navajo who
was being considered for the top post
before withdrawing, is the acting director of IHS.
' 'Many Americans are without ade
quate health care, but access to care for
our country's Native Americans has
been particularly poor," Clinton said in
a prepared statement.' 'Dr. Trujillo has
a well-earned reputation for working to
change that situation, and I am confident he will work hard to improve the
delrveryofhealthcareto NativeAmer-
icans in our cities and reservations."
In his new job, Trujillo will be respon-
sMeforadniinisteringanearly$2biUion
budget and overseeing a staff of 14,000
serving 1.3 million Indians nationwide.
Outside of his formal duties, Trujillo
likely will have to find a way to repair
the Indian Health Service's tarnished
image. Indian leaders say the agency
has foiled over the years to seriously
address problems in the Indian community. These include alcoholism, teen
pregnancy, and most recently the mysterious ailment that has claimed 19 lives
on the Navajo Reservation in the Southwest
In his current job, Trujillo is the driving force behind a preventative health
care program for Native Americans on
reservations in the Portland area
From 1989 to 1991, he served as
associate warden for medical and hospital programs, andas a medical director
ofthe Bureau of Prisons Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn.
Trujillo was director and chief medical officer for the IHS regional office
in Aberdeen, S.D., from 1985 to 1989,
and was chief of clinical services in
the IHS regional office in New York
City from 1984 to 1985. He also was
an officer at the American Indian
Health Care Association in St. Paul
and served as an internist for Indian
health care facilities in Phoenix from
1978 to 1982.
Trujillo was educated at the University of New Mexico, where he
earned two bachelor's degrees, a
master's degree and a medical degree. He also holds a master's degree
in public health from the University
of Minnesota's School of Public
Health.
MN Court of Appeals hear ICWA case
By Diane E. White
BEMIDJI, MN A three judge Minnesota Court of Appeals panel heard
oral arguments Wednesday, September
8th at 10:30 a.m. intheBeltrami County
Court House, which pertained to the
Indian Child Welfare Act of 1978
(ICWA). The appeal was made by the
Leech Lake Band of Chippewa.
Late last spring, a non-Indian couple
petitioned to adopt three Native American children who are members ofthe
Leech Lake Band of Chippewa The
couple won in a trial court decision by
Judge J. P. Smith (Cass County) on the
basis of extraordinary needs ofthe children. The trial court decision which
allowed the non-Indian couple to pursue adoption proceedings was then
appealed by the Leech Lake Band of
Chippewa
The MN Court of Appeals has 90 days
from today to affirmor overturn the trial
court decision. No other details ofthe
case are available at this time.
The Indian Child WeUare Actof 1978
(ICWA) was enacted by Congress in
ordertopreserveNativeAmericanfam-
ilies by creating a Native American
family placement preference. The first
preference is to keep Native American
children who are in foster care and/or
permanent placements within their
Native American community by placing the child with a relative. The next
preference would be a custodial placement within the child's tribe. A
nationwide search for a suitable Native
American placement would be the final
preference of ICWA.
The ICWA does provide for exceptions to Native American preference in
placements based upon (1) the request
of the biological parents or the child
when the child is of sufficient age; (2)
the extraordinary physical or emotional needs ofthe child as established
by testimony of a qualified expert
witness; and (3) the unavailability of
suitable families for placement after a
diligent search has been completed
for families meeting the preference
criteria.
There are custodial issues which are
not covered at all under the ICWA.
These are custodial issues which involve or arise out of divorcing spouses
where either spouse receives custody.
Juvenile delinquency proceedings are
not covered under the ICWA except
status offenses (truancy, incorrigibility)
which can only be committed by children, and proceedings which result in
the termination of parental rights; and
finally, where the parent can regain
custody upon demand (i.e., voluntary
foster care). Finally, in accordance with
the legal precedents set modifying the
ICWA unwed fathers must prove paternity. The Act doesnot include the unwed
father where paternity has not been
acknowledged or established under 25
U.S.C. Sec. 1903(9).
At common law, an unwed father had no
parental rights, hi Stanley v. Illinois, 405
U.S. 645, however, the Supreme Court
found that a blanket denial of parental
rights to all unwed fathers regardless of
their fitness as parents violates the due
process clause ofthe 14th amendment.
In addition, in Lehr v. Robertson, 463
U.S. 248, thecourtlieldthatparental rights
do not spring full-blown from the biological connection between parent and
child They require relationships more
enduring. Therefore, the ICWA denies
parental rights to unwed lathers who had
failed toestablishasubstantjal relationship
with his child
Mille Lacs Urban Coalition schedules petition
signing
By Mel Rasmussen
The Mille Lacs Urban Coalition
is scheduling a petition signing
day for all Mille Lacs Band
members who live in the Twin
Cities. The purpose ofthe petition
is to challenge the current Mille
Lacs Reservation Tribal Council's
policies concerning the common
welfare of its Band members.
According to group
spokesman,Dave Sams, a
significant amount of time has
been spent trying to work out an
arrangement with Marge
Anderson, Mille Lacs Tribal Chair
and her current tribal council. This
arrangement was supposed to deal
with the concerns of tribal
members who live outside the
physical reservation boundaries
and their lack of input into tribal
affairs.
Sams stated that a mediator had
been sent from the Urban Coalition
to meet with Ms. Anderson. The
mediator had contacted the Chairs
Small business loans for urban minorities
By Gary Blair
A small business loan program for
Minnesota's urban minorities is now
in the planning stages. According to
information from Minnesota's Department of Trade and Economic
Development and the Minnesota Department of Jobs and Training, 12
million dollars may soon be available
in $5,000 to $150,000 loans.
Tony Looking Elk, of the Minneapolis-based Anishinabe Council of
Job Developers, Inc., hopes the Twin
Cities Native American community
gets involved in the early development of this loan program.
LookingElk says, "We need to ensure our fair share of that money. We
need people with business backgrounds to sit on the eleven person
board that will govern the process."
The loan program is called the Urban Challenge Grant Program and is
modeled after operations ofthe Challenge Grant Program with the Rural
Minnesota Initiative Funds. Six million dollars for the loans will come
from the State with the State requiring 6 million dollars in private
matching funds for a total of 12 million dollars. The private money will
be provided by foundations or private
non-profit community development
corporations. The loan program will
offer technical assistance and apprenticeship programs will be encouraged.
It will be based on an employment
office and only got as far as the
desk of Melanie Benjamin.
Benjamin is the executive
assistant for Anderson. According
to Sams, this mediator came up
emptyhanded as his attempts failed
completely because the Tribe
refused to recognize their issues.
Sams stated that the Coalition
then decided that their only
alternative was to find a vehicle
which would force this issue with
Mille Lacs/See Page 5
Death of Cass Lake Native American being
investigated
By Diane White
An assault suspect being transported to the Cass County Detention
Center (CCDC) in a squad car died
after slashing his arm with a razor
blade, authorities said.
Cass County Sheriff Jim Dowson
said Randolph Headbird Sr., 42, of
Cass Lake bad been arrested on a
felony warrant. A court clerk said the
warrant was related to earlier assault
charges.
Dowson said the apparent suicide
occurred Thursday as Headbird was
being driven to the Cass County detention facility.
Headbird was taken to North Country Hospital in Bemidji, but died about
six hours later.
Dowson said he has asked the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal
Apprehension toinvestigate. No other details were released.
The PRESS contacted the Cass
County Jail Administrator, Bob
Winegar, who referred the PRESS to
Randy Fisher. Mr. Fisher confirmed
the arrest time to be 11:59 a.m. in
Cass Lake, Minn, where Headbird
was arrested pursuant to a felony
warrant charging him with one count
each of 2nd and 3rd degree assault.
The warrant was issued because
Headbird failed to appear in court
when summoned.
It is not yet known if Headbird had
been searched as part of his arrest
although the standard policy is to
search [arrestees] for obvious weap-
Circle Editor takes courageous stand, calls for new leadership/Page 4
Red Cliffelder becomes newest Tribal Judge/ Page 3
Racial stereotypical Barbie doll comes to the surface/ Page 8
Mille Lacs Urban Coalition starts petition drive/ Page 1
Clyde gets double teamed by Geshick and GrandPa/ Page 4 & 5
Milwaukee Museum honors Native Americans/ Page 1
Voice of the Anishinabeg
Fifty Cents
OJtbWi
News
Founded In 19BB   Volume 5 Issue 1 I     September 10, 1993
through economic development model, and will not resemble a family
support or minority advocacy program.
Areas to be served are Minneapolis,
St. Paul, and eight suburbs.
Thesuburbs include South St. Paul,
West St. Paul, Hopkins Columbia
Heights, Hilltop, Lauderdale,
Mendota and St. Anthony.
Minneapolis and St. Paul are
named in the legislation for the loans
and the other cities are included because they are "inner-ring suburbs"
and had median household income
below 31,000 dollars as reported in
1990 census. The focus of eli-
Loans/SeePage5
ons prior to placing them into the
squad car. It was discovered that
Headbird had not been handcuffed
while placed in the patrol car and that
Headbird appeared to havebeen drinking. Details surrounding a blood
alcohol level are being investigated
by Terry Smith ofthe Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Headbird arrived at the CCDC at 12:25
p.m. where it was discovered that he
had lost a significant amount of blood
It is believed that Headbird slashed his
wrists with a razor while in the custody
of a Cass County deputy transporting
him to CCDC. An ambulance was called
which then transported Headbird from
the jail at 12:37 p.m. to North Country
Hospital in Bemidji. Headbird was not
"booked" into the detention center.
1
«. 1993
Photo by Mel]
Bad river Powwow
Pictured is George Amour in traditional regalia at the First Traditional
"A Tribute to Survival" opens in Milwaukee
By Mel Rasmussen
September 17, 1993, will be the
opening day of a new exhibit at the
Milwaukee Public Museum. It is
entitled "A Tribute to Survival",
"Honoring the Past Celebrating the
Future." It is about the history and
modem day presence ofthe American
Indian people. It is the culmination of
a five year program of work and
collaboration between the museum
staff and the Native American
community statewide in Wisconsin.
According to George Amour, a Lac
du Flambeau Band member and
Native American consultant to the
museum, this exhibit will be truthful
and respectful in all of its detail. In an
interview with Amour at the First
Traditional Bad River Pow Wow.
Amour talked about the exhibit and
his involvement with the project.
Amour originally got involved with
this project as they wanted to cast his
face for one of the figures in the
Grand Entry Pow Wow theme. He
stated that this appealed to his ego
and he was quite impressed with the
end product. When he saw it he had
some very funny feelings about seeing
himself in the exhibit and what was
going on. So he then he started to look
into the program.
Amour stated that the original
organization committee for the
museum was having major problems
with the Native American
community. Amour stated, "The staff
people and the anthropologists, many
of them on the committee were
younger. They were city people,
urbane urbans... When my sister called
for help, I stepped in to help.I came in
with no intentions of intimidating
them. I introduced myself as a member
ofthe Mdewiwin, and as a chief on the
Big Drum, and as the son of my father
who was a chief, and my clan. After
giving them my credentials as an
Indian expert or as a expert Indian. I
proceeded to tell them that they were
wrong about some things. One thing
being the Creation stories."
Amour went on to stay on with the
committee and became like a project
editor and helped the museum with
correcting their errors in the exhibit.
The museum has come to understand
their errors and moved to correct their
museum exhibit.
Amour then stated that he met with
the museum director and they created
a position for him. He told the
Milwaukee manpower office and they
created a JTPA training position for
the work. In essence, through his
ingenuity he created a position for
employment for himself.
The exhibit begins with Indian
Country. This portrays a modern
powwow grand entry scene of 37 life-
size figures, including dancers,
singers, and spectators and serves as
the spectacular centerpiece for the
exhibit. The powwow dancers include:
Traditional, Fancy, Grass, and Shawl.
Some ofthe dancers, dressed in their
dance attire, continuously move to
the sounds of American Indian drum
and song. All ofthe powwow figures
are based on actual life casts of
American Indian people representing
Wisconsin's seven tribes: Brotherton,
Chippewa (Ojibwe), Menominee,
Oneida, Potawatomi, Stockbridge-
Munsee, and Winnebago.
The First Americans segment tells
the story of theearliest peopling of the
Americas as well as the origin ofthe
Indian's cultural diversity. The
exhibit brings the understanding of
how the first Americans adapted their
lifestyles to the ecosystems of
seacoasts, woodlands, plains, prairies,
deserts, tropical rain forests,
mountains, and canyons.
A Fateful Encounter segment shows
how the entire world has been affected
by the countless exchanges between
the indigenous people of American
and the Europeans. Life began to
change for all people on botii sides of
the ocean as many resources were
exchanged andadaptedby both groups
and integrated into their lifestyles.
The European Presence segment
shows that for a great number of
American Indians, contact with the
Europeans meant the beginning of
the end to an indigenous way oflife.
This section will show how new items
and resources were selectively adopted
and worked into the existing patterns
of tribal cultures, altering traditional
roles and customs.
The Tide of Settlement section
shows how the outnumbered and
outarmed American Indian nations
struggled to reserve small homelands,
and continued to thwart efforts to
stamp out their culture and identity.
The Myth ofthe Vanishing Indian
describes how Indian peoples adapted
selectively to aspects of white
American culture, but showed little
inclination to completely embrace
white ways. In today's society we see
that although individuals may choose
to join mainstream society, tribes want
to keep their special relationship with
the federal government and Indians
want to make their own decisions
about their best interests.
As Amour best put in his interview,
"It begins with thepoint of contact with
Columbus, after Columbus sailsto these
shores. Itspeaksofthe things theforeign
invaders did to us and the things that we
didforthemto help them survive. It tells
everybody that throughout this five
hundred years of struggle that we have
remained a people of culture and an
honorable civilized people."
In tight of today's societies we have
seen a lot of people begin to try to
understand theNative American culture.
Accordingto Amour, thearriving culture
has started to see the value and are
slowly starting to appreciate and
understand how our culture has played
a major role in this country.
When asked if he saw that the
Milwaukee Museum was starting to
bridge the gaps between these two
cultures he replied that it appeared to be
so but it wasn't completely done yet.
He stated,"Somewhat they are kind
of bridging it. Unfortunately, there
are still a lot of people don't know to
the degree to which they have been
acculturated. I know that I'm
acculturated somewhat, but I think I
know where I am acculturated and I
can make allowances for that and I
can change that."
Amour urged all people to come
and see the exhibit. It will be a
permanent exhibit but he expects it
will go on the road some time in the
future. He felt that community
involvement is going to lead to a
renaissance of Native culture and a
better understanding for all.
The Milwaukee Public Museum is
located at 800 West Wells Street
Milwaukee, WI. For more information
on the exhibit contact the Milwaukee
Museum at 414-278-2700. Just ask
for George Amour.
*