The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1993-10-22

              Leech Lake RTC fails to press charges in
$4,500+ payroll forgery scheme
By Diane E. White
WALKER, MN - On July 6, 1992,
the Cass County Sheriff's Department
received a complaint from the Leech
Lake Tribal Council's attorney, Anita
Fineday, regarding embezzlement of
funds, theft, and forgery in the Pike Bay
Township. The suspect is Thomas
Joseph Roy, 46, of Cass Lake,
Minnesota. The Cass County Sheriff's
Department Investigator Mike
Diekmann filed the following report:
' 'On 7-6-92 at approximately 9:00 a. m.
Anita Fineday, Attorney at Law for the
Reservation Tribal Council,LeechLake
Reservation contacted Investigator
Diekmann in reference to several thefts
of money through embezzlement and
forgery, which amounted to a large
amount of money. Miss Fineday
indicated to InvestigatorDiekmann that
Terry Hodder, accountant for the Leech
Lake Tribal Council has uncovered
several thefts of money, one of which
Thomas Joseph Roy had forged checks
and falsified time cards under the name
of Milton Budreau for several months,
collecting and forging said checks.''
The details of the case reveal that
Thomas Joseph Roy was acting as a
controller for one of the departments
within the reservation and had falsified
time cards under the name of Milton
Budreau. Mr. Roy accepted paychecks
underthenameofMiltonBudreau. The
saidchecks were signed and then cashed
by Mr- Roy-
In mid-November of 1992, Investigator Diekmann made contact with
Thomas Roy and attempted to speak
with him in reference to the forged
documents. Mr. Roy advised him that
the members ofthe Leech Lake Tribal
Council (LLRTC) had told him that
they were not going to press charges
against him and that the case should
be dropped. Diekmann then contacted and spoke with Myron Ellis and
Jim Michaud in reference to these
allegations.
In mid-December of 1992, Investigator Diekmann met with Myron Ellis
and Tig Pemberton and explained
that if an investigation was to continue that he would need to have a
commitment by the LLRTC to follow
through with the charges against Mr.
Roy for the theft ofthe money. During this meeting, Mr. Pemberton
advised Investigator Diekmann that a
letter had been written prior to the
meeting and addressed to the Investigator which explained the LLRTC's
position regarding the theft. The investigator then explained to the two
tribal councilmen that unless there is
a complainant, there are no charges.
The investigator then requested Mr.
Pemberton's decision whether or not
to pursue charges against Mr. Roy for
the theft.
On 1-11-93 InvestigatorDiekmann
received the typed letter from the
LLRTC, dated November 25, 1992.
Theletterwas signed by allfive members
ofthe LLRTC and reads as follows:
"Dear Mr. Diekmann:
We are writing to respond to your
letter dated 11-17-92 requesting a
statement from the LLRTC on the
criminal prosecution of several tribal
employees. You have discussed these
issues with our attorney Ms. Anita
Fineday in the past.
It is our official position of the
LLRTC that we wish to continue to
pursue these prosecutions. We want
to send a message to all of our employees and members that these
criminal activities will not be tolerated. We feel that it is very important
thatthe assetsbelonging to the people
of the Leech Lake Reservation be
protected.
On the other hand, we do not want
to be overly harsh to tribal members.
We are therefore requesting that once
criminal charges are filed against these
individuals that we be informed ofthe
plea bargain proposal and have an opportunity to have input into that
agreement. If these same individuals
commit additional crimes against the
property or assets of the Leech Lake
Reservation, we would expect that the
severity of the crime charged would
increase. In addition, we are requesting
that part ofthe sentence imposed upon
each of these individuals be the requirement that full restitution be made to the
Leech Lake Reservation."
Pursuant to the investigation, in mid-
November of 1992, Investigator
Diekmann, while speaking with Mr.
Roy advised him of the situation and
Mr. Roy advised the Investigator that
the reservation was not pursuing charges against him for anything and that he
should do what he had to do.
The investigation then produced 12
time cards and checks for various
amounts drafted from those time cards
through the Leech Lake accounting
office for Milton Budreau which even
included an employee number of 23489.
The following is a list of checks and
amounts received by Thomas Roy for
Milton Budreau:
Dated: 1-10-92, Check#129484, Gross
pay of $361.90; 1-24-92, #129950,
$400.00; 2-7-92, #130414, $336.90; 2-
21-92, #130905, $286.90; 3-6-92,
#131372, $400.00; 3-20-92; #131862,
$400.00; 4-3-92, #132342, 400.00; 4-
17-92, #132822, $400.00; 5-1-92,
#133285, $400.00; 5-15-92, $133775,
$360.00; 5-29-92,134258, $400.00; 6-
12-92, #134765, $400.00.
The gross total of these checks are
$4,545.70 witha net pay to Mr. Thomas
Joseph Roy $4,166.98.
Be it noted that at no time during the
course of the thefts by Mr. Roy was
Milton Budreau working for the Leech
Forgery/See Page 3
Jimmy "Ironlegs" Weaver is located/ Page 4
Governor Arne Carlson is invited to rally/ Page 4
Flight ofthe LightHawk is described/ Page 5
Leech Lake RTC avoids prosecuting one of their own/ Page 1
Indian Gaming accountability is still an issue/ Page 4
Accountability rally is scheduled for October 28/ Page 8
Voice of the Anishinabeg
1
The
Fifty Cents
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded In 198B      Volume 5   Issue 1 7      October 28, 1993
1
A weekly publication.
Copyright, The Ojibwe IXIewa, 1993
Governors, AGs, Tribes optimistic on Indian
gaming pact
WASHINGTON (AP) Tribal
leaders failed to reach an agreement
Tuesday with governors and state
attorneys general on changes in the
way Indian gaming is regulated.
However, the officials said they were
optimistic that the negotiations could
be concluded in the next month. "It is
not a process without an end," Sen.
Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, said after a
negotiating session. ' 'There will be
an end."
Inouye, who is chairman ofthe Senate
Indian Affairs Committee, is trying to
get the states and tribes to agree on
changes in federal law and end a series
of lawsuits in many states overplans for
tribal casinos. The negotiations began
in the spring and Inouye initially set a
deadline of August for an agreement.
But the two sides say they have been
deadlocked over the issue of what casino
games states must allow tribes to offer.
"It's like any negotiations. When it's
this complex and difficult... it's going
to take a while," said Wyoming Gov.
Mike Sullivan, the lead governor in the
negotiations.
Rick Hill, president of the National
Indian Gaming Association, said the
tribal gaming leaders "remain
optimistic in the process." Tony Hope,
chairman of the National Indian
Gaming Commission, the federal
agency that regulates the industry,
feigned a yawn when asked his reaction
to the negotiating session Tuesday. Then
he said, "Sen. Inouye feels positive
about this and I think he's right." At
Inouye's request, tribal and state officials
have declined to discuss specifics ofthe
talks.
Navajo activist found dead in his vehicle
By Brenda Norrell
Today Correspondent
TSAILE, Ariz. — Navajo environmentalist Leroy Jackson, who battled
tribal and federal governments to protect the century-old "grandfather"
pines of the Chuska Mountains is
dead at age 47.
He was found dead Oct. 9, his body
wrapped in a blanket in his van, south
of Chama, N.M.
Mr. Jackson, a co-founder of Dine
Citizens Against Ruining Our Environment, was the focus of death threats
during the past two months, family
members and friends said.
Medical investigators told family
members Oct. 10 that they have been
unable to determine the cause ofhis
death, believed to have occurred on
Oct. 1. They have ruled out heart
attack, stroke, carbon monoxide poi
soning and all other natural causes.
Mr. Jackson had planned to be in
Washington, D.C, last week to push
the Interior Department for an environmental impact statement aimed at
the protection of Navajo forests and
wildlife.
Loggers and the Navajo Area BIA
were resisting the impact statement
because it threatened to delay a timber sale and curtail operations at
Navajo Forest Products Industries, in
Navajo, N.M.
Adella Begaye, who worked alongside her husband to protect the forests
from over cutting, prepared burial
arrangements as family and friends
mourned his passing.
Headlines on the news stands at
convenience stores across the reservation, in the Albuquerque Journal
and Gallup Independent, quoted Mr.
Jackson. The Navajo-Hopi Observer
carried his final letter to the editor.
In those last writings, Mr. Jackson
protested the efforts of the Navajo
BIA to eliminate protection of the
Mexican spotted owl from Navajo
timberlands. Mr. Jackson called the
efforts "self-serving" as BIA officials pushed for the go-ahead for a
timber sale.
' 'The BIA wants us to cut our few
remaining grandfather trees and sell
off the lumber while demand is high,''
wrote Mr. Jackson and other Dine
CARE members. "Since the Mexican spotted owl depends on the
grandfather trees for its habitat, these
trees must be left alone to preserve the
owl."
BIA directors wrote Aug. 11," In this
Activist/See Page 5
Criminal charges recommended in State's
report on detox center
By Gary Blair
Once again Hennepin County authorities have out-maneuvered State officials
investigating the former Hennepin
County detoxification center.
This week Hennepin County released
theState'sinvestigationreportconcern-
ing client abuse allegations that closed
the "chamber of horrors" also known
as the Hennepin County Detox Center.
By releasing their copy of the report
early to theSfarrn'AMAje.theCounty was
able to feed the public their version of
events and leave the State mute with its
hands tied by its own policy. Mike
Tripple, whose office headed the inves-
tigationfortheStatetoldthePRESS, "I
knew when the reporter from the Star
Tribune called me that he had a copy of
ourfindingsbythe questions heasked."
Tripple added, "Because of our policy
we have to give the county a chance to
respondandthenwehavetoincludethat
response in our report, along with any
necessary adjustments, before it's made
public."
The report is a follow-up to the State's
investigation of reported client abuse at
the old 1800 Chicago Avenue site that
was closed late last fall. Information
found in records that were smuggled out
of the facility indicate the abuse had
occurred for more than ten years. According to Lynn Fritzpatrick and Irene
Wade, the two detox center employees
who blew the whistle on the client
abuse, the county had been overlooking
the abuse for as long as they had been
there. Fritzpatrick said she'd worked
there for over 12 years.
Even though Tripple wasn't willing
to talk about the specifics ofthe State's
report, he did talk openly about the
actions of Hennepin County personnel
that brought about the investigation. He
also was willing to share his insight into
whatdetox services forHennepin County
residents should consist of in the future.
Tripple said he'll also be recommend
ing that criminal charges be brought in
this matter. "I felt that some of the
things tliatweredor»ewerecrirninal,''he
said. However, he didn't disclose who
he was going to ask to investigate the
criminal charges. He laughed when he
said, "I don't suppose we'll ask Hennepin County to investigate.''
He admitted that the county had maintained an upperhand and the state was
left with little they could do about it He
said, "We plan to make our detox
facility regulations a lot stricter than
before." AccordingtoTripplethecoun-
ty had always found a way to get around
anything the state did to try and bring
them into compliance. Tripple said,'' We
had received complaints before about
client abuse at the detox center, but
when we checked into it they had pulled
the client's records."
He said his office had issued repeated
reports abouttheseviolationsand County
Detox/See Page 4
Photo bv Mel Rasmussen
Pictured is Andy Favorite, Executive director ofthe White Earth Land Recovery Project
White Earth Land Recovery Project seeks to
bring Tamarack National Wildlife Refuge home
By Mel Rasmussen
In an informational meeting held at
the Native American Church in
Minneapolis,staff members of the
White Earth Land Recovery Project
(WELRP) briefed White Earth Urban
enroilees about their goals in
recovering lost tribal lands. Executive
Director Andy Favorite of WELRP
presented information about what can
be done to achieve this goal.
Favorite stated that one ofthe goals
of WELRP was to return
approximately 30% of the lost lands
back to tribal custody. One ofthe ways
of accomplishing this is in seeking
the transfer or some 48,000 acres of
federal lands that exist within the
Tamarack National Wildlife Refuge.
This has been addressed through a
bill called, The White Earth Wildlife
Refuge Act.
Favorite stated that there are several
options to reclaiming this land from
the Fisheries and Wildlife Service.
One way would be through secretarial
transfer and through legislation.
However, there is a clinker here in
that there must be consideration of
the White Earth Land Settlement Act
of 1988 (WELSA). Part ofthe problem
is that there are thirteen valid
allotments within the Tamarack
Refuge. These active allotments must
be addressed under WELSA. Because
of their existence the illegal land
claims from the past will have to be
brought to light. This will cause
problems with WELSA which was
developed to bury once and for all the
issue of illegally obtained land by the
counties and the state.
Favorite discussed how the
reservation came into being with the
Treaty of 1867. According to this
treaty the land that was to be the
White Earth Reservation was never
to be bought or sold but will held in
trust. However, this is not the case of
the original 800,000 acres that were
set aside for the formation of the
WELRP/SeePage3
EchoHawk joins race for Idaho governor
By Avis Little Eagle
Today Staff
BOISE, Idaho - Larry EchoHawk,
current Attorney General ofldaho, could
become the first American Indian to be
elected governor in the nation.
Mr. EchoHawk announced his candidacy for the governorship on Sept. 10.
He is a member ofthe Pawnee tribe and
will run on the democratic ticket.
While he has not issued a position
statement detailing his political platform, he said some ofthe ideas he will
entertain include: improving state-tribal relations, establishing an Indian
liaison office and Indian Affairs Commission, appointing tribal members to
key positions, and encouraging opportunities for economic development on
Indian reservations in the state.
"There are a number of things I can
do for the Indian people as Governor.
For one thing the governor is able to
make a number of appointments.
"Gov. (Cecil) Andrus appointed a
number ofNative American people to
position within the state government. I
was one example," Mr. EchoHawk
said, and his own career advanced because Gov. Andrus believed American
Indians could hold positions of power.
If he is elected governor ofthe state,
he would provide such opportunities for
American Indians in the state govern
ment, he promised. "I think the democratic party has a good record which I
hope to improve."
Mr. EchoHawk began his law career
with California Indian Legal Services,
then opened a private practice in Salt
Lake City. In 1977 he was named Chief
General Counsel to the Shoshone-
Bannock Tribes atFort Hall, Idaho. He
served in the Idaho House of Representatives in 1982 and was re-elected in
1984. Hebecame Bannock County Prosecutor in 1986 and served until his
election as Attorney General.
Mr. EchoHawk was the first American Indian inU.S. history electedto that
state office and will be the first American Indian elected as a state governor if
he wins in the election next Nov. 8.
Mr. Echohawk serves as Vice President of the National Association of
Attorneys General and serves on the
executive committee ofthe Conference
of Western Attorneys General.
During his term in office as attorney
general, Mr. Echohawk raised the ire of
tribes in the state because of his anti-
gaming stance. Tribal members said
they consider his announcement to run
from the governor's seat a plus, but are
hesitant to endorse him because in the
pasthe has been a vigorous advocatefor
the state of Idaho in both legal and
political arenas.
Samuel Penny, Chairman ofthe Nez
Perce Executive Committee, said he
thinks it is great that Mr. EchoHawk is
running for office. "But that doesn't
mean, his being Native American, he
will representthe views of theNezPerce
Tribe," he said.
"He has demonstrated he is a vigorous advocate for the State ofldaho and
represents them in legal and political
matters.
"The single most contentious issue is
gaming," he said, explaining Idaho
tribes are currently awaiting the outcome of two cases pending in court over
the issue.
Last year the Nez Perce tribe passed a
resolution criticizing Mr. EchoHawk
for his stand against Indian gaming,
writing, "The Nez Perce strongly supports recognition of leadership by
persons who fully represent the best
interest ofthe "grass roots" people of
Native American Indian Tribes.
But, the resolution went on, the tribe,
"Vigorously protests the participation
of any persons who primarily represent
a state's interest by being strongly, aggressively, and consistently in
opposition to tribal interests, laws, and
policies and who demonstrate the lack
of support to Indian tribes because of
religious convictions, political commitments, aspirations for higher office, or
Echohawk/See Page 5