The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1993-12-10

              Complaint filed with A.G.'s office against
American Indian Housing Corp. board members
By Gary Blair
A complaint against the American
Indian Housing Corporation (AIHC)
has been filed with the Minnesota
Attorney General's office. Former
AIHC board member Diana
Buckanaga filed the complaint on
Wednesday of this week. She's
alleging that the non-profit
corporation is in violation of its
Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws.
The complaint reads as follows:
"Gordon Thayer and Robert Albee,
board members of American Indian
Housing Corporation (AIHC) received
payment for work from the corporation
while they were board members. This
action is prohibited by the AIHC
Articles of Incorporation and Bylaws.
I made a motion at the March 1993
board meeting for these board member
Thayer and Albee to give the money
back.
"I could not get a second to that
motion from the following board
members: Donna Fairbanks, Sally
Auger, or Rudy Pacheco (who was
actingchairatthis meeting). I resigned
from the board due to this infraction.
I cannot participate with folks who
are using American Indians for their
own personal recognition and gain;
nor can I allow these folks to rip my
people off.
"There is collusion, mismanagement
of funds, violation ofthe Articles of
Incorporation and Bylaws, as well as
deceptive practices. Gordon Thayer,
Robert Albee, Donna Fairbanks, Sally
Auger and Rudy Pacheco claim the
funds paid to Gordon Thayer and
Robert Albee came from the Mckinney
grant through Pat Lear)', Minnesota
Jobs and Training, which was given
to the American Indian Task Force on
Housing and Homelessness.
"However, the checks were drawn
on the American Indian Housing
Corporation (AIHC), although a few
NAES checks had been used
previously. NAES college was the
non-profit agency used as the grantee
for the task force prior to the founding
of AIHC
"AIHC was incorporated on
February 21, 1992. Gordon Thayer
and Robert Albee received payment
by AIHC checks after that date until
they resigned as board members in
March 1993. These two men have
been working together and receiving
money for their services from the
same sources for many years.
"The both live in Wisconsin-
Gordon has dual residency in Lac
Courte Oreilles Reservation due to
Housing/ See Page 3
Prairie Island Dakotas elect new tribal council/p. 6
Five new members elected to board of Minneapolis American Indian Center/p. 1
Buckanaga files complaint with A.G.'s office against American Indian Housing Corp./p. 1
Senator Wellstone and Ada Deer in town next week/p. 5
Fill out form and send to President Clinton regarding Jimmy Weaver/p. 4
Laura Theroux appointed to Urban Initiative Board/p. 3
Voice ofthe Anishinabeg
]
'Secret1 elections at Minneapolis Indian
Center produce positive results
The
Fifty Cents
Ojibwe
News
1°
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
By Delvin Cree
Ifyou voted for a candidate at the
Minneapolis American Indian
Center's board of directors elections
on Tuesday, you might be in for a
surprise. Reports to the PRESS
revealed that many people were
dissatisfied and very concerned about
the election process. Specifically, they
were concerned about what seemed
like a lack of confidentiality.
Upon investigation it was learned
that when voters went to the center to
cast their ballots, they were required
to fill out a form which asked specific
questions, such as which tribe one
was affiliated with and enrolled in
and ifthe person was a resident ofthe
seven counties in the Minneapolis
area. What bothered people most was
the fact that the form was numbered
and it was requested that the voter put
down his or her enrollment number.
The problem with this is that by
revealingavoter'senrollment number
it may be possible to find out how that
person voted.
In essence, the issue is whether or
notitislegal for MAIC administration
to have the opportunity to look up a
voter's enrollment number to find out
who that person is so they can know
exactly who voted for each candidate
in the election.
One candidate, Wallace (Wally)
Storbakken, who ran for one of the
five seats open on the board called
U.S. Congressman Martin Sabo's
office and spoke to his aid when Sabo
wasn't available. Storbakken told the
aid about the situation and his reply
was, "We can't get involved with this
because Indians are sovereign."
Storbakken, enrolled with the Leech
Lake Reservation and majoring in
political science, said he hadtoeducate
Congressman Sabo's aid about current
Indian issues. "I had to tell his that the
Indian center is a non-profit
organization which receives federal,
state and city monies and it was not a
'sovereign' entity," he said. Even so,
Congressman Sabo's office did not
appear to be concerned with the issue.
Next, Storbakken called Senator
Paul Wellstone's office. He spoke to
Diana Seegar, Indian advocate for
Wellstone's office, "I told her of the
situation, but she said that she was
going to vote in the election and didn't
want to take a position on the matter
at this time."
At the polls, the PRESS interviewed
the last person who showed up to vote
that day. Daniel (Sunshine) St. Cyr
said that when he went to the voting
table he was asked to show his
enrollment number. He was then told
by a lady form the League of Women
Voters, an organization that was
helping administer the election
process, that by filling out the form to
vote he was also becoming a member
of the center.
"I asked her if she knew that the
elections were not advertised at all
and that many in the community didn't
even know who was running," St. Cyr
stated. Her reply was that, no, she was
not aware of this fact.
The new board members are: Don
NybergParo with65 votes; Tim Savior
with 49 votes; Wally Storbakken with
38 votes; Michael A Gove with 37
votes; and Michael C. Bellanger with
36 votes.
"We have a much higher turnout'at
election time at the Leech Lake Twin
Cities office elections," Storbakken
commented. "Butyou have to consider
Center/ See Page 3
Founded in 19BB      Volume 5   Issue E»4      December^ 1 993
J
A weekly publication.
Copyrlyht, The Ojibwe IMewe, 1993
First the long walk, nowthe long wait
By Susan Stanich
Duluth News-Tribune staff writer
Jim "Ironlegs" Weaver is waiting for
Willam "Bill" Clinton.
The 72-year -old White Earth
Chippewa, who trudged 1,700 miles to
Washington, D. C, this year to deliver
a message to the president, said he
hasn't seen him yet but won't leave until
he does.
Tve got to see him," he said Tuesday
by telephone. "This was a mission, you
know, I didn't do this on my own. The
Old man upstairs told me to do this, so
this is what I'm doing."
Weaver's message is twofold: That
northern Minnesota isbeingravagedby
lumber, mining and hazardous waste
disposal interests: and that federally
sanctioned tribal governments serve
those interests and not the interests of
Indian people.
"I'll just stay until I see the president,"
Weaver said.
His wife, Judy Gonzalez, who
accompanied hi m by car for much ofthe
journey, said she won't be able to stand
much more ofWashington.
"I don't like it. I asked about an Indian
center. They don't even have one. But
there's a tribe south of here, they had a
feast for us on Sunday. I think I'll go
down there and wait for Jim. It felt good
being among my own people.
The tribe is the Piscataway Indian
Nation, which haswaged an intense60-
year battle to protect its burial grounds
along the Potomac River, said Chief
Billy Tayac. The Piscataway have a
traditional council and chief system.
Like the Chippewas, they're Algonquin
people, but their treaties were with the
British. After the American Revolution,
the Americans didn't recognize the
treaties and took over the treaty land,
Tayac said. The tribe maintained its
identity, religion and culture all these
years, but its numbers dwindled from
12,000 to about 100 today.
Tayac said his tribe will help Weaver
all it can. He said the Piscataway agree
that the federally established tribal
governmnets are little more than pupet
governments ofthe United States, and
were put in place to surpress traditional
ways and allow non-Indian developers
access to Indian land. That's why the
Weavers will have a hard time finding
an ear in Washington, he said. That's
why no Washington media have taken
any interest in Weaver's
accomplishment, he added.
"Washington really isn't the belly of
"the beast. "Tayac said, "it's the brain of
the beast. They want to suppress any
kindofpro-Indian, anti-US. sentiment."
Nevertheless, the tribe will do what it
can to get Weaver a presidential visit,
and several other people are trying to
arrange an audience with Interior
Secretary Bruce Babbitt and with Ada
Deer, head of the Bureauoflndian Affairs.
Weaver left Minnesota July 8. On
Nov. 22, he walked into Washington.
He carried an eagle-feather staff, a
packsack, a little bottle of Mississippi
River water and a vial of earth. He said
he wants to give the president the
damaged water and soil as testimony to
the degradation ofhis homeland.
Submitted photos
MjListant Secretary ofthe Interior Ada Deer and Senator Paul Wellstone will be in the Twin Cities next Friday.
Board of Directors of Mpls Indian Health
Board keep Smith's termination on hold
By Gary Blair
The situation at the Minneapolis Indian Health Board (IHB) seems to be at
a stalemate for the time being. According to PRESS sources, plans by certain
board members to terminate that organization's director, Norine Smith, have
been put on hold..
However, information recently provided to the U.S. Inspector General's
office involving the financial affairs of
the 25 year old clinic may soon force
that deadlock to be broken.
According to former IHB staff who
were interviewed by the U.S. General
Accounting Office investigators, the
following information was recorded:
Doctors at IHB receive 80 to 90 thousand dollars per year in salaries, with a
10 percent annual bonus.They see 17
patients per day on average and the
normal physician/patient contact is 30
or more for a clinic of that size.
When IHB doctors can't make tiieir
monthly patient count, Norine Smith,
has them lecture to groups of youngsters
on health care issues. Smith then uses
that count as part ofthe clinic's overall
numbers which she then submits to the
government for medical payments.
Sources inside the clinic say, "Smith
has had her dentisis and doctors doing
that for years."
Most recently, Smith had to borrow
$50,000 to cover the clinic's payroll.
She did that without even informi ng the
clinic's board of directors.
If patients a re five mi nutes late, they' re
told to make another appointment and
that often means having to wait for
another three weeks. Double-time was
paid to certain clinic employees, such
as Smith and her daughter, who were
making more money working on weekends then they were being paid for their
regular hours.
Paul Smith, Norine's husband, was
being paid $36.00 per hour as a janitor
working at the clinic on weekends. His
salary was $18.00 per hour but he was
paid double-time for working weekend
hours.
Food was ordered in for the weekend
workers and IHB funds were used to pay
for it.
It was also reported that a staff member of the Indian Healthcare Association in St. Paul was given the free use of
an IHB van for writing a damaging
letter aboutEllieBanks,formerdirector
of the Golden Eagle program. That
person also was given a clinic gas credit
card. Sources say that person used more
Health/ See Page 3
Northern Plains Media Consortium meets
"Geronimo', first of TNT'S American
Indian TV films, debuts
By Lynn Elber
AP TV Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) _ This time,
the Indians are winners.
Turner Network Television's
"Geronimo'' debuts Sunday, the first
of a series of TV films and
documentaries about American
Indians produced by media mogul
Ted Turner's company.
Not even Turner, with his $40
million to $50 million film and book
project, can rewrite history: The brutal
subjugation of warrior Geronimo's
Apache tribe remains a bitter,
disheartening part of the America
saga.
But it is told with sympathy, with
Indian actors in the roles, and with an
unsparing emphasis on the Indian
perspective. No gratuitous romances
with white cavalry officers here.
"Geronimo," starring Joseph
Runningfox and debuting at 8 p.m.
EST on the cable channel, will be
followed Dec. 12 by "The Broken
Chain," the story of the Iroquois
Indian confederacy during the
American revolution.
Its stars include Buffy Sainte-Marie,
Wes Studi, Floyd Red Crow and
Graham Greene.
More movies are planned, including
"Lakota Woman," about the 1973
Wounded Knee, S.D.. uprising by
members of the American Indian
Movement (Turner's wife, Jane
Fonda, is producing the 1994 TV
movie).
Turner, who has a knack for big
ventures, has already published' 'The
Native Americans." a be-all. end-all
coffee table book lavishly illustrated
with maps, photos and art
reproductions and written by noted
historians.
And, yet to come, is the TBS
Superstation offering next year ofthe
three-part, six-hour documentary
version of' 'The Native Americans.''
So what's up with the man? Trying
to make amends for his Atlanta Braves
baseball team and their tomahawk-
chopping fans? Think that way and
you're thinking small.
"We need to learn (from Indian
culture) before it's too late," Turner
said. "Our society is just breaking
down all around us."
Speaking by telephone from his
Montana ranch, Turner apologizes
for a cold he says is slowing him
down. But get him started on this
topic and his fervor seems unlimited.
"Indigenous people lived close to
the land, close to nature, in small,
usually extended family groups where
they shared and cared for each other,
where the older people were respected
and not thrown away, the way we do
now," he says.
"It was a rich heritage built around
Geronimo/ See Page 6
By Harold Iron Shield
In April of 1986, a meeting was held
in Grand Forks at the University of
North Dakota campus to formulate an
organization that would work for the
concerns ofNative media in the northern plains region.
The meeting involved individuals
working in media, tribal entities and
those who were interestedor concerned.
Discussions took place regarding freedom of the press on reservations, investigative reporting, open meeting laws
on reservations and the effectiveness of
Native media on reservations.
Through these discussions, the Northern Plains Media Consortium was born.
A board of directors was put in place
through volunteerism rather than an
election. One member ofthe board was
a tribal council member who had a
strong interest in Native media.
At that point, the meeti ng was geared
towards the developmentstages. Acon-
stitution andby laws were implemented
during the two day conference. A resolution wasdrafted to address the issue of
freedom ofthe press on reservations in
Indian Country. This resolution was
drafted for the purposes of introduction
at the National Tribal Chairmans Association Convention that year.
Unfortunately, when the resolution
was introduced it was referred to a
committee for further discussion. No
action has been taken to date.
Through the Northern Plains Media
Consortium, the Dakotah News Service
cameintobeingtoserveasa news entity
in the northern plains region. It was
implemented to coordinateNative news
agencies in the region due to interest
from the mainstream media. Dakotah
News Service provides weekly news
with a cover story of the week.
Since its development, mainstream
media has depended on the service for
Native news in their respective areas.
Also, the news service advocates local
Native journalists and writers who are
in the business.
The Dakotah News Service in the last
fiveyears has been involved in picking
the All-Indian All-state players or participants in sports in the state of South
Dakota. Individual sportscastcrs or writers working with Native media to participate in the selection process. This
year a sports banquet will be a part of
this event as well.
In addition, the Dakotah News Service has been working with South Dakota Indian High School Activities Association and the Lakota Nation Invitational Basketball Tournament in the
last four years to ensure support and
involvement with Native activities.
The Dakotah News Service is coordinated by Harold Iron Shield, former
publisherandowneroftheNew Dakotah
Sun, published on the Standing Rock
Reservation. Through Iron Shield's efforts and experience in the field of
journalism, the news service has been
able to continue its work.
Since the inception of Dakotah News
Service it hasfunctioned asa subscriber
service to those who have an interest.
However, the news service needs more
ncwswTilers to participate in the service
to get Native news to the mainstream.
When a writer submits a story to the
service, it is sold to a mainstream news
media and then the writers are paid
from that profit.
All the stories are compiled weekly
and sent to subscribers via mail or fax.
The writer is always credited with the
story. Improvements are being made
constantly to keep up with the changing
journalistic world. At this time, Dakotah
News Service is a service in the Northern
Plains region only. Our intent is to localize
our news and involvement.
Anyone interested in the Dakotah News
Service can attend a meeting on January
15-16 at Minot State University Student
Union, Jones Room, second floor or
write to Dakotah News Service, P.O.
box 143, Vermillion, SD 57069.
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