The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1989-01-11

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news briefer
Family seminar to be
held in Cass Lake
The Anishinabe Family Christian Counseling and learning Center, in
conjunction with the Covenant Indian Church of Cass Lake, is
sponsoring a family seminar from Jan. 20 to 22. The purpose of the
seminar is to give insight into building stronger and more secure family
relationships.
The speaker will be Jon Hanchett, a family counselor who has served
the Menominee Indians of Wisconsin for a number of years.
The seminar is open to the public and will be held at the Covenant
Indian Church in Cass Lake. Offerings will be taken to cover the costs
of the speaker and materials.
The seminar will cover a wide range of topics including Husband/wife
and parents/teen relationships, suicide prevention and intervention,
family finances, and more.
The seminar will begin at 5 p.m. Jan. 20 with a dinner provided by the
church. An evening program will begin at 6:30. For more information
call 694-6946 or 335-2548.
Lutheran Social Services to offer
food stamp outreach program
For individuals who need encouragement and assistance to apply for
food stamps, a new program will provide caring persons to do just that.
Clearwater and Mahnomen counties are included in a nine month grant
awarded to Lutheran Social Services of Minnesota to provide food
stamp outreach to individuals at risk of being homeless. The state has
asked Lutheran Social Services to find ways to reach and help
minorities to obtain food stamps.
Since the rural homeless do not want others to know of their
problems, they tend to hide themselves and their problems. For this
reason, local volunteers are being recruited and trained to reach out to
people who are at risk of not having enough food. Outreach workers
will offer individuals support, technical assistance and transportation to
apply for food stamps.
Persons who would like help, information, or the opportunity to help
their neighbors, may contact Audrey at Lutheran Social Services on
Minnesota, 627 Center Ave^ Moorhead, MN 56560. (218) 233-7521.
Bemidiji High School
hosts sled dog clinic
A demonstration and explanation of the exciting sport of sled dog
racing will presented in the Bemidji High School auditorium on Friday,
Jan. 13 beginning at 3:30 p.m. ... -■.....
The clinic is being held in conjunction with the Paul Bunyan Sled Dog
Race sponsored by Tuffy's Dog Food and will feature champion racers
Amy Kondos, 17, and Don and Val Beland of Ely, Minn.
Aitkin resigns
as director of
Leech Lake
Social Services
Robert Aitkin has resigned,
effective Jan. 6, as director of
Leech Lake Social Services.
According to Aitkin, he
resigned because the tribe had
asked him to accept a salary cut.
"They offered me a salary cut and
I decided not to accept it," said
Aitkin.
Aitkin said the reason for thel^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
cut was because the reservation    Robert AMtin
wanted to have all division directors' salaries at about the same level.
Bev Sande, personnel director of the Leech Lake RBC, comfirmed that
Aitkin had resigned but would not comment as to the reason for his
resignation.
Sandy said the tribe will be advertising for someone to replace Aitkin
as director.
Aitkin began working for Leech Lake Social Services as a consultant
to the director in February of 1987. He was later given the job as
director in July of 1987.
Aitkin said he plans to go back into ihe private consultant business.
He, his wife and two children, live in Bemidji.
Land returned
to Red Lake
As of last Wednesday, the Red
Lake reservation gained control
of 32,000 acres of land in
Koochiching County.
According to U.S. Rep. Jim
Oberstar (DFL-8th District), the
land was originally part of the
Red Lake reservation but under
the 1889 Nelson Act it was
opened up to homesteading.
In 1945, according to Oberstar,
the secretary of the Interior order
that 188,000 acres of unused land
be returned to tbe reservation.
However, the 32,000 acres were
inadvertently overlooked in the
transfer of land.
Apparently there was some
confusion over who held thle to
the land. Various treaties, laws
and land transfers, plus poorly
kept records in the late 1800s and
early 1900s, made it difficult to
determine ownership.
A search to determine who
owned the land wasn't initiated
until Oberstar inquired into the
possibility of mineral exploration
of the land. At a mineral policy
conference in Duluth a year ago.
Oberstar said there was a good
deal of discussion about the
possibility of precious mineral
deposits in that area since the
geology is similar to land in
Canada where gold had been
found.
Oberstar said it was believed
that the U.S. Bureau of Land
Management owned the land.
Under federal law, BLM lands in
Minnesota aren't open for
mineral leasing. The land would
have to be turned over to state or
county control in order for testing
to begin.
During die search for the owner
of the 32,000 acres, it was
discovered mat the land belonged
to the Red Lake reservation.
According to an article in the
Bemidji Pioneer, Boise Casacade
Corp. has approached the Red
Lake Tribal Council about
mineral exploration rights. The
reservation might also seek lost
income, primarily from timber
sales, in addition to acquiring tbe
land.
•
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Aberdeen IHS
facing shortage of
doctors
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Health risks for
women who
smoke
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The
Fifty Cents
Oiib we
•j
News
Founded in 19
Copyright, the Ojibwe News, 1988
Conservation
proposal comes
under attack in
White Earth
By Mark Boswefl
Assistant Editor
Meetings were held throughout
the White Earth Reservation last
Thursday night concerning a
proposed Conservation Code for
that reservation.
Although some meetings were
cancelled because of poor
attendance, there was about 35
people present at the White Earth
Reservation Humanities Center in
White Earth; about 15 people were
present at the Elbow Lake
Community Center in Elbow Lake
Village.
Arguments concerning the
proposed code were heard by
various officials from the White
Earth Conservation Department.
Officers presnt at the White Earth
meeting were Dave Renke, Dale
Boyer, Cheryl Heisler; and Paul
Williams. At the White Earth
meeting, Dan Stevens, District III
representative from the White Earth
RBC, took questions from a group
of White Earth enrollees.
The Anishinabe Akeeng was well
represented at both the Elbow Lake
Village meeting and at the
gathering in White Earth. The
group, according to their statement
of purpose, is a "coalition of
Anishinabeg united together in a
(spiritual) sovereignity struggle for
the security of our future." United
in 1983, they voiced the majority of
complaints against the Code and
brought up many of the
discrepancies that exist within the
document including the lack of a
proper Conservation Committee
(which was voted out of existence
by the RTC), ambiguities between
wording the Preamble with
"privilege" instead of "right", and
the lack of election procedures for
Conservation Department judges.
Many times in published comments
on the document was it pointed out
that the Code itself should be
"simplified and clarified".
Conflicts have arisen over the
origination of the document.
According to Dwight Wilcox of the
Conservation Department, the
original ordinances were written by
tribal 'authorities' oi other
reservations. When th; Tribal
Constitution was questioned
Wilcox stated, "In 1935 and 1961
the constitution was ratified and
re-ratified."
One extreme view, held by the
Anishinabe Akeeng, s that the
document be totally scnpped until
a proper Constitutional Convention
be established and raified by a
referendum vote on thereservation.
John Morrin, of the Anishinabe
Akeeng, feels mat the vhole gist of
the Conservation -ode is an
imposition on what ie considers
The White Earth RBC dug out from last week's snow storm. Twenty'
and more snow is possible by this weekend,
"traditional cultural values'
Provisions for incarceration and
imprisonment are completely
against Motrin's concepts about
how'the resources should be
managed under tribal authority.
Constructions in the culture
indicate to Morrin that punishment
procedures by reassessed in order
be available at all of the meetings
to record the comments of tribal
members, few if any were present.
Several times during the
hour-long meetings it was
mentioned that changes should be
made to the way that Lower Rice
Lake is managed. Wilfred Kier, a
native of White Earth, mentioned
mtt shouldn't be a crime to eat."
-Clarence Fairbanks
Elbow Lake Village
to reflect a more traditional method
of managing the tribe and it's
affairs.
Other views about the proposed
Code questioned the credibility of
the Tribal Council in recieving and
reviewing the comments that are
being made. "You'll present these
comments to the RTC and they'll
say-'to hell with it.' Then they'll
ratify it their own way," said Dan
Kier to Wilcox during the meeting
held at Elbow Lake.
Although it was mentioned that
video and recording devices would
that the current management
program has been damaging the
Wild Rice harvest on the lake.
"I've been ricing on Rice Lake
for 25 years and I've always seen
people get a lot of Wild Rice of the
lake," said Kier, "but, not
anymore."
Dwight Wilcox replied to Kier's
statement by reciting some of the
recent projects associated with the
Wild Rice on Lower Rice Lake,
including artificial seeding and the
harvesting of Wild Rice with an
airboat.
four inches of snow was recorded
Photo by Mark Boswell
The airboat, long a subject of
heated discussion between the
Conservation Department and the
tribal populace, has been
responsible for harvesting seed rice
and Wild Rice gifts made available
to area senior citizens.
Approximately 350 gifts of Wild
Rice were donated by the White
Earth RTC last Christmas,
according to the Anishinabe
Dee-Bah-Gee-Mo-Win newspaper.
Others still question the ethics of
harvesting Wild Rice by
mechanical means. Traditional and
Industrialized methods have been at
odds since the airboat was first
introduced a few years ago. "The
airboat should never go on those
lakes at all, " stated Marvin
Manypenny of the Anishinabe
Akeeng.
The Conservation Department is
now operated under a system
similar to the Minnesota
Department of Natural Resources
or any county law enforcement and
resource management office.
As Clarence Fairbanks of Elbow
Lake Village stated simply, "It
shouldn't be a crime to eat."
Trespass denial sought in Cass Lake sit-in
By Mark Boswell
Assistant Editor ^m
Assistant Cass Ccmty attorney
Jon Eclov has fileda brief dated
December 19 to theCass County
District Court in relrion plaintiffs
accused of trespssing on the
grounds of the ieservation
Business Committe Building in
Cass Lake.
Accused of tuspassing on
tribally owned lanl on the Leech
Lake Reservation nine of the 10
defendants are numbers of the
Minnesota Chippe/a Tribe. The
arrest, which took>lace last April,
is being contesteron the grounds
that Cass Countyias no authority
on the premises, tat the assembly
was guaranteed f the Minnesota
Tribe Constitutid and the Indian
Civil Rights Act (CRA).
Defense attornt' Craig Diviney,
who representshe law firm of
Dorsey andWhitney of
Minneapolis, mde a motion on
Dec. 13 arguin.that the state of
Minnesota an" Cass County
District Court hi no jurisdiction in
the matter, sine the incident took
place on tribal gxinds.
The prosecung brief by Eclov
points oat that a federal statute
empowers the state with
jurisdiction over criminal offenses
committed by or against Indians on
any reservation land within
Minnesota, with the exception of
Red Lake Reservation.
The prosecution also argues that
the First Amendment rights of the
individuals were not violated
The defendants had been
participating in a sit-in at tribal
headquarters in Cass Lake to
protest current tribal governments.
Grievances were discussed with
tribal leaders and an avenue had
been opening up toward making
progress in what was called "Camp
Justice".
RBC Chairman Hartley White
then called Cass County Sheriff
Jim Dowson and told him that the
RBC wanted the persons occupying
the facility center removed,
informing him that "their continued
occupation of the facility center
*as in violation of the Minnesota
state law of trespass" and
instructed the individuals to leave
the facility center or be subject to
arrest for trespass."
According to the prosecuting
brief the "Defendants . . . have been
told to leave by the lawful
possessor thereof." The
prosecution believes that the
facility center is owned, not by the
tribe collectively, but by the RBC
alone.
The two parties have until Jan. 17
to file additional briefs.
Indian leader plans
trip to Libya
Minneapolis, Minn. (AP) -
American Indian Movement
leader Vernon Bellecourt says
he's planning to lead a delegation
to Libya to see whether that
country is making chemical
weapons.
Bellecourt made the comment
Wednesday during a peace rally
sponsored by the Honeywell
Project, Women Against Military'
Madness, AIM and other peace
organizations in response to the
U.S. downing of two Libyan jets
earlier in the day.
The peace activists said they
were outraged, but not surprised
about the incident.
In the last year, the United
States has warned that Libya was
building a factory to produce
chemical weapons in the desert
south of Tripoli. But U.S.
Defense Secretary Frank Carlucci
said there was no connection
between the downing of the
Libyan jets and the suspected
Libyan chemical weapons plant.
Bellecourt contended the
factory is a pharmaceutical plant
and said he would travel to the
site, possibly as soon as Saturday,
"to be there in case the United
States attacks that plant."
Bellecourt has traveled to Libya
several times. Last fall, he was
arrested and jailed for refusing to
testify in court about a previous
visit to Libya.