The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1989-07-01

              Red Lake's Renee Spears
won honor in Poetry
contest
page2
Tribes forced to share
zoning power with state
page 3
Leon Cook new Red
Lake Tribal Social
Services Director
Leon Cook, age 49, was recently
hired by Red Lake Tribal Council
as Tribal Social Services Director.
Cook a Red Lake Tribal
member, who holds a masters
degree in Social Work has held a
variety of positions in Indian
Affairs on the State and National
levels.
In the early 1970's he was
elected President of the National
Congress of American Indians.
news bridk
Allery to be sentenced
on Wednesday
Alan Allery, Health Consultant for the Red Lake Chippewa Tribe,
will be sentenced on Wednesday, July 12, before Senior U.S. District
Judge Edward Devitt, St. Paul, on two counts of filing false travel
claims while working as Bemidji Area Director of the Indian Health
Service (IHS).
Allery was convicted in May, at the U.S. Federal Court in St. Paul.,
for the misuse of travel expenditures for temporary housing expenses
when he was given a promotional transfer from Aberdeen, SD, to
Bemidji in November of 1984.
Allery resigned his Bemidji IHS post in December of 1988 following
the lengthy investigation by the Inspector General's office of the U. S.
Department of Health and Human Services.
Investigations continue on other misuse and mismanagement of health
care funds by Allery and three or four other staff members at the
Bemidji Area IHS Office.
Holthusean elected to
fisheries board of directors
Red Lake. Minn. - Delwyn Holthusean was elected to the Red Lake
Fisheries Association's board of directors in a special election held
Saturday, June 24.
Holthusean replaces Hebert May who passed away last May.
Holthusean has served as a member of the board for several terms
previously, but had lost the election held last March.
Tribal judge dismissed
Red Lake. Minn. - Sources have indicated that Red Lake Tribal Judge
Bruce Graves was fired. Graves was unavailable for comment.
NAIAD meets with
Bemidji officials
Bemidji-based Native Americans Against Discrimination (NAIAD) is
scheduled to meet with the Bemidji City Council on July 3, 1989, and
with the Beltrami County Board on July 11, 1989.
Leech Lake trespass
case in District Court
Walker, Minn. - The Chippewa Trespass case is scheduled to go to
District Court in Walker on July 18.
Ten members of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe were charged with
trespassing last April when they held a sit-in at Tribal Headquarters in
Cass Lake protesting tribal government.
During previous hearings questions were raised by the defense
contesting the court's jurisdiction to arrest the protestors since the arrest
took place on tribal grounds.
The defense cited their right to peaceful assembly as tribal members
on tribal grounds which is guaranteed under the Minnesota Tribe
Constitution and the Indian Civil Rights Act.
White Earth company
lands contract to make
T-shirts for military use
The Honeywell Corporation recently awarded a U. S. government
contract valued at $400,000 to the White Earth Garment Manufacturing
Company.
The Small Business Administration awarded the contract with the
Defense Personnel Support Center for the garment factory to supply
180,000 white T-shirts for military use beginning Oct. 1.
Eight to 10 jobs are expected to be added at the factory and the
contract is renewable at the end of the term.
Initially, the Detroit Lakes Technical Institute will assist in the
training of the new employees beginning in August, 1989.
Sales should exceed $1 million with this new contract according to
factory manager. Bill Osborne.
Correction:
The feature in the last issue, a Commentary about Red Earth, White
Earth, inadvertantly was not properly acknowledged. Those comments
were penned by Keith Whitewolf Sackett who is a member of the
Shinnecock Tribe located in the New York-New Jersey area. The staff
apologizes for this oversight.
Founded in 1988
Volume 1  Issue 52
July 1,1989
]
1 Copyright, the Ojibwe News, 1989
A Bi-Monthly Publication
Bemidji, Minnesota 56601
Dr. Everett Rhoades, Indian Health Services Director addresses the audience at the dedication ceremonies for the Jourdain/Perpich
Extended Care Facility on the Red Lake Reservation held on June 17,1989. Approximately 600 persons attended including former Govenor
Orville Freeman, Govenor Rudy Perpich, several local state legislatures and various tribal dignitaries. The facility which was built with $2.85
million of State of Minnesota funds is scheduled to open on July 15,1989. The facility which will provide 49 beds, will employ 55 persons
and require an operating budget of $2.8 million.
Additional IHS indictments forthcoming
By Bill Lawrence
Investigations continue regarding
the misuse of travel and other funds
by some members of the staff at the
Bemidji Area Indian Public Health
Service.
Sources have told the News that
the ongoing investigations by the
Office of the Inspector General, U.S.
Department of Health and Human
Services, will in all probability lead
to the filing of additional
indictments against three or four
staff members of the Bemidji office
who worked under Alan Allery.
Allery, former Bemidji Area
Director from 1984-1988, was
recently indicted for filing false
travel vouchers.
Based upon documents reviewed
by the News, former director Allery
demonstrated flagrant abuse of
authority and mismanagement of
health care service funds, resulting
in some Indian people being denied
such significant health services as
cataract surgery for the elderly and
eyeglasses for school children.
Items under investigation include
the misuse of travel funds by several
sSfaff members.
■*iixampies of this misuse of funds
include unjustified use of chartered
aircraft which at times included
non-governement passengers on
questionable trips.
The Bemidji Area Office made
widespread use of open purchase
orders, such as the payment of
accomadations for central office
staff and area directors at the
Mackinaw Island at $125 per room.
These individuals also received per
diem payments from their own
travel budgets.
Other instances of misuse of travel
funds include: 1) abuse of rental
cars, 2) accommodations for staff in
motel rooms when dormitory rooms
were provided, 3) instances where
staff supposedly attended meetings
which demonstrated no results, 4)
personal use of Frequent Flyer
Memberships, which were
purchased by government travel
funds, and 5) claiming taxi expense
when none was used.
Other alleged misuses of funds
included the purchase of $1000
worth of video games, personal
magazine subscriptions, personal
phone calls made on government
credit cards, use of three hours a
week office time for physical fitness
after being told twice that this was
inappropriate, failure to advertise for
position openings and creating
positions for friends who were
unqualified, and allowing an IHS
employee to sit on the North
Country Hospital Board, possibly
constituting a conflict of interest.
Open purchase orders have been
placed with tribes in order to
circumvent regulations for the illegal
purchase of food, gifts, restaurant
meals, and other expenditures.
Sources have informed the News
that these violations have occurred
for years under Allery's
directorship, during which time all
attempts to report these violations
have been ignored or stone-walled.
Not until the matter was brought to
the attention of Senator
Duremburger was there any attempt
to launch an investigation.
These investigations have not
included Red Lake contracts because
the tribal/political relationship with
Dr. Rhoades has allowed the tribe to
circumvent the Area Office
altogether. Their contracts are also
under investigation.
Shirt of Sitting Bull's adopted son donated to state
By Bob Imrie
Associated Press Writer
Bismarck, N.D. (AP) - An
Indian family, needing money to
pay medical bills, sold a $10,000
buckskin shirt that belonged to the
adopted son of Sitting Bull in a
deal that allowed the clothing to be
donated to the state museum.
The pullover, decorated with
beaded strips and patches, was
worn by One Bull in the 1920s,
Chris Dill, director of the North
Dakota Historical Society's
museum division, said in a
statement Tuesday.
"One Bull was an important
figure in the state's history, having
fought at the Little Bighorn and
being a close associate of Sitting
Bull," Dill said. "This is a major gift,
a real treasure."
However, the circumstances
surrounding how the state acquired
the shirt point out the financial
plight of One Bull's ancestors.
One Bull's daughter, Margaret
One Bull Tremmel, made the shirt
for her father. She recently sold it to
Dr. John Hamilton of Williston so
he could donate it and some
fur-trimmed leggings to the state,
Dill said.
Hamilton, a dentist, refused to
divulge how much he paid for the
shirt but said it had been appraised
at between $10,000 and $15,000. He
paid "something less" than that, he
said.
Mrs. Tremmel, 80, suffers from
Parkinson's disease and was placed
in a Mobridge, S.D., nursing home
in April, said her daughter, Maethus
Grey Bear of Fort Yates. The family
needs the money for medical costs
and other expenses. Grey Bear said.
Mrs. Tremmel wanted the shirt to
end up in a museum where it would
be safe, Grey Bear said.
Mrs. Tremmel initially asked the
Historical Society to buy the shirt,
but the state agency was unable to
raise enough money, Hamilton said.
"I thought that it was just a real
shame that we weren't able to keep
something like that in the state."
Sitting Bull, a Sioux leader,
adopted One Bull when the boy
was 4 years old, Dill said.
One Bull, who died in 1948 at
the age of 105, was credited with
killing four of Lt. Col. George
Armstrong Custer's soldiers during
the Battle of the Little Bighorn on
June 25,1876, Hamilton said.
The shirt has beaded patches
with the names One Bull on the
front and Sitting Bull on the back,
he said.
Bridget Jones, currator of
collections for the Historical
Society, said the state has pictures
of One Bull wearing the shirt.
Tribe requests $14.5 million for operation	
Red Lake's Indian Health Service contract delayed
Bill Lawrence
According to information obtained
from sources who wish to remain
anonymous, the News learned that
the Red Lake Tribal Council's
application to contract administration of the Red Lake Indian
Health Service (IHS) Hospital/Clinic
is to be delayed for at least one year.
Documents reviewed by the News
indicated that the tribe had originally
planned to take over operation of the
hospital on May 15, 1989. The
primary reason cited for the delay is
the Tribal Council's failure to accept
accountability requirements of the
1988 amendments to PL93-638.
In addition, the News has learned
that opposition of the tribal contract
of the hospital by several members
of the Red Lake Tribal Council, a
$45 million overrun in the IHS's
FY89 budget, together with the
current Senate hearings into alleged
widespread corruption and
mismanagement within the IHS,
have also resulted in delays in the
IHS's consideration of the Red Lake
application.
By letter dated February 17, 1989,
to Everett R. Rhoades, Director of
the Indian Health Service, from
Monte C. Hammitt, Red Lake Tribal
Health Director, the Red Lake Tribal
Council requested $3.8 million for
transitional and indirect costs to
enable the tribe to contract the IHS
Hospital/Clinic.
Included with the letter was a
proposed budget of nearly $14.5
million the tribe is requesting to
operate the Red Lake Health Care
Delivery System during Fiscal Year
1990 (October 1, 1989 to September
30,1990).
As part of this amount, the tribe is
seeking $11.7 million from the IHS,
with the balance of approximately
$2.8 million to be realized from
operation of the newly dedicated
Jourdain/Perpich Extended Care
Facility. The tribe's projected costs
of nearly $2.8 million to operate the
49-bed Jourdain/Perpich Facility is
predicated totally on the payment of
user fees.
Income projections are based upon
a 94 percent daily patient occupancy
at an average per patient daily rate
of$162.19.
This rate appears optimistic when
compared to the Beltrami County
Nursing Home's current range of
daily rates per patient of $41.96 to
$82.34.
In addition, the low occupancy
rates of the Red Lake Hospital (32.8
percent) and its liberal admission
policy would indicate a hesitancy of
many tribal members to use these
facilities.
Insufficient occupancy of both the
hospital and elderly home with their
fixed overhead costs could utilize an
excessive amount of available health
care funds and result in a reduction
of health services to the Red Lake
people.
Contracting of the IHS Hospital/
Clinic by the Red Lake'Tribal
Council has become a very
controversial issue on the Red Lake
Reservation.
Tribal opponents to the contracting
are concerned that, like the Red
Lake Comprehensive Health
Program, which is currently administered by the tribal council, the
Hospital/Clinic would become
highly politicalized with an adverse
effect on reservation health care.
The main complaint against the
Comprehensive Health Program is
that it is operated by Tribal Chair-
man Jourdain and his Chief
Lieutenant Monte Hammitt as a
personal fiefdom.
Tribal critics complain that the
program is rank with nepotism,
favoritism, and plagued by the
misuse of funds.
They also complain that high
administrative costs, excessive
absenteeism, tardiness, and
unnecessary positions make the
program ineffective.
One tribal member told the News
that Tribal Health Director Monte
Hammitt spends little time in his
office, despite his annual salary of
$72,875.
Another tribal member told the
News that he is amazed that the IHS
would even consider contracting
with the tribe because they have
mismanaged and failed to comply
with contract requirements in all
their current BIA and IHS contracts.
He said that the tribal council has
still not complied with the audit
requirements of the 1984 single
audit act for fiscal years 1987 and
1988.
A call to the Office of Inspector
General, U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services verified the
above statement.