Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1996-04-05

              Verdict still out in trial of Leech Lake's
gang of three
By Gary Blair
On April 4, 1996, U.S. District
Court judge Michael J. Davis told
jurors they could start deliberations
involving the fate of three Leech Lake
officials accused of stealing more than
a million dollars.
The band has most likely lost
another million paying for defense
attorney's fees, as the tribal council
controlled by the defendants
authorized them to do. According to
information obtained by the PRESS,
the Leech Lake reservation recently
had to borrow money to meet its
employee payroll.
Prosecutors say the jury could take
until early next week before reaching
a verdict because ofthe large number
of documents involved in the case.
The St. Paul federal trial lasted more
than a month and included testimony
from 40 witnesses, all but two for the
prosecution.
Defendants in the matter are former
band attorney and the State's first
Native American senator Harold
"Skip" Finn, Leech Lake chair Alfred
"Tig" Pemberton, and secretary/
treasurer Daniel Brown.
None ofthe accused took the stand
during the trial. Earlier, Finn had said
that he could not wait for the trial to
start so he could vindicate himself.
The three were indicted last summer
after a federal probe revealed the
money was taken through a phony
self-insurance fund called
Reservation Risk Management
(RRM) operated by Finn. Pemberton
and Brown served as RRM board
Trial cont'd on 3
A review of testimony in Finngate trial
By Bill Lawrence
The following is a complete
Finngate witness list—who they were
and a brief discription of what they
said. The list is as follows:
Witnesses for the prosecution
1. John McCarthy, former LLRBC
staffer, currently MIGA Ex. Dir., testified about Leech Lake tribal affairs
from the late 60's to early 90's.
2. Jenny Emery, an expert witness
for the Gov't on self-insurance, testified that RRM provided no insurance
to the tribe and that the comp. paid to
the admin, was too high and that Finn
made no investment in or took any
risk in RRM.
3. Hartley White, former chairmen
ofthe LLRBC from 1976 to 1988; testified that he was never fully informed
about the planning, setup or operation of RRM. Said the agreement between the RBC and RRM was never
explained to him. He questioned
whether the signatures on several of
the originating documents between
the LLRBC and RRM were his. Said
he never invested in RRM because he
didn't have any money.
4. Jim Michaud, former dist. 1 repr.
and sec-treas. of the LLRBC 1978-
1994; testified that he understood that
$300,000 a year would be paid in
premiuns to RRM and that any unused funds at the end would be returned to the RBC. He testified that
as a dist. repr. he was never really involved in the set up and didn't know
much about the operation of RRM.
Testified that the annual salaries of
LLRBC officers (chr. & secy, treas.)
is around $85,000, and dist. repres.
$75,000.
5. Patrick Finn, brother of Skip,
receipient of 1984 pickup truck purchased by Skip with RRM funds
6. Lois Northbird, friend of Skip's
brother, Don; she testified about cashing a check in the amount $7,500
made payable in the name of Don
Finn. The check was from Skip Finn
drawn on RRM funds.
7. Jerry. Finn, brother of Skip's,
worked in various maintenace jobs for
Skip, usually paid with RRM funds
8. Kent Beaulieu, purchased house
Review cont'd on 3
Children's Defense Fund - Minnesota
issues new statistics
The number of children committing
violent crimes and reports of child
abuse and neglect have increased
significantly, according to a new
report from the Children's Defense
Fund-Minnesota and Congregations
in Community (formerly
Congregations Concerned for
Children).
Minnesota Kids: A Closer Look,
the 1996 Minnesota KIDS COUNT
Data Book, reports a 22% increase in
children arrested for violent crime
between 1991 and 1993. Substantiated
reports of child abuse and neglect
increased by nearly 8% during the
same time.
"Fifteen years ago, we began cutting
programs that help low-income
families," said Diane Benjamin,
Director ofMinnesota KIDS COUNT.
"These additional cuts can't be made
without consequences. To see
Congress consider additional cuts to
yet another generation of children is
both disheartening and criminal."
Defense witness says Finn's insurance plan
was innovative
By Paul Gustafson
Star Tribune Staff Writer
A self-insurance plan for the Leech
Lake Band of Chippewa that
prompted the indictment of state Sen.
Harold (Skip) Finn was in fact an
innovative idea that assured the band
of liability coverage at a reasonable
cost, an expert testified Monday as
Finn began his defense against fraud
charges in St. Paul.
In 1985, the Leech Lake Band, like
many governments and businesses,
was facing skyrocketing insurance
premiums or no insurance at all, Prof.
Andrew Whitman testified in U.S.
District Court.
Firm's solution, Reservation Risk
Management Inc. (RRM), provided
liability coverage at a reasonable cost,
was "amazingly fair" to the band and
provided more services than a typical
insurance program, said Whitman, an
insurance professor in the University
of Minnesota's Carlson School of
Management.
When questioned by Assistant U.S.
Attorney Michael Ward, however,
Airplane, moose don't mix
Tribal game warden charged
By Dennis Anderson
Minneapolis Star Tribune Staff Writer
A tribal game warden is among
three people charged with using an
airplane to herd a moose across a
highway on the White Earth Indian
Reservation last May, so it could be
shot to feed people at a powwow.
John Stone Jr. is scheduled to appear
in federal court in St. Paul next week,
where he is expected to argue through
his attorney that the federal law
prohibiting the use of airplanes in
hunting can't be enforced on
reservation land.
If convicted, Stone, who pleaded not
guilty to the charge in an initial court
appearance Feb. 28, could be
sentenced to up to a year in jail and
fined $100,000.
Also alleged to have violated the
Airborne Hunting Act on May 11,
1995, in White Earth County in
northwest Minnesota are Roger A.
Oberg and Enrique Vasquez, both of
Detroit Lakes. Oberg, who U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service agents say owned
the plane used in the incident, and
Vasquez, the pilot, are not members
of the White Earth band, according
to the agents. Oberg was not in the
plane at the time.
Oberg and Vasquez have pleaded
not guilty, and also are expected to
seek dismissal ofthe charges because
the incident occurred on tribal
property. Assistant U.S. Attorney
Margaret Chutich of Minneapolis
said others might be charged in the
incident.
Dave Purinton, Fish and Wildlife
Service assistant regional director for
law enforcement in St. Paul, said
Thursday he believes the Airborne
Hunting Act is enforceable on
reservation land. Purinton said he
knew of no court case in which the
law. had been tested by tribal
members, but said the Endangered
Species Act and the Bald and Golden
Eagle Protection Act withstood court
challenges under similar
circumstances.
According to White Earth
Reservation head conservation officer
Moose cont'd on 3
Nuclear waste bill fizzles again
By Amy Kuebelbeck
ST. PAUL (AP) _ The search for a
nuclear storage site away from the
Prairie Island plant will continue,
and the nearby Indian tribe will remain
uncompensated, if no bill emerges
from the waning days of the 1996
Legislature.
Another proposal to end the search
for an alternate site fizzled Tuesday,
after lawmakers questioned whether
it held a big loophole for Northern
States Power Co.
NSP wants to end the search. In
exchange, under a proposal by Sen.
Steve Novak, Minnesota taxpayers
and NSP would have given millions
of dollars to the nearby Prairie Island
Dakota tribe as compensation for the
tribe's proximity to the radioactive
waste.
But the proposal was set aside
Tuesday in the Senate Environment
and Natural Resources Committee
after lawmakers raised questions about
the deal. Several said that the
Legislature cannot require a private
company to pay anything, so NSP
would get to end the search and then
could challenge its payments in court.
"I would say that it's all but dead,"
saidNovak, DFL-New Brighton. The
committee chairman, Sen. Bob
Lessard, DFL-InternationalFalls, said
he would not give the bill another
hearing this year.
Verdict still out in trial of LL gang of three/ pg 1
A review of testimony in Finngate trial/ pg 1
Children's Defense Fund - Mn statistics/ pg 1
Red Lake fishing board votes to tighten regs/ pg 1
Finngate finacial transaction charts/ pg 8
Voice ofthe People
)
The report also found that children
were holding their own on many other
indicators of child well-being.
"Minnesota is certainly doing some
things right. Hopefully, we will be able
to mobilize communities and decision
makers throughout our state to
continue to make good choices for
children," said Janet Mitdbo,
Association Director of
Congregations in Community.
Children cont'd on 4
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Founded in 1988
Volume 8   Issue 25
April 5, 1996
I
Whitman acknowledged that the self-
insurance agreement drafted by Finn,
the band's general counsel, gave him
claim to 75 percent of RRMs reserve
funds when the corporation was
dissolved.
Whitman also acknowledged that
Finn received hundreds of thousands
of dollars from RRM while serving
as its president without investing any
of his own money. Finn and his law
partner, however, could have been
forced to raise $450,000 for RRM had
Plan cont'd on 5 *
The bill would have provided the
tribe with $2 million from NSP and
$8 millionfromMinnesota taxpayers.
NSP also would have gotten a tax
break and would have paid the tribe
hundreds of thousands of dollars a
year that otherwise would have gone
to property taxes.
Before tabling the bill, the
committee voted 11-5 to shift the $8
million payment from taxpayers to
NSP, for atotal out-of-pocket payment
from the company of $10 million.
"I don't know why the taxpayers
should subsidize this," said Sen. Gene
Merriam, DFL-Coon Rapids.
NSP opposed that move.
Nuclear cont'd on 5
A weekly publication.
Copyright, Motive American Proas,  1996
Ctrl Gawboy's "Strawberry Moon" one ofthe entries in this year's Ojibwe Expo.
23rd Annual Ojibwe Art Expo
The Ojibwe Art Expo began its 23 rd
touring season March 25th when the
exhibit opened at the Talley Gallery
at Bemidji State University.
The Expo will remain at BSU
through April 12 with additional
showings planned in Tower, MN,
starting April 15 and Vineland, MN,
May 6.
A juried exhibit, the current
collection features art of the upper
great lakes region, including bead
work, quill work and baskets in the
traditional category as well as
photographs, paintings and sculpture
in the contempory division. Artists
range in age from teenagers to those
in their 70s.
This years annual Ojibwe Art Expo
is dedicated to Maude Kegg of Mille
Lacs, MN, who recently died. Kegg
was a prominent Ojibwe artist who
completed   world-class   works,
including an Ojibwe bandoleer bag in
1992.
The Talley Gallery is open
weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. with
hours extended to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays.
It is also open Saturdays from 10 a.m.
to 3 p.m.
For more information, contact the
Indian Studies Program, Sanford hall,
Bemidji State University, 1500
Birchmont Drive NE, Bemidji, MN
56601 (218) 755-3977.
Red Lake fishing board votes to tighten
commercial regulations
The Red Lake Fisheries Association,
the governing body for commercial
fishing on the Red Lake Reservation,
voted March30totightenenforcement
of its fishing regulations. The 300
members of the Red Lake Fisheries
Association, more than 40% of the
total membership, overwhelmingly
voted to strengthen the rules.
The Fisheries Association is a
cooperative of Red Lake tribal
members who commercially fish.
Owned and operated by its members,
the cooperative was started in 1929 in
Redby to enable tribal members to sell
as a group All profits are returned to
the member/owners ofthe Association
with the exception of five percent of
gross fish sales that are paid to the
tribal government as a tax.
Issues on over-fishing have arisen in
the past two years due to a dramatic
drop in fish production. Walleye and
Perch production has decreased over
50% in the last two years. These two
species represent approximately 85%
offish sales. While some Association
members feel the recent drop in
production is simply part of a natural
cycle of up and down commercial
fishing, others feel it is due to the
intense fishing effort taking place on
Upper and Lower Red Lakes.
Many difficult emotional and
political questions have been debated
over the last two years regarding the
fishing regulation issues. One ofthe
most challenging questions is how to
cut back on the fishing effort while
not interfering with the fishing rights
that every Red Lake tribal member
has? Another one ofthe most difficult
issues has been how do you cut back
on the fishing industry when
reservation unemployment hovers
around 60%?
"The tougher regulations are actually
a restatement to aggressively enforce
the current regulations, of which the
key component is to limit each
association member to eight nets.
Currently there is an eight net limit;
however, it is commonly abused. The
vote by the membership says the eight
net limit will now be strictly enforced,"
according to Dan King, general
manager ofthe Association.
In other votes, cooperative members
setatwo-weekmoratoriumonfishing
in July, and reelected Bill May, Rudy
Johnson, Roy Nelson, Tom Barrett,
and Myron Kingbird to the board of
directors.
Interior secretary plans meeting before
moving on Indian gambling
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Interior
Secretary Bruce Babbitt expressed
disappointment Friday with the U.S.
Supreme Court ruling on Indian
gambling, which affects plans by
Creeks to open casinos in Alabama.
But he gave no clear indication of
what he would do.
In a 54 ruling Wednesday, the Supreme
Court said states can't be forced into
federal court to resolve disputes about
casinos on Indian reservations. The decision could force Babbitt to settle disputes
in several states, including Alabama,
where the Poarch Band of Creeks want
approval tobuild casinos in Wetumpka
and Atmore.
Federal law on Indian gambling
allowed tribes to negotiate compacts
with state officials to have gambling
on reservations. Talksbetween former
Gov. Guy Hunt and the Poarch Band
of Creek Indians broke down,
prompting the Creeks to sue in federal
court. But the Supreme Court ruling
negated that.
"We' re disappointed that the court
has disrupted a process that has
resulted in over 125 voluntary
compacts between the states and tribes
in more than 20 states. We want to
emphasize that the court's decision
does not effect the continued validity
of existing compacts or in our view
prevent the voluntary creation of new
compacts," Babbitt said in a statement
Friday.
Indian tribes are hopeful of getting
Babbitt to approve gambling compacts
when they are shut out by state
officials. But the ruling comes in an
election year and affects the vote-rich
states of California and Florida.
Babbitt said that since the Supreme
Court case primarily involved
Florida's Seminoles, he would meet
with the parties in that case before
taking any action.