Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1996-06-28

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Justice, delayed, not denied Jurors' guilty
verdicts seal fate of Wadena, Rawley and Clark
By Gary Blair
White Earth tribal chairman
Darrell "Chip" Wadena, secretary
treasurer, Jerry Rawley, council
member Rickie Clark and Carley
"Baby Doll" Jasken, listened intently
on Monday as 12 federal jurors
returned verdicts which would seal
the fate of three of them. The 67-
year-old Jasken, who had been the
reservation's head election judge, was
acquitted. She had been charged with
one count of election fraud and
another count of obstruction of
justice.
The corruption indictments carried
the heaviest charges ever brought by
the U.S. Justice Department against
tribal officials in Minnesota. Rawley
and Clark were found guilty of federal
civil rights violations for their
involvement in voter fraud during the
reservation's 1990 and 1994 general
elections.
The million dollar defense team
exchanged glances with reporters just
before jurors entered the courtroom.
The attorneys appeared as tense and
nearly as despondent as their clients,
as they waited for the verdict
announcements.
In less than one minute, the
judgment against Chip Wadena was
read. He was found guilty of all
fifteen felony charges leveled against
him by a federal grand jury last fall.
Rawley was found guilty of 17 of 18
felony counts. Clark was found guilty
of 22 of the 23 charges against him.
After the verdicts were read, lead
prosecutor Jeanne Graham
immediately asked the judge to
confine the three convicted men
pending sentencing. She said there
was concern that they would return
to the reservation and loot more funds
and tribal resources.
However, Chief Federal Judge, Paul
Magnuson~who was sitting-in for
U.S. District Court trial judge
Michael J. Davis-set the hearing for
9 a.m. Tuesday, July. 2 to hear the
government's request for early
confinement or conditional release.
Justice cont'd 3
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Democracy by decree? BIA recognizes McArthur
government amid allegations of 'coup'
By Jeff Armstrong
In what he described as an emergency
response to an unprecedented political
crisis, White Earth chairman-elect
Eugene (Bugger) McArthur formed
an interim government one day after
the June 24, felony convictions of
chairman Darrell (Chip) Wadena,
secretary treasurer Jerry Rawley and
RBC member Rick Clark on dozens
of federal corruption charges.
Responding to the jury's verdict
against the trio-who constituted a
majority of the governing Reservation
Business Committee—on charges
including election fraud, McArthur
and Dist. Ill Rep.-elect John
Buckanaga had themselves sworn into
office by state Appeals Court judge
Randall. McArthur and Buckanaga
then stripped the convicted officials
of their posts and appointed Erma
Vizenor and Irene Hvezda to fill the
vacant seats. The tribal constitution
requires removal of RBC members
found guilty of felonies while in office.
"We have it in our power to create a
government that is a true democracy,"
said McArthur in a prepared
statement. "One that lets in the light
of day and of public participation. It
can in fact shine so brightly that not
only will the light shine in, but it will
shine out and all of the Indian Nations
can look at our model to lead them to
true democracy and a better world for
all."
While the new council said it was
ushering a new era of openness and
community empowerment, others
called its assumption reminiscent of
Govern cont'd on 3
Supreme Court seeks input on foster
care and adoption systems
Seeks written and verbal testimony at public hearings
St. Paul, Minn. — Edward
Toussaint. Jr., Chief Judge of the Minnesota Court of Appeals, is urging
parents, family members, children,
agencies and others who have experience with Minnesota's foster care
system to testify at public hearings.
People who have adopted children
formerly in foster care are also invited
to share their experiences.
The Minnesota Supreme Court's
Advisory Task Force on Foster Care
and Adoption is conducting five public hearings in the next three months
at Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota
sites. The hearings are scheduled:
Thursday, June 27, at 6 p.m. at the
St. Paul Technical College Audito
rium, 235 Marshall Avenue, St. Paul
Thursday, July 25, at 6 p.m. at the
Hennepin County Government Center, 300 South Sixth Street, Minneapolis.
Wednesday, July 17, at 6 p.m. at the
City Council Chambers, City Hall,
317 - 4th Street NW, Bemidji:
Thursday, August 1, at 6 p.m., at the
Government Center Boardroom, Government Center, 151 - 4th Street SE.
Rochester
Wednesday, August 14 at 6 p.m., at
the Farmer's Room, Nobles County
Courthouse, 318 - 10th Street,
Worthington
The task force was established by
the Minnesota Supreme Court to determine if Minnesota's foster care and
adoption systems are in compliance
with state and federal laws. Among
other topics, the task force is studying the following issues:
* Implementation of the Minnesota
Heritage Act; the* Indian Child Welfare Act; and the Minnesota Indian
Family Preservation Act;
* Legal representation of all parties
involved in the process;
* Timeliness of proceedings and permanency determinations; reasons for
delay;
* confidentiality and data privacy in
Foster cont'd on 6
Enough is enough: Grassroots reform
movement takes root on Leech Lake
By Jeff Armstrong
While a broad coalition of
Anishinabe activists and former tribal
candidates gathered at the Leech Lake
pow-wow grounds to challenge the
status quo, the RBC continued tcrcarry
out business as usual in secret Twin
Cities meetings.
"This is not a candidates' coalition,
this is a people's coalition, "said former
candidate Lenore Barsness. Addressing
an audience of about 60 Leech Lake
residents at the June 27th community
council meeting, Barsness said, "We
need to work together in a united way
to empower the people and tell our
leaders 'enough is enough.'"
Chairman-elect Eli Hunt, who
founded his campaign on open
government, had planned to attend
the Leech Lake meeting, but was
forced instead to take his oath of
office in the Twin Cities. Hunt has
received little cooperation from the
entrenched administration, which
appears to be dominated by
administrator Roger Aitken, attorney
Steve Thorne, and   convicted RBC
member Myron Ellis.
Aitken is a former BIA
superintendent whose hands-off
policy toward RBC/TEC corruption
and rigged elections was rewarded
with his appointment to the lucrative
post of Leech Lake executive director.
Thorne is a partner in the controversial
Minneapolis law firm of Schoessler,
Buffalo et. al., which did much to
shape the current tribal government
system. Aitken and Thorne have
pressured reservation appeals judge
Joseph Plummer to dismiss a
challenge by Dee Fairbanks of Ellis'
eligibility to run for or serve in tribal
government. ,
At the people's council meeting,
Warren Tibbetts said that while the
election of a new chairman should
give cause for hope, it would be
premature to celebrate.
"This is only one step in the right
direction—one first step," Tibbetts
said. "Now's the time to take action
and make sure we can continue to
take more steps. Let's get rid of this
corruption for our people—let's take
the power back."
Tibbetts said he was encouraged by
the presence of a large number of
elders, who he called "the real
leaders." "An election doesn't make
you a leader-it makes you an official."
Elder and hereditary chief Leonard
Tanner said the root of the problem is
clear. "The TEC/RBC is nothing more
than an arm of the federal
government," said Tanner. "We are
Anishinabe. We are a sovereign,
independent people."
Roxanne LaRose said the new
chairman should make a priority of
defending the civil rights and
sovereignty of the people caught in
the state legal system. "The Indian
people get the biggest fines, the highest
bails, and we're the poorest people,"
she said.
LaRose said that the state illegally
imposes its regulatory laws on
reservation youth. Without prompt
change, she said, "They're going to be
treated as just another state citizen,
and they're not going to be treated
equally because they can't change their
skin color."
Santee Sioux file lawsuit against Indian
gaming commission
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) _ A1988 federal
law cited by a national commission in
its order to close a controversial Indian
casino in Nebraska is no longer valid,
accordingtoa lawsuit filed by the Santee
Sioux Tribe.
The tribe has asked for a temporary
restraining order that would allow it to
reopen its Ohiya Casino, which has
been closed since May 6.
The suit, filed Thursday in U.S.
District Court in Omaha, named several
federal officials as defendants, including
the National Indian Gaming
Commission, U.S. Interior Secretary
Bruce Babbitt and Attorney General
Janet Reno.
The tribe closed its casino after three
months on the orders of the commission.
The panel said the tribe needed to
negotiate a gambling compact with the
state of Nebraska before it could open a
casino, as outlined in the 1988 Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act.
In March, the U.S. Supreme Court
ruled that a primary provision of the act
was unconstitutional. The provision
allowed tribes to sue state officials when
negotiations break downbetween states
and tribal officials.
Omaha attorney Conly Schulte, who
represents the Santee Sioux, said that
without the provision there is no way
for the tribe to force the state to negotiate.
In the suit, the tribe said the high
court failed to determine which
provisions, in any, remain valid and
enforceable in light of its March
decision.
"It flies in the face for someone to go
out and enforce the law when its
constitutionality has been questioned,"
Schulte said.
The suit also alleges that Congress
did not intend for the 1988 law to allow
states to stop tribes from offering casino-
style games by failing to negotiate in
good faith.
The tribe asks that Babbitt be ordered
to outline procedures under which
casino-style gambling maybe conducted
on tribal lands and/or he must execute
a compact with the tribe for the conduct
of casino-style gaming on tribal lands.
Wadena, Rawley and Clark Found Guilty/ pg 1
BIA backs McArthur; Wadena still claims office/ pg 1
Court finds feds have ICRA jurisdiction in case/ pg 2
Resolutions passed by the new W.E. Council/ pg 5
AIDS Poses a growing threat to Amer. Ind./ pg 8
Voice of the People
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Volume 8   Issue 37
June 28, 1996
Copyright, Motive American Press,  1996
1
The new council carried on business in what's been called the first open council meeting in fifteen years.
BIA backs McArthur; Wadena still claims
office - Who's in charge Here?
By Christopher Sprung
The Fargo Forum
WHITE EARTH, Minn. _ Darrell
"Chip" Wadena became a tribal
dissident Wednesday.
Just a day after Wadena and two
other key leaders of the White Earth
Band of Chippewa were stripped of
their powers in a governmental
takeover, the Bureau of Indian Affairs
endorsed an interim' government led
by Eugene "Bugger" McArthur.
[Minnesota Court of Appeals Judge
R. A. Randall swore in McArthur and
Buckanaga.]
McArthur was elected tribal
chairman June II but had not been
allowed to take office because a
number of candidates - Wadena
included have protested the election's
fairness.
But following the federal court
convictions of Wadena, Tribal
Secretary/Treasurer Jerry Rawley,
and Tribal Councilman Rick Clark on
corruption charges, McArthur had
himself sworn in as tribal chairman
and stripped the others of their
offices, saying provisions in the tribal
constitution required their removal.
Wadena has denounced the move
as illegal, but the BIA agreed with
McArthur. "In light of the recent
federal felony convictions ... the
Bureau of Indian Affairs can no
longer recognize that seated
council," wrote Larry Morrin, acting
Office cont'd on 6
Microsoft donates $350,000 in
software, computers to Indians
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Microsoft
Corp. has donated more than
$350,000 in software, computers and
cash to Four Directions, a project of
the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
BIA will use the donation to help
electronically link Indian schools via
the Internet and provide new
technology opportunity to Indian
students, Secretary of the Interior
Bruce Babbitt said in making the
announcement.
"Microsoft's donation will bring
the power of the Internet to tribal
communities that have been
geographically and economically
isolated," Babbitt said Friday.
"We view this as an effort to share
the latest technology with students
who otherwise might have little or no
access," said Bill Neukom,
Microsoft's senior vice president for
law and corporate affairs.
The Four Directions pilot schools
include the Quileute Tribal School in
La Push on the Washington coast.
Federal grand jury returns 54-count felony
indictment against Fred Dakota
Tribal Chairman of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community
Marquette, Michigan—United
States Attorney Michael H. Denmer
announced today that a federal grand
jury sitting in Marquette, Michigan,
returned a 54-count felony indictment
against Mr. Frederick S. Dakota, the
Tribal Chairman of the Keweenaw
Bay Indian Community ("KBIC") in
Michigan's Upper Peninsula and Mr.
Jerrold L. Polinsky, a coconspirator
from Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Dakota's opponents, who have occupied the KBIC Tribal Center for the
last 10 months to protest his allegedly corrupt and autocratic rule, said
they were "overjoyed" by the news.
"That's pretty much what we're saying, that the [Dakota] government is
crooked. This should add some fuel
to the fire," said Chuck Loonsfoot, a
member of the Anishinabe activist
group, Fight for Justice, and a member of the last legitimate tribal council.
"We're finally seeing some daylight
now through this tunnel we've been
stuck in," said Loonsfoot, referring
to the nearly year-long standoff. "I'd
say our fight is 51% over," he said.
While acknowledging that the Leech
Lake and White Earth experiences
have shown that federal indictments,
and even convictions, are not enough
in themsleves to remove corrupt officials, Loonsfoot said it should erode
what remains of Dakota's support.
The Fight for Justice spokesperson
said the group is likely to intiate a
recall effort under its constitution.
The 63-page federal indictment
states that Mr. Dakota, a 59-year-old
resident of Baraga, Michigan, "owed
a duty of loyalty, honesty, and integrity to the Keweenaw Bay Indian
Community." The indictment alleges,
however, that from May 1991 through
December 1993, Mr. Dakota breached
his duty by conspiring to accept over
$125,000.00 in numerous payments
"intending to personally benefit and
enrich himself through the receipt of
kickbacks." The indictment also
charges that Mr. Dakota underpaid
his federal income taxes from 1991
through 1993 when he filed false U.S.
income tax returns which "he did not
believe to be true and correct...."
The federal grand jury charges that
Mr. Dakota's codefendant, Mr.
Jerrold L. Polinsky, a 65-year-old
resident of Atlantic City, New Jersey,
conspired to pay and did unlawftfly
pay Mr. Dakota for agreeing to lease
video gaming machines from the
Minnesota corporation International
Gaming Management, otherwise
known as IGM. According to the indictment, Mr. Dakota allowed IGM
to place video gaming machines in
the Ojibwa Casino in Baraga, Michigan. The grand jury alleges that Mr.
Dakota negotiated contracts on behalf
of his tribe which required KBIC to
Dakota cont'd on 3