Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1996-07-18

              ■•'        ':■   l'-'")HPl" =
Staff members blame director for collapse
of St. Paul Indian Clinic
By Gary Blair
In response to numerous requests
for an inquiry into the demise of the
St. Paul American Indian Health
Clinic, which closed its doors May
16, 1996, a Press investigation
uncovered many of the problems
leading to the clinic's failure.
The nearly three- year-old clinic
was about $200,000 to $250,000 in
debt, approximately half of which
was owed to vendors. Another
$65,000 was owed to the IRS for
unpaid withholding taxes.
The clinic's employee pension fund
was pilfered and back wages owed to
employees still have not been paid.
According to Robin Ditz-Mayfield,
an attorney who serves as the
chairperson for the clinic's board of
directors, the money was taken out of
the employee pension fund
electronically by a computer. "They
drew the money out and they were
supposed to send a check back to
make up the difference, something
that was not done," she said.
Former staff say they observed
checks being written for unrelated
clinic business. Ditz-Mayfield said
the auditors hired by the board of
directors only recommended that the
clinic's financial tracking be
improved. Other than that, they said
the organization was solvent, she
explained. "That's why we did not
know what was wrong until our
bookkeeper, David Antell, told us we
owed $65,000 to the IRS," she said.
The bulk of the clinic's health care
funds was supposed to be used to
serve Native American clients.
However, most of that money went to
serve the other ethnic groups who
also used the facility. At one point the
clinic's director was urging the board
of directors to change the clinic's
name to the "East Side Community
Health   Center,"   dropping   any
reference to Indians.
"That would have happened if an
Indian person who was on the board
of directors had not spoken up," the
source said.
Nonetheless, the clinic's name was
changed to "The St. Paul American
Indian Health Clinic and East Side
Community Health Center." Sources
say the clinic was trying to obtain
funding from the St. Paul health
department, which would have meant
matching dollars from other
governmental sources. St. Paul has
six other community clinics, but none
are on the east side of the city.
Former non-Indian staff the Press
spoke with say the clinic's Indian
clientswere, forthe most part, driven
away from the clinic by the other
groups using the facility. These
allegations are explained in part by
Ditz-Mayfield. "Yes, towards the end
Clinic cont'd on 3
Leech Lakers unite for change/ pg 1
Discrimination complaint filed against MAIC/ pg 1
Staff blames Dir. for collapse of SP Clinic/ pg 1
LCO refinances casino loan/ pg 6
Pow Wow Trail/ pg 6
Voice of the People
1
MN Indian Affairs Council employee files age
discrimination claim
Native
Fifty Cents
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
By Gary Blair
According to documents obtained
by the PRESS, an employee of the
Minnesota Indian Affairs Council has
filed a charge of age discrimination
with the Minnesota Department of
Human Rights.
The complaint, filed by Charlotte
White, reads as follows: "1. lama
62-year-old female (DOB — 03/08/
34) who has worked for the above-
named Respondent from 1984 to the
present. My title is Executive
Assistant. The address of my work
site is listed above.
II. I believe I have been
discriminated against since 1995 to
the present.    During this time,
Respondent has referred to me as
"Grandma, Old Lady, Crabby Old
Lady, Gerital Twin, Dinosaur, Pit
Bull, and Warden. I have been treated
as if I am too old to perform my job. I
have been told I am old enough to use
a cane and that I should be going to an
'Elder's Council.' These comments
are very offensive and upsetting to
me.
III. Younger employees are not
treated as I am. They are not called
names, they are not talked and laughed
about as I am. They are not sent faxes
with a picture of a 1940 Prom Queen
who turned into a very unattractive
old, mean-looking woman.
IV. I, therefore, allege that the
above-named    respondent    has
discriminated against me in the area
of employment on the basis of my
age in violation of the Minnesota
Statutes 363.01, et seg."
When contacted on Wednesday,
White said she had "No comment."
Her attorney, Richard A. Miller, of
the Minneapolis law firm of Miller,
O'Brien and Bloom, said he could
not comment until he received his
client's permission. Miller had not
responded by press time.
Attempts by the PRESS to reach
Joseph Day, executive director of
the Minnesota Indian Affairs
Council, were unsuccessful at both
the St. Paul and Bemidji MIAC
offices.
Founded in 198B
Volume B   Issue 39
July 1H, 1996
J
A weekly publication
let...
Copyright, Native American Press,   1996
Keweenaw Bay sues feds in clash with
dissidents
BARAGA, Mich. (AP) _ The
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community
sued the federal government Tuesday,
demanding help in its standoff with a
dissident group that has occupied the
tribal headquarters for nearly a year.
The suit, filed in U.S. District Court,
contends it is the federal government's
responsibility to oust the protesters
from the tribal compound.
The takeover has cost the tribe
nearly $5 million, tribal attorney
Joseph O'Leary said. The tribal
council says the dispute might have
ended sooner if the government had
intervened.
Federal authorities have said
repeatedly that the dispute is an
internal matter that must be resolved
by tribe members. U.S. Attorney
Michael Dettmer reiterated that
position Tuesday.
"This office has great respect for
the sovereignty of each Michigan
tribe, including KBIC," Dettmer said
in a statement. "It is not our role to
interfere in the internal political affairs
of a tribe."
The fight dates to 1994, when the
council nullified the results of an
election and removed about200 people
from voting rolls, saying they were
ineligible under the tribal constitution.
Several dozen dissidents seized the
headquarters last August and have
occupied it since. Tribal officials have
set up offices in the Ojibwa Casino
several miles away.
Tribal Chairman Fred Dakota has
promised to  forcibly evict the
occupiers if the government does not
take action. Dakota was indicted this
month on charges of taking kickbacks*,
from gambling machine suppliers.
KBIC spokesman Rich Rossway
says federal law al lows tribes to charge
lawbreakers only with misdemeanors.
The tribal council believes the
occupiers are guilty of felonies and
thus the government is obligated to
take action, he says.
Dettmer said his office has
investigated allegations of
lawbreaking by people on the
reservation and will continue doing
so.
The lawsuit is being reviewed, he
said. It names Dettmer, Attorney
General Janet Reno and other federal
officials as defendants.
In a series of public meetings a confident, relaxed Eli Hunt assumes office as leech Lake chairman with
decisive steps toward open, participatory government. Photo by wjl
Leech Lakers unite for change Hundreds turn out in
support of Chairman Hunt's moves to revamp despotic administration
forum denounced the secrecy, fraud
and corruption of the past. "Yesterday,
you (Hunt) didn't do anything wrong,"
said elder Bernard Rock. "Those guys
(RBC), how many secret meetings
have you held?"
Threatening to leave the meeting,
RBC member Myron Ellis denied the
Change cont'd on 8
By Jeff Armstrong
Given their first opportunity, in
decades for a direct voice in their
affairs, the Anishinabe people of
Leech Lake packed a Palace Casino
conference room past capacity in an
overwhelming show of support for
newly-elected Chairman Eli Hunt's
efforts to restructure and democratize
the reservation government.
Hunt received a prolonged standing
ovation from a standing-room-
onlycrowd of about 400 people at the
July 9 council meeting when he
announced his decision the previous
day to replace the executive and deputy
directors of the reservation, along
with the head of gaming finances.
Speaker after speaker at the open
Tribal officials want time to negotiate
county payments for casinos
Judge throws out White Earth election
results, Wadena's request
SHAKOPEE, Minn. (AP) _ Scott
County officials and the
Mdewakanton Sioux have spent
nearly four years to determine that
Mystic Lake and Little Six casinos
cost the county $2.3 million a year.
Tribal officials now want to take
some time to reach an agreement on
how much they're willing to pay.
To speed up negotiations, Scott
County officials last week released an
analysis of the county's annual costs
related to the casinos, along with
projected highway improvements.
But the tribe, the largest employer
in Scott County, wants to study the
cost analysis.
Because of the tribe's tax-exempt
status, the county can only suggest
what the tribe should pay in lieu of
taxes for highway upgrades, traffic
signals, 911 calls, jail space and
criminal prosecutions directly related
to the casinos.
"I'd like to get something done
before the end of the summer," said
Gary Cunningham, the county's
administrator. "Right now, they are
considering what they're willing to
do to offset the county's cost.... The
main issue is roads, of course."
For example, in the next 15 years,
the analysis stated, the county will
need to spend $6.24 million more in
road improvements near the casinos.
A Mdewakanton Sioux lawyer said
the county's cost analysis is being
studied. "It's an issue we've been
going around and around on with the
county for quite some time," said
William Hardacker. "The (Sioux)
community needs to analyze the
numbers and consider its options.
"It's very important that it be
expressed that the community wants
to work cooperatively with local
government and business," he said.
"It wants to work cooperatively with
everybody. That's not to say we're
going to pay for the operation of the
county."
Of the county's goal of reaching an
agreement by summer'send, Hardacker
said: "Well, that's good to be optimistic.
... It's impossible to say." •
Hardacker said the county's
negotiators need to realize that the
tribe employs 3,800 people, most of
them local, and spends millions in
using local vendors.
"1 realize that totally," said Dick
Underferth, a county commissioner
and one of the county's lead
negotiators with the tribe. "(But) if
you or I owned a business, we'd also
be paying property taxes.
"I think it's frustrating," he said.
"We've been at it a couple of years
now. Once- we come up with
something, we're thrown a roadblock
(and have to) come up with something
else."
By Amy Kuebelbeck
ST. PAUL (AP) _ Election results
that defeated longtime White Earth
Tribal Chairman Darrell "Chip"
Wadena have been thrown out, but a
federal judge has refused to reinstate
him.
Wadena was chal lenging the Bureau
of Indian Affairs' recognition of
Eugene "Bugger" McArthur as his
successor. One of Wadena's attorneys
argued in court Wednesday morning
that Wadena should be reinstalled as
chairman, at least until election
challenges are sorted out.
In a ruling Wednesday afternoon,
U.S. District Judge Michael Davis
refused. Davis noted that Wadena is
also appealing with the Department
of the Interior, and he cited a previous
federal ruling that said the federal
government generally supports
seeking resolution first through the
BIA and the Interior Department.
Resolving theelection dispute might
take some time. In a ruling Tuesday,
newly appointed Election Appeals
Judge Yvonne Novack ordered a new
election, citing "substantial and grave
irregularities" regarding absentee
ballots. She was appointed by the
tribal council after the election but
before Wadena was convicted and
ousted.
Absentee ballots were a major issue
in the federal corruption trial against
Wadena and some of his colleagues
that ended last week. Former
Secretary-Treasurer Jerry Rawley and
former council member Rick Clark
were convicted of rigging absentee
ballots in 1990 arid 1994.
The impact of Novack's ruling was
not immediately clear. Elections on
the northwestern Minnesota
reservation have been a source of
protest for years.
At the Wednesday hearing in St.
Paul, Wadena attorney Daniel Gerdts
said there are questions about whether
Judge cont'd on 6
Trial of Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman wraps up
MCT sides with Wadena in dispute
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) _ The
umbrella organization for the White
Earth Band of Chippewa and five
other bands has denounced the
federal government for refusing to
"recognize Darrell "Chip" Wadena
as the White Earth chairman, despite
his election loss and conviction on
federal charges.
The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, in
a 10-0 vote Wednesday, denounced
the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs,
which recognized chairman-elect
Eugene "Bugger" McArthur.
Wadena and White Earth Secretary-
Treasurer Jerry Rawley, who both
were convicted of corruption charges,
were among the tribal officials who
voted Wednesday.
The Chippewa Tribe accused the
BIA of "paternalism and oppression
of tribal governments" for refusing to
recognize Wadena, Rawley and Tribal
Council Member Rick Clark, another
convicted official.
McArthur said of Wadena, "Chip
called up his cronies on the Tribal
Executive Committee," referring to
officials of the Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe.
The effect of the resolution is
unclear, but McArthur said it "doesn't
have any impact on operating day-today affairs" of the White Earth Baud.
He said he received assurances from
the BIA that "they're standing by
their decision" to recognize him as
chairman.
Wadena, who is free pending
sentencing, has appealed the BIA
decision. A federal judge on
Wednesday refused to reinstate
Wadena as chairman. Meanwhile, a
newly appointed election appeals
judge threw out last month's election
results, but the impact of that action
isn't yet clear.
MINOT, N.D. (AP) _ Testimony in
the embezzlement trial of former
Three Affiliated Tribes Chairman
Wilbur Wilkinson wrapped up
Wednesday without Wilkinson taking
the stand.
U.S. District Patrick Conmy said
he expects closing arguments to begin
Monday morning.
Wilkinson is accused of embezzling
nearly $28,000 from the tribe and of
making false statements following an
FBI investigation. He has pleaded
innocent.
The defense called just two
witnesses, including a former tribal
financial officer.
Prosecutors wrapped up their case
Tuesday after calling Kaye Wilkinson
to the stand. She is married to Wilbur
Wilkinson's nephew, Spencer.
Kaye Wilkinson testified that
several months after she was hired as
a tribal consultant, she was still
waiting for Wilbur Wilkinson to tell
her what she was supposed to do.
The money used to hire her was part
of a $105,000 grant from the Bureau
of Indian Affairs to help the tribe
collect bad debts.
Kaye Wilkinson said she was hired
as a tribal consultant in October 1993
after she left a job as director of
development at the Fort Berthold
Community College. She said she
had no experience in consulting, but
the former chairman told her not to
worry because he would teach her the
business.
Terry Walters, the former BIA
superintendent at Fort Berthold, said
he felt Kaye Wilkinson could handle
the job. But he said he became
concerned after several months passed
without reports on the progress of the
tribe's debt-collection project.
Kaye Wilkinson testified that each
time   BIA   and   tribal   officials
questioned her about progress reports,
Wilbur Wilkinson told her not to
worry, that he would "take care of it."
Walters said he sent a memo to
Kaye Wilkinson setting a deadline of
April 15, 1994, to produce reports on
the tribe's progress. He testified that
two days before his deadline, a packet
of seven monthly reports was delivered
to his office. He said the documents
showed she had been working almost
every day of every month, including
holidays.
He said the documents indicated
the work and expenses totaled about
$7,900 more than the $20,000 already
advanced for the project. After asking
the tribe's credit officer to review the
reports, Walters said he authorized
the additional money.
The rest of the $105,000 grant
remains in a New Town bank, where
it will likely remain until the court
case is settled.