Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1996-07-26

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Little Six faces another state Supreme
Court appeal of casino's suit immunity
By Gary Blair
The Minnesota Supreme
Court has accepted another petition
involving a lawsuit against Little Six,
Inc., the company which operates the
Mystic Lake Casino on the Shakopee
Mdewakanton Sioux reservation,
located south of Shakopee, Minnesota.
The lawsuit filed by Shelly D.
Setchell of Danbury, Wisconsin was
recently dismissed by the State
Appellate Court after an earlier
dismissal by a Scott County District
Court. The state's high court has had
two other similar cases under review
for the past six months, and a ruling
in those matters is expected very soon.
In an unpublished opinion, the
Appeals Court ruled that Setchell,
who represented herself "Pro Se"
(self-represented) could not sue the
tribally owned corporation because
the Mdewakanton has sovereign
immunity. Setchell claims she applied
for employment at the casino and was
later told that she would not be hired
because she had indicated on her
medical information that she had a
back injury in 1992.
Setchell's lawsuit asserted that
Little Six, Inc. violated the Minnesota
Human Rights Act and the Americans
With Disabilities Act. The State
Appellate Court's decision reads in-
part as follows: "Appellant
acknowledges that Indian tribes have
sovereign immunity from suit under
the Minnesota Human Rights Act, but
argues that she is not suing the
Mdewakanton Sioux Community,
which is an Indian tribe, rather LSI
(Little Six, Inc.), which is a foreign
Suit cont'd on 3
Constitutional turmoil on Leech Lake
Chairman to set recall vote if RBC fails to act on
petition to remove convicted members
By Jeff Armstrong
Months after their convictions on
federal corruption charges, petitions
to remove Leech Lake Reservation
Business Committee officials Dan
Brown and Myron Ellis from office
were signed by nearly a quarter of the
reservation's resident eligible voters.
Brown and Ellis, who could not be
reached for comment, are refusing to
acknowledge the grassroots intiative,
potentially setting off a constitutional
struggle with far-reaching
consequences for the Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe.
The misconduct charges put forth in
the petition were submitted July 19 to
the five-member RBC, which must set
a hearing date within 15 days of their
receipt. Brown and Ellis, along with
fellow RBC members Al Fairbanks
and Jack Seelye, failed to appear at a
July 25 meeting to set a date for the
hearing. The four have vehemently
resisted Chairman Eli Hunt's efforts
to restore constitutional democracy to
the reservation.
In a recent letter printed in the Bemidji
Pioneer, Fairbanks and Seelye call
Hunt a "dictator" for standing by his
commitment to open, participatory
meetings. "[Hunt's] actions are not
only damaging to the practice of sound
government, they are damaging to the
morale, confidence and security of
our people. The confusion on our
reservation has reached a point that
some people fear the unrest will
escalate into physical violence," the
committeemen said.
471 signatures to remove Ellis and
459 to oust Brown were certified as
valid by an independent review
commission July 22, well surpassing
the constitutionally required 20% of
the 1,845 adult resident members. A
total of 2,020 Leech Lake members
voted in the 1996 elections, 293 of
whom cast ballots for Dist. Ill
incumbent Ellis.
Charging Brown and Ellis with
malfeasance, dereliction of duty, and
violation of the constitution in
connection with their complicity in a
million dollar insurance scheme, the
petitions require the RBC to remove
the accused members or subject them
to a recall vote.
While holding office as Leech Lake
secretary treasurer, Brown was
convicted April 12 of a federal
conspiracy felony, which should have
mandated his removal or recall by the
RBC. The Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe' s Constitution also stipulates that
the Tribal Executive Committee shall
discipline members found guilty of
felonies and other offenses through
censure, an action with the same effect
as a recall petition. Yet neither the
RBC nor the TEC fulfilled their
Turmoil cont'd on 3
Rift continues among Tribal Council members
By Nate Bowe
Bemidji Pioneer Staff Writer
CASS LAKE - The tribal chairman
and about 250 Leech Lake
Reservation residents showed up for
a meeting here Thursday afternoon,
but the special Tribal Council meeting
had to be called off when the four
other Tribal Council members failed
to appear.
The non-meeting turned into a sort
of town meeting that lasted more than
two hours, and it underscored the rift
between newly elected Leech Lake
Tribal Chairman Eli Hunt and Tribal
Council members Al Fairbanks Jr.,
Jack Seelye. Myron Ellis and
Secretary-Treasurer Dan Brown.
"We don't think they're meetings,"
Seelye said in an interview Thursday
afternoon. "It's a rally for Eli Hunt as
far as I'm concerned. All we do is go
out there and get ridiculed and laughed
at."
Seelye said the council had
"notified Mr, Hunt there, was a
meeting at 9 o'clock this morning and
he had changed that to 1 o'clock." The
four council members met Thursday
morning, "but no official action was
taken. It was not an official meeting,"
Seelye said.
Seelye said the impasse with the
chairman is "close to being resolved,"
but would not elaborate. He said the
council would issue a news release
early next week.
At the afternoon meeting, Hunt said
the two sets of meetings demonstrates
the problems he has been having with
the council.
As defined by the tribal
constitution, regular council meetings
are held four times a year, he told the
Rift cont'd on 3
Chippewa bands, state agree on some
treaty items
By Amy Kuebelbeck
ST. PAUL (AP)_The major parties
in a treaty-rights case regarding Indian
hunting and fishing rights have reached
some agreement, but say the most
contentious issues will have to be
settled in court.
The Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa,
six Wisconsin bands, the United States,
the Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources and the Minnesota Attorney
General's Office filed the agreement
Tuesday in federal court.
The six Wisconsin bands that signed
the agreement are the Bad River Band
of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians,
the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of
Wisconsin, the Lac Courte Oreilles
Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Indians, the Red Cliff Band of Lake
Superior Chippewa Indians, ttfe
Sokaogon Chippewa Indian
Community and the Lac du Flambeau
Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Indians.
The Fond du Lac band of Chippewa
is still considering whether to join the
agreement. Their lawsuit was only
recently consolidated with the Mille
Lacs case.
"It does resolve a chunk of the issues,
but... there are some very significant
ones that are still in dispute," said
Michelle Beeman, lead attorney for
the case from the attorney general's
office.
If approved by U.S. District Judge
Michael Davis, the agreement would
establish a conservation code that
includes regulations on bag limits,
seasons, size limits and weapons
restrictions.
It would keep hunting out of state
parks and county parks unless a special
hunt were being held, and limit band
members' harvest of walleye and big
game for the first five years.
Treaty cont'd on 5
Chippewas start million-mile walk to
combat diabetes
RED LAKE, Minn. (AP) _ About
500 members of the Red Lake Band of
Chippewa strutted their way
Wednesday on the first few miles of a
million-mile walking program aimed
at getting them off the couch and on
the road to raising money to combat
diabetes.
Tribal executive Judy Roy, herself a
diabetic, said the tribal council decided
"to do something dramatic" to jolt
people from their sedentary habits
which can contribute to the disease.
About a fourth of the 6,000 people on
the Red Lake Reservation are
estimated to have adult-onset diabetes.
Program organizers at Red Lake
have installed mile markers and
distributed pedometers so walkers can
measure how far they've gone.
Wednesday's walking kickoff at the
reservation about 25 miles north of
Bemidji included a pipe ceremony
and health fair featuring diabetes
screenings and handouts on the
disease.
Organizers say the walk program
could take as little as a year if 1,000
walkers take to the road three miles a
day.
Money raised from those who seek
sponsorship for their trek will go to
educating tribe members about
nutrition and exercise. No financial
goal has been set.
Although there is no cure for the
disease, a healthy diet and exercise
can help prevent adult-onset diabetes
or better manage it, said Dr. Steven
Little Six Inc. faces another state appeal/ pg1
Constitutional turmoil on Leech Lake/ pg 1
Interview with Darrell 'Chip' Wadena/ pg 3
Sandy Lake Band signed 10 treaties/ pg 5
State program works to improve outreach/ pg 6
Voice of the People
1
Rith-Najarian, an Indian Health
Services physician at Cass Lake.
American Indians are up to four
times more likely than the general
population to have adult-onset
diabetes, according to Indian Health
Services and the American Diabetes
Association. Researchers say
American Indians have a genetic
predisposition to the disease and are
at greater risk because many have
grown obese after shifting from diets
heavy in fruits and vegetables to fattier
fare.
A recent study of residents of the
Red Lake and White Earth reservations
in Minnesota and the Menominee tribe
in Wisconsin found that 24 percent of
those age 25 and older have the disease,
said Rith-Najarian.
Wilma Mankiller back in Hospital
TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Former
Cherokee Nation Chief Wilma
Mankiller is listed in fair condition at
a Boston hospital where she previously
underwent treatment for lymphoma, a
spokeswoman said.
Mankiller is being treated for kidney
problems but is expected be released
in the next few days, said Maura
McLaughlin, spokeswoman at
Deaconess Hospital.
"She seems to be doing well," Ms.
McLaughlin said.
Mankiller, 50, was diagnosed earlier
this year with a form of cancer linked
to her 1990 kidney transplant. She
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Wadena escapes jail - for now
By Bill Lawrence
and Gary Blair
At a hearing before U.S. District
Judge Michael J. Davis this morning,
former White Earth tribal chairman
Darrell "Chip" Wadena narrowly
escaped being incarcerated
immediately for violating conditions
of his release. »
Instead, Judge Davis gave Wadena
until next Friday to produce records to
prove that he reimbursed the Shooting
Star casino $1,200 for a band that
played at his family wedding reception
there. According to court testimony,
Wadena arranged with casino
management to hire a band for the
reception at a cost of $ 1,500. Wadena
paid the required $300 deposit from
his own personal funds. However, he
was unable to prove that he paid the
$ 1,200 balance out of his own pocket.
On June 24th, Wadena, along with
co-defendants former White Earth
secretary/treasurer Jerry Rawley and
ex-councilmember Rick Clark were
found guilty by a federal district court
jury on multiple felony counts
following a six-week trial in St. Paul.
Pending sentencing, Judge Davis
allowed the three to go free subject to
several conditions. Two of those
conditions were not to receive any
funds from the tribe or its casino and
not to participate in tribal affairs.
In addition to the financial transaction
with the casino, Wadena is also
Jail cont'd on 5
Leech Lake ALERT
Due to possible retaliatory action by members of the Leech Lake Reservation
Business Committee, ALL tribal members are asked to be at theRBC office
at 8:00 a.m. Monday morning.
For more information, call 335-6767 or 335-8085.
New tribal government
challenges on reservation
Bu Margaret Taus
WHITE EARTH, Minn. (AP) _
Some people are afraid to talk.
An elderly woman flinches when
asked for thoughts on the recent
election defeat and corruption
conviction of longtime tribal Chairman
Darrell "Chip" Wadena.
"Oh, God, no," she says, pursing her
lips.
Others want to share their relief.
Ruth Mahf e smiles as she recalls her
reaction to Wadena's conviction: "I
hollered in the house."
Wadena, tribal council member Rick
Clark and White Earth Secretary-
Treasurer Jerry Rawley were convicted
last month of conspiracy, bribery,
money laundering, embezzlement and
other charges. Rawley and Clark also
were convicted of election fraud.
In two decades as leader of this
northwestern Minnesota reservation,
Wadena engendered loyal allies and
fierce enemies. The deep divisions
and strong emotions have created a
challenge for the new tribal
government, which hopes to restore
trust and secure a grip on power in the
quicksand landscape of tribal politics.
"After 20 years of oppression,
secrecy, cheating, rumors started,
punitive measures taken against people
who would complain there is an aura
of suspicion," says former federal
judge Miles Lord, now counsel forthe
faces many
new tribal government.
"They don't have faith in anyone
now. The only way this new
government is going to get the
confidence of all the people is by their
performance, by their example. Words
mean nothing; promises mean
nothing."
Chairman-elect Eugene "Bugger"
McArthur and district Representative
John Buckanaga swore themselves into
office early, saying a state of
emergency existed after the
convictions. They appointed a
secretary-treasurer and another district
representative and now are busy setting
up office and trying to chart a new
Tribal cont'd on 6
Wadena hopes to clear name, plans to return
underwent chemotherapy treatment at
the hospital.
Mankiller, who served as Cherokee
chief from 1985 to 1995, was
completing a fellowship at Dartmouth
College in Hanover, N.H., when
lymphoma was diagnosed in her colon
and nearby lymph nodes.
By Margaret Taus
NAY-TAH-WAUSH, Minn. (AP)
_ Darrell "Chip" Wadena sits at his
dining room table, leftover cake from
his daughter's wedding and a book of
matches from the Shooting Star Casino
on the counter. Several grandchildren
occasionally wander into the kitchen
for food.
Wadena talks easily with visitors
while he sips a cup of coffee.
He is unfazed when the conversation
turns to corruption convictions,
possible prison time and power
struggles. And he continues to look to
the future.
Wadena, tribal chairman of the
White Earth Band of Chippewa for 20
years, was convicted last month of
federal corruption charges. He was
convicted of 15 counts, which included
taking kickbacks from tribal council
member Rick Clark to ensure that
Clark's drywall firm would get a
lucrative contract for work on the
band's casino in Mahnomen.
He says he doesn't feel he's done
anything  wrong.  "I  think  that
eventually I'll get my name cleared."
The grandfather of 14, who lost his
re-election bid shortly before the
convictions, says he remains chairman
despite new leaders who have sworn
themselves into office and have been
recognized by the Bureau of Indian
Affairs.
"The tribe still recognizes me," he
says, and adds that the BIA doesn't
have the authority to recognize tribal
leaders. He is appealing that decision,
as well as the tribal elections, which
Hopes cont'd on 8