Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1996-09-27

              Senate Committee Debates Tribal Sovereign
Immunity
By Julie Shortridge
The U.S. Senate Committee on
Indian Affairs held a meeting in
Washington D.C. on Tuesday,
September 24 to hear testimony
regarding tribal sovereign immunity.
The stated purpose of the meeting
was to assess whether there is or is
not a problem in the way non-Indians
are affected by tribal sovereign
immunity, but many who testified gave
examples of how tribal governments
use tribal sovereign immunity against
Indian people as well.
Seventeen people testified during
the five hour hearing, including a BIA
official, tribal government officials,
attorneys from both sides of the issue,
a county government official, and a
rancher. There were approximately
200 people in the audience observing
the hearing, most of whom were tribal
officials
Only five senators attended the
hearing, including Daniel Inouye (D-
Hawaii) who chaired the meeting,
Slade Gorton (R-Wash.), Kent Conrad
(D-North Dakota), Paul Simon (D-
Illinois); and Byron Dorgan (D-North
Dakota).
Noticeably absent were, Committee
Chairman John McCain (R-Arizona),
Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-
Colorado), who is the only Indian in
the U.S. Senate, and our own Senator
Paul Wellstone (D-Minnesota).
Tribal governments across the
country have been asserting that they
have jurisdiction over non-Indians
living within the boundaries of a
reservation, even if those non-Indians
live on privately-owned, non-
reservation land. Nearly 400,000 non-
Indians live within reservation
boundaries, which is almost half of all
people living on reservations
(excluding the extensive Navajo
reservations in New Mexico and
Arizona, which are nearly all Indian).
Reservations are made of a
checkerboard mix of privately-owned
land and land held in trust by the
federal government for the tribe. The
federal government is creating new
reservation and expanding existing
reservations across the country,
encompassing more and more non-
Indians into reservations.
Non-Indian are not allowed to vote
or have representation in tribal
governments, yet are increasingly
being subjected to tribal taxation
zoning, licensing, and tribal civil and
criminal jurisdiction. The battle cry of
the American Revolution against
England was "No Taxation Without
Representation," because the British
were collecting taxes from the
American colonies, but not allowing
them to vote or participate in the
British   government.   American
Debate cont'd on 5
White Earth seeks to remedy human rights,
jurisdiction disputes with Minnesota
By Jeff Armstrong
White Earth RBC officials counseled
patience at a Sept. 25 law enforcement
task force meeting, as tribal members
complained of "gestapo tactics"
employed against Anishinabe people
by county sheriffs deputies exceeding
their legal authority on the reservation.
"It won't happen today, but with your
help we can put together a human
rights task force, a human rights
commission," said interim secretary
treasurer Erma Vizenor, reaffirming
earlier pledges. "We are committed to
sovereignty and we are committed to
taking care of our people, and we are
committed to building a future,"
Vizenor said. The White Earth official
said reports of abuse angered her,
noting that she was herself "beaten to
the ground" by a county officer on one
occasion.
Many spoke out against a cross-
deputization plan developed and
nearly implemented by the former
Wadena dictatorship with attorney
Mike Rousu, a former associate of
Harold "Skip" Finn's law firm still
under contract with White Earth's court
project. Rousu also worked for two
years under White Earth's public
defender program, then headed by
former reservation attorney Peter
Cannon.
Under a proposed agreement with
Mahnomen County which was to have
been signed this year, county and ,
reservation law enforcement would
have concurrent jurisdiction to enforce
state and tribal laws within White
Earth, but neither party would waive
immunity from being sued in either
court.
County law enforcement officials
Dispute cont'd on 3
Don Vargas plans to resign as executive
director of People of Phillips
By Gary Blair
People of Phillips (POP) Executive
Director Don Vargas says he plans to
resign his position with the
organization by the end of the year.
The softspoken native Minnesotan
says he has worked in non-profit
organizations in the Twin Cities for the
past 26 years and he now plans to start
a small business of his own. Vargas,
the organization's director for the past
5 years, talked about the challenges
that the group has faced and the
problems with crime that the diverse
community still faces.
"When. I became director of POP,
the Snider Liquor Store (at the corner
of Chicago and Franklin Avenues) was
in its final stages of removal. The
owner had refused to stop selling the
cheap wines that created the
environment in the park next to the
store. Some of the NRP
(Neighborhood Revitalization
Program) funds were taken offthe top
and used by the City Park Board who
owned the property to pay the owner
for the building that was then
demolished. The Anchor Bar was
later closed when the owner refused
to make the necessary changes that the
community also wanted," Vargas said.
POP's annual operational budget is
$937,000 for now, according to Vargas
because of the administration of the
NRP program. Other years, the
organization's budget had been at
$500,000. Most of the funds that the
Senate Committee Debates Tribal Sovereign Immunity
White Earth seeks to remedy disputes with Minnesota
Vargas to resign as executive director of POP
Gaming organization's ethics questioned/ pg 3
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organization receives come from the
City of Minneapolis, Vargas said. He
says the NRP dollars that are
forthcoming over the next years will
make a difference in the troubled
community.
"POP is planning to open a store at
the corner of 11th and Franklin
Avenues (the site of the old dentist
office) that will sell confiscated
Minneapolis Police Department items.
The old Franklin Theater (that once
showed pornographic films) will be
renovated and serve as a community
arts theater, and that will be a major
accomplishment for        the
neighborhood," Vargas explained.
The City announced the NRP
POP cont'd on 8
senators Daniel Inouye ( R, with aide Patricia Zell) and Slade Gorton (L) hold differing perspectives on the issue as
they listen to testimony at Senate Indian Affairs Committee's Tuesday, D.C. hearings on tribal sovereign immunity.
Tribal courts retain their authority
The ability of tribal courts to hear
Reno to make call on possible death penalty
PHOENIX (AP) _The nation's top
law enforcement officer will make the
final call on whether a man accused of
killing a tribal police officer should
become the nation's first Indian to
face execution if convicted.
Attorney General Janet Reno will
hear the recommendations of an 11-
personal Justice Department
committee before deciding in the case
of Vincent Cling of Shonto.
Cling is charged in the Jan. 6 slaying
of Officer Hoskie Gene and goes on
trial in federal court in Phoenix in
November.
Gene, 35, was choked and beaten
after responding to a burglary call at a
remote reservation trading post near
Shonto, about 45 miles northeast of
Tuba City. His body was found after
he told a dispatcher he was stopping
suspects. ,;:
FBI agents arrested Cling, then 20,
and a juvenile who was three weeks
short of his 17th birthday.
Court records contend a struggle
began when the officer tried to
handcuff the teen-ager and he resisted.
Cling, who was Maced in the face,
wrestled Gene to the ground and court
records said both Cling and the juvenile
began choking the officer.
When Gene was unconscious, Cling
allegedly knocked out the revolving
lights on the police car and the teenager continued to choke the officer
and struck him in the head with a
flashlight.
Authorities said the suspects took
off in the squad car until it overturned,
then they fled on foot.
Federal prosecutors agreed earlier
that the juvenile would not be tried as
an adult, and will serve four years
behind bars if convicted.
However, Cling was indicted on a
charge of killing a federal officer,
making him eligible for the death
penalty.
Congress expanded the death penalty
in 1994 to more than 50 crimes,
including murder of a federal officer.
Gene had been cross-deputized as a
Bureau of Indian Affairs officer.
But Cling's attorney said Gene was
acting as an officer for the Navajo
police at the time of his death and was
not engaged in any federal duties.
Bill Fitzgerald, a spokesman for
Maricopa County Attorney Rick
Romley, said Monday that imposing
the death penalty would depend on the
circumstances.
"It is considered one of the
aggravating factors in applying the
death penalty, it is something we do,"
he said.
He said he had not analyzed the
Maricopa County numbers, but that
generally it seemed the death penalty
was sought in most cases involving an
officer being killed in the line of duty.
By Pat Doyle
Minneapolis Star Tribune Staff Writer
An attempt to reduce the authority
of Indian tribal courts has stalled in
Congress, but similar challenges are
expected as tribes exercise greater
government powers and run
businesses, including casinos.
The latest proposal would have
given state or federal courts power to
hear lawsuits by non-Indians against
tribes over water, electricity and other
utilities on reservations. Tribes now
have authority to hear suits in their
own courts, sometimes with judges
who serve at the discretion of tribal
councils.
The proposal by Sen. Slade Gorton,
R-Wash., was recently deleted from an
Interior Department spending bill, but
given a hearing Tuesday in the Senate
Committee on Indian Affairs. No
action was taken.
Petition filed to have Supreme Court hear
adoption case
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)_ A couple
citing the federal Indian Child Welfare
Act to contest the adoption of their
twin daughters wants the U. S. Supreme
Court to hear the case.
Richard and Cynthia Adams of Long
Beach, Calif., filed the petition, the
court said Monday.
Jim and Colette Rost of Columbus
have until Oct. 16 to file a response.
"We hope the outcome here is that
the Supreme Court denies their petition
to review," Rost said.
The Rosts have raised Lucy and
Bridget since shortly after they were
born in November 1993. But since
1994, the Adamses have sought to
regain custody through the federal law
intended to protect American Indian
tribes by restricting the adoption of
Indian children by non-Indian famil ies.
Richard Adams is three-16ths Porno,
a northern California tribe; his wife is
half Yaqui, a Southwestern tribe.
A Los Angeles Superior Court judge
ruled that the federal law required the
children's return to the birth parents.
But a California appeals court returned
the case to the trial court, saying the
judge must base his ruling on whether
the biological parents had a significant
relationship with their tribe, not just
whether the twins have Indian ancestry.
The California Supreme Court
refused to review the appeals court
ruling.
The new U.S. Supreme Court
petition contends that the appeals court
decision is in direct conflict with past
Supreme Court rulings that give
Congress broad powers over Indian
affairs.
The Adamses originally filed the
petition Aug. 13 but were told they
had to rcfile it because the petition
was incomplete. The case was
docketed last week.
Once the Rosts file a response, the
case will go to conference _ probably
within two weeks. If the court agrees
to hear the case, a hearing date will be
set; if not, the lower court ruling will
stand.
But tribes say it could lead to
something more dramatic: state or
federal courts deciding suits involving
the lucrative business of casino
gambling.
"I don't think it was crafted with the
intent to go after tribal gaming," said
Paul Moorehead, legislative director
for the National Congress of American
Indians. "But there will be things that
happen [in casinos], slip and falls,"
and the proposal could steer such
injury cases into state courts, he said.
The lack of separation of powers in
many tribal governments has
prompted Indians and non-Indians
over the years to question the
impartiality of tribal courts and call
for state or federal intervention.
Minnesota Sen. Paul Wellstone, a
Democrat who serves with Gorton on
the Indian Affairs Committee, opposes
Gorton's proposal. Minnesota Sen.
Rod Grams, a Republican, hasn't
taken a position on it.
suits of non-Indians has become an
issue in Minnesota as tribal casinos
have grown and customers or
employees have sued tribes.
The Minnesota Supreme Court is
nearing decisions on three suits
challenging a tribal casino's
independence from some state laws.
The cases involve a casino employee
who alleges sexual harassment, a job
applicant who says she was rejected
because of a disability and a casino
customer injured when a slot-machine
chair sprang away from her.
In each case the state Court of
Appeals ruled that the sovereignty
enjoyed by the Shakopee
Mdewakanton Dakota Community
gave the tribal corporation that runs
Mystic Lake Casino immunity from
suits in state court.
This article is reprinted form the
Thursday; September 26, 1996,
edition of the Mpls. Star Tribune.
Brown collects $25,000 before serving Oct. 5 sentence
Just over two weeks before he is to
begin serving a one-year home
confinement sentence for his
conviction in an insurance scam which
defrauded Leech Lake of over one
million dollars, Daniel Brown
received a $25,000 loan co-signed by
the Reservation Business Committee.
In addition to the Sept. 19 loan from
First National Bank of Cass Lake,
Brown also requested, and is believed
to have received, $25,000 last June
from the RBC to pay attorney Kevin
Short for his appeal of Brown's April
12 conviction.
Brown-who has been suspended by
the Leech Lake RBC chairman,
dismissed by the General Council,
censured by the Tribal Executive
Committee, and been the subject of a
petition for removal by more than 1/5
of the reservation's voters—purports
to still hold office as RBC secretary
treasurer and receives his regular
salary, despitea court orderpreventing
him from carrying out his financial
duties.
On April 15, the RBC handed check-
signing authority to two district
members who have failed to return
that constitutional authority to RBC
Chairman Eli Hunt. Hunt has said he is
considering suing the First National
Bank, an action which would likely
seek recovery of funds
misappropriated due to the bank's
failure to recognize the chairman's
clearly defined responsibility to
oversee reservation funds.
Brown's probation officer, David
Schwab, said his client is neither barred
from financial transactions with the
RBC, norspecifically required to report
the receipt of any such funds. Brown,
who begins his sentence Oct. 5, was
secretary treasurer when RBC
colleague Myron Ellis, also on
probation, received an RBC refund of
his court-ordered restitution payment,
compromising Ellis' reliability as a
government witness. Ellis in turn
approved Brown's June 24 request for
$25,000 in legal fees.
—Jeff Armstrong
Menominee tribe to ask Crabb to reconsider
KESHENA, Wis. (AP) _ The
Menominee Indian Tribe will ask a
federal j udge to reconsider her dec ision
dismissing a lawsuit that sought tribal
hunting and fishing rights on millions
of acres of eastern and central
Wisconsin, the chairman said Monday.
It is the first step in what could be a
long process of appealing the dispute
over treaties the tribe signed with the
U.S. government in the 1800s.
"Historically, native and indigenous
peoples have always had to battle
government politics, racism and the
courts to achieve justice," the tribe
said in a statement.
Last week, U.S. District Court Judge
Barbara Crabb in Madison ruled that
the tribe gave up off-reservation
hunting and fishing rights in treaties of
1831 and 1848 when it ceded lands to
the federal government.
The judge said the language of the
treaties was clear and she could not
rewrite them, even though they may
have been the product of "bribery,
fraud or duress."
The Menominee Legislature met
behind closed doors Sunday and
unanimously decided to file a motion
with Crabb asking her to reconsider
her decision, Tribal Chairman John
Teller said.
The tribe did not expect the judge to
"remake history or to expand treaties
and legislation beyond their terms"
Treaty cont'd on 5