Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1996-10-25

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Minneapolis proposes relocation policy as
alternative to affordable housing
By Gary Blair
If the Minneapolis City Planning
Department has its way, facilities that
serve the homeless, criminal offenders
and chemically addicted would be
disrupted—and in some cases
eliminated—under a newly proposed
city zoning ordinance.
Apparently, the ordinance was
drafted as part of Minneapolis' plan
to stem the growing crime rate by
requiring such facilities to be located
at least one-fourth of a mile apart
within the city neighborhoods.
Service providers required to relocate
under the proposed ordinance could
find themselves in the same
predicament as many of their clients,
that of having no place to go.
Program directors and residents who
oppose the ordinance changes
attended a zoning commission
meeting held this week at city hall.
Although there is support for the
proposed ordinance, those testifying
at the meeting included many strongly
opposed to the proposed changes.
Services already provided by
churches would not be affected;
however, those facilities would have
to provide a waiting area offthe street
for their clients. Other types of
programs, such as correctional
halfway houses, would have to
conform to recent changes in state law
that pertain to certain types of
offenders. Some of the changes
proposed in the ordinance would
Housing cont'd on 4
Feds renew, expand corrupt, probe of LL RBC/ pg 4
Text of Hunt Subpeona to testify before gr. jury/ pg 5
Judge Randall Cut from Race Bias T.F. Meeting
Mpls proposes relocation policy as alternative
White Earth law enforcement talks on hold
Voice of the People
\
White Earth law enforcement talks on hold
until consensus reached
By Jeff Armstrong
At an Oct. 23 Law Enforcement Task
Force meeting, White Earth tribal
members spoke out against a cross-
deputization plan developed under the
Wadena administration and asked for
a suspension of dialogue with state
and county law enforcement until the
people of the reservation define the *
objectives of such discussions.
"Our political voice must be in the
forefront here," said Marv
Manypenny. "We're sick and tired of
being subjected to a system that we
have nothing to say about," said the
longtime activist.
Manypenny and others said the
people of White Earth must develop
their own methods of conflict
resolution and enforcement of
regulatory laws, rather than pass
responsibility to law enforcement of
the surrounding counties. "Those are
valuable rights-they're our economic
rights, and the people must know that,"
said Manypenny. "The real issue is
sovereignty, and the real sovereignty
is with the people."
Officers from Clearwater,
Mahnomen and Becker County agreed
to depart, announcing they would no
longer attend the task force meetings
until the reservation could come to a
consensus on the issue. "They don't
feel the time is right for them to come
in," said interim RBC secretary
treasurer Erma Vizenor. "We have a
lot of things to work out among
ourselves."
Vizenor said she agreed with many
of the comments, but that there were
immediate issues to be dealt with.
"You don't find solutions without a
goal," said Vizenor. "If we're working
toward sovereignty, we've got to think
internationally."
But some were critical of the entire
process. "I think it's more assimilation,
bringing the white man's system on to
our reservation," said Roxanne
Claasen before departing the meeting.
Native
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Prairie Island Casino begins work on glitzy
new $20 million expansion
By Gary Blair
The Prairie Island Sioux Community
is spending $20 million to upgrade
their reservation's gaming operation,
an expansion that will include a 250-
room attached hotel meeting facility
and Las Vegas style Caribbean theme
decor. Along with the new design
come a name change of the former
Treasure Island Resort and Casino.
On Oct. 19, tribal council members
and the management team of the
Treasure Island Resort and Casino
revealed part of their expansion
adornment.
The casino now has a glass-
enclosed 80' x 100' centerpiece
entryway containing a sensational 40-
foot; tropical green-rock work
waterfall. Visitors will walk across a
bridge into a rock-enclosed
passageway that ope.ns into the
casino's action area. The design was
originated by Totally Fun Design, a
Florida-based company formed by
people from the Disney Corporation.
"We started this process two years
ago as part of a plan to make Treasure
Island an exotic, tropical oasis in the
heart of Minnesota," said Jim
Kikumoto, general manager of
Treasure Island. "The idea is to offer
guests a variety of leisure and
entertainment options in addition to
casino gaming, and to offer these
things in an environment they can't
find anywhere else in the state. We
want Treasure Island to be a relaxing,
engaging and totally fun place to stay."
The 250-room hotel is scheduled to
open in time for New Year's Eve
festivities. It will have an extensive
Caribbean-theme pool area and
meeting facility to attract travelers and
business conventions. With the new
changes, the casino will also offer a
marina,   RV   park,   restaurant,
Casino cont'd on-3     "
Clinton expands federal assistance
opportunities for tribal-run colleges
By Walter Berry
PHOENIX (AP) _ It took decades
of haggling and lobbying, but Indian
officials finally convinced the
government to expand federal
assistance opportunities for the
nation's 29 tribal-run colleges.
President Clinton signed an
executive order Monday directing
government agencies to strengthen the
American Indian Colleges' access to
federal grants and to encourage
partnerships with the private sector.
The mandate was announced at the
start of the National Congress of
American Indians convention here.
"The tribal colleges worked
persistently in this effort for 20 years,"
said Dr. Gerald Monette, president of
the Virginia-based American Indian
Higher Education Consortium. "This
is a great day for American Indians
everywhere. It will have a dramatically
positive effect on the colleges, its
students and the reservation
communities they serve."
"This is another milestone for
Indians and Indian education," said
Ada Deer, assistant secretary of the
federal Bureau of Indian Affairs. "This
will enhance tribal sovereignty and
create tools for Indian people to be
more self sufficient while preserving
Indian language and culture.
"About two-thirds of the students at
these colleges are women. Many have
gone on to become teachers," added
Deer. "The tribes have been pressing
for this order for 20 years and
government many times moves
slowly."
Indian officials claim the colleges,
chartered by tribes to serve 25,000
students from more than 250 tribes in
Clinton cont'd on 5
Photo by Julie Shortridge
Panelists of the recently concluded Race Bias Task Force Meeting at the Dakota Government Center, (left to
right) Terry Mason Moore, attorney with the Bluedog law firm and tribal court judge for the Prairie Island
Dakota Community; Dr. Joan Howland, Prof, of Law, U of M Law School (moderator) and John Jacobson,
attorney with the Buffalo law firm and a tribal court judge for the Shakopee Mdewankanton Community.
Judge Randall Cut from Race Bias Task
Force Meeting    Chairman Resigns Over Issue
Long a democratic stronghold, Indian vote
may be up for grabs
By Julie Shortridge
At a meeting on Thursday, October
17 some of the primary beneficiaries
of tribal sovereignty used their
influence to stifle the voice of a true
advocate far Indian rights.
Approximately 30 people attended
a four-hour informational meuting
held at the Dakota County government
center in Hastings, Minnesota. The
meeting was intended to be an
opportunity fbr judges, attorneys, and
social workers to learn about the
Indian Child Welfare Act—what it
means, how to implement it, and how
tribes, counties and the state interact
on matters involving Indian families.
Tribal culture and jurisdiction were
primary topics of discussion.
The first judicial district's Race Bias
Task Force and the American Indian
Bar Association of Minnesota
sponsored the meeting. Since it was
created in 1994, the first district Race
Bias Task Force has been yery active
in promoting educational programs on
cultural diversity. They've also
pushed for having judicial
employment notices placed in
minority newspapers, making foms
more understandable for those who
speak English as a second language,
and providing language interpreters in
court.
Judge Spicer, chairman of the first
district's Race Bias Task Force and a
district court judge in Dakota County,
wanted a state judge to speak at the
meeting on the Indian Child Welfare
Act. When someone suggested Judge
R.A. (Jim) Randall, 8picer rightly
believed that Judge Randall sounded
like the perfect candidate. As
described in the August 9,1996 issue
of the Native American Press, Judge
Randall, a judge on the Minnesota
Court ofAppeals, has a long history
of standing up for Indian people. He
has defended, promoted and
advocated on behalf of Indian people,
Indian culture and Indian rights for
over 35 years.
In February 1996, Judge Randall
Meeting cont'd on 6
PHOENIX (AP) _ If a recent fundraiser for Republican Rep. J.D.
Hayworth reveals anything, it could
be in the U.S. congressman's guests:
several of Arizona's American Indian
leaders.
The $100-per-plate steak dinner,
held last week in Washington, was
sponsored by the Fort McDowell
Mohave-Apache Indian Community.
Among the guests were Fort McDowell
President Clinton Patea and Gov. Mary
Thomas and Lt. Gov. Cecil Antone,
both of the Gila River Indian
Community.
Long considered a Democratic
stronghold, Indians may no longer
automatically give their votes and
dollars to the left.
"Voting straight ticket Democratic
is a thing of the past," said Rory
Majenty, a tribal planner for Fort
McDowell.
Increasingly, Indian leaders say, they
must hedge their political bets by
spreading campaign dollars around to
the candidates who can help them the
most.
This would not be the first time a
Republican has found support among
Arizona's Indians.
U.S. Sen. John McCain, chairman
of the Indian Affairs Committee, has
long enjoyed the support of a number
of tribal leaders.
But Democrats have held sway in
garnering Indian votes and donations.
Some tribal leaders have'even caught
flack in the past for supporting the
Republican McCain.
Now, tribes are taking a shrewder
tack, giving sometimes to both parties
in the same race, for example.
Members of the Fort McDowell
community said they would not rule
Vote cont'd on 5
Judge restores full federal status to Samish
SEATTLE (AP) _ A U.S. District
judge has restored full federal
recognition to the 5 00-member Samish
Indian Tribe, fixing a 27-year-old
clerical error.
Judge Thomas Zilly also found an
Interior Department lawyer, Scott
Keep, in contempt for his handling of
the Samish case.
"The Samish people's quest for
federal recognition as an Indian tribe
has a protracted and tortured history,
and their long journey for recognition
has been made more difficult by
excessive delays and government
misconduct," Zilly wrote in this week's
ruling.
The Samish have been in legallimbo
since 1969, when a clerk at the U.S.
Bureau oflndian Affairs inadvertently
left the tribe's name off a list of
federally recognized tribes in the state.
Official recognition by the U.S.
government gives tribes status as
dependent, sovereign nations and
access to federal money.
"There's a tremendous sense of
vindication," Russel Barsh, a lawyer
for the tribe, said of Zilly's decision.
The Interior Department in May had
recognized the Samish as a tribe but
deleted a judge's earlier findings on
some issues important to the tribe,
such as its interest in ancestral territory.
Zilly four years ago had ordered the
Interior Department to conduct a
hearing to determine the Samish
Samish cont'd on 3
BIA officials give thumbs up to Wahpeton Dole gains support of Mescalero leader
Indian School
WAHPETON, N.D. (AP)_ Bureau
of Indian Affairs officials say
conditions have improved at a
boarding school here for troubled
Indian youth.
Circle of Nations school operates
under a contract with the BIA, and
serves about 150 youths from North
Dakota, South Dakota, Minnesota,
Montana and Wisconsin.
"I was impressed," Ada Deer,
assistant secretary of Indian affairs,
said after touring the school Thursday.
"The staff and students were
intelligent, energetic and friendly."
Joyce Burr, a former student at Circle
ofNations, took overas superintendent
in June 1995. She succeeded Robert
Hall, who was forced out.
A BIA report early last year found
rampant violence, vandalism and other
misbehavior among students during
Hall's tenure. The BIA threatened to
cut off funding to the school unless
Hall was fired.
"Since Mrs. Burr has taken over as
superintendent, there's been a radical
improvement in the climate of the
school," said Joann Sebastian Morris,
director of the BIA Office of Indian
Education Programs, who
accompanied Deer on her visit.
"They met the staff and
complimented them all the way
around," Burr said. "I think they like
us and ... feel our program is worth
supporting."
Burr wants to establish a behavioral
center on the campus. She said it would
be more cost effective for the school
and less traumatic for students if
psychological, drug and alcohol
treatment were on the premises.
Burr said most treatment facilities
either are full or cost too much. The
federal Indian Health Service will not
pay for long-term treatment of the
school's students, she said.
By Sue Major Holmes
ALBUQUERQUE (AP)
Mescalero Apache President Wendell
Chino, saying actions speak louder
than words, on Friday became the
only leader among New Mexico's 22
Indian tribes to endorse Republican
presidential nominee Bob Dole.
And Dole, with Chino among the
political guests on the platform with
him, told a rally at an Albuquerque
park: "I believe Native Americans are
ready to chart their own destiny."
Chino has been battling U.S.
Attorney John Kelly, a Clinton
appointee, over the closure of the
Mescalero's south-central New
Mexico casino.
State and federal courts have ruled
casino gambling is illegal in New
Mexico. But legal maneuvering has
left 10 of the 11 casinos in the state
open _ all but the Mescalero's
operation.
Clinton won the endorsement of the
rest of New Mexico's tribes Tuesday.
The president spent Sunday afternoon
through Wednesday morning in
Albuquerque preparing for
Wednesday night's final debate with
Dole in San Diego. The president met
Tuesday with all the state's tribal
leaders except Chino, who was not
invited after denouncing Clinton on
Monday and urging Indians to support
Dole.
Except for his mention of support
for Indian sovereignty, Dole didn't
spend any time at his Albuquerque
rally discussing Indian issues. Instead,
he used the venue to escalate his attack
on the Clinton administration's ethics.
"We've got to change our priorities,
we've got to talk about values," Dole
told a crowd of about 1,500 supporters
who gathered in a park for the rally.
The candidate spoke from a podium
flanked by large banners reading,
"Trust" and "Ethics."
Dole, who arrived in Albuquerque
Dole cont'd on 8