Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1996-11-22

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The  end   Of an  era:    Mtfi/fe 5artf? chairman of 20 years
sentenced to 51 months prison; Clark, Rawley to do 46, 37 months
Wadena, you're to be remanded to the   included points for abuse of power and
By Gary Blair
"Mr. Wadena, I could bury
you, but I am not going to," U.S.
District Court Judge Michael J. Davis
told the former White Earth Tribal
Council Chairman, convicted last June
of corruption charges. Instead, judge
Davis told the 57-year-old defendant
who had been chairman for the past
twenty.years, "I am going to follow the
federal guidelines that call for a 41 to
51 month sentence."
Davis then counted out the
sentencing points, including two
enhancements and his reduction of
two points. Then the judge said, "Mr.
Bureau of Federal Prisons for 51
months." Davis' remarks came shortly
after Darrell "Chip" Wadena had
requested a reduced sentence.
Councilman Rick Clark was next to
be sentenced. He received 46 months
for his illegal actions, which included
theft and election fraud. Former White
Earth secretary-treasurer Jerry Rawley
then received a 33 month sentence for
his part in stealing funds from his
people and committing vote fraud.
A twelve member jury found the
three men guilty of theft of tribal funds
and numerous other criminal charges.
Rawley and Clark were found guilty
of election fraud. Wadena's sentence
civil rights violations. Restitution and
large fines were also imposed on the
three defendants, who had stolen
hundreds of thousand of dollars from,
their people.
Federal prosecutor Jeanne Graham
told the judge the defendants had
shown "no remorse" and that the
crimes were "self-serving acts."
Defense attorneys blamed the U.S.
Government for the convictions of
their clients. They cited the
imposition of the 1934 Indian
Reorganization Act, which set up
tribal governments that were to be
Era cont'd on 5
Darrell Wadena sentenced to 51 months prison;
Rick Clark, 46 mos. and Jerry Rawley to do 37 mos.
Dallas Anderson convicted in murder of infant son
Grand jury probes Leech Lake tribal casinos
FDL chair Peacock closes 'open' RBC mtg./ pg 5
Voice of the People
1
Mille Lacs chiefs grandson Dallas Anderson
convicted in murder of infant son
By Julie Shortridge
On Tuesday, November 19, at
approximately 10:00 a.m., after
listening to three weeks of testimony
and deliberating for approximately
seven hours, a 12-member jury in
Mille Lacs County Court convicted
Dallas Anderson of second degree
murder in the death of his 15-month
old son, Robert Sam.
Dallas told tribal police shortly after
Robert died of severe head injuries that
he had shoved the toddler down a flight
of stairs on October 31, 1995 because
Robert "wouldn't stop crying."
Dallas then put the limp Robert Sam
in his car seat and drove with a friend
to the Mille Lacs casino where he
picked up the child's mother, Roberta
Sam, then 18-years old, who had left
the house in the late morning to take
classes in the GED high school
equivalency program.
Dallas had been taking care of the
child alone for a few hours while
Roberta was in class. Robert appeared
to be sleeping in his car seat, but was
actually comatose by the time Roberta
saw him again. The family ran errands
until Roberta told Dallas to drive to
the emergency room when blood
started coming from the baby's mouth.
The child was later transferred to
Hennepin County Medical Center in
Minneapolis, where he was removed
from life support and pronounced dead
on November 1, 1995. Veins in
Robert's brain, connecting tissue
between the brain and the skull, and
brain tissue itself were all damaged.
What Robert did and how he acted
the day of the injury allowed the
prosecution to determine exactly when
the fatal blow occurred.
"The defendant has told us in his
confession to police, and Robert,
through his injuries, has told us who
killed him, how he was killed, and
when it happened," said Assistant
Attorney General Klumpp, in his
closing arguments on Monday,
November 18. According to Dallas'
statement to police, Robert laid limp
at the bottom of the stairs, and was
limp and unresponsive from then on.
Medical examiners said that little
Robert Sam had suffered on-going
abuse for the last few months of his
life, during which time Robert, his
father, Dallas, and his mother Roberta
Sam lived with Merlin and Marge
Anderson. Marge Anderson is the
Convicted cont'd on 8
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Copyright, Native American Press, 1996
9th District judge, county attorney and chief public
defender to answer charges in Red Lake man's appeal
By Jeff Armstrong
A preliminary hearing in the appeal
of a Red Lake man sentenced to nearly
8 years in prison for a petty theft last
Christmas Eve has been set for Dec. 5
in Beltrami County Court.
Lussier was arrested last year after
being found in possession of
prescription Tylenol-3 pills, calling
cards and cassette tapes reported stolen
from a private Bemidji residence on
Dec. 24, 1995. Lussier claims he was
unconstutionally searched and
subsequently denied a fair trial by
actions of his attorney, the prosecution
and the judge in the case. The
Anishinabe man is now calling the
three to testify in hopes of developing
evidence for a state appeals court
review.
Convicted Feb. 14, 1996 of second
degree burglary and possession of a
controlled substance, the 26-ycar-old
Lussier was sentenced to 92 months
imprisonment on the burglarly charge
under a Minnesota law allowing
judges to depart from state sentencing
guidelines. Lussier was given another
22 months on the possession count,
though he asserts that evidence was
suppressed in the case with the
complicity of his attorney, and that the
pills were never proven to contain
codeine.
A pre-sentence investigation-which
misidentified the controlled substance
as cocaine rather than codeine and
described two prior attempted
burglary convictions as burglaries-
had recommended a 46 month
sentence.
But Judge James Preece granted a
request by County Attorney Tim Faver
to sentence Lussier under the Career
Offender Statute. As a result, his
sentence was doubled to just under the
maximum penalty of 10 years.
Among the grounds for Lussier's
appeal is his assertion that Preece
called him into a private discussion in
his chambers and threatened to impose
the stiffest possible sentence if Lussier
refused to accept a plea agreement on
his scheduled trial date. Lussier said
Preece and Faver then discussed the
plea offer in the absence of Lussier's
defense attorney.
"While in chambers, Judge Preece
said I would be sentenced under the
Habitual Offender Law if I chose to
go to trial and was convicted on both
charges and he would grant the State's
request and sentence me to the
maximum sentences on both," said
Lussier at sentencing. "Then a plea
negotiation took place between Judge
Preece and the County Attorney, Tim
Faver, to drop the lesser charge if I
pled guilty to Second Degree
Burglarly. Since my attorney was not
present to give me legal advise (sic),
Appeal cont'd on 3
Former White Earth chairman, Darrell 'Chip' Wadena, of 20 years was sentenced to 51 months prison on
Thursday in St. Paul. He was sentenced for bid-rigging and other crimes related to his White Earth's casino
gambling business. NAPfiiephoto
Wadena gets 4-year sentence
Grand jury probes tribal casinos
By Pat Doyle
Minneapolis Star Tribune Staff Writer
In a wide-ranging probe of a tribal
casino business, a federal grand jury
is investigating the Leech Lake Band
of Chippewa's gambling enterprise
and expects to hear testimony from
tribal officials early next month.
The top manager of the casino
operation, in response to a court order,
recently drove a pickup truck loaded
with dozens of boxes of financial
records to the U.S. attorney's office
in St. Paul. He delivered them over
the objections of some Tribal Council
members who urged him not to
comply with the court order.
Federal investigators have
subpoenaed canceled checks,
vouchers and a computerized printout
of a ledger that involve transactions
made by previous tribal casino
management. Investigators are
reviewing payments drawn on the
accounts of the Palace Bingo and
Casino near Cass Lake and the
Northern Lights Casino near Walker.
The probe represents the second
known criminal investigation of a
Minnesota casino operation and
signals heightened federal scrutiny of
tribal governments in the state. The
inquiry is being conducted by the U.S.
Interior Department's Office of
Inspector General, whose earlier
investigation of the White Earth
Chippewa casino operation
culminated this summer in the
embezzlement convictions of former
White Earth Chairman Darrell (Chip)
Wadena and two other tribal officials.
Federal officials declined Tuesday
to confirm a grand jury inquiry into
the Leech Lake casino operation,
citing Justice Department policy
against acknowledging such
investigations.
But tribal officials and others
knowledgeable about the case talked
this week about the investigation and
released a copy of a subpoena asking
one of them to appear before the panel
and to bring records related to the
casino operation.
The probe appears to be part of a
broader federal inquiry into the
finances   of   the   Leech   Lake
government.
More than 50 boxes
The investigation focuses on Leech
Lake's management of the Palace and
Northern Lights casinos between Jan.
Probe cont'd on 3
By Pat Doyle
Minneapolis Star Tribune Staff Writer
Darrell (Chip) Wadena, the most
prominent American Indian leader in
Minnesota for more than two decades,
was sentenced Thursday to four years
and three months in prison for bid-rigging and other crimes related to his
tribe's casino gambling business.
"Any consideration you can give
me, I'd appreciate it," Wadena said as
he stood before U.S. District Judge
Michael Davis before sentencing in St.
Paul.
"You abused your authority." Davis
told Wadena, 57, former chairman of
the White Earth Band of Chippewa
and former president of the Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe. "I don't know if you
will ever redeem yourself. But let's
hope so.
Some of the crimes were punishable
by up to 10 years in prison, and Davis
told Wadena, "I could have buried
you. I have tried to fit the punishment
to the crime." Davis also sentenced
former White Earth Secretary-Treasurer Jerry Rawley to three years and
one month and Tribal Council Member Rick Clark to three years and 10
months for participating with Wadena-
in the crimes.
The judge also ordered the three
officials to pay hundreds of thousands
of dollars in restitution to the tribe.
The case marked the first time in
the nation that tribal officials of such
stature were convicted in connection
with casino-related financial corruption, according to the U.S. Justice
Department. Wadena, Rawley and
Clark said they intend to appeal and
challenge the power of the federal
government to prosecute tribal officials.
Rawley and Clark also are thought
to be the first Indian officials in the
Upper Midwest convicted of rigging
tribal elections. Their lawyers will
argue on appeal that the federal government lacked authority to prosecute
vote fraud on reservations because
tribes are semisovereign governments
that run their own elections.
Nearly 100 people attended the sentencing in U.S. District Court. Most
of them were Indians, and the crowd
appeared divided between supporters
and opponents of the three men, with
the different groups sitting on opposite sjdes of the spectator section.
Smiles and a salute
Before the hearing began, U.S.
marshals led a relaxcd-looking
Wadena from a lockup into the courtroom. He flashed a broad smile, shook
hands with Clark, then gave Rawley a
quick salute and shook hands with
him. The three men wore nearly identical black leather jackets.
Davis later entered the courtroom
and said he had been up until 4 a.m.
reviewing federal sentencing guidelines. "This is a quite complicated
case, and I want to make sure I'm doing the appropriate thing," he said.
Wadena's lawyer, John Brink, urged
Davis to consider other factors, including that Wadena worked without
a salary during his first three years
(1974-77) in tribal government. Brink
also credited Wadena with bringing
$12 million in housing to the White
Earth Reservation and with working
with the federal government to settle
a divisive land-claims dispute between
Wadena cont'd on 3
Store hopes Indian Art becomes as popular
here as overseas
Court broadens powers of tribal
government in Venetie case
By Bob Egelko
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) _ Native
Alaska tribal governments may have
the same taxing authority and legal
power as Indian tribes in the lower 48
states, a federal appeals court ruled
Wednesday.
In a 3-0 decision, the 9th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals overturned a federal
judge's decision last year that a 1971
federal law had undermined tribal
governments' power to tax and
regulate non-natives.
The court told the judge to reconsider
his decision barring the village of
Venetie from imposing a 5 percent tax
on an outside contractor that was hired
by the state to build a village school.
In a separate ruling, the court upheld a
decision barring the Copper Center
village council from taxing portions
of the trans-Alaska pipeline.
The court said Venetie, a remote
Gwich'in Athabaskan settlement of
225 people north of Fairbanks, was
"Indian country," a classification that
applies to reservation land in other
states and limits state regulation of
self-governing tribes.
By contrast, land underneath the
pipeline was set aside by Congress for
pipeline use and is not "Indian
country," the court said.
The two rulings show that the status
of each of Alaska's 226 native villages
will have to be determined
individually, said Heather Kendall of
the Native American Rights Fund,
lawyer for the Venetie tribal
government. But she applauded the
overturning of Holland's decision,
which would have excluded all Native
tribal councils from Indian country
status.
"With Indian country, a tribe can
exercise a much broader scope of
powers, which may include the power
to tax, the power to zone, the power to
regulate hunting and fishing, most
powers that governments carry out for
Venetie cont'd on 8
By Tom Cherveny
GRANITE FALLS, Minn. (AP) _
This store could be guaranteed
clientele if it were plunked amid the
bustle of downtown Paris or Tokyo.
European and Japanese customers
cannot get enough authentic American
Indian art.
But Dean and Pat Blue opened the
Red Lodge Trading Post on Highway
212 in Granite Falls, right where it
belongs, according to Dean.
He is a native speaker of Dakota,
one of only a couple dozen remaining
in Minnesota. He grew up here and so
did his ancestors.
That's why the store is here.
His family's original name was
Owakeya, or "Red Lodge" in Dakota.
Four  or  five  generations  ago,
missionaries at the Upper Sioux
Agency christened the family "Blue,"
for reasons Dean can only guess. The
missionaries probably couldn't
pronounce or spell Owakeya, he
laughs.
That sort of cultural hegemony might
also explain why Americans have been
slow to discover American Indian art.
Even today, it remains
underappreciated in this country.
Indian casinos are more apt to offer T-
shirts in their gift shops than authentic
American Indian art, said Dean.
Perhaps it's also because indigenous
art is so hard to get. Many Indian
artists are not tapped into commercial
art networks.
The Red Lodge Trading Post offers
them a commercial outlet. Its shelves
are predominately filled with the works
of Navajo, Zuni and Hopi artists from
the Southwest.
There also are works from Dakota
and Ojibwe artists, the Seminoles of
Florida and tribes of the Pacific
Northwest.
It's only the beginning. "There is a
great wealth of art out there that is
unexplored," said Pat. She has joined
her husband in seeking that artistic
wealth for more than a decade now.
Dean's daughter, Cindy, deserves
credit, too. Her husband is the
environmental director forthe Navajo
nation in Window Rock, Ariz. Dean
and Pat were entranced with the Navajo
art they saw while visiting Cindy. So
she helped establish contact with many
artists there.
Dean developed a special fondness
for "Kachinas," the lifelike dolls
crafted by various Southwest Indians.
Owl and eagle-headed Kachinas, as
well as fierce ogre Kachinas, now
Store cont'd on 6