Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2003-01-24

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Calling Crow on
Leech Lake
page 4
Trust beneficiaries
page 4
Clarification from
Devery Fairbanks
page 4
Tribute to MLK Jr.
page 4
Commentary
The rule of law
page 4
Leech Lake court grants restraining order against
LaRose recall, sets Feb. 13 evidentiary hearing date
See page 2 for the text ofthe complaint.
By Jeff Armstrong
Ruling that Leech Lake secretary
treasurer Archie LaRose had established a likelihood of success in his
legal challenge to the validity of a
recall petition against the plaintiff,
the reservation court Tuesday
granted LaRose an extension of a
temporary restraining order from
RBC action on the petition.
"Defendants are hereby restrained from taking any action to
recall the Plaintiff from office on
the basis ofthe recall petition submitted on December 9,2002 and
certified by the Leech Lake Petition Validation Committee on December 13,2002 until such time as
trial is conducted on the complaint
ofthe plaintiff," wrote deputy
judge B.J. Jones in a rare display of
judicial independence within the
six-reservation Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe.
Jones ordered a Feb. 13 evidentiary hearing on the disputed signatures.
Chief justice Peggy Treuer, currently sidelined with a serious illness, had issued a last-minute injunction the day before the RBC
was to hold a Jan. 6 public hearing
on the petition in defiance of a
tribal court order to maintain the
status quo prior to a legal hearing.
The Reservation Business Committee had certified the petition last
month despite a separate finding by
three of the seven members of the
validation committee that dozens
of signatures accepted by the majority were constitutionally invalid
or downright fraudulent.
However, the RBC's last-ditch
attempt to assert the residency status of off-reservation members in
the Jan. 16 court hearing by submitting a December MCT resident
voter list backfired when Jones
compared the signatures on the petition to the tribal ehgibility list.
RBC attorneys Joe Plumer and
Frank Bibeau had argued that because 17 of the contested names
were included on the MCT list they
should be included resident voters,
though the defense acknowledged
that some valid reservation signers
were absent from the list.
"That list, laboriously pored over
by the Court, lacks 123 ofthe signatures contained on the petition,"
Jones concluded. "The members of
the Committee who reviewed the
petition apparently did not have the
luxury of reviewing the list."
Jones' interim ruling reduces the
number of validated signatures to
380, well short ofthe mutually
agreed requirement of 451. It
would appear at ininimum to place
the burden of proof upon the RBC
to prove that at least 71 of the 123
petition signers actually live within
Leech Lake boundaries and are
otherwise eligible.
Representing LaRose at the Jan.
16 hearing, attorney Randy Thompson had maintained that
"there's a possibility of widespread
fraud here." The judge refused,
however, to consider the plaintiff's
allegations that the recall effort was
a poUtically-motivated attempt to
remove him from office without
due process and dismissed the secretary treasurer's claims for monetary damages.
"The Plaintiff invites this Court
to question the partiality of the
[four] Committee members who
voted to accept the petition and he
submits an affidavit laying out why
he believes the four members who
voted to accept the petition were
biased against him. The Court declines to examine this issue because
LEECH LAKE to page 2
U.S. District Judge Lamberth stays on the case:
13 motions to recuse judge are denied
By Jean Pagano
U.S. District Court Judge Royce
C. Lamberth, presiding over the 6+-
year long suit Cobell v. Secretary of
the Interior, et al., denied a combined group of 13 motions seeking
the recusal of Judge Lamberth, Special Master Alan L. Balaran, and
Special Master - Monitor Joseph S.
Kieffer, IU from the Cobell case.
The motions, including one from
former Clinton-era Secretary ofthe
Interior Bruce Babbitt, sought to
have Judge Lamberth and Messrs.
Balaran and Kieffer dismissed for a
variety of reasons.
The motions attempted to call
into question Judge Lamberth's impartiality in the case of Cobell and
also questioned the discussions between Judge Lamberth, the Special
Master, and the Special Master-
Monitor. Both the Special Master
and the Special Master - Monitor
were assigned by the Court as investigators in what has become an
extremely contentious and complicated court case. Judge Lamberth
has separately held former Secretary ofthe Interior Bruce Babbitt,
former Assistant Secretary Kevin
Gover, former Assistant Secretary
Neal McCaleb, and current Secretary of Interior Gale Norton in contempt for not providing information
to the Court. As recently reported
in Press/ON, Judge Lamberth has
threatened Secretary Norton with
aiminal contempt for actions surround the Cobell case.
In Judge Lamberth's ruling, he
states that the movants have "misunderstood" the law and "misconstrued", and "misinterpreted" his
statements in the case. Furthermore, Judge Lamberth writes,
".. .no reasonable observer, with
knowledge of all the relevant facts,
would conclude that the impartiality of the judge in this case was to
be questioned."
In conclusion, Judge Lamberth
opines, "It is, admittedly, a tempting prospect for the Court to consider recusing itself, given the hundreds of judicial hours that this case
has consumed, and the innumerable antagonisms it has fostered. In
many ways, it would be a welcome
relief for the Court to slough off the
burdens of this seven-year litigation
onto some other judge, unmindful
ofthe headaches it has provoked.
But the Court would be abdicating
it judicial responsibilities, were it to
do so. A district judge is under just
as much of an obligation not to recuse himself unnecessarily as he is
obliged to recuse himself when it
does prove necessary. Therefore,
the Court, mindful of its obligations
under the law, will not recuse itself
from these proceedings."
The Phase 1.5 trial, to address
reform ofthe Individual Indian
Money accounts and to promote a
historical accounting, is set to begin
on 1 May 2003 in Judge
Lamberth's courtroom. One may
rightly conclude that there will be a
wealth of motions from this point
in time forward; many attempting
to derail a historical accounting that
is long overdue.
Request for
change of venue in
Lower Sioux
murder case
denied
77ie Redwood Gazette
Redwood Falls—The murder
trial of Dennis Pendleton, Jr., 21, is
scheduled to start at Redwood
County District Court on February
5,2003. Pendleton will be tried for
the June 9,2002, murder of
Frankie Parker on the Lower Sioux
Indian Community
The court has blocked off an
eight-day increment for the Aiding
and Abetting Murder in the Second
Degree case against Pendleton, one
of two defendants in the case.
A date for the trial of Christopher
Sander, 26, has yet to be set.
Sander is charged similarly.
As reported by The Redwood
Gazette, Eric Neumark, the Twin
Cities Defense Attorney for
Pendleton, unsuccessfully peti-
REQUESTtopage7
St. Paul legislators cool to casino
proposal
By Curt Brown
Minneapolis Star Tribune
A grandiose plan to build a $905
million casino and hotel in St. Paul
drew a cool response Friday, January 17*, from a meeting ofthe
city's legislators. The preliminary
pitch for an "urban entertainment
and gaming complex" came from
Ron Valiant, executive director of
the White Earth Reservation Tribal
Council, and St. Paul coffee shop
owner David Glass, at a St. Paul
delegation meeting at the Capitol.
Their plan asks for no state
money and hasn't been introduced
in a bill at the Legislature or as a
City Council resolution. It calls for
a casino with 8,000 slot machines
and 350 gaming tables, plus a 500-
room hotel and three restaurants,
rising on an undetermined St. Paul
site ranging from 20 to 60 acres.
As envisioned, the facility would
be managed by the Minnesota State
Lottery and generate an estimated
annual profit of nearly $500 million
to be divided among participating
Indian tribes, the state and the city.
St. Paul legislators were far from
enthused, however, suggesting that
Valiant and Glass should start their
lobbying at the City Council and
come back only if they find community support there.
"You'll find it hard to stir up
much energy with something so
hugely controversial," said Rep.
Alice Hausman, DFL-St. Paul.
"There are a lot of ideas floating
around and, as realists, I have to
say this one isn't going very far. It's
hard to take seriously."
In other action, St. Paul legislators voted unanimously to support
bills that would end $2.25 million
in upcoming subsidies to the controversial Gopher State Ethanol
plant on the city's West End.
Sen. Sandy Pappas and Rep.
Michael Paymar, both DFLers, said
the move would help soften the
state's budget crunch and possibly
prompt the plant to shut down after
years of neighborhood complaints
about odor and noise.
Education opened the doors to Black Bear Crossings
David Glass, 51, is uncomfortable with the idea of being called a
business success. "Success, like
learning, is a long process - never
done," he says. "Success comes
from seeing opportunities and taking them."
"Education!" He stops to think
then grows passionate. "When you
have an education, you're more
likely to see the opportunities that
build success. The more education
you have, the more opportunities
seem to be there."
Glass, a Minnesota Ojibwe and
member of the White Earth
Nation's Bear Clan, has woven together the tribal and urban education experiences from his youth
with the education he received at
Metropolitan State University in
St. Paul, one ofthe 34 Minnesota
State Colleges and Universities.
Today, his two St. Paul cafes
"Black Bear Crossings" and
"Black Bear Crossings On The
Lake," opened in 1997 and 2000,
respectively, have become community gathering spots.
A visitor can order a hot breakfast
on a cold winter morning, then
pause to enjoy the decorative motif, art and crafts - most from the
Submitted Photo
David Glass, a Metropolitan State University graduate, and his wife, Pam,
are co-owners of two cafes and community centers in St. Paul's Como
Lake area. Each shop celebrates Glass' Ojibwe heritage with original
Ojibwe artifacts. The birch bark canoe in this photo was built by 20 urban
American Indian children whom Glass, working with the nonprofit Urban
Boat Builder's organization, assembled for a special learning opportunity.
Two experienced Ojibwe canoe builders from the White Earth Reservation
guided the kids through the experience.
Ojibwe culture.
He waves away any suggestion that
he's different from his American
Indian brothers and sisters. Like
many, he stumbled through some
tough times with a sense of worth-
lessness, bouts with alcoholism and
drugs, and a couple of bounces
EDUCATION to page 6
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Founded in 1988
Volume 15 Issue 33
January 24,2003
submitted photo
Yvonne Wilson, a Bemidji State University graduate, teaches in the Deer River School District.
Educator is devoted to building sense of worth in her students
The banner in Yvonne Wilson's
classroom proclaims, 'I CAN" to
encourage her first-grade students
to reach for the stars. In her classroom, Wilson gathers students in a
additional Indian "talking circle"
where they learn to say "hello" in
different languages, from her native Ojibwe to Spanish, German
and other languages.
Wilson prepares her students to
be open to diversity and the world
at large. "How they learn is as important as w/wrthey learn," she
says.
As a child growing up on the
Leech Lake Reservation in north-
em Minnesota, she had few role
models. Years later, Yvonne is a
nationally recognized American
Indian educator with a master's
degree in education from Bemidji
State University, one ofthe 34
Minnesota State Colleges and
Universities.
"The opportunity to attend
Bemidji State's Upward Bound
program in my junior year of high
school inspired me to further my
education and follow my dream,"
said Wilson, who teaches in the
Deer River district in northern
Minnesota.
Her dream is teaching young
children, building a basic foundation in academics and forging a
strong sense of worth and pride in
.rudcnts.
Classroom activities such as "All
About Me" help students develop
confidence, and "Hopes and
Dreams" involve parents in shaping what students want to accomplish.
. Wilson said the Upward Bound
program was a definite turning
point, providing her with six weeks
of classes in math, biology, chemistry, writing, literature, Spanish,
study skills and electives in sports
and arts. The campus experience
and mentoring helped her see college as a possibility.
Another turning point was a Twin
Cities tour of colleges and businesses such as 3M, offered to Indian students from seven reservations their senior year, which expanded Wilson's realm of opportunities.
There were challenges. She
didn't do well on her ACT college
entry tests. The costs of attending a
university seemed prohibitive for
an American Indian family with 10
children.
Although Wilson's high school
counselor discouraged her from
considering college, her history
teacher, Don Jacobson, urged Wilson, a National Honor Society student, to go to college instead of
court reporting school.
She followed her dream - applying for scholarships to attend
Macalester College, a private college in St. Paul. As a freshman,
Wilson was devastated by the death
of a brother and wanted to return to
the reservation to her parents and
grieve, but two student counselors
persuaded her to come back. "They
encouraged me not to give up, to
keep sight of my goal to graduate."
She married during college, and as
full-time students, she and her husband faced the ongoing challenges
of parenting and financing day care
and college. Scholarships from the
Leech Lake Reservation, Bemidji
Indian Education program and
other grants helped.
After graduating, she helped establish the Early Childhood and
WILSON to page 6
Martin issues proposed finding to decline federal
acknowledgement ofthe Golden Hill Paugussett Tribe
Washington, D.C. - Acting Assistant Secretary - Indian Affairs
Aurene M. Martin today announced she has issued a Notice
of Proposed Finding whereby
she proposes to decline to acknowledge that the Golden Hill
Paugussett Tribe (petition #81)
in Trumbull, Conn., exists as an
Indian tribe within the meaning
of Federal law. The proposed
finding is based on a determination that the petitioner does not
satisfy three of seven mandatory
criteria for Federal acknowledgment under 25 CFR Part 83, the
Federal acknowledgment regulations, and therefore does not
meet the requirements for a gov-
ernment-to-government relationship with the United States.
Since 1823, the evidence
shows that the historical Golden
Hill Indians ceased to exist as a
distinct community, as required
by criterion 83.7(b).
Between 1802 and 1973, the
evidence does not show an entity
with an internal political process,
as required by criterion 83.7(c).
Since 1973, a few individuals formally organized into a more visible and active political entity.
However, there is insufficient evidence to demonstrate significant
social interaction within the
group, or widespread support for
or involvement in political processes.
Thirdly, the petitioner does not
meet the standard set by criterion
83.7(e). The petitioner has not
shown that its membership consists of individuals who descend
from a historical Indian tribe or
tribes. There is insufficient evidence to verify that the
petitioner's ancestors descended
from a historical tribe. Although
the petitioner submitted several
membership lists, none are sufficient to meet the criterion.
The petitioner has met the
other four mandatory criteria for
Federal acknowledgment. The
portion ofthe group claiming descent from the historical Golden
Hill has been identified consistently as an American Indian entity from 1900 to the present as
required by criterion 83.7(a). In
accordance with 83.7(d), it sub-
MARTIN to page 6
Third teen charged in death of
Cass Lake man
Star Tribune Northern Minnesota
Correspondent
Walker, MN—A third Cass
Lake teenager was arraigned
Tuesday in the beating death of
a blind man in November on the
town's main street.
Darryl Jackson Johnson, 17,
was charged with two counts of
second-degree murder in the
death of Darrell (Louie) Bisson,
48, who was accosted while
walking his dog and beaten with
an ax handle he carried for protection. Bisson was an albino
and was legally blind.
Within days of the killing,
Jessie Royal Tapio and George
Allen Raphael Boswell, both 16,
were charged in Cass County District Court with two counts each of
second-degree murder. One count
says they intentionally killed
Bisson; the other says they killed
him while intending to commit assault. Police said Bisson did not
provoke the attack and that the
boys offered no motive.
Johnson, who allegedly had
been drinking with the other two
boys at a party that night, was initially questioned, then released.
According to a criminal complaint filed Monday, police con-
CASS LAKE to page 6
Omsbudsman's
office on the
chopping block
By Dave Boswell
The Office of the Ombudsman
for Corrections, serving a disproportionate number of Native brothers and sisters, is slated for immediate termination under a house bill
meant to cut budgets and eliminate
vital programs to the Native community. Chairman Rich Stanek of
the house judiciary policy and finance committee on Thursday proposed eliminating the office and its
enabling statutes 24141-241.45
without debate and providing no op-
0FFICE to page 6