Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2003-05-02

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
NEWS BRIEFS
2
3
Supporting the UN &
Related Billions in
Foreign Aid
Letter from
a student
In memory of
Butch Brun
Red Lake and Little
Rock district reps
urge respectful wait
The tribal
patriot
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
4
CLASSIFIEDS
7
page 4
page 4
page 4
page 4                                   KS
page 4
Leech Lake RBC split over LaRose recall election
On Friday, April 25th, the three
Leech Lake RBC district reps held
a meeting, described as a "recaU
hearing," at the Palace Casino
Bingo HaU, along with their attorney Zenas Baer. According to
Bemidji Pioneer staffwriter MoUy
Miron, about fifty people attended
the meeting.
Also on Friday, April 25% Leech
Lake chairman Pete White issued a
memorandum to the district reps, in
which he asked "that you as District Representatives to adhere to
the Constitution and its Bylaws."
"I would highly recommend to
you as District Representatives to
discontinue any/all violations ofthe
constitution and bylaws," White
continued, citing Leech Lake Ordinance No. 1, which specifies that
the chairman ofthe RBC shaU
"Preside over all meetings of the
Reservation Business Committee."
At their April 25lh meeting, the
district reps held what they described as a "removal hearing"
concerning Leech Lake secretary-
treasurer Archie LaRose, and voted
to hold a recaU election scheduled
for May 22, supported by Baer's
opinion that the vote of the three
representatives present makes the
recaU election vaUd because they
constitute a quorum and more than
two-thirds of those voting. The
Leech Lake tribal officers, chairman Pete White and secretary-treasurer Archie LaRose, contend that
the April 25lh meeting was illegal,
and did not attend.
In his April 25* notice to the
Leech Lake district reps, chairman
Pete White states that the district
reps "have no duties in respect to
the Constitution and its Bylaws,"
and that "if in fact that a meeting
takes place without Peter D. White,
Chairman of the Leech Lake Band
of Ojibwe, it will be considered
Null and Void" since district reps
are not authorized to conduct meetings without the presence ofthe
chairman.
In a subsequent telephone conversation, secretary-treasurer
LaRose explained to Press/ON that
tribal officers sit on the Tribal Executive Committee (TEC) ofthe
JVIinnesota Chippewa Tribe
(MCT), and as MCT officials are
bound to uphold the MCT Constitution.
The apparent spUt between the
tribal reps and tribal officers at
Leech Lake, like many of the other
conflicts that beset tribal governments across Indian country, is at
least partly because ofthe structural
problems of Indian tribal constitutions based on the "bofterplate" put
into place nearly seventy years ago
under the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act.
LEECH LAKE to page 3
Changes at Press/ON
Managing editor Clara NuSka is
taking a leave of absence from
Press/ON in order to focus on her
academic work. During her leave,
she hopes to complete an MA in
Liberal Studies, as weU as the preliminary work for her PhD dissertation, which focuses on aboriginal indigenous perspectives and language.
Clara's involvement with Press/
CWbegan through her husband
Wub-e-ke-niew, who wrote for this
paper from its founding in 1988
until his death in 1997.
She deUvered newspapers and
did other odd jobs for Press/ON in
the late 1990s, and then with the
encouragement of pubUsher BiU
Lawrence, started doing investigative reporting and writing. She began editing the paper after JuUe
Shortridge left to become director
of pubhc relations for Anoka
County in April 2001.
"Clara is an exceUent writer and
a highly skilled researcher,"
Lawrence said, "and I look forward
to her continuing to write occasional articles for the paper whUe
she completes her schoolwork."
"She has been a key part of the
staff at Press/ON," Lawrence
added, "and the paper WiU change.
It always changes, but it changes
more dramatically when an editor
leaves, particularly in a smaU paper
like this where an editor has more
influence, as opposed to larger papers where there is more of an institutional 'culture.'"
"I think Press/ON is happy to be,
in effect, a training ground, and
people working for this paper are
continuaUy 'moving up,'" he
added. "The only 'constant' is
Bea," the Pekinese 'watchdog of
pubUc interest,' who's been with
the paper for nearly nine years.
"I have always advocated open
discussion, addressing community
issues through dialogue, and freedom of the press on reservations,"
Clara said. "Press/ONs commitment to honesty, openness, and
community empowerment is a
powerful catalyst in addressing
problems on several reservations,
and the existence ofthe newspaper
CHANGES to page 5
Constitutional Reform Series ofthe
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
Part 2: Excerpts and quotes from testimony of Kevin
Dupuis, Ray Bellecourt, Marvin Many penny, and Eli Hunt
Compiled by Wallace W.
Storbakken
On September 29-30,2001, the
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe sponsored a Constitutional Hearing at the
Grand Casino - MiUe Lacs. This is
the second of a series of "quotes"
based on oral testimony at the hearing. The testimony has been edited
to conserve space, whue attempting
to include the major points, opinions, and ideas ofthe speaker. Every
effort has been taken so as to not
present the testimony out of context.
We apologize that the presentations
are not in chronological order and
that in many cases the speaker is not
identified. The fuU transcription of
the hearing testimony is avaUable
through the Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe facility in Cass Lake, Minnesota
Excerpts and quotes from testimony
of Kevin Dupuis- Fond du Lac:
- "WeU, first of aU, I am glad to be
here and to see everybody here for
one reason and one cause and that is
the constitution. Whether we change
it or don't change it I am just glad to
see everybody here. I have mixed
feelings about what is going on with
the drafts and the constitution itself.
.. I am scared sitting here looking at
a constitutional change or reform.
How are we going to get the people
to vote? How are we going to get
everybody educated on this pro-
MCT to page 5
Let the Games Begin: CobeU v. Secretary
of Interior Enters Phase 1.5 Trial
By Jean Pagano
The Phase 1.5 Trial of Cobell v.
Secretary of Interior {Cobell) begins on 1 May at 10:00 a.m. in
Judge Royce C. Lamberth's U.S.
District Court. The Cobell case,
which pits Individual Indian
Money (EM) account holders
against the Department of the Interior (DOI), attempts to force a historical accounting for UMs for the
last 116 years. Plaintiffs in the case
claims that the government has
poorly administered the IIM tmst
fund and that biUions of doUars are
missing. The government claims
that an accurate accounting of the
DMs will take at least 10 years and
cost a minimum of $2.4 biltion. An
agreement in the case had previously been negotiated, but the Bush
Administration's Justice Department would not sign off on the matter.
The case has been tumultuous
and contentious since its inception.
Charges of civU contempt have
been levied against two separate
Secretaries ofthe Interiors and two
Assistant Secretaries. Accounting
records have been lost, forgotten,
misfired, burned, a whole gamut of
what-not-to-do with financial
records. The American Indian Tmst
Fund Management Refomi Act of
1994 legislates an historical accounting of IIM accounts and to
date, such an accounting has not
happened. The Department of Interior has stated on a number of occasions that it intends to provide
said accounting, but has also attempted time-and-time again to
limit the boundaries ofthe very accounting it is supposed to provide.
At one point, DOI stated that it
would only provide an accounting
back to the 1930's. Another recent
twist stated that only $61.00 was
missing. Most recently, DOI has
claimed that the statute of limitations had expired. Judge Lamberth
ruled this week that since the trust
is ongoing, the statute of limitations
does not apply and additionaUy that
since the lawsuit is about accounting and not damages, that the statute of limitations is not at issue.
GAMES to page 6
Indigenous peoples moving up the UN ladder
By Jeff Armstrong
Expectations will be high as the
second session ofthe recently-es-
tabUshed United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues
convenes May 12 in New York
City for twelve days of discussion.
Reporting directly to the 54-mem-
ber UN Economic and Security
CouncU—one ofthe top organs of
the United Nations—the Permanent Forum represents the closest
indigenous peoples have come to
recognition as equals in 27 years of
tireless advocacy within the UN
bureaucracy.
First proposed by indigenous
leaders at the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna,
the Permanent Forum was one of
the principal indigenous objectives
ofthe 1995-2004 UN indigenous
decade, along with the stalemated
UN Draft Declaration on the
Rights of Indigenous Peoples. The
forum was approved by the UN
General Assembly July 28,2000
and is made up of eight regional indigenous representatives serving
alongside an equal number of governmental representatives for three-
year terms on the 16-member body.
Although the Permanent Forum
has a broad mandate to study and
review issues of significance to culture, economics, the environment,
human rights and other areas, its organizational direction and role
within the UN structure is still
evolving. Regarding specific complaints of human rights violations
against indigenous individuals or
peoples, however, only the Special
Rapporteur on Indigenous Human
Rights wiU have investigative authority.
The International Indian Treaty
CouncU caUed on Special Rapporteur Rodolfo Stavenhagen, a Mexican sociologist and human rights
LADDER to page 6
Memorandum of Understanding between
city of Minneapolis and MUID
The MinneapoUs American Indian Center scheduled a Feast on
Thursday, May 1. At press time,
Mayor R.T. Rybak of Minneapolis
was going to read a Proclamation
and do a ceremonial signing ofthe
new Memorandum of Understanding between the City and the Met-
ropoUtan Urban Indian Directors
on behalf of the Native American
community at the MinneapoUs
American Indian Center. FoUowing
the signing, which is supposed to
include several City CouncU members, there was to be a feast to kick
off American Indian Month.
Memorandum of Understanding
Between the Metropolitan Urban
Indian Directors on behalf of the
American Indian Community and
the Honorable mayor R.T. Rybak
and the Minneapolis City Council
This Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) is hereby entered
into by the entities that hve the responsibility to support and serve
the American Indian community.
The MOU is hereinafter referred to
as the "American Indian Community" MOU.
A. Purpose
MEMO to page 3
Indian museum has
local touch
Editors Note: A calendar of many
of the events marking American Indian month is on page 5.
By Tom Webb
St. Paul Pioneer Press
WASHINGTON — Stone by
Minnesota stone, the long-awaited
national museum of American Indian life and culture is going up on
the National MaU in Washington.
In April, workers began instaU-
ing Minnesota Kasota limestone on
the museum's exterior, even as
stonecutters continued to quarry
blocks from the Minnesota River
VaUey. The butter-colored stone is
meant to evoke a different feel
from the rest of Washington's
monuments.
"There's some very rough-face
stone, and some very smooth, and
it's reaUy intended to resemble a
canyon waU, resembling the natural
world," said museum spokesman
Thomas Sweeney.
On Wednesday evening, officials
from 3M and the 3M Foundation
underscored Minnesota's role in
launching the new museum by presenting a check for $200,000 to the
Smithsonian Institution's National
Museum of the American Indian,
part of 3M's overaU $1.1 miUion
gift.
3M Foundation Vice President
Fred Harris envisions that money
being used for students around the
nation to "benefit from the richness
that the museum wiU be able to
preserve and present."
The dream of buUding a museum in Washington to teU the
American Indian story has been de-
MUSEUM to page 5
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
web page: www.press-on.net
iszes
Native
American
Press
Ojibwe News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2003
Founded in 1988
Volume 15 Issue 47
May 2,2003
Brun was a common man with extraordinary common sense
By Paul Levy
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Gerald (Butch) Brun, the tribal
chairman of the Red Lake Reservation who died Saturday, once
slept in a pen with two bears, often gave away his wages and
loaned his car to a famUy he
didn't know.
Yet, it was "having a world
view of the Red Lake Nation"
that truly separated Brun from
other tribal leaders, said U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger, adding
that there were no boundaries to
his vision.
"You never doubted you were
dealing with the tribal chairman,"
Heffelfinger said, "and you never
doubted he was listening."
Brun's stature has made the selection of a new tribal chairman
difficult for a grieving reservation whose constitution offers no
provision for succession of office
in the event of a chairman's
death, said Judy Roy, Red Lake's
tribal secretary.
Roy and tribal treasurer
DarreU Seki are likely candidates
to succeed Brun, said BiU
Lawrence, Red Lake's legal advisor. But neither has expressed interest. A pubhc meeting to discuss replacing Brun is scheduled
for Friday.
I". ss?s funeral wiU be held at 2
p.m. Thursday at the Red Lake
Middle School.
Brun, 64, suffered a stroke two
days after his election last July
and likely suffered another stroke
or heart attack on April 19, when
he was brought to Altru Hospital
in Grand Forks, N.D., tribal officials said. He was "basicaUy in a
submitted photo
Gerald "Butch" Brun
coma" during his final week,
Lawrence said.
Brun, who also served as tribal
chairman from 1990 to 1994,
thought of himself as a "common
man," said Roy, who preferred to
talk about Brun's "extraordinary
common sense."
He had a "gift for the unusual,"
BRUN to page 6
Wisconsin: Doyle
blamed for gaming
shortfall
By Todd Richmond
Associated Press
Republicans on the
Legislature's budget committee
blamed Gov. Jim Doyle
Wednesday for a $75 miUion
shortfaU in tribal gambling revenue that would have helped
solve the state's massive deficit.
They also contended Doyle
Ued about his budget being balanced, but Doyle aides defended the governor and accused the GOP of grandstanding.
RepubUcan members ofthe
legislative Joint Finance Committee said Doyle's gambling
deals with Wisconsin's tribes
have shortchanged the state.
"Governor Doyle has been at
the table for four months now
and he keeps losing," Rep.
Mike Huebsch, R-West Salem,
said. "Governor Doyle, you
have a gambling problem. Walk
away from that table."
Administration Secretary
Marc Marotta countered that
the amounts tribes will pay the
state under the new deals were
reduced in part because of a
Republican lawsuit to void a
compact that the Democratic
governor signed with the Forest
County Potawatomi and a GOP
ad that featured a taxpayer fleeing from a flying tomahawk.
"Talk about undercutting the
process, that's exacdy what
these guys have done," Marotta
said. "It's time for them to take
some responsibility and address
the serious problem in front of
us instead of whining like a
bunch of babies."
Doyle's feud with Republicans over the compacts has
dominated most of his first four
months in office.
Republicans who control the
Legislature say Doyle wiU turn
Wisconsin into Las Vegas.
They tried to pass two bills that
would give them oversight of
compact negotiations, but
Doyle vetoed both. They then
filed a lawsuit asking the state
DOYLE to page 6
House passes bill to put slot machines at
Canterbury Park
By Ashley H. Grant
Associated Press
ST. PAUL—The Minnesota
House approved a proposal 71-60
Friday that would allow slot machines at Canterbury Park, but not
before a significant caveat was
added.
Under an amendment, the state's
American Indian tribes could stop
the Canterbury proposal from going forward if each one that operates a casino agrees by July 1 to:
—Give 6 percent of their gross
receipts to the state;
—Agree to open their books to
the state auditor;
—Agree to never have more slot
machines than they had Jan. 1;
—Give money to compulsive
gambling programs.
Rep. Mark Olson offered the
provision to a larger biU RepubUcans are counting on to help balance the budget, saying it was the
only way to curtaU an expansion of
gambling in the state.
"It's a negotiating tool," said
Olson, R-Big Lake. "They do not
have to do this. It's absolutely vol
untary."
Rep. Margaret Keltiher caUed it
"anti-Indian."
"We're not talking about negotiation here — we're talking about
threats," the MinneapoUs Democrat said.
The amendment passed 77-54.
John McCarthy, executive director of the Minnesota Indian Gaming Association, caUed the amendment "a-gun-to-the-head approach"
and said he doubted that the state's
11 tribes would respond favorably.
"These are governments," he
said. "This is not the way you coerce governments. This is not the
way you get them to the table."
The larger bill the tribal casino
amendment was attached to would
permit the state lottery to instaU
about 2,000 slot machines at the
Shakopee race track.
The so-caUed "racino" plan envisions a $90 miUion facility buUt with
private financing, but run by the
state lottery. Supporters say it could
mean as much as $50 milhon a year
in new money for the state for the
BILL to page 5
Federal sentences handed down for Red
Lake assaults
St. Paul, MN - Two MinneapoUs
men and a Bemidji area teenager
who were involved in a deadly assault that occurred in the Circle
Pines Section of the Red Lake Indian Reservation on December 15,
2001 have been sentenced in
United States District Court.
Frederick Duane Fisher, age 23,
from MinneapoUs, was sentenced
on April 25,2003 to 78 months in
prison by Judge Donovan Frank in
St. Paul. Fisher pled guUty in December 2002 to aggravated assault.
Shawn Emery White, age 19,
from MinneapoUs, was sentenced
on April 21,2003 to 63 months in
prison by Judge Frank. White pled
guUty in December 2002 to aggravated assault. White was on probation for second degree murder in
Hennepin County at the time ofthe
Red Lake assault. His state probation was revoked and his stayed
sentence of 360 months in prison
was executed. White's federal sen
tence wiU run consecutive to his
state sentence.
A third defendant in the case,
Anthony R. Smith, pled guUty in
October 2002 and awaits sentencing. During his guUty plea hearing,
Smith, who is a member ofthe Native Mob gang, admitted that he
asked the victim whether he was
ready to die, put a gun to the
victim's head, and puUed the trigger. Smith, who was 16 at the time
ofthe assault, was prosecuted as an
adult.
In a second related case,
Valentina Marie Manzi, age 20,
from Bemidji, was sentenced to 48
months in prison. Manzi pled
guUty to 'accessory to murder.'
The case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of
Investigation and Red Lake Law
Enforcement. Assistant United
States Attorney Clifford Wardlaw
prosecuted the case.