Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2003-07-25

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Lewis and Clark
events planned or
ongoing in Nebraska
page 5
Native American students
hone computer skills
page 4
What will happen when
the "new buffalo11
becomes extinct?
page 4
Preservation of our
cultural, traditional,
sacred ways
page 4
U.S. Civil Rights
Commission
report erroneous
page 4
Woman raped by Cass County corrections officer
files federal suit
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
By Jeff Armstrong
An Anishinabe woman who
was sexually assaulted by a
Cass County corrections officer
has filed a federal civil rights
suit against the county and the
former jail employee, Robert
Stoneking.
Stoneking pled guilty Aug. 26,
2002 to 3rd degree criminal sexual conduct charges after DNA
tests linked him to semen found
on the victim. He was sentenced
to six months jail time.
Representing the plaintiff-
who wishes to remain anonymous—attorney David Garelick
said his client has suffered severe
emotional and physical duress
which was not alleviated by a
sentence the attorney described
as "a slap on the wrist."
"Obviously, if someone is
raped, they suffer consequences," said Garelick. "What we're
asking the court to do is to quantify the damages she suffered."
Garelick said his client was
forcibly raped Jan. 1,2002 while
handcuffed in a county van upon
her return to the jail from a hospital visit. She had been arrested
for allegedly violating a no-drink
order which was a condition of
her probation.
The attorney said the civil suit,
which also seeks punitive damages, alleges that Stoneking and
the county are liable for assault,
I batter}', infliction of emotional
distress, negligence, and civil
rights violations. Garelick said
the officer, acting under color of
law, violated the plaintiffs constitutional rights to due process,
protection from unreasonable
search and seizure and prohibition of cmel and unusual punishment. He further contended
that the race of the victim was a
factor in the incident, in contravention of die Minnesota Human
Rights Act.
"[She] was assaulted such
as she was due to her race and
ethnicity," said Garelick. "The
county has vicarious liability
for the torts committed by its
agents."
Garelick said his client has
suffered from a severe sense of
personal humiliation heightened
by Stoneking's continuing attempts to blame the victim.
"He's still alleging that it
was consensual," said Garelick.
"That's garbage."
Garelick said a recent Cass
County district court ruling releasing the county from responsibility for providing legal defense
for the former corrections officer
would have no impact on die liability issue before die federal
court. The attorney said the case
will be prepared for trial by
next February and expects the
complaint to be heard by a jury.
Garelick urged odier individuals
alleging sexual abuse by Cass
County law enforcement personnel to contact him at Larry
Leventhal's law office in Minneapolis.
International Paper yet to reach agreement with
EPA on Cass Lake superfund cleanup
By Jeff Armstrong
Although an agreement has
been reported imminent since
last February, negotiations between the EPA and International
Paper continue over plans to
conduct soil samples in dioxin-
contaminated areas of a federal
superfund site in Cass Lake on
die Leech Lake Reservation.
EPA community involvement
coordinator Don de Blasio said
attorneys for the company and
die federal agency are still working out the details of the agreement. De Blasio said diere is no
deadline for a deal, but a failure
to come to terms will not stop
testing.
"If we can't work something
out widi die company, we'll go
in there and do it ourselves and
try to hold die company responsible for the costs," said de Bla
sio.
At a July 8 public hearing on
die issue, International Paper
representative Dave Kleisner
denied that the company was
stalling on its environmental obligations.
"International Paper's never
dragged its feet," said Kleisner.
The former St. Regis Paper
Company was placed on a superfund priority list in 1984 due
to chemicals used in its wood
treatment process until 1985,
including creosote, PCP and copper chromium arsenate. Despite
cleanup efforts between 1986
and 1988, dioxin levels in excess
of federal standards were found
in several areas in Cass Lake
and near Fox Creek in a 2001
EPA study. The proposed agreement would retest soils in areas
already identified and dispose of
diat which continues to exceed
federal maximums.
The Minnesota Department of
Health has urged adoption of far
more stringent dioxin standards
than the EPA's level of one part
per billion and has urged posting of warning signs in die most
heavily contaminated areas.
"From the point of view of the
health department, that is a high
number," said MDH staff member Rita Messing. "Everybody is
potentially exposed."
On Leech Lake, there is particular concern about the contamination of fish in Pike Bay
and Cass Lake. Indigenous Environmental Network organizer
Robert Sliimek also expressed
concern that the site is a low priority for the EPA because of its
SUPERFUND to page 4
Report pinpoints U.S. neglect of American Indians
Associated Press
Washington—The government is fading to provide
adequate healdi care, law enforcement and education, a U.S.
Commission on Civil Rights
report says.
The commission said American Indians rank near the bottom
of almost ever}' social, healdi
and economic indicator. They
have more than twice the average poverty rate and unemployment rate and lag in high school
and college graduation rates. In
addition, they have the shortest
life expectancy and suffer from
more diseases.
"Native Americans have suf
fered too long from inattention
and halfhearted efforts, and the
crisis in Indian country must be
addressed with die urgency it
demands," said the report from
the commission, an independent
agency that monitors federal civil
rights enforcement.
The report recommends diat a
task force study the problem and
recommend solutions in time for
next year's budget process.
It also suggests agencies that
provide services to American
Indians should do annual assessments of unmet needs and should
focus on building roads, water
services, electrical grids and
communications in Indian coun
try.
On Friday, a three-judge panel
overturned a lower court's ruling against Interior Secretary
Gale Norton diat had found her
in contempt for failing to fix the
department's management of
billions of dollars in royalties
earned on Indian land. The panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals
for the District of Columbia said
Norton cannot be held accountable for her predecessors' mismanagement of die Indian trust
fund over the past more than 100
years.
The New York Times contributed
to this report.
MCA results released for reading, math
Grades 10 and 11 results detailed
By Jean Pagano
Hie Minnesota Department of
Children, Families, and Learning recently released results for
die Minnesota Comprehensive
Assessments (MCA) for lOtli
grade reading and 11th grade
mathematics. The results are
used to monitor compliance with
President Bush's Leave No Child
Behind.
The tests were administered
to smdents in the 10th and 11th
grades during April of this year.
The reading scores were sorted
into five categories, Rl, R2, R3,
R4, and R5, which ranged from
Rl, which represents a basic understanding of reading material
dirough to R5, which represents
a more complex understanding
of reading materials. For mathematics, students were categorized into five general categories,
spanning die various courses and
curriculums offered by different
schools. The five categories are:
1) Algebra/ Integrated Math 1;
2) Geometry.'integrated Math 2;
3) Algebra II/Integrated Madi 3;
4) Pre-calculus/Integrated Math
4; and 5) Calculus/ Advanced
Placement Calculus.
The statewide average for
lOdi grade reading was a score
of 1615.9, where 1420 was
considered proficient. For mathematics, die statewide average
score for grade 11 was 1546.6,
also above die proficient level.
Results from the reading score
filtered students into the following breakdown for proficiency:
Rl - 5.6%, R2-13.7%, R3 "
- 40.4%, R4 - 25.6%, and R5
- 14.7%. Madiematics categories
were Level 1 - 5.3%, Level 2
- 16.2%, Level 3 - 44.1%, Level
4 - 248%, and Level 5 - 9.6%.
Among die 10 schools widi
a significant number of Native
students, the averages for reading
were under the statewide level
of 1615.9, except for Walker
schools, while the averages for
madiematics were also below
the statewide average of 1546.6.
Both Red Lake schools and Minneapolis schools finished below
the proficiency level of 1460.
The following results are for
all smdents within the selected
schools, not just Native students.
Native percentages of enrollment
at the given schools are in parentheses.
A total of 62,718 students
were tested for the grade 10
reading tests and 59,141 1 ldi
grade students participated in the
mathematics tests.
MCA Results Released for Reading and Math
Results are for all students. Native percentages of enrollment at the given schools
are in parentheses.
Bemidji 10th Grade reading (10.3% Native):
Average score - 1581.6; Rl 10.0%, R2 14.6%, R3 39.5%, R4 22.6%, R5 12.5%
Bemidji 11th Grade math (9.4% Native):
Average score - 1524.8; LI 7.2%, L2 19.3%, L3 45.3%, L4 19.0%, L5 9.1%
Cass Lake 10th Grade reading (65.6% Native):
Average score - 1468.7; Rl 11.5%, R2 29.5%, R3 44.3%, R4 9.8%, R5 4.9%
Cass Lake 11th Grade math (75.9% Native):
Average score - 1486.2; LI 16.7%, L2 20.4%, L3 40.7%, L4 18.5%, L5 3.7%
Cloquet 10th Grade reading (14.0% Native):
Average score - 1611.1; Rl 3.9%, R2 12.8%, R3 47.5%, R4 24.6%, R5 11.2%
Cloquet 11th Grade math (15.1% Native):
Average score - 1552.5; LI 2,8%, L2 14.0%, L3 48.6%, L4 24.6%, L5 10.1%
Deer River 10th Grade reading (32.1% Native):
Average score - 1596.4; Rl 6.2%, R2 13.6%, R3 42.0%, R4 27.2%, R5 11.1%
Deer River 11th Grade math (23.2% Native):
Average score - 1460.0; LI 8.9%, L2 30.4%, L3 42.9%, L4 17.9%, L5 0.0%
Duluth 10th Grade reading (4.2% Native):
Average score - 1609.1; Rl 6.0%, R2 16.6%, R3 37.6%, R4 23.8%, R5 15.9%
Duluth 11th Grade math (2.8% Native):
Average score - 1541.1; LI 4.2%, L2 15.6%, L3 48.2%, L4 23.9%, L5 8.1%
Mahnomen 10th Grade reading (41.5% Native):
Average score - 1513.4; Rl 12.2%, R2 22.0%, R3 46.3%, R4 7.3%, R5 12.2%
"Mahnomen 11th Grade math (38.2% Native):
Average score - 1520.6; LI 5.9%, L2 17.6%, L3 50.0%, L4 17.6%, L5 8.8%
Minneapolis 10th Grade reading (2.8% Native):
Average score - 1435.0; Rl 22.8%, R2 28.2%, R3 30.8%, R4 11.2%, R5 7.0%
Minneapolis 11th Grade math (2.6% Native):
Average score - 1434.9; LI 18.0%, L2 30.2%, L3 36.3%, L4 11.1%, L5 4.4%
Red Lake 10th Grade reading (96.9% Native):
Average score - 1337.9; Rl 24.6%, R2 44.6%, R3 26.2%, R4 4.6%, R5 0.0%
Red Lake 11th Grade math (100.0% Native):
Average score - 1369.6; LI 13.5%, L2 61.5%, L3 25.0%, L4 0.0%, L5 0.0%
Walker 10th Grade reading (6.8% Native):
Average score - 1717.6; Rl 0.0%, R2 8.5%, R3 35.6%, R4 23.7%, R5 32.2%
Walker 11th Grade math (6.3% Native):
Average score - 1527.8; LI 1.6%, L2 18.8% L3 53.1%, L4 25.0%, L5 1.6%
Waubun 10th Grade reading (65.9% Native):
Average score - 1489.0; Rl 9.8%, R2 24.4%, R3 51.2%, R4 9.8%, R5 4.9%
Waubun 11th Grade math (56.8% Native):
Average score - 1437.3; LI 2.7%, L2 40.5% L3 51.4%, L4 5.4%, L5 0.0%
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Volume 16 Issue 6
July 25, 2003
(AP Photo/Arizona Daily Sun, Jake Bacon)
Lori Piestewa's son, Brandon Whiterock, 5, stares into the flames of the ceremonial torch with
his grandmother Percy Piestewa, right, during the athletes oath at the National Native American
Games in Flagstaff, Ariz., Thursady, July 17, 2003. The event was named in honor of his mother
who was the first Native American woman killed in the line of duty during the war in Iraq. The opening ceremony of the games was attended by Gov. Janet Napolitano. ■
Two police forces patrol
Blackfeet reservation; some
wonder who's in charge
Associated Press
BROWNING, Mont. - Two
competing police forces are
patrolling die streets of the
Blackfeet Indian reservation,
leading some to wonder who
is really in'charge.
The federal Bureau of Indian Affairs has been the law on
die reservation since it ousted
the uibal police force earlier
this year. The agency said the
uibal police department had
management, training and
political problems that posed a
danger lo tiie public.
But recently, the tribe deputized 10 officers of its own,
and asked the agency for its
guns, cars and radios back.
The tribe got everytiiing back
but the guns.
Ed Naranjo, BIA agent in
charge of law enforcement for
the six-state region that includes
Montana, said having police
forces working the same territory
without an agreement _ and with
officers loyal to different bosses
- creates an unsafe situation.
"They're doing patrols, but I
don't know exactly what they're
going to be doing," he said. 'We
don't even know if they're carrying guns right now."
Blackfeet Tribal Chairman Jay
St. Goddard did not immediately
remrn a call Tuesday.
There have already been run-
POLICE to page 4
Red Lake woman arrested,
indicted in federal court
Minneapolis - Theresa Ann
Stately, from die Red Lake
Reservation, was arrested during the early morning of July
5 at die Seven Clans Casino
in Red Lake.
Stately pled guilty in December, 2002, lo assaulting
anodier member of die Red
Lake Band widi a tire iron
and softball bat in an incident
over a backpack. The victim
suffered injury to a finger,
fractured arm and head lacerations requiring studies.
Stately was sentenced in
May 2003 to 32 mondis in
prison and was scheduled to
surrender on July 1,2003.
The grand jury alleged in the
indictment diat Stately failed
to surrender to the U.S. Marshals as ordered. If convicted,
Stately faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison and
a $250,000 fine. The actual
sentence will be determined
by a judge based on the federal
sentencing guidelines.
The case is die result of an
investigation by the by the U.S.
Marshal Service and is being
prosecuted by Assistant United
States Attorney Clifford Ward-
law.
Buffalo to be site
of 2005
Indigenous
Games
Associated Press
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The 2005
North American Indigenous
Games will be held in Buffalo,
widi an estimated 7,500 athletes
expected to compete, organizers
said Tuesday.
Athletes from die United
States and Canada will compete
in archery, lacrosse, rifle shooting, basketball, canoeing, golf,
wresding and other events over
an 11-day period.
The games are held every
three years. The 2002 games
were in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
The Seneca Indian Nation
and American Indian-owned
Rainmakers Bank will sponsor
the Buffalo games. "We look
forward to sharing our heritage,
our hospitality, and diis wonderful region with visitors from
around North America," Seneca
President Rickey Armstrong
said.
The Buffalo Niagara Convention and Visitors' Bureau
estimates die games wdl mean
about $6 million to the region.
Nearly 300,000 people attended
the Winnipeg games.
Buffalo was chosen as the
site of the next games over Salt
Lake City; Santa Fe, N.M., and
Camloops, British Columbia.