Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2003-09-19

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
New U of Minnesota
program creates
campus community
for American Indian
freshman
page 3
VA launches new minority
research training efforts
page 4
Tribes, state, ready to
hash out water rights
page 4
Lawsuit reform law is
2003 legislative
session's greatest
untold story
page 4
Compulsory
service
page 4
Strike Two: Secretary of Interior Gale Norton loses
again in court
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
By Jean Pagano
One week after the U. S. Appellate Court affirmed U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth's
ruling that Secretary of Interior
Gale Norton is represented
by tlie Department of Justice,
Judge Lamberui ordered that
Norton's motion as a public citizen be stricken from the record
and her paperwork reuirned.
Tlie Appellate Court last week
gave Norton 30 days to give
cause as to why she should be
represented as a private citizen,
at taxpayers' expense, "in light
of tlie fact that the Department of Interior's interests
are fully represented by tlie
federal appellants." Norton's
personal attorney racked up
almost $500,000 in legal fees
for an amicus brief to the Court
relating to Norton's contempt
appeal. The amicus brief was
mrned in late and not used in
tlie appellate process, but Norton attorney's fees were still
paid by tlie taxpayers of the
United" States.
Judge Lamberth, presiding
over the landmark Cobell v.
Secretary of Interior case in the
United States District Court for
tlie District of Columbia, had
previously ruled on this matter
in April of this year. On April  .
15th, 2003, Judge Lamberth determined that "Defendant Norton is a party to the present suit
solely in her official capacity as
tlie Secretary of Interior, not in
her individual capacity."
The Norton motion, filed one
day before the Appellate ruling of September 10th, asked
the District Court to provide
Norton's attorneys with copies
of all service made in the case.
Judge Lamberth denied the
motion stating again "that Secretary Norton is represented by
the Department of Justice, upon
whom service is to be made."
The matter of "Citizen" Norton
as opposed to "Defendant" Norton may soon be a moot point.
As a result of the current ruling
by Judge Lamberth and the terse
nature of die Appellate Court's
limitations on both the time
to respond (30 days) and the
restrictions on the length of the
response (10 pages) concerning
private citizen Norton, this ploy
may have run its course.
The tactic of injecting tlie
Secretary of Interior as both a
defendant, by virtue of Cobell
v. Secretary of Interior, and as
private citizen, as evidenced
by niunerous filings with the
District Court has been, so
far, an unsuccessful attempt
at dragging out an already-
long proceeding. The Bush
Administration's approach of
trying to detract die Court from
the matter at hand has not been
successful. Judge Lamberth
has ordered die Department of
Interior, as trustee for Individual
Indian Money (IIM) accounts,
to provide a full accounting
for all monies that have passed
through the IIM system since
its inception. The Department
of Interior has claimed that to
do so is too expensive and too
time consuming. To date, Judge
Lamberth remains undeterred.
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Volume 16 Issue 14
September 19, 2003
Family disappointed by trial delay in AIM
member slaying
By Carson Walker
Associated Press
RAPID CITY, S.D. - Family
members of a slain American Indian Movement activist say diey
are disappointed die case won't
go to Uial diis mondi.
Arlo Looking Cloud's trial
on Sept. 30 in Rapid City was
delayed until February last week
by a federal judge. Looking
Cloud and John Graham are
charged with first-degree murder
in the slaying of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash on the Pine Ridge
Indian Reservation.
Pictou-Aquash vanished from
Denver in December 1975. Her
frozen body was found in February 1976 near Wanblee. She had
been shot in die head.
Her family would not answer
questions but released a statement this week saying they were
disappointed by the delay. Mary
Lafford, die woman's sister, said
die continuance drags out the
case even longer.
Denise Pictou Malonev, Pic
tou-Aquash's eldest daughter,
said the family was eager to see
die case go to trial but hopes die
delay helps ensure a fair trial.
"We have waited 28 years for
justice for our modier. What is
anodier four mondis?" she said.
"We want to also be sure diat
diose who didn't do dieir job
right 28 years ago will do it right
diis time," she said. "So, wliile
we are disappointed, we are
hopeful that this will only result
in justice for our modier, so diat
her spirit can be at rest and we
as her family can finally have
closure that is long awaited and
way overdue."
Pictou-Aquash, a member of
Mi'kmaq Tribe of Canada, was
killed at a time of high tension
between AIM members and
government-backed factions on
the reservation. She was among
American Indian militants who
occupied the village of Wounded
Knee in 1973.
Looking Cloud and Graham,
who were security guards with
AIM in the 1970s, would serve
mandatory life pi son terms if
convicted. Graham is a Canadian
Indian and Looking Cloud is a
Lakota Indian who grew up on
die Pine Ridge reservation.
Graham has not been arrested
and is thought to be hi Canada.
looking Cloud was arrested
in Denver in March. His lawyer,
Tim Rensch, asked for die trial
delay, saying he needed more
time to prepare because of the
large number of documents,
tapes and odier infonnation in
the case.
Looking Cloud's cousin,
Bernice Bull Bear, said she has
moved back from Denver to
Kyle so she can be closer to him.
She said she is worried Looking
Cloud won't get a good defense
or a fair Uial. " He did not kill
Anna Aquash," Bull Bear said.
"A lot of people on die reservation know Arlo is innocent. He
was at the wrong place at the
wrong time. He didn't know
what was going on."
Bemidji State plans week-long celebration for
opening of American Indian Resource Center
Tribe bets on casino
By Laurel Beager
International Falls Dailey
Journal
Borderland could feanire a
casino among its attractions as a
result of action taken diis week
by die Red Lake Band of Chippewa Tribal Council.
The Tribal Council on Tuesday unanimously approved
moving forward with a proposal to build a gaming casino
in Koochiching County. The
announcement of die tribal
council's action was delivered
Thursday by Koochiching County Commissioner Wade Pavleck,
International Falls Mayor Harry
Swendsen and Koochiching
Economic Development Audiority Director Paul Nevanen. Pavleck and Swendsen also serve on
die area's lead economic development agency.
Details about the proposal are
pending and much infonnation
could not be released at diis
time, local officials said, adding
diat details of the plan will be
released to the public as soon as
possible.
Plans only include construction of a casino at diis time;
however, officials said diat one
factor in choosing a site for the
casino includes room for expansion. A number of locations have
been narrowed to one potential
site, said Nevanen, who said that
specifics about die site under
consideration can not be disclosed at diis time.
Because of the issues yet to be
resolved, no time frame for the
project lias been established.
The Red Lake Band of the
Chippewa operates casinos in
Thief River Falls, Warroad and in
Red Lake, which is on the band's
reservation. By a recent vote of
the Red Lake band, no alcohol is
offered at die casinos, officials
noted.
Tlie project wdl involve assistance from die KEDA, which
will seek financial help from International Falls and Koochiching County, Pavleck said.
"At diis point I do not foresee
die use of aiy property tax dollars in diis project," he said. "I
tiiink we can cover it with economic dollars we have, which we
derive from outside sources."
The action Tuesday by the
11-mcmber Tribal Council was
taken after weeks of negotiations
with uibal officials, Pavleck
said. Pavleck, state Rep. Irv
Anderson, DFL-International
Falls, and Nevanen were given
approval in May by the KEDA
to research attracting a casino to
this area and diat prompted discussions widi Red Lake officials.
KEDA's action followed
similar measures of support for
exploring the idea by the International Falls Area Chamber of
Commerce and die Rainy Lake-
International Falls Convention
and Visitors Bureau.
The positive economic benefits that other areas have experienced as a result of casinos being located in dieir communities
have prompted ongoing discussions about attracting a casino
to Borderland for a number of
years, Nevanen said.
The area's location makes
it uniquely suited for a casino
because the next closest casino
is more dian 100 miles away,
he said. In addition, rumors
that officials from Fort Frances,
Ontario, and other nearby communities were pursuing a casino
added to die urgency of exploring the idea.
CASINO to page 5
Indians, unions, team up with seniors in
drug-cost coalition
Bemidji Slate University
will celebrate the grand opening of the American Indian
Resource Center on emn-
pus with a week's worth of
events, stalling with a powwow and culminating with a
ribbon-cutting ceremony and
reception starting at 10:30
a.m. Oct. 4.
"The week-long Grand
Opening celebration is primarily to establish the unique
culuiral and educational presence intended for die AIRC,"
said Lee Cook, AIRC director. The planned events and
activities are intended to draw
students, faculty and staff
from BSU; as tribal leaders,
tribal employees, educators,
and young and old from die
nearby Indian communities;
and people from die adjacent
Bemidji as well as Beltrami,
Cass and Becker county communities and schools.
"We want the AIRC to be
a landmark and a monument
to die cultural diversity of the
area, to the vision of BSU
and tribal leadership of die
area, to the importance of the
presence of American Indian
students, and to die more than
500 American Indian Alumni
and graduates of BSU."
Most days of die grand
opening week have a theme,
with events scheduled to reinforce diat theme. In addition,
American Indian art will be
feaUired in die Talley Gallery
on Campus and exhibits will
be held diroughout the week.
The schedule of events features:
Saturday, September 27,
Indian Community Pow
Wow and Honoring Feast
* Afternoon: 1 p.m. grand
By Glenn Adams
Associated Press
AUGUSTA, Maine - The Penobscot Indian Nation and Maine
labor unions said Monday they
are teaming up with a senior citizens' group to advocate for the
importation of cheaper prescription drugs so more Mainers can
afford diem.
The thrust of die coalition's
effort will be to address a key
concern of opponents of government-sanctioned importation
from Canada and other western
nations: diat drugs consumed by
Americans are safe. Opponents
worry that importation opens to
door to counterfeit, overage and
odier substandard drugs.
Drug importation advocates
held a news conference at the
Chateau Cushnoc, a housing
complex for the elderly and
disabled. Tlie coalition parUiers
include the Maine Council of Senior Citizens along widi die Pe-
nobscots and Maine AFL-CIO.
John Can-, president of die
MCSC, said die new coalition
envisions an importation program in which medicines would
be shipped to die Penobscot
Indian Reservation in Old Town
and distributed from there.
Can- says die model program
could prove diat imported drugs
are safe, or expose instances
where diey are less than safe. In
die latter instance, an importation program could be improved
to ensure drug safety.
Congress has passed drug importation bills twice, but in bodi
cases said die secretary of die
Department of Healdi and Human Services would first have to
certify diat die drugs would be
safe.
Neidier Donna Shalala, who
served under fonner President
Clinton, nor Tommy Thompson,
who holds office under President
Bush, has been willing to do so.
In July, die U.S. House approved legislation ordering
HHS to set up a system to allow
importation of Food and Drug
Administration-approved drugs
from industrialized nations. Tlie
Bush administration, which labeled die measure "dangerous,"
and phannaceutical industry opposed die bill.
A separate bill has been OK'd
by the Senate, but senators have
warned that a bill diat does not
include HHS safety oversight
will not pass.
hi Maine, the new drug coalition is pushing on a second front
for importation. It wants HHS
Secretary Thompson to approve
a grant for research addressing
drug-safety concerns, Carr said.
In die absence of an importation law, Mainers and other people living near the border have
been traveling by die busload to
COALITION to page 5
entry (host drum and conference
drum: Red Lake Nation College).
* Evening: 6 p.m. reast to recognize and thank all those who
supported die AIRC.
Monday, September 29, Indian Education Day
* Morning: 8:30 a.m. registration; 9 a.m. invocation and
blessing; 10 a.m. keynote speaker Dr. Thomas D. Peacock,
associate professor at the University of Minnesota-Duluth;
10:45 a.m. keynote speaker Dr.
Gerald Gipp, executive director
of the American Indian Higher
Education Consortium; 11:30
a.m. panel response/audience
dialogue widi Dr. Helen Klassen, president of White Earth
Tribal College; Leah Carpenter,
interim president of Leech Lake
Tribal College; Renee Gurneau,
president of Red Lake Tribal
College; and Dr. Donald Day,
president of Fond du Lac Tribal
College.
* Afternoon:  1:30 p.m. keynote speaker Robin Butterfield,
president of the National Indian
Education Association; 2:15
p.m. panel response/audience
dialogue widi Teri Malbraaten,
chairman of die Minnesota
Indian Education Association;
Yvonne Novack, director of
Indian Education for the state of
Minnesota; and Delores Cloud
Hammitt, Indian education
director for Red Lake Public
Schools; 3:15 p.m. keynote
speaker Victoria Vasques, director of the Office of Indian
Education for the U.S. Department of Education; 4 p.m. panel
response/audience dialogue
widi Patty Cornelius, principal
of Fond du Lac Tribal School;
Mitch Vogt, principal of Circle
of Life School, White Earth
Tribal School; Stewart Desjar-
lait, superintendent of Red Lake
Public Schools; and LuAnne
Frazcr, director of Indian Education for the Cass Lake-Bena
Public Schools.
* Evening: 7 p.m. story of the
dnim and dmm singing by Andy
Favorite.
Tuesday, September 30,
Tribal Leaders Day
* Morning: 8:30 a.m. registration begins; 9 a.m. invocation
and welcome; 9:45 a.m. keynote
speaker the Honorable Dale E.
Kildee, U.S. House of Representatives and co-chair of die
American Indian Caucus; 10:
45 a.m. keynote speaker die
Honorable Ron Allen, chainnan
of die U.S. Department of Interior Self-Goveniance Advisory
Council and past-president of
die NCAI; 11:30 a.m. panel
response audience dialogue widi
Doyle Turner, chainnan of die
White Earth Reservation; Helen
Blue, chairperson of the Lower
Sioux community; Melanie
Benjamin, CEO of the Mille
Lacs Band of Ojibwe; and Gary
Donald, chainnan of die Boise
Forte Reservation.
* Afternoon: 1:30 p.m. keynote speaker die Llonorable
Ernie Stevens, Jr., Chairman
of die National Indian Gaming
Association; 2:15 p.m. panel
response/audience dialogue with
Stanley Crooks, chairman of the
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux;
John McCarthy, executive director of die MIGA; Audrey Bennett, chairperson of the Prairie
Island Sioux Community; and
Peter White, chainnan of the
Leech Lake Reservation; 3:
15 p.m. Workshop: "Resources
for Managing American Indian
AIRC to page 5
Famous Dave'
to be nominated
for Interior post
By Susan E. Peterson
Star Tribune
"Famous Dave" Anderson
now has one more claim to
fame.
The Bush administration
said Friday dial it intends to
nominate the barbecue
chain founder and Edina resident as assistant secretary of
die interior for Indian affairs,
where he will oversee die Bureau of Indian .Affairs and
promote self-detennination
for the nation's 1.4 million
American Indians.
David W. Anderson, 50, is a
member of die Chippewa and
Choctaw Uibes and an
DAVE to page 6
Bethel Native organization claims
immunity
Associated Press
FAIRBANKS - A Bediel Native organization told the Alaska
Supreme Court on Monday diat
it has the same kind of legal
immunity diat federal and state
governments have, which means
it cannot be sued if it does not
want to be.
Tlie Association of Village
Council Presidents said two
families who claim their children
were injured wliile participating in programs nui by die association cannot file negligence
claims in state court unless
AVCP waives its immunity,
which it has refused to do.
AVCP's lawyers say the organization has immunity because
it is made up of 56 Native villages diat have been declared
sovereign tribes by die federal
government, a designation that
automatically endows them widi
legal immunity such as that enjoyed by other sovereign governments in the United States.
The case, called Riuiyon v.
AVCP, has attracted friend-of-
die-court briefs from heavyweights on both sides of the
uibal sovereignty dispute, which
has been heating up since 1999,
when die Alaska Supreme Court
in a 3-2 decision said sovereign
Uibes do exist in Alaska. In that
decision, called John v. Baker,
die court did not broadly define
what powers come with tribal
sovereignty, ruling only dial
Alaska tribes could handle some
child custody disputes involving
Uibe members.
Last summer, Superior Court
BETHEL to page 5
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