Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2003-12-05

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Michigan residents
approve casino
proposal
page 3
Highlights of Michael
Johnson's LLB RTC
employment contract
page 5
What I have learned
page 4
Leech Lake Chairman,
Sec-Treasurer support
drug dealer
page 4
Legal antics
disrupt justice
page 4
Leech Lake tribal officials attempt to influence drug case
VOICE       OF       THE       PEOPLE
By Bill Lawrence
Michael Edward LaRose,
brother of Archie LaRose
secretary/treasurer of tlie Leech
Lake Reservation Business
Committee, was arrested on
an outstanding warrant, after
an anonymous tip, on or about
May 18,2003. He was apprehended at Allen's Bay Housing,
a Leech Lake Tribal Housing
Authority project. At tlie time
of tlie arrest he was in possession of Oxycontin, a Schedule II
narcotic, and cocaine. He was
charged under Minnesota statute
widi a third degree controlled
substance crime. A charge of
3rd degree requires die crime be
committed in a public housing
zone and caries an additional
penalty.
LaRose, if convicted, faces
an enhanced penalty of twenty
years imprisonment and a
$250,000 fine for possession of
a controlled substance in a public housing zone. If the alleged
crime had been conducted outside a public housing zone the
charge would be a fifth degree
controlled substance crime and
the penalty would be considerably less—five years imprisonment and a $10,000 fine.
In die first of what is assumed
will be a series of legal maneuvers, LaRose is contesting the
applicability of the enhanced
charge. LaRose, through his
Bemidji attorney, Paul A. Kief,
filed a motion for dismissal
of the complaint based on the
grounds there was "no probable cause to show defendant
[1 .aRose] committed the crime"
i.e. die charge of 3rd degree
controlled substance offense
[as opposed to 5th degree
controlled substance offense.]
Defendant presumably docs not
contest tlie 5th degree violation.
The move for dismissal is
based on Defense's contention thai Allen's Bay Housing
Project is not subject to the
enhanced penalty statute because the I .eech Lake Band
CASE to page 6
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Red Lake Drug Task Force meets
Founded in 1988
Volume 16 Issue 25
December 5, 2003
By B. Lawrence
On November 6, 2003, the Red
Lake Dmg Task Force met at tlie
Red Lake Firehall. Roman Stately, Red Lake District Representative coordinated and conducted
the meeting. Approximately 22
concerned citizens from the Red
Lake Nation met to discuss setting a time and date for a community-wide meeting. The meeting began with Mona Bailey
stating diat the community wants
to know what's happening with
tlie Drug Task Force. In addition,
a task force member claims there
is still a problem with the courts
as the community sees die Tribal
Court's as letting drug dealers
off, thus, nodiing has changed
there, as "we are right back to
square one."
Roman Stately previously
invited N lichael Klinkhammer,
Tribal Prosecutor, to die meeting. Klinkhammer stated, "We
don't dismiss [meaning drug
cases]."One tribal member
asked why tlie case involving
Cliff Martell was dismissed.
There was lengthy discussion involving that case. Then, one task
force member slated, "Judges
need to be held accountable to
someone, too." Ihe task force
members wondered why the
Drug cases in Tribal Court are
either being dismissed or being
treated with de minimus action.
It also appears diat die FBI and
U.S. Attorney are not charging or
prosecuting them either. Why is
diis happening? Another person
inquired.
Klinkhammer staled that he
knows we have about 4()0 major
crimes here in Red Lake. The
FBI and LIS. Attorney are understaffed at diis time. Anodier
task force member asked why
Judge Chamoski dismissed the
case involving drugs that also
involved tiiree people at River
Road Casino a few months ago?
Klinkhammer stated that Cliff
Martell did not get his police
report in on time, but Judge
Comegan granted the prosecutors a time extension. However,
Judge Dan Chamoski dismissed
the case before the deadline was
due. Klinkhammer claims that
he has prosecuted major crimes
and further stated, "We have
very few losses at all."
Klinkhammer went on and
stated that if there are rumors
about him dismissing ding cases,
they are untrue. Khnkhammer
further stated that Deiti'icld
"Sonny" Johnson came up with
an idea that if there is less than l
ounce of marijuana, that it falls
into the "other"category in the
Tribal Code and is really a petty
misdemeanor. Thus, the judges
are staying the prosecution or
sentencing until thai decision is
made in the amount of jail time
to be spent. The Red I ake Tribal
('ouneil musi make this decision
about what ty|x- of sentence a
person should receive in a pos
MEETING to page 6
•^EgjjH
Johnson outsted at Leech Lake
Press/ON has learned that Michael Johnson was terminated
on Monday, December 1, and
was escorted out of his office at
the Leech Lake Corporate Commission. Johnson was CEO of
the Corporate Commission and
has been the subject of much recent discussion and controversy.
This past summer we carried
an article by Jeff Armstrong
wliich laid out Johnson's involvement in Commercial
Trucking and Leasing. He sold
the business just prior to signing
a substantial employment contract widi Leech Lake.   It's been
suggested that this has not been
an "arm's lengdi" transaction
since the purchaser was associated widi the trucking company
that proposed the controversial
S20 million expansion project
in the now infamous "Letter
of Intent." Johnson figured
prominendy in the proposal. A
supplement to the agreement re
quested that Johnson's Employment Agreement "be extended
for at least tiiree years to assure
diat Mike will be the constant
agent for the Band in regard to
these projects."
Johnson's obvious financial
benefits from die development
of the Casino expansion and
his connection to the developers
have raised eyebrows. Johnson
denied affiliation with tlie developer. It was later verified that
tlie Company had indeed been
involved in the proposed expansion and other project.
Johnson received an annual salary of $75,000, a car allowance
of S400 per month.   Hie agreement was 15 months in duration. He received full pay for
"administrative leave "plus sick
leave and vacation leave. The
agreement carried a provision
diat granted Johnson a ten day
period to "cure" (rectify) any
conduct diat might be cause for
termination. I le could be terminated for cause but not without
prior notice.
Johnson's duties included the
supervision of ("asino opera
tens, even though he has had no
prior experience in that capacity.
There does not appear to be a
resume on file for Johnson thai
supports his qualifications to
perform as CEO.
One of tlie requirements for
the CEO position was the development of a viable Corporate
Business Plan. To date we have
not heard that such a plan has
been developed
We have heard the I .eech Lake
Reservation Business Council
met diis morning. The discussion centered around whether
to continue with the Shingobee
casino and other developments
or to "cut the losses" and return
to a more conservative business
development projects.
Students from the Star Nation Student Organization at Stevens High School in Rapid City, S.D. work on a mural
entitled "Two Visions, Two Worlds" at the school, November 2003. The mural shows the world from the perspective of American Indian youths. In it are the symbols of their past but also the contemporary symbols of their
future, including education. (AP Photo/Rapid City Journal, Dick Kettlewell)
High school students tackle ambitious mural project
Things that
make you go,
hmmm??
By Albert Mandamin
We all have those moments
when we come across something
and a litde feeling, or voice,
inside sounds an alarm. Its that
moment when we just know that
something is not exactly what
it seems to be. Lately, diere has
been a whole lot of that coming
out of the Leech Lake Business
Corporation and Reservation
Business Committee.
For instance, there is a document that came out of die Business Corporation that shows all
the breakdowns for die various
projects they are undertaking. These are not speculations
- these are projects that are in
the works. The thing that makes
me go, hmmm? - is that none
of these projects have ever been
brought out in tlie public for the
people to hear about and raise
questions.
Anyone who has driven by
Sliingobee lately can see Uial
construction is well underway.
They tore down die old building
and a new one is going up - presumably for the new "Sliingobee
Casino and Marina". Has anyone
gone to an RBC meeting where
a resolution was passed authorizing diis activity?
According to die Business
Corporation document, die projected costs for this activity are a
whopping $6,150,000. Tlie old
letter of Intent said it was going
to cost $2,000,000 - diat was
suppose to come from "investors". If diat's true, then its safe
to assume that tlie balance of
$4,150,000 is Leech Lake's por-
THINGS to page 5
The roots of tribal discord:
Anishinaabeg, Metis and Indians
By Jeff Armstrong
In Melissa Meyer's valuable
study of the varied responses of
White Earth Reservation residents to the devastating effects
of the Nelson Acl allotment legislation, The White Earth Tragedy explores at some lengdi die
widely disparate worldviews of
so-called full- and mixed-blood
populations. Fundamental to
this dichotomy of perspectives
is the two groups' respective
relationship to die land of Wliite
Eardi, which under die Nelson
Act was to be divided into individual parcels—one of the key
instruments of an official U.S.
policy mmed at forcibly assimilating the Anishinaabeg into die
dominant American society as
Jeffersonian yeoman fanners.
Migrating to tlie western Great
Lakes region from the East
under pressure from European
settlement, the Anishinaabeg
maintained dieir egalitarian
culture organized economically
around seasonal limiting, cultivating and gathering activities,
of which the annual wild rice
harvest was perhaps most significant. To the Anishinaabeg,
the land, waters and forests
were the source of all life, a
gift from die creator. Lacking a central govermnent, the
Anishinaabeg were coimected
to their relatives through a clan
or "dodem" structure which
established kinship ties between
individuals of communities dispersed throughout the territories
diey came to occupy. The clans
were named for wildlife domestic to die region, indicative of
the level of regard in wliich the
Anishinaabeg held their animal
brethren. Although leadership
positions could be claimed on
the basis of heredity, effective
civil leaders became so largely
based on their abilities as
orators in participatory council
meetings. The metis, on tlie other hand, tended to view the land
as a mere means of production
or profit and were more conditioned to accept social, political
and economic hierarchy.
In the 17th century, French
fur traders arrived in die region,
drawing many Anishinaabeg
into die international market
economy for the first time as
trappers. As the French outdoor-
smen intermarried with Anishi-
naabe women for strategic (to
establish trade networks) and
practical (due to the virtual absence of European females) purposes, a hybrid culture termed
metis (French for "mixed")
began to develop. Widi die subsequent increase in European
setdement, Myer maintains,
die bilingual mid market-savvy
metis functioned as cultural
intermediaries and buffers between the Anishinaabeg and the
settlers.
The relationship between the
two ethnic groups was thus initially cordial, with the Anishinaabeg commonly referring to
tlie metis as their "mixed-blood
relatives."However, the metis
tended to marry within their
own group, wliile the Anishinaabeg had difficulty absorbing
die offspring of French fathers
into their patrilineal clan system. Meyer does note that the
clan structure was not entirely
inflexible, pointing to die sig-
DISCORD to page 3
B\ .loinav Sleen
Rapid City Journal
RAPID CITY, SD.(AP)
- With pencils and paint, tlie
Stevens 1 ligh School Star Nations Student Organization
has made a splash on a wall of
their school.
Since die original pattern
went up last February, a student-created mural is evolving. Stevens freshman Michael
Liebennan, formerly of Vermillion, has added a buffalo
skull, buffalo and eagle staff to
the work.
"Two Visions, Two
Worlds" is the title of tlie ambitious project. It shows die
world from the perspective of
American Indimi youths, hi it
are tlie symbols of their past
but also the contemporary
symbols of their future - including education.
Candice Estes, Title Vll
outreach facilitator at Stevens,
has watched tlie changes over
the months and said the final
brushstrokes are within sight.
"We're going to have it finished by Dec. 19," she said.
On die 12- by 30-feet con
crete block camas, 11 gallons
and four quarts of oil-based paint
will cover the walls. Because of
the slow-diving paint, the youthful artists have to finish their
work by 7 p.m.
'Ill had known that it took 12
to 13 hours for the paint to dry, I
would have never used oil," Estes said.
lata Bumette, 16. has worked
on the mural off and on since last
spring. 'Tin not an artist, but I
fill in with paint wherever they
need me," she said.
The Stevens junior sees the
mural as a way to meet tlie odier
71 Indimi students who attend
Stevens.
Senior Yvonne Bear Stops, 17,
mid juniors James Skinner, 17,
and Shawntay Lupi, 16, planned
to lake up a paintbrush and
dabble when schoolwork and
after-school jobs allow.
"It's really important for all
(lie Indimi kids to get togedier,"
Lupi smd. She said diat solidarity
lets odier people know that there
is an active Indimi population in
the schcx)l and gives some students a way to challenge stereotypes.
T've had to chew out a couple
of kids for being ignorant and
saving racial tilings," Tara Bur-
nette smd. "They assumed I
wasn't Indian."
Confronting stereotypes led die
Stevens junior into conversations
mid eventually to friendships
with other students. But not widi
all of diem. "They just rolled
their eyes at me," Bumette said.
Estes smd when students have
die opportunity to join a club
such as Star Nations, members
cmi build friendships.
"It's open to Native Americans
mid other students," she said.
"It's a group that students cmi
get involved in mid a way to get
Native American kids involved
with the schools - mid die schools
involved with tlie kids."
Estes' sons - Shane, Thorson
mid Schuyler - helped with the
project, as did a few parents.
Each time Estes opens up the
mea for painting, new faces walk
in to help with the mural.
"Some brought boom boxes
mid were grooving to die times,"
Estes said. "If it keeps them
happy mid painting, that's fine
witii me."
Justice Department figures
show crowded
Indian jails
By Robert Gehrke
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Jails in
Indian Country operated well
beyond their capacity in 2002,
with one jail in six holding
twice their recommended
maximum of prisoners, according to figures released by
tlie Justice Department.
There were 70 jails, detention centers and other correctional facilities in fndian
Country, housing 2,080 inmates in 2002, up 2 percent
from the prior year.,
On average during June
2002, (lie 70 jails were operating at 92 percent capacity,
with 13 stretched beyond
capacity on any given day.
The Tohono O'odham Detention Center was strained most
severely, with die center in
Arizona nem- the Mexico border on average holding more
than three times the number
of inmates it was designed to
accommodate.
In 1998, tlie Uibal jails
were, on average, running at
just 16 percent of capacity, but
JAILS to page 3
Second man arrested for 1975
slaying of AIM member
By Carson Walker
Associated Press
FLANDREAU. S.D. (AP) - A
second man wmited in die 1975
slaying of an American Indimi
Movement activist who vanished
from a Denver home has been
anested in Canada, authorities
said Tuesday.
John Graham was jailed in
Vancouver, said Pauick Charette,
spokesman for Cmiada's Department of Justice in Ottawa. The
United States has 60 days to file
an extradition request.
Graham and Arlo Looking
Cloud are charged with first-
degree murder in die lolling
of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash,
whose body was found on die
fine Ridge Indimi Reservation.
Graham is from Canada and has
been at large since he was indicted earlier this year.
Extraditing Graham from
Cmiada could take time, so prosecutors still plmi to try Looking
Cloud in February in Rapid City,
U.S. Attorney James McMahon
said
"It's going to be awhile before
diat's taken of," he said of die
extradition. "We'll go forward
with Arlo's trial as scheduled."
Catherine Martin, a spokeswoman for Pictou-Aquash's two
daughters, said the family is re
lieved but cautious.
"They have a great amount of
relief today," Martin said. "It's
another hoop. But it's a big one."
A March 20 indictment accuses Graham mid Looking
Cloud in tlie fatal shooting of
Pictou-Aquash, 30, mound Dec.
12, 1975. They would serve
mandatory life prison tenns if
convicted.
Some Indians have said for
years that federal investigators
mid prosecutors knew who killed
die woman and clumped her
body on tlie sprawling reservation.
In a 2000 interview with tlie
Canadian Broadcasting Corp.
show "The Fifth Estate," Graham denied any involvement.
"I wasn't there mid I didn't
wiuiess it. And that's all I can
say about that," he said.
Graham did acknowledge being with Pictou-Aquash when
she left Denver, diough he said
she was not kidnapped.
"That's all I'm going to say
on that. If other people wmit to
put themselves there, let them
put themselves there," he told
tlie CBC.
Looking Cloud is a Lakota
Indimi who grew up on die Pine
ARREST to page 3