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

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Salmon farm
industry struggles to
live up to its promise
page 6
In memory of
Roger Harper
page 4
Open letter to
Chairman White
page 4
Judge Paul Day
corrects Press/ON's
reporting
page 4
2002 audit reveals
substantial
improvement in
accountability at
Red Lake
page 4
Red Lake Tribal Council enacts banishment as a
penalty for drug crimes
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
web page: www.press-on.net
By Bill Lawrence
The Red Lake Tribal Council
voted unanimously (10-0) to
approve a revision of tlie Prohibited Dmg Crimes Tribal Code.
Banishment as a means of punishment for drug related offenses
is now an official element of
the Code. This new provision
applies only to tribal members.
Existing Tribal code currendy
provides for the removal of non-
members from the reservation.
At the regular monthly meeting, December 9, 2003, Red
Lake District Representative
Jim White made the motion that
die Red Lake Tribal Council
adopt the amended Tribal Code.
Richard Barrett, Little Rock District Representative, seconded
the motion. The action was motivated in response to conunents
made by tribal members. Ld
Cook spoke of his concern over
die frightening stale of the community that is caused by rampant
drag commerce. Francis Bnm
also spoke out about the problem.
Tribal members have been
meeting as The Red Lake Drag
Task Force. Most recently the
conversation centered on allegations dial the Red Lake Tribal
Court has been ineffective in
prosecuting drag dealers and offenders.  The group is frustrated
by several recent cases where
suspected drug dealers and/or
offenders have been dismissed
because of technicalities.  The}
assert that the situation has
been on-going for years and has
reached an impossible impasse.
They are calling for a community-wide meeting to discuss the
situation. The Council's action
is a positive response to the concerns ofthe members.
Alter the discussion. Representative White raised die question
as to what had happened to the
Revisions of the Proliibited Drag
Crimes (lode. 1 'ormer ('hair
Butch Brun had championed the
revision. After his death the revi
sions were shelved. Red Lake
Representatives Jim Wliile and
Roman Stately continued to pro-
mole ;md support the revisions.
Upon Rep. White's request,
Michele Pacquin, tribal attorney,
distributed copies of the revised
code to die Council. The Council then voted approval.
The new Banishment provision is confined exclusively to
drug related convictions. It is
similar to die decision of several
other tribes, nation-wide, that
have resurrected banishment in
an attempt to effectively fight
the overwhelming social problems associated with drug traffic.
In August 2003 the Lummi
tribe of Washington State considered the reintroduction of
banishment as an attempt to
protect their community from
the effects of illegal drug domination.   The punishment is cxis-
CRIMES to page 5
Financial information highlighted at Red Lake
Council meeting
by Bill Lawrence
Financial infonnation was
die focus of die agenda for the
Red Lake Tribal Council Meeting Tuesday, December 9. Peter
J. Fredericks, Tribal Accounts
Manager and Ediel Redhair,
Investment Officer, representing the Bureau of Indian Affairs,
made a presentation on the status
of Red Lake Tribal Trust Funds.
Tlie tribe's investment funds
stand at approximately $6.8 million in 16 accounts. Balances
range from a low of $1344 to
$4.14 million.
Objectives for die fund include
development and management of
an investment plan that will meet
tribal needs. Tribal Secretary
Judy Roy and Tribal Treasurer
Darrell Seki are recognized by
Tribal resolution to conduct
business with die Office of Trust
Fund >. lanagement. Judy Roy
is named as bcins authorized to
provide investment instructions.
The major funds are as follows: Tribal Programming
balance S1.23 million to be disbursed on a budgetary basis in
accordance widi tribal resolution.
The funds are 100% invested in
Government Oveniighler. Proceeds of I .abor balance $4.14
million -
source of funds was timber
sales. All dollars are invested
in Gov eminent Ovcrnighter. All
funds can lie drawn down by
Tribal resolution.   The tribe has
used fluids from these sources to
cover shortfalls in the past.   The
remaining balance of approximately $1.43 million represents
Judgment Awards and Per Capita
Payments. These funds have
liccn set aside and maintained
awaiting payment to entitled
individuals whose whereabouts
is unknown or individuals who
have been awarded judgments
. The funds can be available to
die tribe if unclaimed after a six
year period.
Government Ovcrnighter is
similar to a money market fund
and pays I 'V for short-term
investments.   The return is considerably higher for longer-term
investments.   The Bureau is prohibited from investing in stocks
with the funds.
The BIA does not receive any
reimbursement for managing the
fund.     Their overall objectives
arc to encourage Tribal involvement; to discuss investment and
funding concerns with tribal
leaders and provide detailed explanation of the Office of Trust
Fund Management's investment
programs.
Brady Mart/ Certified Public
Accountants and Consultants
presented the audited Financial
MEETING to page 5
Four Red Lake
residents
indicted for
robbery
Minneapolis - a federal grand
jury returned an indictment
charging two men and a woman
in connection widi a robbery diat
occuned on die Red I .ake Indian
Reservation on September 2,
2003.
William Dallas Chaboyea, age
27, Rhonda Marie Buck, age 23,
and Peter James Thompson, age
43, all from Minneapolis, were
each charged with robbery, three
counts of burglary in the first degree, and brandishing a firearm
during a crime of violence.
If convicted, die defendants
each face a maximum potential
penalty of 15 years in prison
and/or a $250*000 fine for rob-
ROBBERY to page 6
Mahnomen, White Earth to sign
policing pact
By Robert Franklin
Star Tribune Staff 'Writer
Two years ago, Mahnomen
Comity ended a cooperative law
enforcement agreement widi the
Wliite Farm Indian Reservation
in northwestern N linnesota. Tribal police were spending too much
time patrolling Hwy. 59 and not
enough on community policing,
the then-sheriff said.
Today die count) and the
White Faith Band of Chippewa
I are to sign a new agreement diat
will change the way laws are
| enforced in the rcservauon-domi-
; nated county. And it will give
tribal police primary responsibility for die county's most notorious trouble spot for crime and
drugs.
Hie pact also will end a bifurcated law enforcement system
imder wliich sheriff's deputies
couldn't give traffic tickets to
Indians and tribal police didn't
have clear criminal arrest powers.
The changes will enhance a
movement by federal, state, local
and tribal officials to fight gang?
and drags on northern Mimiesota reservations U.S. Attorney
Thomas Heffelfinger said.
He expects to attend a ceremony today in which county
and uibal officials will sign the
agreement at the Shooting Star
Casino in i\ lahnomen. So will
Keidi Bergeron, a U.S. Justice
Department conciliation specialist who mediated negotiations for
the agreement.
The White Earth Reservation
sprawls across all of Mahnomen
County and parts of Becker and
MAHNOMEN to page 6
Relics provide window to past
By Michelle Reiter
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho - It's
12000 B.C. in southeast Idaho.
A resident of die Snake River
Valley can ran into giant 15,000-
pound bison, 5-ton ground sloths
or a 1300-pound North American camel.
People much like us - only
probably a lot tougher - hunt
elephants and bison, as does die
11 -foot tall short-faced bear.
Other giant mammals, like the
Columbian mammoth and saber
toothed tigers, roam the region,
making humans among the less
physically intimidating animals.
Today, die giant mammals are
gone and Idaho's versions of
bears and bison are much smaller. But reminders of our predecessors' lives cover Idaho, state
and local archaeologists say.
Thousands of years ago people
used an iron oxide pigment
mixed with plant or animal products to paint bison, sheep and
images of mythological creatures
of the time, leaving archaeologists to guess dieir meaning.
Archaeologist Richard Hill
from die Bureau of Land Management said professionals diink
shamans may be behind much of
the rock art, wliich is suspected
to be left by die Shoshone-Bannock tribes.
In the case of die Veratic Rock
Shelter in Birch Creek, which
holds two separate rock art
displays that could be as old as
8,000 years, die paintings might
have been a part of tribal story
telling.
"This would have been a really good place to tell stories,"
1 Iill said. "The acoustics are
excellent."
Archaeologists also find cooking items, tools used for hunting
and gadiering, ceramics, fireplace remnants, fossils and bone
fragments that testify to the massive ancient mammals.
The only flaws in Idaho's
archaeological landscape are
modern-day people who often
vandalize, loot and disrupt archaeological sites, Hill said.
This has led to federal and
state laws prohibiting die disruption of such sites, and archaeologists' preferred way to share
them widi die public is through
supervised tours.
But for an amateur archaeologist respectful of die ancient
sites, there is a lot out diere,
Bonneville County resident
Dorothy Cook said.
"You can find something
anywhere you go," said Cook,
66, who has been seeking out artifacts and sites with her husband
for 35 years. The Cooks have
found tools, weapons, animal
skulls and the remains of what
they believe is a moonshiner's
operation inside a cave.
Despite professional and amateur archaeologists' searches,
most believe there are still many
undiscovered sites and artifacts
in Idaho. More dian 35,000 of
the prehistoric and historic sites
in Idaho are recorded, said Mary
Anne Davis, die associate state
archaeologist for the Idaho State
Llislorical Society, but years of
searching could yield thousands
more.
"In archaeological tenns, the
state is relatively unknown,"
Hill said. "But I think we have
a pretty good idea of what's out
there."
Remnants of life from the Ice
Age to early Native American
tribes to Mormon setders dot die
mountains and valleys in Idiho,
providing archaeologists widi an
approximate timeline of thousands of years' worth of events
in the region.
For all of these sites, preservation is the goal.
"Context is everydiing in
archaeology," Davis said. "You
have to get the whole picftire. If
you' re just missing one point of
that, you've lost pertinent information, and we might not have
enough infonnation to go on."
Consequentiy, few sites are
marked for public enjoyment.
Odiers are on private land, giving the state litde say in what
happens to them. But diere are a
few sites people are encouraged
to see, such as die charcoal kilns
in Birch Creek, about an hour-
and-a-half northwest of Idaho
Falls.
The charcoal kilns were built
in the 1880s to supply smelters
in nearby Nicholia widi fuel.
Four of the original 16 kilns re-
RELICS to page 3
American
Press
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.  Copyright, Native American Press, 2003
Founded in 1988
Volume 16 Issue 26
December 12, 2003
BIA has new Assistant Secretary:
Famous Dave Anderson takes the reigns
By Jean Pagano
N linnesota resident and
business person, Dave Anderson, has been confirmed as
the new Assistant Secretary
of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). The U.S. Senate
confirmed "Famous" Dave
.Anderson on Tuesday before
adjourning for the holiday
break.
Anderson takes over the
BIA roughly a year after
Neal Me( aleb resigned due
to scrutiny generated by die
Cobell v. Secretary of Interior
case. McCaleb had claimed
that he was unable to continue
in his duties due lo the ongoing ( obeli case. Anderson
will inherit a BIA organization
still beset with issues relating to the trust I unci ease and
also an agency undergoing a
controversial reorganization
orchestrated by the current
administration.
Dave Anderson is a member of the I ac Courte Oreilles
Band of Ojibwe and one
of die more successful Native business people in the
I nited Stales. I lis "Famous
Dave" restaurants (NASDAQ
■rl in
1994, are now located in 23
slates and reported revenues
of over $90 million in 2002.
During recent hearings in
front of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Anderson was approved by a 13-0
vote. Anderson did not court
controversy and preferred to
speak generally about trust
refonn, sovereignty, and the
federal budget. Concerning
tribal gaming, he staled that
gaining should be used as "a
beginning, a development
point." I le used die Mille Lac
Band from N linnesota as an
example of how gaming can
be beneficial. Stating "They
have nourished", .Anderson recounted how gaming
brought about schools, hospitals, clinics, and infrastructure
for a band that had been struggling-
Famous Dave is no stranger
to die gmnbling world. Anderson owned shares in Park
Place Entertainment, the
world's largest gaming enterprise. He has promised to
New Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Indian Affairs Dave Anderson
divest his holdings in Park Place
to avoid a conflict of interest. I le
has also promised to recuse himself from dealings with former
business partner I .vie Berman,
who currently has several matters pending with BIA.
Anderson and Berman co-
founded Grand (lasinos Inc.
Grand Casinos Inc. started off by
managing several tribal casinos
in Minnesota, including Grand
Casino Hinckley and Grand
Casino Mille Lacs. Both of diese
casinos were affiliated with the
Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa.
Anderson joins the BIA at a
time when many of die critical
issues are beyond his reach. An
ongoing reorganization at BIA
has already put most of die deputy secretaries in place. Tribes
have complained that diey have
been left out of the discussions
relating to the reorganization at
BIA. Indian hiring preferences,
long a standard at BIA, are being
systematically dismantled as sections of BIA are moved into odier entities diat are not required to
maintain such hiring practices.
Additionally, Anderson will
have very little to say about the
BIA budget. The budget for
fiscal 2004 has recently been
signed into law and the White
I louse is putting its final touches
on the 2005 appropriation bill
for die Department of Interior.
In many ways, much of die hard
work at BIA has already been
dealt with by die current administration.
While Anderson may have
limited involvement with the
critical issues of gaming, die BIA
reorganization, and budgets, he
may very well become a part
of the solution to the ongoing
Cobell litigation diat attempts
to account for billions of dollars
reputedly missing from hundreds
of thousands of Individual Indian
Money accounts.
Minnesota's
Indian bands
bringing back
banishment
By Renee Ruble
Associated Press
The ultimate fonn of punishment among .American
Indians is returning to reservations in Minnesota as some
uibes seek more effective
ways to deal widi chronic
troublemakers.
Banishment has long been
a part of Indian folklore, widi
stories of tribal members .being sent away, alone, into the
forests or across the plains
passed down from one generation lo die next.
The Grand Portage Band
of Ojibwe is just die latest
band lo return to die practice.
It approved a banishment
law in October after residents
concerned about gang activity
approached the Uibal council.
"When people cross that
line and die community says
we' ve had enough, it's a process we can use to deal widi
it," said Nonnan Deschampe,
Grand Portage chainnan.
Banishment also applies to
non-Indians who misbehave
BANISH to page 5
Red Cliff hope longer gaming pact
will propel new resort-casino
By Juliet Williams
Associated Press
RED CLIFF, Wis. - The land
holds just a few acres of grass
and trees, a dandelion filled
campground and a handful of •
run-down buildings that spill out
an assortment of rusted trucks
and broken mechanical equipment.
But tucked in this spot on the
breathtaking shore of Lake Superior, Ray DePerry sees a pot of
gold waiting lo be tapped.
The Red Cliff Band of Lake
Superior Chippewa chairman
says die site could give his
uibe die financial boom it has
dreamed of, when his plans for a
resort and casino go ahead.
The Red Cliff have yet to cash
in on the big windfall other uibes
have seen as Wisconsin's casino
gaming industry expanded in the
last decade.
Their tiny casino is in a former
bowling alley at die northernmost tip of Wisconsin- nearly
eight hours by cai- from Milwaukee and a long way in style
from die fancy resorts that hue
freespending travelers.
U.S. Census Bureau figures
show the Red Cliff remain one of
the state's poorest Uibes, with a
median, or midpoint, household
income of just $24,412 in 2000,
well below the state median
of $43,731. About a quarter of
families on die reservation live
in poverty.
The tribe's campground and
small marina are more profitable
than its casino. State numbers
show die tribe collects less dian
$3 million a year in net revenue
from the casino, less dian any
odier tribe in Wisconsin.
DePerry hopes all that is about
to change. Since die tribe signed
an unending agreement widi
the stale to expand casino operations, financiers are backing
DePerry's big dream - a 65-room
luxury hotel with a casino, 125-
scal restaurant, pix)l and marina
to capitalize on die Apostle Islands across the water.
"Now that we know we can
keep operating, our investors
look at it a lot more favorably,"
DePerry said. "This is a gold
mine here on this point.... That
litde town (nearby Bayfield, pop.
650) is just packed with people
during the summer."
A full-color architect's vision
of die $22 million Apostle View
Casino Resort and $3 million
marina is prominently displayed
in the tribe's office.
It's expected to add 250 to 300
jobs.
PACT to page 3