Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2004-02-06

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
NEWS BRIEFS
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
CLASSIFIEDS
2
3
4
7
Dirty politics at
Red Lake
page 4
Letter to editor in support
of Red Lake articles
page 4
In a letter to several
Interested parties
page 4
Turner, Bevins file
Pawienty in State
of the State
challenges gaming
status quo
page 4
Casino expansion projects create huge burden for
Red Lake Band
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
By Bill Lawrence
This is Ihe second of a series
of articles relating how Red Lake
Gaining Enterprises (RLGE)
went from being a financially
sound organization to the brink
of financial peril. The questions
remain—can RLGE continue
to produce sufficient revenue to
meet debt repayment schedules,
can it muster the discipline necessary to pull itself out of this
potentially disastrous situation.
The subject of these articles is
Red Lake Gaming Enterprises
but what happened there has
relevance to some of (lie other
tribes in Minnesota. What happened there is no doubt occurring to a greater or lesser degree
on reservations elsewhere for
the same reasons and producing similar results—business
irresponsibility that may lead to
financial instability. So while
the topic of this series is the Red
I^ake gaming situation, the points
made will be applicable to the
other tribes. Hopefully the situation will be addressed and the
recommendations from financial
experts will be applied to insure
a more positive outcome.
The example given will be
illustrative of how quickly a
tribe's fortunes can decline. The
financial situation at Red Lake
Gaming Enterprises began to
iio sour in 1999 when the Tribal
Council, by Resolution, approved
maj or expansion/construction
projects. The action occurred at
the June 8 and 9, 1999 RL Tribal
Council meetings. Council Treasurer King moved, seconded by
Beaulieu, to approve the expansion for River Road Casino in the
amount of $27 million.
The vote was 9 in favor
of the motion and 1 opposed. Council member
Judy Roy cast the single
opposing vote. There
the focus of this article
will be a discussion of
the casino expansion projects
that followed.
In 2000 Red Lake Gaming was
sailing freely over an expansive
sea of financial well being.  The
net casino income from all activities was $7.39 million; Accounts
Payable amounted lo $152,782;
Distributions for the benefit of
the tribe from gaining proceeds
amounted lo $4.5 million. There
was no long-term casino related
liability.
In 2001, as mentioned, the
Tribal Council obligated
RLGE for a total of
$26.5 million to cover
construction costs of a
water park mid hotel at
Thief River Falls and
the expansion of the
Warroad Casino. These
projects were undertaken in the
expectation that tire expansion
and improvement of existing
facilities would lead to greater
profits. That didn't happen however.   The financial picture for
the end of 2001 for the RLGE
is as follows: (figures for 2000
repeated for comparison)
2001
2000
NET INCOME                    $4.26mIW0N
$7.39miluon
DISTRIBUTIONS TO TRIBE $4.48mILLI0N
$4.5million
LONG TERM LIABILITY     $26.62mU 1 ION
none
GROSS REVENUE             $30.90miLI.ION
$26.29million
What did happen was a significant debt accumulated in 2001 for
the casino expansions and related
projects. The construction budget
(approved by Tribal Resolution)
was $26.5 million. This amount
was inadequate to meet the costs
of die projects. Cost overruns
amounted to $ 11.78 million. Interest costs of $10 million made
the total casino expansion indebtedness $48.29 million.
The figures for 2002 and 2003 are
included. Note (lie decrease in both
gross and net revenue for 2003.
2002
2003**
NET INCOME
$3.9million
$3.5miluon
DISTRIBUTIONS TO TRIBE
$1.67million
$2.4miluon
LONG TERM DEBT
$26.09miiiion
unavailable
GROSS REVENUE
$38.29mhiion
$3 7.1 MILLION
"unaudited
RED LAKE to page 6
Leech Lake Secretary-Treasurer LaRose,
supporters cause stir at LIC meeting
By Diane E. White
CASS LAKE, MN-On
Monday evening, a public
meeting was called to order at
the Pike Bay Town Hall by organizer, Randy Finn. The only
Tribal Council member present
was District 1 Representative, Burton "Luke" Wilson
and there were 7 Local Indian
Council (LIC) members present. The purpose of the meeting
was to discuss LIC actions in
regard to the Shingobee Marina
Casino and 100 Homes Project
and the proposed Referendum
set for March 30th. Also, on
the agenda was a discussion
of a Resolution to establish a
Review Committee of the Business Corporation and Gaming
activities; and to develop an Internal Constitution for the Band
diat will establish a method of
accountability of governmental
operations.
Secretary-Treasurer, Arthur
"Archie" LaRose along with a
group of his relatives, four new
home recipients and several
odier imidentified men, one of
whom was a non-Indian friend
of Wallace Storbakken entered
meeting late and proceeded to
harass die audience. The group
stood around the audience even
though there were plenty of
chairs and dien proceeded to
argue at the audience. Many
of the LICs and interested attendees left the meeting while
Henry Nason addressed the
audience in Ojibwe scolding
and telling them this is not die
Anishinabeg way of meeting.
At the beginning of the meeting, Wilson reported diat he
will continue to fight for the
people and will continue to seek
the truth behind the financial
problems surrounding all of
the new projects despite continuing efforts by Chainnan
Pete White and LaRose's to
intimidate him. Wilson stated
that White and LaRose came
into his office just before he left
for this meeting, and told him
his paycheck will be froze, and
his cell phone, credit card, and
tribal car must be surrendered.
Wilson believed they were harassing him because he has continued to request the promised
financial data from the Tribe's
Controllers. He stated that both
Controllers have been telling
him, "Tomorrow, we will have
that data for you" and the data
in question was promised by
Chainnan White at die January 2 Quarterly meeting to be
reviewed in a public meeting on
January 20. The January Quar-
MEETING to page 4
2005 Department of Interior budget request
released: Bureau of Indian Affairs comes up short
By Jean Pagano
The White I louse recendy
released dieir Budget Appropriation requests for 2005. While the
Department of Interior (DOI)
budget increases by 2% from
2004 levels, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) is seeing a
cut hi dieir funding by $52 million. The Office of the Special
Tmstee is seeing a 54% increase
hi funding from $209.1 mtilion
to S322.7 million.
The Office of the Special
Traslee will receive $113.6 million in new funding with almost
$ 110 million of the increase going towards a historical accounting for Individual Indian Money
(IIM) accounts. While U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth
set up a timetable for a historical
accounting for IIMs, due to the
Cobell v. Secretary of Interior
lawsuit, Congress put a hold on
die implementation of die judge's
plan. Congress' hold on the Co-
bell timetable is currendy under
review by the Appellate Court.
Additionally, funding for Indian
Land Consolidation increases by
71% from $21.9 miUion to $75
million for 2005.
Under the requested budget,
appropriations for the Operation
of Indian Programs grows slightly from $1.91 billion to $1,912
billion. The Cons traction por-.
tion of the budget request takes
a Uimble from $351.1 million to
$281.1 million, a drop of 20%
from 2004 levels. Indian Land
and Water Claims and Settie-
ments and Miscellaneous Pay
ments to Indians also falls from
$55.5 million to $34.7 million.
'Hie 2005 requested amount is
almost half of what was allocated
in 2003 (at $60.9 million). The
Indian Guaranteed Loan Program also finds itself diminished
from $6.49 to $6.42 million.
Educational funding in the
2005 BIA request shows some
significant decreases. While
School Operations receive
some small increases in die new
request, funds for Continuing
Education fall 8.9% from $48.5
million to $43.4 million.
Central Office Operations
funding increases across die
board from $88.5 million to
$134.4 million, including Tribal
Government, Human Services,
BUDGET to page 7
In court, AIM members are depicted as killers
By Monica Davey
New York Times
RAPID CITY, S.D. -The
fonner companion of a leader
in the American Indian Movement clutched a single feather as
she took the wiUiess stand in a
federal court here on Wednesday
and tearfully depicted the movement's leaders as murderous.
In a full but silent courtroom,
the witness, Ka-Mook Nichols,
said leaders of die militant Indian
civil-rights group known as AIM
had orchestrated die deadi of one
of its own members, Anna Mae
Pictou Aquash, nearly tiiree decades ago. And Ms. Nichols implicated Leonard Peltier, AIMs
best-known member, in die earlier killing of two federal agents,
crimes for which Mr. Peltier has
been sent to prison for life.
Mr. Peltier, who has always
maintained his innocence, has an
international following among
those who believe he was framed
by federal authorities seeking
revenge.
The trial, in its second day,
will determine the fate of Arlo
Looking Cloud, a fonner low-
level AIM member charged with
killing Ms. Pictou Aquash, anodier AIM member. But the testimony here stretched far beyond
diis case, presenting a sweeping
and frightening look at violence
and suspicion inside the militant
movement that drew national
attention to soutiiwest Soudi Dakota in die 1970's.
"You would tliink die American Indian Movement was on
trial," Vernon Bellecourt, a
spokesman for the movement,
said angrily from his seat in die
front row of the gallery, which
has been full of people who remember those volatile clashes
between Indians and federal
authorities: AIM sympathizers,
residents from the Pine Ridge
Reservation where the occupation of Wounded Knee took
place, and federal agents, now
mostly retired.
Mr. Bellecourt denied all accusations against the movement,
and said the latest revelations
were merely another effort by
die federal authorities to hide
their own wrongdoing. "It's virtually impossible," he said, "for
an Indian to receive a fair trial in
Soutii Dakota."
Ms. Nichols, who had an 18-
year relationship and four children with Dennis Banks, a leader
of AIM from its earliest days in
the late 1960's, told jurors how
she joined die movement as a
high school student living on
Pine Ridge and never confided
all she had seen until now because she supported die group's
goals - treaty recognition, self-
detennination for Indians, a return to traditional ways.
"At the time I was committed
to die movement and I believed
in what the movement stood
for," said Ms. Nichols, now 48.
"I never talked to anybody about
anydiing."
But on Wednesday, Ms.
Nichols described details of
the group's wanderings around
the country - those fleeing the
audiorities, building bombs and
planning their next moves. She
also told how AIM leaders worried that their own members
might be spying for the authorities.
She testified that the leaders,
including Mr. Banks and Mr.
Peltier, strongly suspected Ms.
Pictou Aquash, a Micmac Indian who left Canada to join die
movement, might be a federal
infonner. At an AIM convention
in June 1975, Ms. Nichols said,
leaders opeidy discussed that
possibility.
Mr. Peltier once put a gun to
AIM to page 5
web page: www.press-on.net
Native
Amman
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2004
Founded in 1988
Volume 16 Issue 33
February 6, 2004
Actor Wes Studi, right, tallks with Jared Brown, a Navajo and North Fork Mono Native
American from Fort Defiance, Ariz., at the Capitol in Santa Fe, N.M. Tuesday, Feb. 3, 2004.
Brown was dressed as a Northern Traditional Pow Wow Dancer in celebration of American
Indian Day at the legislative session. (AP Photo/Jeff Geissler)
Now we see you: The emergence of the native voter
By Jean Pagano
Many times in America,
minority voting groups are ignored because the perception
exists that they do not vote or
diat their votes do not count
When Native American voters helped return Soutii Dakota Senator Tim Johnson to
Washington, D.C. in 2002, the
Native voter suddenly became
very interesting to the winning
and losing parties.
Senator Tim Johnson (D-
SD) defeated fonner LIS.
Congressman John Thune (R-
SD) in 2002, a difference of
less than 600 votes separated
the two. The 544 vote difference was due, in large part,
to Native voters coming out
in great numbers to support
Senator Johnson. After die
election, Republicans charged
that vote fraud on the reservations accounted for die difference in the election. Recendy,
Tribes focus
donations
conservative CNN commentator
Robert Novak again accused
vote fraud on die reservations
forThune's loss. Novak slated
on die December 13 "Crossfire"
program dial "the Indians, they
got the phony Indian votes out
there."
Bodi Democrats and Republicans distanced themselves from
the Novak statement As opposed
to alienating and accusing Native
voters, political parties are now
courting favor with Native voters
in Soutii Dakota specifically and
all across the country. Fonner
Soutii Dakota Governor Bill
Janklow's U.S. House of Representative seat is now up for a
special election in June this year.
Janklow was convicted of felony
manslaughter and resigned his
seat earlier in January. Both
Democrats and Republicans are
vying for die Janklow seat and
are very interested in Native voters.
Candidate Thune, who is running against Senate Minority
Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD),
now seems more interested in
Native voters. In a recent comment lo die Associated Press, he
said that "We're trying to reach
out and connect with folks we
didn't last time." Obviously
diose who were once ignored
are now seen for the power they
wield: the power to swing an
election.
Ever since die close vote in
the last Presidential election,
political parties are seeing voters
for what diey are: numbers. And,
numbers add up. Native voters
are also playing prominently in
the Presidential primaries and
caucuses. Democratic hopeful
General Wesley Clark has been
endorsed by a number of Native
tribes, including die Washoe
Tribe of Nevada and the Abenaki Nation in Vermont. Congress-
VOTER to page 5
onDFL
Daschle criticizes Bush's Indian
health budget
Associated Press
ST. PAUL-The money
trail shows how two sides
of the gambling debate have
chose in dieir champions in
the Legislature: Minnesota
Indian tribes widi casino
monopolies back the DEL
while private interests trying to open competing casinos help the Republicans.
Reports filed this week
by die four legislative caucuses show uibal donations
made up nearly one-fourth
of campaign contributions
to die Senate DEI. majority last year and about 14
percent of die contributions
collected by a House DEL
campaign committee. The)
have fought attempts to allow non-Indian casinos.
On the other side, owners
and employees of companies
seeking law changes to allow
privately operated casinos
made smaller, but still sigirifi-
cant, contributions to House
and Senate Republicans.
Political action committees from five Uibes - the
Fond du Lac and Mille Lacs
bands of Ojibwe and the
Lower Sioux, Prairie Island
and Shakopee Mdewakan-
DFL to page 5
By Frederic J. Frommer
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Senate
Minority Leader Tom Daschle,
D-S.D., labeled Resident Bush's
budget for Indian health services
woefully inadequate.
Bush's 2005 budget, released
Monday, proposes spending
$2.1 billion on die Indimi Healtii
Service's clinical services program, wltich pays for Indians'
individual healtii care.
That represents a 3.8 percent
increase over ciurent levels, but
is less than half of Daschle's request of $5.54 billion.
"Once again, President Bush
and his Republican allies have
abandoned Native Americans,"
Daschle said. "The president
likes to call himself a 'compassionate conservative.' But diere
is nodiing compassionate about
a budget diat leaves thousands of
Indians without access to even
the most basic medical care."
Bush's budget release coincided widi Dave Anderson's
first day on the job as head of
the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Anderson's agency does not have
jurisdiction over Indian Healdi
Services, but he said in a telephone interview diat improving
health care for Indians would be
a big priority _ and that he would
focus on prevention.
" We would not need larger
health care facilities if we were
building physical fitness centers," said Anderson, of Edina,
Minn. "Because if you look al
die problems we're faced with in
Indian Country, die obesity, the
diabetes, the strokes, heart attacks, cancer, AIDS/HIV _ these
are all lifestyle diseases."
Anderson, a fonner alcoholic
mid founder of Famous Dave's
restaurants, declined to respond
to Daschle's comments, saying
he was still getting acclimated
to the job. But he did say he
planned to work widi the Department of Healdi mid Human Services, wltich oversees die Indimi
Healdi Service, to promote a
healthier lifestyle for Indians.
HI-IS spokesman Tony Jewell
dismissed Daschle's criticism,
noting Bush had increased funding for the program every year.
"We've also expanded preventive health services for diseases
dial disproportionately affect Native Americans," Jewell said.
But Daschle spokesman Dan
Pfeiffer said that funding levels
me still far below where diey
need to be.
"I don't know that anyone
should be patting themselves on
the back when oiir govenunent
is spending twice as much for
healIh care for federal prisoners
as we do for Native Americans,"
Pfeiffer said.