Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2004-02-13

              INDEX
Diane:
McGaa responds
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
2
Get it right!
to Coleman
NEWS BRIEFS
3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
4
CLASSIFIEDS
7
r^~^   A
page 4
page 4
RL Interim Chief
Judge responds to
Chairman King's
letter
page 4
Governor may be
planning to end Indian
gaming in Minnesota
page 4
Redirect gambling
revenues to meet
needs of the poor
page 4
Red Lake Casino expansion project change orders,
bidding still unaccounted
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
By Bill Lawrence
Last week we discussed the
saga of debt accumulation at Red
L,akc, beginning in 1998 widi
the Whitefeather King administration and rising to its present
high after the casino expansion projects of 2000. The Red
Lake Tribal Council (RLTC),
in response to public demand
following Dan King's recall, attempted to assess the problem
with the expectation diat if die
cause could be pinpointed, steps
toward recovery could begin.
The first step in that process
was die hiring of Don Romero,
Business and Technology Consultant for RSM McGladrey,
Inc., Business Solutions of San
Diego, California. Tribal Resolution No. 83-02 approved die
initial phase of a forensic audit.
The initial review was scheduled
for the period .Time 18-20,2002
and covered: Construction costs
of the hotel, water park and
change orders at River Road Casino; expansion costs at the Warroad and Red Lake Casinos; procedures used to select Stevens
Construction Company as die
general contractor; purchase of
die Super 8 and Lakeview Restaurant at Warroad and expenses
associated with "cash cards" issued to gaming staff and Council
members.
The auditors laid out a list of
specific documents that would
be needed for a thorough review.
Such documents included:
*Policies and Procedures for
purchases, construction, accountability
'"Construction contracts,
change orders and financial reporting on same
'"Research, bids and approval
documents leading to the hire of
Stevens
'"Contract for purchase of die
Super 8 motel and die Lakeview
Restaurant
'"Financial statements for all
die above
'"History of cash card advances, purchase approvals, etc.
Client (RLTC) responsibility
included the provision of die
above listed documents, and infonnation necessary to complete
die review. The fee was dependant on Red Lake staff making
die review a "priority."
Tribal Council members were
notified of the pending visit and
die information and staff support
that would be necessary to complete die project.
In a report delivered 7/7/02,
Romero stated that the "initial
documents... requested were not
available until late in die project." This fact "hampered" the
process. No documents were
available die first day. Only
cash card records were available die second day. Policies
and Procedures, contract selection documents, change orders,
construction contracts, project
contracts, board minutes were
only made available on the diird
day of the study. Ultimately the
audit crew had lo sift dirough 11
banker boxes to locate needed
documents.
In die end Romero indicated he
never did receive the following:
"■"Financial reporting for the
hotel and water park and the pro?
posed 'new casino' at Red ! .ake.
"'Payment and financial reporting cost of die expansion at
the yVarroad Casino.
"•Invoices and payment history, including cancelled checks.
RED LAKE to page 6
Leech Lake District Representative Wilson suspended
By Diane E. White
Cass Lake—Leech Lake
Chainnan Pete White and Secretary-Treasurer Arthur "Archie"
LaRose acting in dieir position
of 1 ixecutive Officers of die
Band suspended DisUict Representative Burton "Luke" Wilson
charging him widi malfeasance
of office and disregard of Band
law- A source close to White aud
T^iRose stated they first sought
approval from die Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe's Tribal Executive Committee at a meeting
held in St. Paul on Wednesday,
February 4. However, Gary
Frazier, Executive Director of
the \ linnesota Chippewa Tribe
(MCT) said "No." in response
to NAP ON question of whether
White and LaRose did request
their approval, but a meeting on
Tuesday, February 10 was held
in order to respond to Wilson's
appeal to diem.
This is die first time ever that
an elected official of die Minnesota Chippewa Tribe has been
suspended from using benefits
provided to other elected committeemen, however, this suspension still allows Wilson to
use his office and all office services. The suspended privileges
include the Tribal credit card,
travel requests, and GS A vehicle
or use of tribal vehicles and will
be in effect between February 9
through February 20.
The memo states, "... die Executive Officers of LLBO have
detenniued diat your recent acts
at the Bremer Bank last Friday
were wholly unprofessional and
unacceptable as a District Representative." Apparently^ Wilson
had obtained a bank statement
for die $2.5 million revolving loan account at die Bremer
Bank in Brainerd. Wilson was
allowed a copy of the statement
by the Bank, because of his position on die Tribal Council. He
asked for diis statement after
his repeated requests for line
item accounts and financial data
were ignored. White and LaRose
believe they have (he authority
to suspend Wilson based upon
their interpretation of the \ K T ■>
Constitution as identifying the
Chainnan's position, "shall exercise general supervision of all
other Band Officers," and die
Secretary-Treasurer's position
"duty to safeguard all funds and
property of the Band."
At the January quarterly meeting Dan Erickson , 1 cech I ake
Gaming Controller,vv as assigned
die task of obtaining requested
financial data original to be
presented publicly on January
20, but has repeatedly delayed
releasing financial data to any
of the District Representatives.
Wilson has repeatedly attempted
to put this matter on meeting
agendas, but has been repeated])
ignored by the Chainnan and the
[ixecutive Director.
According to the MCT ( onsti-
tution, a Reservation Business
Committee (RBC) shall have the
power to administer funds, make
SUSPENSION to page 6
Zenas Baer sues Leech Lake Band
Just days before Christmas
Zenas Baer requested the Leech
Lake Tribal Police to serve Secretary-Treasurer Archie LaRose
widi a Summons and Complaint
still seeking payment for his
previous legal efforts to help try-
to remove Secretary-Treasurer
Archie LaRose from his elected
office. Zenas Baer, along widi
die diree District Representatives; Luke Wilson, Lyman Losh
. and Richard Robinson, want die
Tribal Court to the validate the
diree District Representatives
audiority to use tribal fluids
and Order Secretary-Treasurer
Arcliie LaRose to pay out over
828,000.00 from die Leech Lake
Band coffers in attorney fees for
the diree District Representatives months long legal efforts
to legitimize the Recall Petition
against Secretary -Treasurer Archie LaRose a year ago.
In Secretary-Treasurer Archie
LaRose's Answer to die Complaint he argues the contract widi
Zenas Baer is void against the
Leech Lake Band because the
meeting where the tiiree District Representatives executed
the contract was not duly called
under die By-Laws and diat Secretary-Treasurer Archie LaRose
never signed die meeting minutes
which could not then be properly
adopted, bodi are required for
the Tribal Council's actions to be
legal. If die diree District Representatives violated the By-Laws
diey may be personally liable to
Zenas Baer.
Zenas Baer argues that die
diree District Representatives had
die audiority to act as Chairman
and Secretary-Treasurer from Eli
Hunt and Linda Johnston under
Leech Lake Resolution Number
01-106 which provided diat "in
the absence of Chairman Hunt"
and "in the absence of Secretary-
Treasurer Johnston", Representative Robinson may be "Acting
Chariman" and Lyman Losh may
be "Acting Secretary-Treasurer".
Zenas Baer argues in his papers
filed widi die court diat he is
unaware of "revocation" by die
Tribal Council arguing die Resolution is still valid even today.
It wasn't so long ago diat
anodier attorney and persuaded
Tribal Council members were
convicted for similar questionable conduct. It now seems
much easier to understand why
the Leech Lake Tribal Council
seems so dysfunctional. Hopefully, die Tribal Court should
help detennine who are die
rightful Chainnan and Secretary-
Treasurer for the Leech Lake
Band, since Zenas Baer seems
to be telling his three Disuict
Representatives the Removal
of Chainnan Hunt and election
of Chainnan Peter White by die
people docs not supercede Resolution Number 01-106, which
violates die By-Laws of Leech
Lake Ordinance No. 1.
Healing for diis matter is pres-
endv schedule for February 17,
2004 at 10:00 A.M. at the Tribal
Court Chambers in Cass Lake,
Minnesota.
Tribes hold an ace in casino deal
By Patrick Sweeney
Pioneer Press
If Gov. Tim Pawienty wants
Minnesota's Indian Uibes to
share dieir casino profits with
die state, he may have to give the
Uibes as much as he gets from
them, a legislative analyst told
a Minnesota House committee
Tuesday.
John Williams of die nonpartisan House Research stall' gave
members of die House Govern-
' mental Operations and Veterans
Affairs Committee a detailed
look at die negotiations 15 years
ago diat set ground rales for die
tribes' gambling operations.
Williams said officials in the
federal Interior Department,
which approves Indian gaining
compacts, are unlikely to accept
any effort by Pawienty or Minnesota lawmakers to force the
tribes to make gaming payments
against dieir will.
The federal Indimi Gmning
Act forbids state taxes on Native
Americans' casino profits.
Williams said a number of
stales - including Wisconsin,
California and, most notably,
Connecticut - receive payments
from Indimi Uibes that oper
ate reservation casinos. But he
said Minnesota officials should
not expect Interior Department
officials to approve compact
changes diat would not expand
tribes' gmning rights.
'They have to be voluntary
payments," Williams said. "And
they have to be in return for
sometiiing of value diat is provided to the tribes."
Minnesota now receives
S 150,000 a yem- from 11 Uibes in
connection widi gambling.
In Wisconsin, Gov. Jim Doyle
recently negotiated gmning compacts diat increased Uibal payments from about $20 million
a yem to about $100 million, hi
return, Doyle authorized more
casino gmnes, such as craps mid
roulette. And Doyle agreed diat
die uibes could stop making
the payments if Wisconsin ever
allowed non-Indian casinos to
compete with die tribes, according to Williams.
Last week, Pawienty said the
gmning compacts that former
governors Rudy Perpich and
Arne Carlson signed in the late
1980s mid early 1990s "do not
reflect current circumstances."
He said it is time to "explore a
better deal for Minnesotans."
Pawienty hinted he might seek
new compacts widi some of the
provisions Doyle negotiated.
Rep. Sondra Erickson, R-
Princeton, a supporter of state-
sanctioned competition for die
tribal casinos, said Williams'
testimony solidified her opinion.
"Any kind of re-opening of die
compacts will be beneficial to
die tribes," she said.
Williams also told committee members Tuesday that when
Minnesota's gmning compacts
were negotiated, state officials
were not concerned about sharing in Indimi profits.
Instead, he said, dieir attention was focused on regulating
die types of gmning uibes could
offer mid persuading die Indians
not to promote sports bookmak-
ing operations like those in Las
Vegas.
Federal law mid court precedents generally give uibes die
right to offer any type of gambling allowed in a state, even if
die Indimi gaming is for higher
stakes than otherwise pennil-
ted. In die compacts, Minnesota
ACE to page 3
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Native
American
Press
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Founded in 1988
Volume 16 Issue 34
February 13, 2004
Linda Riddle of the Houston Co. Women's Resources speak while advocates behind her
hold t-shirts from the 2003 Clothesline Project, a display of specially decorate shirts to
remember the victims of domestic violence and child abuse.
Gambling monitors could use a hand, state official says
By Mark Brunswick
Star Tribune
With a budget of $150,000
and only two agents monitoring 18 Indian casinos, the
head of the stale's gambling
enforcement division said
Wednesday that he could
use more money and 16 additional agents to ensure that
the casinos' slot machines
mid blackjack games are
above reproach.
Each of X linnesota's 11
gambling tribes contributes
$ 13,636 to the stale annually for gambling enforcement. It is the only payment
the tribes make lo the state
directly iu connection widi
dieir gambling industry,
which has been estimated
lo bring in $ 1 billion a yem'.
Under the existing compacts
with the stale, Minnesota's
tribes have the right to operate blackjack mid video
slots, and they pay the state
only die nominal fee for
regulatory costs.
Frank Ball, head of the
state's gambling enforcement division, told a House
committee that die state's
clean reputation for gambling rests with strong law
enforcement authority mid
the money to fund it.
"If you want to see gam-
Jury convicts
Looking Cloud
in 1975
murder
By Carson Walker
Associated Press
RAPID CITY, S.D. -The
attorney for Arlo Looking
Cloud said he will appeal
die Denver man's conviction in the 1975 execution-
style killing of Anna Mae
Pictou Aquash, who was
thought by sonic at the time
to be a government informant inside the American
Indian Movement.
I .ooking Cloud, 50,
showed no emotion when
a federal jury of seven
women and five men pronounced him guilty Friday-
evening after seven hours
of deliberation.
Defense attorney Tim
Rensch said he believes he
can win an appeal because
of hearsay evidence in the
case and prejudicial evidence that" had nothing to
do with the case and could
provide a substantial river
of reasons for appeal."
Looking Cloud will be
sentenced April 23 to a
mandatory life prison term.
Aquash's frozen body-
was found in February
ing fail, then underfund gaming
regulators. Gmning will self-
destruct," Ball said after his
testimony to the 1 louse Governmental Operations and Veterans
Affairs Policy Committee.
The $150,000 annual tribal
contribution, which has not
changed since the state signed
compacts with the tribes in 1989,
has become a hot topic as several proposals to expmid gambling
make their way through the Legislature.
'That $150,000 contribution.
. . was either a huge amount dien
or incredibly low now," said
Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-Min-
neapolis, during the committee
hearing.
The state has two agents assigned lo die 18 casinos, mid
the) are responsible for almost
19,500 slot machines mid 392
blackjack tables. Each casino
is inspected four limes a year.
While the goal is to inspect 4
percent of die gmnes at a casino,
Ball, who said he believes diat
the state's gambling operations
are abov eboard, acknowledged
that die actual number is 2 to 3
percent.
When the $150,000 yearly
account is depleted, he said, die
state monitoring for compliance
ends as well. Tribes do pay extra
for die 11,000 fingerprint mid
25,000 background checks the
state does for the casinos. They
also fund dieir own regulator}
compliance efforts.
While the S150.000 is a small
portion of the overall Indian
gambling picnire, Ball's pitch
may come at an opportune time,
as tribes wrestle with the political realities of die slate's increasing interest in lapping into gambling revenue. While die tribes
have said diey me reluctant to
reopen die compacts, diey have
said diey me willing to reexamine some aspects of their odier
state contributions.
John McCarthy, executive director of the N linnesota Indimi
Gmning Association, which represents nine of die 11 gambling
Uibes, told the committee diat
no one from the state has ever
seriously approached die tribes
about increasing die regulatory
contribution.
He said that the uibes would
consider a reasonable request
and that diey also would consider discussions on increasing
another contribution, a payment
in lieu of taxes for services such
as fire protection, roads mid water. The tribes now make $159
million in diose payments to local communities.
'We me always open to talking about something tiiat's reasonable, but it has to be reasonable," .\ IcCarthy said.
iSiMifcMfe'lwS^S'S
JURY to page 5
Tribe grappling with 'critical'
money woes
By Mara Reyes
The White Mountain Independent (www.miceiiUal.com)
WHJTERIVER - The White
Mountain Apache Tribe is in
deep financial trouble, widi routine bank overdrafts, millions
of dollars in unpaid obligations
mid habitual budget deficits. The
Tribe is also reportedly illegally
using federal funds to pay for
operating expenses of Uibal
enterprises and government.
Michelle Austin, acting tribal
controller, in an interoffice memorandum obtained by The White
.\ fountain Independent, expressed concern widi die Tribe's
critical cash flow situation mid
urged die Tribal Council to take
"immediate cash saving measures."
In December, the Tribal enterprises had earned SI.7 million
in revenue, far short of the $6.3
million budget arid resulting in a
$4.6 million deficit.
The unpaid financial obligations to vendors totaled $3.6
million.
According to Austin, die
controller's department receives
numerous calls every day from
vendors wanting to know why
their invoices are not being paid
mid many are holding orders until payments me received.
".\ lany of diese vendor payments were funded by federal
dollars which had already been
received, but could not be paid
due to lack of available cash,"
Austin wrote in die memo dated
Jan. 16.
She also pointed out diat die
Tribe's outstanding accounts
payables, as of Jan. 14, totaled
$4 million. "A substantial
amount of this total is for federally funded programs. We cannot place payroll ahead of these
federally funded payments any
longer," Austin said.
The Tribe is also regularly
overdrawing its bank account. In
a letter dated Jan. 14 to Austin,
Wells Fargo Bank expresses
reluctance to continue covering
die overdrafts. Vice President
Matdiew Eyrich wrote that
"overdrafts have become mi ongoing issue mid concern for the
Bank." He said the overdrafts
had increased in "frequency, size
mid time outstanding" over die
past four lo five months mid had
become "more routine than occasional."
The amount of the overdrafts
has fluctuated between $500,000
to $1 million. "For clarification,
an overdraft only occurs after the
Tribe's credit line is exhausted.
Thus, die Tribe owes Wells Fargo die total of die amount of the
overdraft plus die $1.6 million
on the credit line. This balance
must be paid before any more
TRIBES to page 3