Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2004-02-20

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Bobby Jack Ed
Larson for White
Earth Chairman
page 4
Leech Lake Chair
Elect Diane E. White
page 4
Leech Lake American
Legion POST 2001
recognized by National
Commander
page 4
Star Tribune version
of M. Eidsvig's letter
page 4
A winter's tale
page 4
Leech Lake investigation alleges embezzlement
of gaming funds
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
By Diane E. White
CASS LAKE—On February
5,2004, an Investigative Report
completed by Samuel "Rocky"
Papasodora, Director of Investigations for the Leech Lake
Gmning Commission Regulatory Board, alleges that fonner
Gaming Director, Rodney White
mid fonner \ tarketing Director,
Theron Thompson embezzled
funds from Leech Lake Gaming Enterprises. The report also
alleges that both individuals attempted bribery and dishonest
and unsuitable conduct. If sufficient evidence is found both individuals could be charged with
violation of federal law.
Attempted Bribery, Dishonest
and Unsuitable Conduct winch
violate Federal law Title 18, Section 1168. Also cited is Theft by
Officers or Employees of Gaming Establishments on Indimi
Tribes in violation of Federal   .
law Tide 18, Section 1163.
On January 20, U.S. Attorney
Thomas IIeffelfinger visited the
Leech Lake Reservation Tribal
Council (LLRTC) to inform
them that the United States has
five national priorities. One of
diose priorities is Indimi Gmning concern mid I Ieffelfinger
is the National Indimi Gmning
Commission's (NIGC) attorney.
Heffelfinger encourages prosecution of gmning offenders thus enforcing federal criminal Jaw. Heffelfinger encouraged witnesses
to gmning crimes to contact the
FBI, Office of Inspector General
(OIG), the Department of the Interior or the local sheriff's office.
This report was turned into the
NIGC on Tuesday, February 18,
2003. When asked about die gap
in time, Papasodora gave two
reasons: 1) he cannot just turn
over for prosecution without providing to the RTC (d/b/a Gmning
Commission) first, since he now
reports lo them; and 2) a District
Representative was on vacation
and had to be called back for an
emergency meeting of the full
Gaming Commission. He presented die report to the RTC on
Friday, February 13.
The individuals named in the
report are Rodney While who
has been employed by Leech
Lake Gaming since 1999 in various upper management positions,
most recently as die Gaining
Director until he was tenninated
for cause last summer. The odier
individual is Theron Nicholas
Thompson, who held die position of Marketing Director until
he left his position in June 2003
with a $6^24.22 severance
package. The time period reported of die alleged wrongdoing is
November mid December 2002
and June 2003.
According to the report, diere
are two vendors involved, Southwest Media Productions Communication Corporation (S.M.P.)
of Scottsdale, Arizona; mid G.L.
Ness Marketing Finn of Fargo,
North Dakota. Erick Kuntz,
Senior Vice President mid Greg
Ness of G.L. Ness Marketing
Firm are reported lo be victims
of tiiis scheme. There was no
listing of ownership of SMP in
the report, however, NAP/ON
contacted them by email to request ownership information and
they responded, 'Thank you for
your email. SMP Communications Corp. no longer represents
Northern Lights Casino. I or
any infonnation regarding the
casino, please contact Michael
LEECH LAKE to page 6
Leech Lake Band administration:
Following the path to truth
By Mindy Jones-Ruby
Consider die following chronology of events:
October 18,2002, Recall vote
for Eli O Hunt - results: 818 vote
to recall versus 635 votes to keep
for a total of 1,353 votes.
December 17, 2002, Primary
Election results in die top two
candidates being: Deanna Fairbanks with 199 votes (13.3%)
mid Peter D White with 194
votes (13(7).
Special Election held Feb. 11,
2003, Peter D. White wins with
785 votes versus Deanna L. Fairbanks with 562 vdtes for a total
of 1347 votes.
Feb. 14,2003 Election Board
certifies election results. On the
same day a check for S741.00
is issued to Peter D. White for
'TRAM URIC".
Feb 21,2003 Peter D White is
sworn into office.
March 10,2003 Financial
Services Agreement widi CSI is
signed.
In a document entitled: "From
die Desk of Peter D. White
Chairman LLBO" Chairman
White writes on Page 3, under
die heading - Gmning Expectations "c) Secure funding regarding Northern Lights Hotel i) by
2 7 03," raises a new question:
How is it possible to get diis
funding secured four days before
the Special Election was held?
Chairman White now claims
credit for securing this prior to
the election.
This raises the question as to
how was a emididate able to obtain cnicial infonnation on Leech
Lake financial matters a full four
days prior to his winning the
election?The answers lay within
die top level of die Leech Lake
Band's administration. There me
only a few men who have access to diis specific infonnation.
Only those tiiree or four men can
answer why Peter D. White was
allowed to conduct business for
die Bmid before being elected in
as the Chairman.
In die past, the election process on the Leech Lake Reservation was always filled with high
levels of mistrust. Over the last
few years Leech Lake has fought
hard on the MCT/TEC level to
stabilize the election process. A
major step forward was made by
bringing in electronic voting machines because these machines
were seen as a way to dispel die
minors of ballot rigging mid tampering to ensure fair and accurate
results.
All of diese hard fought gains
could be seen as being jeopardized if a emididate is able to
actively engage in Band business
even before they are elected.
would dien seem as though there
are people within die Administration who had a pre-conceived
notion of the election results to
TRUTH to page 5
MN Chippewa Tribe Executive Committee finds Leech
Lake suspension groundless, LL Tribal Court hears case
By Diane E. White
Cass Lake—In a memo dated
Febniary 5,2004, District Representative, Burton "Luke" Wilson
reported violations of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (MCT)
Constimtion by Executive Officers Chairman Pete White
mid Secretary -Treasurer Arthur
"Archie" LaRose when they
suspended him from benefits
provided to elected officials,
namely, credit card, travel requests, mid GSA vehicle or use
of tribal vehicles. Wilson accuses
the Executive Officers of abusing
their executive authority by use
of direats, misuse of tribal funds
and signature authority, and using false press releases. Wilson
sought die J EC's immediate
assistmice to detennine if die
Executive Officer's actions me
illegal.
Wilson alleges that on Monday, Febniary 2, the Executive
Officers cmne into his office
uninvited mid attempted to intimidate him after die) found out
he had gone to die Bremer Bank
in Brainerd to obtain die $2.5
million Revolving Loan Account
bank statement after he found
out from Gaming Controller,
Dan Erickson, that this account
had been used for unautiiorized
projects mid purchases of property. Originally, the account was
obtained for emergencies.
On Thursday, Febniary 5,
Wilson received a copy of die
, suspension memo from a fellow
District Representative. Wilson
'questions, "If the Secretary-Treasurer is not safeguarding band
funds, who has the audiority to
report or seek misuse? What is
my duty as a District Representative?"
Two million, four hundred
eighty-five diousand dollars lias
been drawn on a line of credit
to fund unautiiorized projects at
die Shingobee Island site where
the restaurant building, formerly
known as "Dutchman" was
demolished mid a new building
was started by Norson Construction of Brainerd. There is no
explanation of die use for each
transaction. The account shows
die following draws:
Wilson is suing LaRose in Tribal
Court on Tuesday, February 17,
demanding access to financial
data previously denied to him
mid the odier two District Representatives. Wilson also states
CASE to page 5
Hundreds in state have been ousted
By Stephen Magagnini
Sacramento Bee Staff Writer
Last yem, one of the lmgest
families on die Redding Ranche-
ria committed what Indians call
the ultimate desecration: They
dug up die remains of two of
their ancestors for DNA testing.
"It's a sacrilege, it's totally
disrespectful, but I had to do it,"
said Bob Foreman, elder statesman of the 76-member clan.
It was either diat or get kicked
out of die tribe. The rancheria's
enrollment connnittee had ordered the Foremahs to prove
they were the direct descendants
of die family matriarch; die late
Virginia "Nano"Timmons, or
be stripped of their tribal membership - including healdi mid
education benefits mid about
540,000 a yem per person from
the tribe's Win-River Casino.
On Jan: 28 - even after diree
DNA experts concluded the
Foremmis almost certainly were
Timmons' direct descendants
- the tribe voted all 76 family
members out mid banned diem
from the casino.
Each of California's more than
100 federally recognized tribes,
as nations unto themselves,
Sacramento
Family member Carla Maslin demonstrates
has virtually absolute power to
decide who belongs and who
doesn't, regardless of how much
evidence diere is to the contrary.
'We're a sovereign nation
- we don't have to justify to
anybody our tribal laws or ordinances," said Redding Rancheria
Chairwoman Tracy Edwards. '-If
France or Nevada or miybody
else is making decisions about
their citizenship, there's not a
whole lot I can do about it."
The Foremmis joined hundreds of California Indians who
have been banished from gambling tribes in recent years, often
because they challenged die ml-
ing faction, questioned the tribe's
finances or were
on the losing end of
decades-old family
feuds. About 2,000
more are fighting
disenrollment, said
Laura Wass of .AIM,
die American Indimi
Movement, which
has fought for native
rights nationwide.
Wass, a California
Bee/jay She? Indian who is working
at the Capitol, with outcasts from 13
tribes, called the wave of dis-
enrollments "a massive fonn of
cultural genocide." She mid Other
Indimi advocates blame failed
federal Indimi policies mid die
greed spawned by Indimi casino
profits.
In die early 1900s, the federal
government created various
small reservations, or rancherias,
for destitute California Indians.
In die 1950s and 1960s, in mi
effort to assimilate Indians, die
federal government "tenninated"
41 California rancherias, including Redding, parceling out the
land to individual Indimi families
and promising to provide roads,
DNA to page 3
web page: www.press-on.net
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2004
Founded in 1988
Volume 16 Issue 35
February 20, 2004
New Red Lake Youth Camp
The Red Lake jailhouse blues
By Bill Lawrence
The Red Lake Criminal
Justice Complex, commonly
known as the Detention
( enter, was intended to be
a 48-bed state-of-the-art
correctional facility. It was
built largely with funds
granted to the tribe by the
I s Justice Department to
replace the existing, obsolete
and overcrowded 20-bed
jail.
Initial Award
Supplemental Award
Supplemental Award
TOTAL
AWARD DATE
09/30/99 $574,870
09/30/00 $8,841,312
09/30/01 $1,800,000
$11,216,083
The purpose of the grant was to construct, for offenders subject to tribal jurisdiction, a correctional facility
for adult and juvenile offenders as well as a juvenile
work camp.
In addition to the above amounts. Department
of Justice and the BIA provided funding for planning. The figures are: $574,870—Dept. of Justice;
$250.000-BIA
The existing facility is
still in use even though it
was condemned years ago.
because the new facility,
even though construction
was completed nearly two
years ago, is not yet certified
for occupancy (By the way,
die existing facility is still
owned by the BIA.)
The reasons for diis are
myriad--to nmne a couple: The
federal audit revealed multiple
problems with the handling of
funds, and the regional BIA
Safety and Risk Management
team's final inspection revealed a
number of deficiencies that need
to be remedied prior to granting
a certificate of occupancy. .All
the noted structural deficiencies
emi be remedied without a great
expenditure;
probably the
most costly
will be an improvement to
the sprinkler
system. One
of the more
interesting
problems
pointed out
by die BIA
inspectors is
the fire alarm is not connected lo
the Fire Department.
This appears to be simply a
bonehead error not unlike die
installation of plastic toilets! Unlike the usual and standard stainless steel conectioiial facility
toilets, plastic commodes can be
kicked to pieces and the pieces
used as weapons. Not a comforting thought for guards.
Since these issues can be
radier easily resolved, the) are
minutiae compared to the financial issues raised by the Department of Justice Office of Justice
Programs (OJP) auditors.
The total amount of questioned
costs is S1.8 million. The
definition of questioned costs is
"expenditures that do not comply w idi legal . . . or contractual
requirements or are not supported by adequate documentation ... or are unnecessary or
unreasonable." (The Schedule
of Dollm related findings is
printed on page 6 of this issue.)
Here me some of die audit
details that Red Lake members
should be awme of: The most
serious finding is $1.03 million
in inadequately supported mid
unapproved construction costs.
There is also $110,515 in unsupported construction management fees; $333,450 in related
party . . . sole-source contract
payments. There me a number
of findings that are minimal
in significance mid dollar
amounts, however one item
stmids out. That is S7271 in
travel expenditures. While the
COMPLEX to page 6
Pawienty
gambles on
stadiums
Do two wwngs make a right?
Reprinted with permission
by Britt Robson
Last Wednesday afternoon, die N. linnesota
Legislature simultaneously
opened two Pandora's
boxes-exploring how to use
public money to construct
two stadiums mid reviewing
die gaming compacts that
regulate Native American
gambling operations in the
state—and die timing didn't
feci like a coincidence.
At the Capitol, the
Senate's State mid Local
Govenunent Operations
Committee heard a report
from the stadium steering
committee, which is expected to propose legislation
to Governor Tim Pawienty
later this month calling for
the construction of a baseball pmk for the Twins mid
a football stadium for the
Vikings. Senator Dick Day
(R-Owatonna) seized on
die moment to brandish a
newspaper poll showing that
71 percent of state residents
favor funding stadiums
through gambling revenues.
"In six months, you can
GAMBLE to page 4
Leech Lake Council candidates
certified for Chairman, District III Rep
The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Special Tribal Coundl meeting
February 11, 2004, certified 12 candidates for die four-yem- chairperson .position in die March 30 primary election. Since certification,
two emididates have dropped out.
The remaining ten candidates me: Roger Buck, George Goggleye,
Delmer L. Jones, Alfred 'Tig" Pemberton, Lenee D. Ross, Wallace
W. Storbakken, Dimie E. White; Peter D. White (incumbent), Ter-
rance Roy White, Sr, mid Victoria "Vickie" White.
The emididates for die District 111 representative position are:
Tracy Anderson, Nancy M. Beaulieu, James Bedcau, Leona Bedeau,
Robert "Robbie" Budreau, Donald "Mick" Finn, Randy G. Finn,
Glen 'Tuffy" Fisher, Jr., Debra A. Isham, Doris M. Jones, Richard
Jones, Samuel "Rocky" Papasodora, Jennie (W'iiid) Reyes, Martin
"Mutt" Robinson, Bonnie Rock mid Eugene "Ribs" Wliitebird.
Senators, guests critical of 2005
budget request
Leaders ask for more money for Native peoples
By Jean Pagano
A recent hearing on President
Bush's FY 2005 budget request
by the Senate Indimi Affairs
Committee underscored how
unhappy bodi senators mid Native leaders are with the budget
proposals for Native people.
Senator Tim Johnson (D-S.D),
recently reinstated to Washington
with the help of Native voters,
was quoted as saying that die
new budget request made "no
sense whatsoever". His comments were a reaction to die administration cutting money from
the Bureau of Indimi Affairs and
slashing Native school construction to allocate more money
towards trust refonn.
Senator Lisa Murkow ski
(R-AK) stated diat she was
"disappointed" with die amount
of funding going back to her
constiments, Alaskan Natives.
Senator Kent Conrad (D-ND) offered diat die President was willing to make tax cuts for wealthy
Americans permanent while cutting funding for Natives.
Committee co-chair Senator
Daniel Inoiiye (D-HJ) stated that
Native people need to take their
story mid present it to die American people. The call for a massive
public relation effort is needed
because people in Congress just
aren't interested in Native affairs
any longer. 'Frankly, they could
erne less" stated Inouye.
Various guests to die hearing
BUDGET to page 3