Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2004-03-05

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Mindowe is clueless!
page 4
Book review:
Black Elk Speaks
page 4
Challenging all Leech
Lake candidates
page 4
New police chief
sworn, keeping his
promise to walk the
talk, lead by example
page 4
Worthiness of MIED
Fund questioned
page 4
Has Red Lake Builders inhibited growth of
private business?
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
web page: www.press-on.net
By Bill Lawrence
Red Lake—Incorporated in
Fall of 1976, "to provide employment and training to Red I ,ake
members," Red Lake Builders
(RLB) represented a laudable
effort on the part of the Band
leadership. In addition to providing employment and training, it
was just plain good thinking to
create an entity that would keep
constniction projects, with Uie
attendant jobs and dollars, on
die Reservation. Other tribes had
done the same tiling with success.
No reason to believe Red Lake
couldn' t do the same.   Initially,
RLB was involved in housing
projects - another plus for the
tribe - affordable housing.
During the first decade, RLB
worked with grant fluids and did
primarily housing constniction.
As time passed, a spotty and less
than illustrious history began to
imnierge.
One of the earliest Press/ON
(we were founded in May 1988)
involvements was a 1989 report
on an alleged diversion of hundreds of thousand of dollars from
RLB by Roger Jourdain, former
Tribal Chainnan. The allegation was that in 1985 or 1986
in excess of $70,000 was used
to renovate Jourdain's personal
residence in Bemidji. And an additional sum of nearly $300,000
was diverted from RLB to finance a boating enterprise. Other
funds were also used for other
undisclosed purposes, although
it was believed some funds were
used for political contributions.
It is not clear exactly how much
money was illegally used for
personal, as opposed to tribal
purposes; the best guess is approximately $1,000,000.
It seems as though RLB was
never able to recover from ibis
financial drain even though millions of dollars of revenue has
flowed in and out of the enterprise. Over the years, the Com-
p;uiy (RLB) has been plagued
with sour deals.
The next year we printed mi
account of shoddy, substandard
houses built bv RLB. In a story,
dated March 7, 1990, we reported on approximately 80 lo
100 homes built over a 10-year
period with grants from the Department of Housing and L'rban
Development (HUD) and loans
from the Minnesota Housing
Finance Agency. Buyers of these
homes claimed the residences
were built with substandard ma
tcrials and faulty workmanship.
They cited leaking roofs and
flooring that required replacement after only one year of use.
And, ill though il was not contrary to code, the houses had no
back doors— a potential danger
to inhabitants in the event a fire
blocked the one front door. The
homes generated a 30% profit for
RIJB but the benefit of die profit
is questionable when it comes
at the expense of the reservation
residents who bought the homes.
More recently, in January
2001, Constniction Analysis &
Management, Inc. (CAM) of
Fridley, Minnesota brought a
$200,000 suit against RLB for
breach of contract in the completion and sale of 18 modular
homes to the Mille Lacs Bmid of
Ojibwe.
HUD gave $1.9 million to
the Mille Lacs band. They purchased the modular homes from
RI.Industries (RLI), who then
hired RLB as the prime contractor. The homes were to have
been completed by 11 /99. RLB
subsequently contracted with
CAM to do the on site work and
"button up" the modular homes
after they were set on foundations. The contract amount was
$962,134.     .
This lawsuit has done substantial damage to the credibility
ofbolliRLBandRLI. TheRL
tribal attorneys attempted to
have the case dismissed based
on the sovereign immunity defense.  This motion further delayed and complicated the issue.
The motion was denied because
the lawyers couldn't substantiate, in writing, that the tribe had
in fact authorized the sovereign
immunity maneuver. Evidently
someone in tribal hierarchy requested this action but nothing
to the effect could be produced.
Who, out in the outside world,
would w;int to do business with
entities that behave in this fash-
RED LAKE to page 7
American
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2004
Founded in 1988
Volume 16 Issue 37
March 5, 2004
Native community plans medical facility:
Claims exemption from state licensing laws
By Jean Pagano
DETROIT - Economic diversity and an entrepreneurial
spirit are propelling Michigan's
Hannahville Indian Community
into a confrontation with die
Michigan Department of Community Health. Hannahville Indian Community (Hannahville),
located in Michigan's Tipper
Peninsula, is hoping to diversify
its economic base.
While Native business enterprises have ftimed more and
more to gambling and gaming,
Hannaville is proposing to offer
Magnetic Resonance Imaging
(MRI) to patients in southeastern Michigan. While the initial
investment for MRI equipment
is expensive, somewhere in the
neighborhood of $2.5 million,
the cost per test to the public is
between $500 to $1000.
The Hannaville Indian Community has identified a site in
Clinton Township and wants to
build a facility in which it can
offer die tests to the public. The
tribe is also attempting to circumvent the state regulation and
approval of medical buildings
and equipment by claiming an
exemption from state laws. II the
site for the facility is designated
as tribal kind by the federal government, the thought is that die
state will have no say over the
regulation of the business established there.
The potentiiil dispute between
the state and the tribe is not
trivial. While the state generally
supports Nalive development
projects, it claims that the tribe
must get the necessary approval
and permits in order to proceed
with constniction and business
development. Penalties for skirting the approval process can be
steep: operating the medical center widiout state approval carries
a $1,000 per day fine as well as
■ a S 10,000 per day fine for each
piece of equipment.
The Hannahville Indian Community of Wilson, Michigan is
part of the Potawatomi nation.
Hannahville operates a number
of businesses, including the Chip
In's Island Resort and Casino,
which employs 580 people. The
tribe also operates a cardiac
rehabilitation center on 19 Mile
Road in Clinton township, not
far from the proposed MRI site.
The cardiac rehabilitation center
does not have a slate permit, nor
does it need one.
There are 15,000 Native
Americans living in the Detroit
area. While the MRI project
would provide revenue for the
tribe, it may also serve the ne
of the Native people of Detroit.
It is not clem whether Natives
would be given special considerations for their .\ [RI needs.
While the project is in the
planning stages mid no paperwork has y et been filed with the
BIA to designate the Clinton
township site as tribal land,
regulators mid local competitors
me gearing up for a showdown.
The state regulates building mid
equipment to prevent duplication of services in a given area.
Proponents of the tribe's plans
claim that regulations help keep
out competitors and favor the
already existing businesses. In
PLANS to page 3
The Wally, Richard and Gerald Show, Part II
Genocide: It's all in a days pay
By Mindy Jones-Ruby and
Kay Jackson
In his Jan 13 2003 deposition
Richard Jones states on page
4 section 14) "the committee
adopted two very questionable practices. First the LLPCC
decided by a 4 to 3 vote that
if persons felt they lived on
die Reservation, that was good
enough."
Richard Jones is clearly talking about the Eastern edge of the
Leech Lake Reservation. This
area mound White Oak Lake
and Little White Oak Lake is the
original land base of the White
Oak Point Bmid of Indians.
The families still on this land
have been represented in Treaty
Councils with die Federal Govenunent of die United States
since before the August 19,1825
Treaty of Prairie Du Chein. The
land in question was reserved
for the use of the White Oak
Point Indians, in other words
The White Oak Point Reservation. This land mid resources
were incorporated into the Leech
Lake Reservation during the late
1800's mid prior to the Indimi
Reorganization Act of 1934.
In a History of Minnesota
written by William Watts Fol-
well published by die Minnesota
Historical Society in 1930 many
references me made concerning
die White Oak Point Bmid on
page 213 states 'They eke out a
scanty living by hunting, fishing,
mid picking berries during the
wann weather... the braves they
met were insolent and opposed
to removal." These talks were in
die timeframe when the Federal
Govenunent of die United States
hied to convince all the Anisliinabe Bmids to relocate to White
Earth The Bmid of White Oak
Point refused to move choosing
to remain on their ancestral land.
Exec-Director White allowed
the use of the Department of
Resource Management (DRM)
Global Positioning System
(GPS) to tighten the boundaries
of the Leech Lake Reservation.
The purpose of the use of the
GP.System was to exclude the
kuid base of the White Oak Point
Bmid in the hearing process
for the removal/ recall petition
on Sec/ Treas. Arthur "Archie"
LaRose.
This decision lo declare that
the White Oak Point land was
never part of the Leech Lake
Reservation should have been
questioned by someone within
administration. The fact that
Richard Jones used his position
mid status as mi executive staff
of the administration to give his
TRUTH to page 5
Bills would threaten casinos' video slots
By Mark Bnmswick
Star Tribune
In a move that Indimi gmnbling proponents described as
"unconscionable extortion," two
state legislators said Wednesday
that they will introduce bills to
outlaw video slot machines unless the tribes agree to renegotiate their monopoly gmnbling
compacts.
The 19,000 video slots in Minnesota are the most lucrative
fonn of gmnbling at die state's
18 tribal casinos, accounting for
80 percent of revenues. Any effort to curtail them would have
monumental effects.
Rep. Jim Knoblach, R-St. Cloud,
and Sen. Tom Neuville, R-North-
field, would outlaw video slots
by Jan. 1, 2006, unless the tribes
agree to come lo the negotiating
table.
The compacts, agreed to 15 .
yems ago with no end date, gave
die uibes a monopoly on casino
gmnbling mid arc the center of
a debate about whether the state
should get a slime of die profits.
The bill is scheduled to be introduced today. It would require
the state's 11 gmnbling tribes to
share casino revenues with the
state, stop them from designating any off-reservation "mist
laud" for new casinos, and set a
20-year expiration date for any
future compacts.
Neuville mid Kiioblach contend that die current arrangement
leaves the state little oversight
authority mid nothing in revenues.
"If we're going to have gmn-    •
ing in Minnesota it has to be
highly regulated. The lack of
regulation has brought into question at least many of the social
consequences mid other problems with the game," Neuville
said.
He mid Kiioblach said the bill
would allow for a more equitable distribution of gmnbling
revenues among all the state's
tribes. The tyvo lmgest in die
state, White Earth and Red Lake,
remain the poorest mid have
received little economic benefit
from gmnbling.
'The point is that either of
these, getting rid of die slots or
renegotiation, is better than what
we've got now," Kiioblach said.
The bill would not affect other
fonns of gmnbling, such as
BILL to page 5
rM
Picture of Jana Metge, Weed & Seed Chair, speaks passionately about Vigil.
Vigil in Minneapolis for victims of double homicide
Bv Vincent Hill
100 Phillips Neighborhood
members, governmental officials, and Mpls police
officers gathered hist Saturday on 12th Avenue South-
just off Fast 26th street-tO
commemorate the victims
of ii double homicide, that
occurred 2 weeks previous.
Justin Hanks, an Anisliinabe
teenager shot his mother' s
boyfriend, Jesse Sayers, in
their home, then, walked 2
blocks to the current \ ijjil
site area, where he gunned down
Bernardino Garcia, who had
been walking with his girlfriend.
No justification has been forthcoming for the second slaying at
this time.
N [pis N lay or R. T. Rybak, 6th
Ward Council member Zimmerman, State Senator Linda
Berglin, mid City Council vice
president Robert Lilligren were
among those that spoke during
the 2 hour vigil. Prayers were
offered in Ojibwe, English, and
Spanish. A sizeable number of
community members present
were Hispanic.
Jana \ letge, Chair of the Phil
lips Neighborhood Weed & Seed
spoke passionately in sympathy
to families of all die victims. As
one of the vigil organizers, Jan'
s sentiments are expressed in the
vigil flyer.
"We wmit to show support to
the families of all the victims, to
the community mid join together
to send a loud message of peace
in the community, violence is no
the miswer to anger."
Arnold's jackpot?
Governor should look to Connecticut to win on Indian gaming issue
By Jan Golab
Back in January of 2003,
before Arnold Schwarzenegger took on the Indimi
casinos in die California
recall campaign, die state of
Connecticut became Uie first
in the country to pass legislation designed to stop all future casino development.
The reason diis is important, and why California
should lake notice, is that
Connecticut is home of the
two most profitable casinos
on earth. It is the only state
ahead of California on the
Indimi casino curve, the clem
harbinger of what we am
expect to happen soon in die
Golden State.
"We are receiving 25
percent of the slot machine
revenue, $400 million a
yem, and we are just a tiny
state with 3 million people,"
says Jeff Benedict, president
of The Connecticut Alliance
Juror in
Looking
Cloud case
speaks out
Associated Press
RAPID CITY, S.D.-A
member of a federal jury
says the pmiel took its job
seriously mid carefully
weighed testimony before
convicting Arlo Looking Cloud in the 1975
deatii of American Indimi
Movement activist Anna
Mac Pictou Aquash.
"We knew wc were
affecting someone's life
with the decision wc
made," Laura Franklin of
Rapid City told the Rapid
City Journal. NT think
it's important that people
know you don't just go in
there (in (he jury room)
mid draw straws or something."
When the trial began
last inoudi, Franklin she
JUROR to page 6
Against Casino Expansion.
'Twelve other groups are lined
up, wanting to build more. But
our Legislature, which gets all
this money, said no dianks."
Connecticut residents don't
wmit their state to become Las
Vegas East.
The Connecticut state Legislature became so alanned by the
looming threat of further casino
expansion that it repealed its 'Ixis
Vegas Nights" staUite. Federal
law only allows tribes to offer
gambling where it's pennitted
under state law. So now, Connecticut officials have outlawed
even charity gmnbling
in hoping diat will enable them to
bar more casinos — perhaps even
close die two tliev alreadv have.
Why?
"Casino money costs us a lot
more than it's worth," says Benedict.
Casinos have an enonnous impact on infrastructure, on roads,
water mid land consumption, fire,
police and ambulance service, air
pollution mid traffic.
They burden health and school
systems with the children of low-
wage casino workers and create
a severe shortage of affordable
housing. They cause property
devaluation and lost taxes from
businesses mid lands taken over
by tax-exempt tribes.
Although casinos argue they create jobs and help neighboring businesses, they are in fact a drain on
competing restaurants, bars, hotels
and retad oudets. "When the Indian
casino conies to town, nobody else
does ell," says Benedict.
The Pequot tribe has also
subjected its host state mid local governments to a decade of
legal battles over tribal land annexation, property taxes, land use
regulations, sovereign immunity
from lawsuits and police jurisdiction.
Local communities have spent
JACKPOT to page 3
Hollow victory for Wilson
By Diane E. White
Cass I.ake-The Leech Lake
Tribal Court Judge Margaret
Treuer, on Febniary 20 ordered
the Tribe's Secretary-Treasurer,
Arthur "Archie" LaRose "to
release or direct die Comptroller
to release, to the Petitioner all
financial infonnation and documents (or permit review of the
smne) requested by Petitioner
in writing which identifies widi
reasonable specificity the documents or infonnation sought,
except social security numbers,
gmning trade secret infonnation
mid miy data protected by data
privacy laws applicable to the
Bmid tlirough grants mid contracts with the Federal and
State governments.','
On Tuesday, Febniary 17,
Wilson v. LaRose was heard before die Honorable Judge Treuer,
each acting on their own behalf.
Wilson, die Petitioner, and a
member of die Reservation Business Committee, requested die
court to order, LaRose, the Secretary-Treasurer of the Business
Committee "to disclose certain
financial infonnation including,
but not limited to, infonnation
regarding die Band's purchase
of real property at Sliiugobee,
corporate credit cards, budget
disbursements, wages, contracts,
etc. from July 15,2002 to present. "These are the smne items,
Wilson requested at the January
2 Quarterly RBC meeting that
Chainnan White promised to
present in a public meeting on
January 20. A date that coincided
with U.S. Attorney Heffelfin-
ger's visit.
Wilson claimed mid die court
found he had made attempts to
gain financial data in order to
uphold his constitutional duty to
contemplate Bmid finances
in order to make business decisions diat must be approved by
the RBC as a whole; mid also
concluded, "Widiout access to
such infonnation RBC members
woidd be unable to make sound
decisions in fulfilling their duty
as elected officials."
Directly related to this matter is
the District Representative's
suspension, where he was sus-
WILSON to page 3