Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2004-04-16

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
The line is drawn at
Leech Lake
page 5
Vote for respect, respect
your vote!
page 4
Roman "Ducker" Stately
campaign statement
for chairman
page 4
Red Lake Tribal
member appreciates
honesty in coverage
page 4
Financial situation
at Red Lake should
be primary isue of
campaign
page 4
Red Lake certifies candidates
Council appropriates $125,000 to keep Beltrami
County Branch Welfare Office open
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
RED LAKE-On April 13,
2004, the Red Lake Tribal Council certified 36 candidates for
the General Election to be held
on May 19,2004. The top two
vote getters in each category will
go onto a run-off election to be
detennined, however, if one candidate receives over 50% of Uie
votes in their race, they win aid
will not have to proceed lo the
run-off.
During (lie meeting Ponemah
residents challenged the residency of incumbent candidate
for Disuict Representative, Rudy
Johnson and he was not certified
by die Council. Also not certified
was Rob Nedeau and Cynthia
King withdrew.
The Council also approved
S 125,000 to Beltrami Comity
to cover administrative costs to
keep the Red Lake Social Services office open. .Also noted
during die council meeting, funding appropriations were made to
Law Enforcement for $400,000
to cover short falls. The Council
approved a loan in an amount up
to $100,000 to open an excavation business named, "Earthwork
Technologies."
The list of candidates is as follows
CHAIRMAN - 2 YEAR TERM
Roman "Ducker" Stately, Jr.
Floyd "Buck" Jourdain
Ramona R. Desjarlait
Bobbv Whitefeather
Red Lake - 2 Year Tenn
Eugene J. "Slug" Sayers, Jr.
Phillip B.Johns
Donna J. Morrison
Rebecca A. Barrett
Keith L. Stately
Robert D. Beaulieu, Jr.
William .R. "Butch" Jourdain
Donald E. Desjarlait
William G. "Bill" Pemberton
Rose M. "Rosie Bee" Barrett
Donna Mae Sumner
RED LAKE - 4 YEAR TERM
Jim White, Incumbent
Deanna K. Lasley
Kevin F. Cook
Collins W. Lussier, Sr:
Donald J. May
REDBY
Allen D. Pemberton, Incumbent
Sheldon "Skin" Browii
Vemon D. Clark
Dorothy W. Cobenais
PONEMAH
Gail G. Mills
Barbara M Thomas
\ lurphv A. Thomas, Jr.
Melvin Whitefeather, Sr.
Pete C. Black
Glenda J. Martin
Randall W. Kingbird
Jeffrey D. Kingbird
LITTLE ROCK
Richard W. Barrett, Sr., Incumbent
Charles A. Norris
Chris G. Jourdain
2004 Basic Skills Test results released:
Red Lake lags far behind
By Jean Pagano
The Minnesota Department of
Education (_\ IDE) released the
result of its Basic Skills Tests
(BST) for 8di graders for 2004.
The BSTs were administered
in Febniary 2004 and 65,973
students took the reading skills
test wliile 66,073 took die madi
skills exam.
The BST are administered to
assure that students have basic
proficiencies in math mid reading "in order to live and work
in today's society", according
the Minnesota Department of
Education web site. Statewide,
81.1% of students passes die
reading test and 10.7% passed
Ac math portion. A passing
score in either die math or reading test is equal to or greater
dian 600. Across all students,
the average reading score was
645 and the average madi score
was 631. On die average, math
scores have tended upwards for
the last five years wliile reading
scores also trended higher except for a small dip diis year.
Native 8th grade students
scored an average of 608.4 in
the reading exam, compared
to 654.1 for white 8di graders.
Scores in mathematics were
slighdy lower, with Native sUidents scoring, on average, below
the passing mark with 592.3
wliile dieir wliite peers averaged
639.5. In both madi and reading,
whites and Asian/Pacific Islanders scored, on average, belter
dian Natives, who scored better than Hispanics and African
Americans. From the perspective
of passing scores. 56.14% of Native students passed die reading
test, compared to 87.15% among
whites, 63.17% of Asian Pacific
Islanders, 51.82% of Hispanics, and 50.08% for African
Americans. Passing scores in
die madiematics test showed
whites widi a 77.52% passing
rate; 57.91% for Asian/Pacific
Islanders, 43.04% for Native students, 38.18% for Hispanics, and
31.11% for African Americans.
Among school districts with
significant Native populations,
diere was a variation of scores,
but with the exception of Red
Lake, all other districts averaged
above or near the passing score.
Students in Bemidji scored 640.6
on die reading test and 623.3 in
die madi exam. Cass Lake score
for reading were 604.6 for reading and 596.9 in madiematics.
Cloquet reading scores stood at
637.5 for the reading exam and
622.7 for the math portion. Deer
River scores were 634.9 in reading and 644.3 in mathematics,
above the slate average of 630.7.
Duluth school scores were 648.4
for reading mid 628.1 for math.
Duluth's reading grades were
also above die stale average.
Mahnomen grades in reading
were 618.9 and math was 595.6,
slightly below the passing score
of 600. Red Lake numbers registered 578.6 for reading and
math was at 556.8. Red I .ake
scores in reading and math were
bodi below the passing score
of 600. Walker schools scored
. 640.8 in reading mid 615.7 in
math. Finally, Waubun had reading scores at 636.7 mid mathematics scores al 618.4.
Red Lake presents a particular
challenge: Wliile the general
trend for scores in reading has
been improving over the last 5
years, the a\ erage of 578.0 is suIF-
below the passing mark of 6(X).
Madi scores, on die odier hand,
have been declining over die last
5 years widi die lowest average
reported in 2001 at 555.1 and the
highest the subsequent year at
564.9. Still, this year's 556.8 in
madi leaves much to be desired
and discovered.
Red Lake's per student allocation of fimds is among die highest in die stale, yet die scores
are among some of the lowest.
One cannot help to wonder why
giving more money to Red Lake
schools does not result in better
testing for Red Lake cliildren.
The Anishinaabeg fight back: Legal victories,
political betrayals
Pt II of II
By Jeff Armstrong
While die U.S. was debating
the relative merits of die IRA in
1934, James Coffee was testifying before die Senate Committee
on Indian Affairs as President of
die Chippewa General Council
to demand die renirn of Leech
Lake land seized in 1922 to create what is now die Chippewa
National Forest, which virtually
encompasses the reservation.
Coffee testified that: "The Chip-
pewas of Minnesota are gready
in need of land embraced in die
said forest reserve; diey obtain
from it dieir support. After they
were dispossessed of diat land
they were actually reduced to
want mid hardship. They need
die game and fish that abounds
tiiere."
But neidier Coffee nor die .
Indimi Reorganization Act and
its political offspring could effect die reUini of a meaningful
portion of die land appropriated
from the Anishinaabeg under die
Nelson mid Clapp Acts. Nor did
die IRA extension of tnist status
prevent Minnesota counties from
issuing fee patents on allotted
tnist lands whose 25-year federal
supervision had expired. One
such parcel belonged to die heirs
of Zay Zali, odierwise known as
Charles Aubid. In die first major
legal victory for die Anishinaa-   .
beg of the Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe in dieir continuing land
stniggle, Zay Zali's grandson,
George Aubid, successfully argued in slate court that die state's
1952 fee patenting of die land
was invalid in light of the IRA's
indefinite extension of trust
status. Aubid's remarkable victor}' was affinned by die Minnesota Supreme Court October 21,
1977, inspiring hope mid expectation among the Anishinaabeg,
but fern- mid resentment on die
pmt of state officials mid private
landowners.
The Interior Department was
dius forced to reassume its role
of administrator of tribal lands,
funding a Uibal investigative organization known as 2415 Land
Claims to document potentially
illegal land transfers. By die
early to mid-1980s, the investigation had uncovered more dian
200,000 acres of questionably
conveyed land subject to potential tribal recovery efforts. But as
pressure for a settlement aimed
at quieting "clouded" tide grew
across the Minnesota political
spectrum, federal fluids for the
investigation dried up. In 1983,
the first proposed White Eardi
land claims settlement bill was
proposed but abandoned when
no pretense of tribal consent
could be secured.
Two yems later, Minnesota
Senators Rudy Boschvvitz and
FIGHT to page 6
Native American kindergarteners may not be ready
for school in Minnesota
Department of Education releases \ linnesota School Readiness Assessment Results
Each year close to 60,000
children begin kindergarten
in Minnesota. Every school
grade, including kindergarten,
requires that children enter with
a certain level of age appropriate knowledge, behaviors and
skills in order to be likely to
succeed. For the second consecutive year, Minnesota Department of Education (MDE)
study results show that nearly
half of the children entering
kindergarten in the state lack
developmental skills they need
to enter school. In other words,
they me not "school ready".
Because Minnesota has more
than 53,000 members in its Native American population, this
community has a significantly
higher number of children mid
youth aged 0-19 than in any
other age demographic. There
are more Native Americmi
children entering kindergarten
each year and this study and, its
findings, merit close attention
from Native American families
in Minnesota.
In fall 2003, MDE assessed
nearly 3000 children from 52
randomly selected, yet representative schools. Using the
Work Sampling System (WSS),
a widely accepted rating scale,
128 teachers assessed cliildren
for a five to six week period
beginning at the start of kindergarten. They evaluated each
child's developmental abilities
in live categories: 1. Physical
Development mid Health;
2. Personal & Social Development; 3. The Arts; 4. Language
& Literacy; mid 5. Mathematical Thinking.
In each category, children
were rated as being at one of
three levels: "proficient", "in
process", or "not yet". "Proficient" means able to regularly
and consistently perform the
skill knowledge or behavior
at the expected level. "In pro-
READINESS to page 6
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Founded in 1988
Volume 16 Issue 43
April 16,2004
An 1800's field printing press used by the U.S. Army in the Arizona Territory to make posters of the escaped
Apache Indian war chief Geronimo, is displayed at Mayor Stephen Reed's office in Harrisburg, Pa., in this
July 10, 2003, file photo. Reed spent more than $4.5 million of the city's funds on artifacts for an Old West
museum he wants to establish in the city. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)
A tribal divide
Casino-rich tribes and poorer reservations are at odds
bling money to more tribes — and to lite stale
By Jim Ragsdale
Pioneer Press
Wliite Emth Reservattion
- It has everything a water
tower needs — except water.
Soaring above die humble
homes in the northeast corner of die Wliite Eardi reservation, die freshly painted
light-green tower adonied
widi the image of an eagle
sits empty while the band
looks for money to run it.
"I call it the pigeon decoy," quipped Andrew Favorite, who supervises tribe
enrollments.
The dry reservoir — along
widi die crumbling tribal
school, the lead-tainted water system, healdi erne needs
mid a jumble of substandard
housing — are on Wliite
Earth's bulging to-do list. So
me the needs of the many urban Wliite Emth tribe members in die Twin Cities, 250
miles away from die pigeon
decoy.
It's mi image at odds with
die more visible uibal success stories of recent years
on wealthier reservations,
where thriving casinos have
fueled a revolution in high-
quality schools, community
facilities and personal income.
But diat success has eluded more
remote resenations, such as Hie
White Eardi Band of Ojibwe as
well as the Red I ake Bmid of
Chippewa to the north.
This vivid divide between rich
and poor tribes has reached the
Minnesota Legislanire in die
form of a gmnbling bill.
Red Lake and White Earth are
pinning dieir hopes for the future
on a long-odds proposal to build
a new gmnbling palace in the
metro mea, with the proceeds
flowing to the financially strug*-
gling, populous tribes — and
also to the stale. The two tribes
represent nemly two-thirds of
X linnesola's Indimi population.
Wlute Earth, with about
23,000 enrolled members, nets
about S3.8 million per year from
its casino in Mahnomen, officials say. Compare that widi die
mountains of cash thrown oil by
die Mystic Lake complex in Shakopee for the 300-member Sioux
bmid, where mmua] payments of
gmnbling profits for each tribe
member are believed to exceed
SI million.
'Tiiree people down in Mystic
Lake get more money than we
get to serve 23,000 members,"
said Ron Valiant, executive di-
over a bill to spread gam-
rector of the White Eardi Tribal
Council.
The ka-ching of coins and
synthesized jingles of die video
slot machines — die dominant
industry in Indimi Country - have
showered riches on geographically blessed tribes, left odiers
out in the cold, provoked jealousy among whites who want their
own slot-machine music and
drawn die attention of Gov. Tim
Pawienty, who wmits the state to
share in the booty.
'There's a chess gmne going
oil between all of die uibes mid
the slate," Favorite said.
White Earth
Far from die heavily lobbied
conunittee rooms, gmnbling
economics is a powerful force,
determining who gets housing,
insurance coverage and college
scholarships mid whether the water will ever (low from die
"pigeon decoy" towering over
the pines of Wliite Eardi.
Bert Stevens, whose house is
across the street, sees die need
to fix up crumbling housing mid
improve police protection. But
he is not convinced gmnbling is
die solution.
DIVIDE to page 3
Interior ordered
to pay legal fees
over seizure of
eagle feathers
Associated Press
ALBUQIERQUE, N.M. -
A federal judge has ordered
the Interior Department to
pay $48,818 in legal fees mid
costs to a Chiricahua Apache
who fought die agency for
eight years over die seizure
of eagle feathers.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service agents seized items
with feathers in 1996 from
Joseluis Saenz, who used
diem in religious ceremonies.
EAGLE to page 5
Update: Restraining order
between Wilson and LaRose
WALKER, MN-hi last
week's edition, "Leech Lake
Quarterly Meeting Ends Abruptly" article, District 1 Representative, Burton "Luke" Wilson filed
a motion for a Restraining Order
in Cass County against Secretary-Treasurer Arthur "Archie"
LaRose which was heard on
Wednesday, April 14,2004 at 1:
00. To update readers, according
to plaintiff Wilson, 9di Judicial
District Judge David Harrington
was scheduled to hear the case,
however, due to a possible conflict of interest. Wilson requested
a new judge.
A new hearing is scheduled for
\ fay 17, 2004 in front of 9th Judicial District Judge John Smidi.
According to Wilson, Harrington
listened to LaRose mid Wilson in
his chambers mid he tried to dismiss the case indicating jurisdiction should be with Leech Lake
Tribal Court not the County. Wilson argued criminal matters are
not in the jurisdiction of Leech
Lake Tribal Court. He also asked
if Harrington mid LaRose were
friends as LaRose had made a
statement to Wilson diat he and
Harrington were good friends.
Harrington acknowledged he
coached LaRose in basketball
and he knew one of LaRose's
witnesses, Controller Yeldon
Baird acknowledging he rented
to Yeldon Baird in Bemidji.
UPDATE to page 5