Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2004-04-23

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
To the people of
the reservations
page 5
Indian tribes should be
wary of Supreme Court
Justices Scalia, Thomas
page 4
Open letter to Richard
Jones, District 3
Candidate
page 4
Pawlenty's attempt
to open state-run
casino between Red
Lake, White Earth,
Minnesota
page 4
Tribal/State gambling
bill - a crap shoot
page 4
Courts give Tribal Sovereign Immunity mixed reviews
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
By Bill Lawrence
Two major court decisions,
involving Tribal Sovereign Immunity (TSI) came out this week.
The first was the US vs Lara case
wherein the majority opinion
ruled that Tribal Courts do have
jurisdiction to prosecute non-
member Indians. This decision
reversed the earlier, 1990 Duro
decision. (See AP article regarding the Lara case on this page,
see also Commentary by Donovan on page 4.)  The other case
was Krystal Energy Company vs
Navalio Nation. Both could have
long range effects on TSI.
In the Krystal Energy Company vs Navalio Nation case
(brought under the Bankruptcy
code), the Company appealed
a lower court decision to Uie
Federal 9th Circuit Court of Appeals and won a favorable ruling.
Krystal claimed die tribe unlawfully seized its assets, including
wells, on the Reservation.
The Court of Appeals decision
centered on a reversal of Court
decisions that had previously
required a specific mention of
'Indian Tribes' in legislation that
had the effect of eliminating or
limiting TSI.
In die Krystal case the Court
said it was not necessary to specifically express the tenn, 'Indian Tribe,' diat the Court could
conclude legislative intent from
die facts and circumstances of
any given case. The issue before the Court was whether Congress abrogated the sovereign
immunity of Indian tribes when
it enacted Section 106 of die
Bankruptcy code. The decision
referenced die following quote
to support its position:
"Supreme Court's decisions
do not require Congress to utter
die magic words 'Indian Tribes'
when abrogating [eliminating]
tribal sovereign immunity. Congress speaks 'unequivocally'
when it abrogates die sovereign
immunity of 'foreign mid domestic governments.' Because
Indian tribes are domestic governments, Congress has abrogated their sovereign immunity
in 11 u.s.c. 106 (a)."
This extends the Bankruptcy
Code to include all foreign and
domestic governments, and widi
die same language, die code
interpretation would also have
to include tribal governments.
I lad Congress wanted to exclude
Indian tribes, it would have expressly done so.
It is likely the Navalio tribe
will appeal die decision to the
US Supreme Court. However,
when die tribe appealed for an
En Banc hearing in the matter,
not one of the judges asked for
the rule to be reconsidered. (For
an En Banc heating, normally
only one of the judges needs ac-
REVIEWS to page 7
Grassroots
advocates
petition MCT
TEC to Censure
Leech Lake's
White, LaRose
Bv Diane E. White
WHITE EARTH, MN-On
April 22,2004, Tribal Members
Randy Finn and Mindy Jones-
Ruby met with die Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe's Tribal Executive Committee in an effort to
present a document outlining
malfeasance mid dereliction and
neglect of duty, and refusal to
comply widi numerous provisions
of die MCT Constitution. They
write, "There is a grave financial
and governing crisis occurring
at Leech Lake. Documentation
including a summation and hundreds of pages of supporting documents, including a transcribed
tape recording of a meeting, of
the violations by Chainnan White
and Secretary Treasurer LaRose
were presented to Garv Frazer on
April 21,2004."
The taped discussion is a meeting between the full Leech Lake
Tribal Council and John Gerber,
Field Investigator of die National
Indian Gaming Commission.
Also present, at that meeting
were Executive Director, Gerald
White, Executive Assistant Dale
Green, Attorneys, Frank Bibeau
and Heidi Drobnick, and Controllers, Veldon Baird and Dan
Erickson. Gerber was meeting
widi Leech Lake regarding a report on internal matters.
This transcription clears up
what Chainnan Wliite has previously publicly stated in two
Press Releases.
CENSURE to page 7
Disputed Leech Lake financial
records passed in special meeting
By Diane E. White
CASS LAKE—In accordance
with die Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe's (MCT)constitution,
regular meetings are public and
held four limes a year being die
first Friday in July, October,
January and April. On April 2,
Chainnan Pete White called the
Regular meeting to order and
adjourned a mere 10 minutes
later citing he would reconvene
when he had a "more cooperative quorum." This came when
Arthur "Archie" LaRose made a
motion to pass die Financial Reports of January 2,2004 and the
motion died for lack of a second.
The Council's quorum of tiiree
were present and included both
Executive Officers and District
1 Representative Burton "Luke"
Wilson.
This Regular, public meeting
was reconvened in private on
Tuesday, April 13, with a quorum made up of the Executive
Officers and District 3 Representative, Richard Robinson.
District 2 Representative was on
medical leave and not present
for die meeting. Wilson was on
travel status and was not present at the Special meeting. The
meeting agenda indicated diis
meeting is a "Special Meeting"
and did not include the January
2 Financial Report, and 'Enroll
RECORDS to page 7
Leech Lake LaRose responds to
Wilson's restraining order
CASS LAKE—Secretary-
Treasurer, Arthur "Archie"
LaRose is being sued in Cass
County Court by District 1
Representative Burton "Luke"
Wilson following a brief altercation at die Controller's office in
die Facility Center where Wilson
was reviewing accounting records requested at die January 2
Quarterly meeting.
Randy Thompson filed a
"Memorandum of Arthur 'Archie' LaRose for Dismissal" in
response lo the Wilson's complaint. Thompson represented
LaRose in January 2003 regarding an effort to remove him from
office and at that time filed a
Temporary Injunction in tribal
court. In this case, Thompson
argues that Wilson must pursue
remedy dirough Tribal Court
because this is an internal tribal
matter.
According to LaRose and
Thompson, "On April 5,2004,
Mr. Wilson was reviewing financial documents of die Leech
lake Band in the office of the
Leech Lake Band's Controller. Those documents are under
LaRose's control and are his
responsibility to maintain and
safeguard, as die Secretary-Treasurer. When Mr. Wilson was reviewing die documents, LaRose
informed him diat Wilson was
not free to remove the documents from die office, because
they were the original documents. Mr. Wilson, however,
gathered a number of documents
togedier and attempted to leave
die office.
LJnfortunalely, Wilson and
LaRose were alone at the time,
since die Controller had recently
left die office. LaRose grabbed
die documents, not Wilson, in
LAROSE to page 7
Tribal question: Who is a Navajo?
Proposal would lower bloodline requirements
By Judy Nichols and Betty Reid
The Arizona Republic
'The Navajo tribe is considering making it easier to be a Navajo.
A proposal to lower the minimum blood requirement from
one-quarter to one-eighth is
being debated diis week in the
Navajo Nation Council, the governing body of die largest tribe
in die Uinited States. If approved,
membership could double, increasing to more than 600,000
from about 310,000.
Navajo President Joe Shirley
said the issue is so momentous
that it should go before die entire
tribe as a referendum.
"I don't diink it's been dior-
oughly discussed," Shirley said.
"I diink it can be changed, but
I don't diink the council should
change it. It affects the whole
Navajo Nation, so die people
should get to vote."
The proposal was introduced
by council delegate Ervin Kees-
wood, who did not return calls
seeking comment.
Tribal membership across the
country has become controversial as some people clamber to
join to get in on per capita casino
payments.
"For those highly successful
tribes, with new riches of gaming, people want to enroll," said
Peterson Zali, fonner chainnan
and president of die Navajo Nation.
But die uibe has no casino,
no individual payments to members, mid Zali said he believes
diis proposal is more about recognizing successive generations
of diose .who have married outside the tribe and making sure all
community voices are counted
in votes.
'This is a response to so many
of our tribal members who are
intennarrying with odier nationalities," said Zah, mi adviser on
American Indian affairs to the
president of Arizona State University. "We are in the same situ-
ation as mmiy other uibes that
have had to redo dieir qualifications."
A dilution of die tribe?
But Zali mid odiers also worry
diat reducing die blood requirement could dilute die tribal purity diat mmiy Navajos are proud
of.
"Culmre, family, land, language," he said. "We have all
struggled to maintain diese qualities widiin our nation and our
tribe. That's what makes us different, a distinct group. We need
to maintain diat concept."
Zah suggested diat die tribe
require historical mid cultural
knowledge as part of die membership application.
"I don't think we should go
strictly on blood quantum," Zali
said. "Personally, knowing our
culmre, background, clans, kinship, knowing your history and,
to some degree, your language,
has served the tribe well in die
past. We should maintain at least
part of diose."
Theresa Yazzie, a Navajo parent mid a Phoenix resident for 19
years, has diree cliildren who are
enrolled in the Navajo Nation.
She doesn't oppose lowering
die blood quantum requirement
or the additional membership
as long as people have proof of
dieir lineage.
"A bigger membership means
more benefits, more money from
die federal government; die Dine
Nation wdl get more money for
miy kind of scholarships," Yazzie
said. 'There's a lot of sniff out
there available for members. As
long as they have proof, they
shouldn't question it."
Freddie Johnson, a Navajo
cultural expert mid teacher in
Phoenix, questioned the proposal.
'Ts it just because, Do we always want to be Number 1?" he
asked. "Are we competing widi
the Cherokee enrollment?"
The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma has 240,000 enrolled
members.
"If it's somebody who is one-
sixteenth Navajo, die tribe might
as well adopt die bilagona (non-
Indian)," Johnson said. 'To me,
it really doesn't make sense.
'We are working hmd to teach
young city Navajos to speak die
Navajo language and (about) the
culture. As of today, diere are 20
to 30 percent of Navajos who
speak die Navajo language. If we
dilute that number, diat increases
die number of people who might
not know die language, or the
religion, which defines us as Navajos."
The proposal was a surprise to
most people, including Leonard
Benaly, program manager for
vital records for die tribe. Benaly
said diis is die fust proposal to
change the blood quantum level
anytime in recent history.
The Navajo Nation code currendy requires diose applying for
membership to present tiieir birth
certificate and fill out a fonn
showing their relationship to a
person on die base membership
roll from 1940.
NAVAJO to page 7
web page: www.press-ori.net
Nstm ,*»»i
American
Press
 ■ We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2004
Founded in 1988
Volume 16 Issue 44
April 23, 2004
^
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Mescalero Apache Nation President Mark Chino, left, signs a settlement Tuesday, April
20, 2004, in Albuqureque, N.M., ending a a long-standing feud over the Mescaleros'
objections to the state's gambling compacts with Indian tribes. New Mexico Attorney
General Patricia Madrid looks on at right. The Mescaleros have agreed to pay the state
$25 million and sign a gaming compact that calls for the tribe to share 8 percent of revenues from its Casino Apache in southern New Mexico. (AP Photo/Jake Schoellkopf)
Mescaleros
relieved to
settle gaming
compact feud
By Susan Montoya Bryan
Associated Press Writer
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.
- The dark cloud that had
loomed over die Mescalero
Apache Tribe and die slot
machines at its mountain
resort mid casino dissipated
Tuesday widi the stroke of a
pen.
Tribal President Mark
Chino mid New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid signed a settlement diat
ends a long-standing feud
over die tribe's objections
to die state's Indimi gmning
compacts mid dieir revenue-
sharing requirements.
The Mescaleros have
agreed to pay the state $25
million in back payments
mid sign a compact diat
calls for die tribe to share 8
percent of revenues from its
Casino Apache in southern
New Mexico.
The deal leaves Pojoaque
Pueblo as die only New
Mexico tribe diat hasn't
signed a gmning compact
with die state.
After putting his nmne at
the bottom of die settlement
papers, Chino said he was
relieved to know diat years
of litigation have come to mi
end and his tribe cmi move
forward.
"T diink it can only get
better because, of course,
we won't have the specter
of diis lawsuit hanging over
our heads anymore," he
said. "We're looking for
good results to come from
this settlement."
Llnder die deal, die Mescaleros will make mi initial
payment of $2 million. It
would pay die remaining
$23 million once die U.S.
Interior Department publishes notice in the Federal
Register diat the compact
FEUD to page 3
Supreme Court allows federal
prosecution after tribal conviction
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The federal government may bring its
own separate case against an
Americmi Indian mmi convicted
in a tribal court of assaulting
a police officer, the Supreme
Court says.
Monday's 7-2 riding reversed
a lower court's holding that die
separate prosecutions violated
die Constitution's guarantee
against double jeopardy.
The Spirit Lake Tribe of
North Dakota acted as mi independent sovereign in die prosecution of Billy Jo Lara, a member of anodier tribe who was
visiting the Spirit Lake reservation, the majority of the justices
found. Because the Spirit Lake
tribe was not acting as a surrogate for the federal government,
die federal govenunent may
still bring its own case against
Lara for committing a federal
crime, Justice Stephen Breyer
wrote for the majority.
Chief Justice William H.
Rehnquist mid Justices John
Paul Stevens, Sandra Day
O'Connor, Anthony M. Kennedy, Clarence Thomas mid
Rudi Bader Ginsburg joined die
majority.
Justices David H. Souter and
Antoniu Scalia dissented.
Alex Reichert, who argued
the case on behalf of Lara, said
he was surprised by the niling
because it "was quite a departure from die past precedent of
the Supreme Court."
He said Congress also is considering die issue of jurisdiction
in criminal cases.
"There's a bill in Congress
right now that gives tribal
courts jurisdiction over everyone, not just members of their
own tribe or members of other
tribes ... giving diem jurisdiction over non-Indians as well,
mid diat bill is couched as an
amendment to die Homeland
Security Act," Reichert said.
COURT to page 5
Judge in California tribe case says
due process tops tribal law
By Cluis T Nguyen
Associated Press
RIVERSIDE, Calif. - Ajudge
says American Indians have die
right of due process just as odier
U.S. citizens do, allowing diem
to sue their tribes or seek other
legal action against tribal laws.
Riverside County Superior
Court Judge Charles D, Field
made his remarks Monday during a hearing seeking dismissal
of a lawsuit filed against the
Pechanga Bmid of Luiseno Mission Indians by 11 fonner members of die tribe, wliich nms a
casino.
The members claim diey were
removed March 17 in violation
of tribal laws. The tribe's attorneys claim sovereignty shields
tribes from lawsuits mid court
intervention.
Field did not rule on the dismissal request, saying he needed
more time to review case history
on sovereignty. He gave attor
neys for bodi parties 10 days to
file briefs on the matter.
Americmi Indians, regardless, have a right to due process
as citizens mid "die notion of
due process trumps tribal laws,"
Field said.
The plaintiffs represent an extended family of 130 adults plus
several cliildren claiming tribal
ancestry, and claim they each
stand to lose about $120,000 a
yem- from casino profits.
The group argues that die committee members want to increase
their own share of casino money.
They say their roots, recorded
in tiibal records, trace back 80
years to Manuela Miranda, die
granddaughter of Pechanga
Chief Pablo Apish, who in 1845
received a 2,223-acre land grant
from Pio Pico, the last Mexican
governor of California.
But tribal leaders, who re-
JUDGE to page 5