Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2004-08-203

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Parenthood is
sacred
page 4
Writer complains of
intimidation and secrecy
atLDF
page 4
Leech Lake, "Land of
prejudice, persecution,
and prostitution" - a
member's view
page 4
LaRose asks TEC to
overrule his removal
page 4
Billy Bad-
News
page 4
Anderson shakes up the Indian Bureau
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
By Bill Lawrence
A "shake up" at the Bureau
of Indian Affairs (BIA) was announced in the media on Monday 8 16 04. Dave Anderson,
Assistant Secretary declined
to call it a shake up although
Senator Tom Daschle, Democrat
from South Dakota, used that
tenn in describing recent events.
The resignation, effective September 10, of Aurene Martin,
the BIA's second in command,
prompted the announcement.
By Wednesday, 8/18/04, Mike
Olsen, a non-Indian lawyer and a
relative newcomer to the Indian
Bureau, had been appointed to
the position Ms. Martin held.
Martin had been the principal
deputy assistant secretary since
2001. Upon Anderson's appointment as Assistant Secretary,
he assigned her responsibility
for federal recognition of tribes
and gaming and gaming-relaled
land acquisitions. Anderson
had officially excused himself
from these areas due to his past
association with Indian gaming
matters.
Olsen, a former congressional
staffer, had been director of
the Office of Native American
and Insular Affairs for the
House Resources Committee.
Although Secretary Anderson
had a month in which to fill die
vacancy, Olsen was appointed
and begins some of his duties
immediately.
Responding to questions concerning Olsen's suitability as a
non-Indian to handle these areas,
Anderson said he believes Olsen
is "very knowledgeable" about
Indian Country affairs. "His
shortcoming is his understanding of the bureaucracy...." This
has also been a criticism of
Anderson himself since this is
his first experience in working
within die federal bureaucracy
Anderson's action in this and
other areas has raised some critical comments, both in Washington D.C. and in die field. In response to Anderson's assignment
of part of his duties to Martin,
Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell, Chair of the Indian Affairs
Committee said "it looks to me
he has recused himself of about
half of the responsibilities he
was appointed to do."
Another issue has to do with
the fact diat the principal deputy
assistant secretary is not subject
to Senate confirmation. When
Anderson disqualified himself
from handling Indian gaming
issues and assigned diem to Vis.
Martin, he was removing those
areas from Senate oversight.
Senator Tom Daschle said
tribes in his state are feeling that
Anderson has not been responsive to dieir needs but he was
hopeful "that diis management
shake up in the BIA Washington
D.C. office will establish die
possibility of a new era of real
cooperation between the federal
government and the tribes."
The several media articles
describing these events are not
clear in commimicating exacdy
what is going on at the Bureau
or the extent of die issue. There
is a suggestion of political implications in these events, for
example, Ron Allen, Chainnan
of the S'Kallam Tribe of Jamestown, Washington, is reportedly "disappointed to learn that
Martin was leaving so close to
die end of President George W.
Bush's first term."
Tex Hall, Chair of the National Congress of American
Indians (NCAI), was described
as unhappy that a non-Indian
had been appointed to take "such
a high level role." He continued,
"it would have been more advantageous to have an American
Indian or Alaska Native take
die position because they would
have had the knowledge of Indian Country in terms of die
protocols of working with tribal
governments,"
However, Hall did acknowledge "that Anderson should take
advantage of die situation to
bring in a team diat supports his
vision." It has been reported that
Hall "has been concerned that
senior aides in the Washington
D.C. office Were not supporting
their boss." He further stated,
it is "only normal for people to
BIA to page 5
23 Candidates
file for Leech
Lake Secretary/
Treasurer and
District I
representative
The following individuals
have filed respectively for
die position of Secretary/
Treasurer and District I Representative. Certification by
the T.cecli Lake Reservation
Business Committee will be
held Mondav, August 23, at
10:00 a.m. in die 20/20 Bingo
Hall at the Palace Casino.
Secretary/Treasurer
District I Representee
Archie LaRose
Jim Michaud
Luke Wilson
Claudia Lyytinen
Donnie Headbird
Alfred Fairbanks
Alfred 'Tig" Pemberton
Kelvin Goggleye
Bemice Pemberton
Milton Gotchic
Ted While, Sr.
Bruce Bowstring
Skip Lyons
Sam Johnson, Jr.
Jimmy Reyes
Ralph Schaaf
Richard Schulman
Tom Howard
Benay Fairbanks
Emmanuel Headbird
Herschel Ogema
Bob Goggleye
Dave I fare
Alleging denial of due process
rights, LaRose asks court to
reinstate him to office
By Jeff Armstrong
Although he has also filed as
a candidate for die seat, Archie
LaRose filed suit last week in an
effort to reclaim his office and
prevent a scheduled special election for secretary treasurer.
The Leech Lake RBC was
given a deadline of today to respond to a motion by LaRose for
the tribal court to reconsider its
Jul}- 29 ruling allowing a public
heaiing which led to die removal
of the secretary treasurer the following day.
LaRose is asking chief Leech
Lake judge Peggy Treuer to
retliink her decision not to intervene in the wake of what the
ousted secretary treasurer contends was his unconstitutional
removal from office. Requesting
a court injunction to block an upcoming special election to complete die remainder of his term,
LaRose argues diat the denial of
his minimal due process rights
warrants die invalidation of his
July 30 removal.
"The harms predicted by the
defendant have certainly has
[sic] occurred now widi die
Removal Hearing. However, by
conduct of die governing body,
subsequent violations of due process and equal protection under
die law are now readily apparent," LaRose's legal brief argues.
"In light of die obvious and
multiple constitutional violations
by die RBC Plaintiffs, this court
must reconsider, widi the benefit
of hindsight of the recent Removal Heaiing events, die equity
and fairness of die process to
assure and protect die rights, protections and guarantees accorded
not only the to Secretary-Treasurer LaRose, but to all MCT
members and U.S. citizens."
Specifically, LaRose maintains
diat die RBC violated bis civil
rights by suppressing evidence
il later used against him, bj
unconstitutionally reviving a
failed recall petition effort and
by refusing to present him widi
charges or allow him lo call witnesses on his behalf at a July
30 removal hearing. Reflecting
die one-sided nature of die latter
proceeding, LaRose notes diat
he was "removed by Plaintiffs
before lunch." He argues diat die
process violated bodi the MCT
and U.S. Constitutions, as well
as die Indian Civil Rights Act.
"The RBC deliberately chose
not to serve Defendant Secretary-Treasurer LaRose with
charges until after the actual
hearing began on July 30,2004,
in order to gain unfair advantage
widi ambush tactics," LaRose's
brief asserts. "Due process demands diat charges are presented
to die accused prior to any hearing on charges, so that die accused may have a meaningful
opportunity to call witnesses and
present evidence in his behalf."
The previous tribal court ruling against LaRose hinged in
COURT to page 5
National Museum of the American Indian to open:
Latest Addition to Smithsonian Institute
By Jean Pagano
The Smithsonian Institute's
National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) will open
September 21st on die National
Mall in Washington D.C. The
NMAI is an institution of living
cultures dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition
of the life, languages, literature,
history, and arts of the Native
Peoples of the Western Hemisphere.
The day's events begin with
a Native Nations Procession
described as "a highly symbolic
walk of indigenous cultural
expression that will celebrate
die grand opening of the National Museum of die American
Indian." The mile long procession route will stretch from the
Washington Monument to die
LIS. Capitol and will end at die
site of the opening ceremonies
for the NMAI. The Native Nations Procession commences at
8:00 a.m. and continues until
the opening ceremony, which
will take place from noon to
1:00 p.m. All events are open
to die public and are free of
charge.
The opening ceremonies will
consist of a speaking program
featuring NMAI Director Richard West, Smithsonian Secretary
Lawrence M. Small, and Native
Senators Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) and Daniel K.
Inouye (D-HJ). Senators Nighthorse Campbell and Inouye are
co-chairs of die Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. NMAI Director Richard West (Southern
Cheyenne) was named founding
director of die museum in 1990.
Direcdy following die opening ceremonies, die National
Congress of American Indians
(NCAI) in cooperation with
die American Indian Society
of Washington D.C. will host a
Social Dance on the National
Mall. This event will feamre die
sliming of tribal dances, singing,
and other cultural items by Native American peoples.
Other cultural events celebrating the opening of the NMAI
will begin during the week prior
to the opening ceremonies and
continuing into die following
week. On September 18th, Toronto-based Red Sky Theatre
Company will present Sun Spirits, a family-oriented program
of dance, drama, and music at
die Terrace Theatre. Ulali will
be performing on the Millennium Stage on die 19di, featuring three Native women singing
acapclla in their Native languages of Apache, Mayan, Tuscarora, and Yaqui. Also on the 19th,
Navajo Larry Redhouse and
die Larry Redhouse Trio will
perform jazz at the Terrace Theatre. Native comedians will be
featured on die 20di at the Ter
race Gallery including Charlie
Hill and Don Bunistick. Native
Hawaiian Ledward Ka'apana
will be on the Millennium Stage
performing widi die ki ho'alu
or slack-key guitar. Finally, the
Cherokee National Youth Choir
will present traditional Cherokee
hymns and songs in Cherokee
on the Millennium Stage on
September 24th.
The NMAI houses die former Museum of the American
Indian, Heye Foundation. The
collection was started in 1903
by George Gustav Heye and
now contains over 800,000 objects and 125,000 photographs.
Approximately 70 percent of
die collection conies from North
America (3% from Canada and
67% from the United States),
with die remaining 30 percent
coming from Central and Soudi
America.
The original legislation that
designated die creation of the
NMAI called for die Smithsonian to raise one-diird of die
funding wliile Congress would
appropriate the odier two-diirds.
NMAI has raised S214 million
towards die construction of the
museum with Congress providr
ing $119 million to date. Fund-
raising has accounted for the
additional S95 million, far more
that the S59.5 million that the
Smithsonian was to raise.
web page: www.press-on.net
Native
American
Press
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2004
Founded in 1988
Volume 17 Issue 10
August 20, 2004
Andrew Big Smoke, 9, of Minneapolis, dressed in traditional plains Indian garb, dances during
the annual Wacipi on Saturday, Aug. 7, 2004, at the Upper Sioux Agency State Park southeast of
Granite Falls, Minn. (AP PhotoAA/est Central Tribune, Ron Adams)
Ruling upholds legality of Senecas' casino corporations
By Carolyn Thompson
Associated Press
BUFFALO,N.Y.-The
Seneca Indian Nation's highest court has thrown out a
lower court's ruling that said
die corporations operating
die tribe's casinos are illegal.
The Supreme Appellate
Court, which comprises
members of the nation's governing Tribal Council, ruled
that the Tribal Council had
appropriately established the
Seneca Gaining Corp. and
its subsidiaries, and diat the
businesses were protected
by sovereign immunity from
being sued.
The decision late Tuesday
reversed an Aug. 11 decision by the nation's Court
of Appeals which said the
corporations were formed
in violation of the Seneca
constitution. The lower court
said the Indian nation's activities
should be controlled instead by a
council of elected officials. •
"The Seneca Nation government was set up so people could
have a say," said Robert Jones, a
leader of a group called die Senecas for Justice and Preservation,
which brought the legal challenge.
Jones said the high court
overstepped its authority when it
acted late Tuesday, since its ruling overturned bench rulings by
the Court of Appeals which had
not yet been made final.
"It would be like the U.S.
Supreme Court trying to rule on
something that's still before die
LT.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,"
Jones said. "It's highly illogical
why they did this."
The Tribal Council, which
serves as die appellate court,
said it would have no comment
pending a written version of
Tuesday's decision, expected in
about two weeks.
In die meantime, Jones wrote
letters to die court Wednesday
seeking a clarification of the tailing. "We're trying to get diem to
be fair about this," he said.
Jones and his group object
to expenditures made by die
Seneca Gaming Corp. and its
president, G. Michael "Mickey"
Brown, who is not a Seneca.
With many Senecas living in
poverty, Jones said people
elected by die Senecas should
determine how profits from the
tribes casinos in Niagara Falls
and Salamanca are used.
Seneca President Rickey
Armstrong Sr. has said the tribe
has used casino profits to create
housing and odier programs to
improve life for all Senecas.
High levels of black mold found in Pine Ridge
Reservation homes
By Shannon Shaw
Associated Press
PINE RIDGE, S.D.-.After
living in their Pine Ridge
Indian Reservation home
for 12 years, Jerome High
Horse's family moved out
in 2002 because black mold
made living conditions unbearable.
"It looked like somebody
took black paint and started
to paint in the comers of die
walls and ran it down to die
floor," said High Horse. "To
breadie in diere was like trying to breadie with a trash
bag over your head."
He attributes the mold to
poor constniction that led to
ventilation problems.
Haz-N lalters Inc., of Black
Haw;k, inspected the High
Horse home in 2002. Its report says fungal spores in die
home exceeded safe levels.
The Finn's recommendations said the home may be
considered uninhabitable,
depending on die health and
medical conditions of the occupants.
On die Pine Ridge Reservation, one of die poorest
areas in die nation, the tribal
Healdi and Human Sen ices
Department has created a
Mold Task Force widi a
five-year plan to address the
problem, but it may tic short
of money.
The task force would like to
hire two more inspectors for the
reservation, which has 1,650
HUD homes and hundreds
more that are outside die HUD
program. Fifty-five percent of
all homes on die reservation are
infected widi black mold or other
strains of mold, according lo the
team.
Task force inspections indicate
that more dian half of die infected homes are at level three, the
highest level of contamination,
said Rick Palmer, a task force
member. A level diree home has
more than 100 square feet of
mold.
"We can't say we have diis
under control because we don't,"
said Jeff McDonald of the Mold
Task Force. "What we do have
under control is know ing what
we have to do about it."
The Native American Housing
Assistance and Self Determination Act, funded through the federal Department of I lousing and
Urban Development, gives tribes
money to hire contractors and for
maintenance and upkeep, said
Donna White, a IR D spokeswoman in Washington D.C.
HUD has given $630 million
to all tribes through die act, and
there should be enough money
in die fund to deal with die mold
issues, she said.
However, according to a re
lease from Sen. Tom Daschle's
office, President Bush plans to
cut back die Section 184 and
Tide VI programs that provide
funding for Indian housing.
Congress should oppose die
president's plan, die senator said.
"It's inconceivable diat die
Bush Administration would
consider cutting back funding
for uibal housing initiatives at a
time of such great need," Daschle said.
Funding for Section 184 and
Tide VI programs, administered
through the Bureau of Indian Affairs, need 10 be increased soon,
not cut, he said.
The BIA's Aberdeen area office referred a reporter to die
agency's Washington office,
where no one was available for
comment Wednesday.
Sen. Tim Johnson's office is
looking to die Environmental
Protection Agency for help, said
Julianne Fisher, a spokeswoman
in Johnson's office.
"We have been following
the siniation, we've written to
HUD," said Fisher, "hi general
we're working to find the best
avenue."
The Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention Web
site lists hay fever-like allergic
symptoms as one of the health
concerns from molds. But people
LEVELS to page 5