Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2004-10-08

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Phoenix works to
preserve Indian
school
page 3
Schwarzenegger vetoes bill
to ban "Redskins1 as name
for teams
page 5
State of Minnesota files An analysis of TV ads
Amicus brief in Mille Lacs       on Proposition 68
boundary case
page 4
page 4
page 4
LLRBC votes 4-1 to affirm removal of LaRose
BY Bill Lawrence
Following a three-hour hearing at the Palace Casino in Cass
Lake, the LLRBC voted once
again Tuesday to remove Arthur
"Archie" LaRose as the Band's
secretary/treasurer.
Tuesday's vote was 4-1 with
LaRose voting against his removal. This vote duplicated the
one taken at the My 30 hearing.
The second hearing was the
result of an order of the Leech
Lake Tribal Court, which had
found that LaRose did not re
ceive due process rights at the
July 30 hearing.
The charges against LaRose
were contained in a Recall petition circulated in late 2002. The
petition ended up in tribal court
and wasn't acted upon until this
summer after chairman George
Goggleye and District III Representative Donald "Mick" Finn
took office. The charges include
malfeasance in handling tribal
affairs, dereliction or neglect of
duty and refusal to comply with
provisions of the Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe Constitution and
Bylaws.
LaRose, was represented by
attorney Frank Bibeau, and
Chairman Goggleye conducted
the heaiing on behalf of the LLRBC. The specific charges made
against LaRose at Tuesday's
hearing were as follows:
- Harassing, intimidating and
verbally abusing employees
- Threatening to fire police officers if they didn't do as he
ordered
- Refusal to comply with a pol-
LAROSE to page 5
Juvenile charged
in Red Lake
homicide
A 17-year-old Red Lake juvenile is in federal custody after a
Sunday morning shooting that
took the life of Daniel James
Smith, 19, of Red Lake.
The suspect was charged in
juvenile federal court on Tuesday. Because he is a minor,
neither his name nor were the
charges filed against him available, according to federal law.
According to FBI Special
Agent Paul McCabe, at about
1:30 a.m. on Sunday, Red
JUVENILE to page 3
Indian education 35 years later
By Bill Lawrence
In two earlier issues we discussed 1. the fact and explained
the figures substantiating that'
a gap exists in educational
achievement of Indian versus
white students. 2. gave a smattering of the rhetoric that has
been developed to explain the
problem and suggest solutions.
3. Gave a brief history of legislation that provides funding for
Indian education.
This third article is based on
the round robin discussed in the
two earlier essays. The conclusion is not however the same as
that presented by the NIEA. It
seems clear to this writer that
the vehicle that we've been on
since the mid 60s is not a locomotive leading to a destination
certain, but rather a merry go
round. It's too bad too because
while.we've spent enough money to build, operate and maintain a high speed transportation
system, we've ended up with
a old-fashioned, simple device
that only takes one around in
circles.
We've looked at the results
and have seen essentially no
change in the test scores and
high school graduation rates
over the past 30 plus years.
EDUCATION to page 4
Interior ponders withholding checks:
IIM account holders must be notified of rights
before land sales
By Jean Pagano
U.S. District Court Judge
Royce C. Lamberth, presiding
in die landmark Individual Indian Money (IIM) account case
Cobell v Secretary of Interior
(Cobell), mled last week that
there may not be any communication between plaintiffs in the
Cobell case and defendants (i.e.
the Department of Interior), regarding the sale of Native lands
unless the communication carries a disclaimer concerning the
ongoing Cobell case.
At issue are a number of
parcels of Native land being
offered for sale by the Department of Interior's Anadarko
Agency, a division of die Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).
On July 30, 2004, the Anadarko
Agency issued an invitation
to bid on 26 parcels of Native
land owned by individual Native peoples and Indian tribes to
be sold on September 1, 2004.
The Cobell plaintiffs asked the
Court to stop the sale since the
statement
supporting
xViv<i.iva jDiii
Associated Press
HONOLULU - Democratic
presidential candidate John
Kerry and his vice presidential candidate support federal
recognition of Native Hawai-
ians, according to a written
statement from the candidate.
vvJohn Edwards and I are
committed to improve the
lives of Native Hawaiians,"
Kerry says in a statement
posted on the Hawaii Democratic Party's Web site. v"Once
elected, we will work to support their right to self-determination as a Native people."
Under the bill named for
Hawaii Sen. Daniel Akaka, its
primary sponsor, the federal
government would recognize
Native Hawaiians as an indigenous people, similar to
American Indians and Native
Alaskans.
Hawaii's Democratic congressional delegation has been
working to get the bill passed
before Congress adjourns for
the year.
The Bush administration
has not taken a position on the
bill, despite lobbying by Republican Gov. Linda Lingle.
The chairman of die Hawaii
Republican Party said the
Kerry statement was politically motivated.
vvTo me this is an indication
the Kerry campaign sees the
election in Hawaii slipping,"
Brennon Morioka said.
The platform adopted by
the Republican National Convention in August includes
references of support for Native Hawaiians, but there was
no reference to them in the
platform adopted at the Democratic National Convention.
communication between the Individual Indian Money account
holders and the Department
of Interior and its agents are
restricted from communicating
with each under a court ruling
from 2002. The 2002 ruling was
established because the Department of Interior was mailing
out IIM statements with the following verbiage: "If you have
concerns about the Historical
Statement of Account included
with this letter or if you believe
it is in error, you may wish to
file a challenge with the OHTA
[the Office of Historical Trust
Accounting] .... If you do not
challenge the historical account
statement or request an extension within 60 calendar days of
the postmark on the envelope
containing this letter, the enclosed Historical Statement of
Account will be final and cannot be appealed."
The Court took issue with the
language employed by Interior
and said that the mailings "had
die effect of extinguishing the
class members' rights to a full
and accurate accounting after
the defendants had' fixed the
system'." In the September 29th
order, Judge Lamberth found
that in some cases the owners
of the parcels had given their
consent to sell the land years
ago wliile others had never
given dieir consent at all. Due
to these disparities, Judge Lamberth ordered the plaintiffs and
defendants to select language
to be included in all correspondences concerning the sale of
trust lands. Judge Lamberth
stated "there is no evidence in
the record to indicate that trust
beneficiaries involved in these
Part 152 sales and exchanges
are given information about
this litigation and its intended
results - namely a full and accurate accounting of the trust."
Two days later, Judge Lamberth amended the wording of
RIGHTS to page 3
Tribal group accuses Pawlenty
of inflating casino numbers
By Brian Bakst
Associated Press
ST. PAUL - A group representing American Indian bands
that run casinos in Minnesota
accused Gov. Tim Pawlenty on
Tuesday of distorting gambling
revenues to increase pressure on
them to share profits with the
state.
The Minnesota Indian Gaming Association allegations
stem from a report issued by
Pawlenty's administration last
month and the governor's public
mentions to it since. Authors
estimate that as much as $10
billion is wagered each year,
contributing to casino profits of
about $1.4 billion.
The group says Pawlenty has
repeatedly referred to the tribal
gaming as a $ 10 billion industry,
without clarifying that the figure
isn't adjusted for prize payouts
and operating expenses.
vvWe find it very disturbing
that the governor is trying to sell
his vsqueeze-the-Indians' agenda
by promoting misinformation
and making the tribal gaming
pot look much larger than it really is," said John McCarthy,
MIGA's executive director.
Pawlenty responded that die
numbers are based on the infor
mation available. The tribes give
audits on a confidential basis to
the Department of Public Safety,
which enforces gambling regulations. Some audit information
has been made public, but not
until several years have passed.
vvIf they' d like to open their
books and make their financial
information available we'd certainly be willing to take a look,"
Pawlenty said.
McCarthy said Pawlenty has
never formally asked for a look
at the tribes' books but he could
get a better sense of the industry
from the audits given to the state.
Pawlenty said the goal of the
report, put together by state lottery officials, is vvto make it clear
to the state of Minnesota diat
the time has come to get a better
deal." He has suggested he will
entertain legislation allowing
competition to the tribal casinos
if die Indian bands don't agree to
profit sharing.
Minnesota's pacts with
American Indian tribes give
them exclusive rights to operate
casinos. They pay the state about
$ 150,000 a year in regulation
and inspection costs, and they
voluntarily contributed about
$ 16.1 million to local governments in 2003.
Hennepin County won't allow
tribal IDs for voter registration
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS - American
Indians are being told they can't
use their tribal identification
cards to register to vote in Hennepin County.
County election officials said
in a statement that they are concerned diat American Indians
know what documents to bring
Nov. 2 if they register to vote on
Election Day.
Pat O'Connor, director of
Hennepin Comity Taxpayer
Services, said that according to a
recent memo from the secretary
of state, Minnesota law stipulates
that tribal ID only can be used by
tribal band members living on an
Indian reservation.
Hennepin County has no
Indian reservation, so tribal ID
cannot be used.
O'Connor said to register to
vote, Minnesotans must establish
their identity and have proof of
where they live _ something with
an address. Proof of residence
could include a valid Minnesota
driver's license, a Minnesota ID
card or a current student ID card.
VOICE       OF      THE       PEOPLE
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 17
October 8, 2004
(l-r): Alicia Skinaway, newly-elected District 1 Representative for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Tribal Council; Mpis City Council vice president Robert Lilligren (8th Ward Mpis City Council); Melanie Benjamin, Chief
Executive for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Ground breaking ceremony for homeownership
units in south Minneapolis
Noted to be using their
gambling casino profits
wisely, the Mille Lacs Band
of Ojibwe has expanded
its reservation homeowner
program to include Mille
Lacs Ojibwe Band enroll-
ees residing in Mpis. Hailed
as a first in a cooperartive
president Lilligren were on hand
to explain their respective roles
in working with sovereign tribal
governments, which is a new
and exiciting exercise of how to
help Urban Anishinabeg in the
key area of housing and home-
ownership.
Alicia Skinaway, recendy
joint housing venture, be-        elected to the Mille Lacs Band
tween a large city munici-       Tribal Council is living up to her
pality and a tribal govern-       promise to visit and work with
ment. Mpis Mayor Rybak       Mille Lacs Band enrollees resid-
and Mpis City Council vice    ing in Mpis. Melanie Benjamin
continues to recommend funding and services for tribal enrollees residing off reservation
that, includes Mille Lacs LTrban
Indians.
It should be noted that Herb
Weyaus, Secretary/Treasurer,
for the Mille Lacs Band, and
Harry Davis, Lake Lena-
Hinckley District Representative, were also on hand; they
have been behind Melanie in
her efforts to extend service
delivery beyond Mille Lacs
reservation boundaries.
Racial profiling claims to be investigated
By Chris Williams
Associated Press
BEMIDJI, Minn. - In this
neck of northern Minnesota,
some Indians complain of
being stopped for DWI _
meaning "Driving While Indian" _ a sly way of saying
they were pulled over for no
good reason.
Behind die humor is anger
over what they say is racial
profiling of Indians by police
and sheriffs deputies.
Though authorities deny
any discrimination, the
American Civil Liberties
Union of Minnesota has
opened its first office outside
the Twin Cities, solely to
gather profiling complaints.
V "This is a situation that stinks
in Minnesota," said Charles
Samuelson, executive director of
the Minnesota ACLU. "They get
stopped at a litde higher percentage than whites, searched at a
higher percentage, arrested at a
litde higher percentage. At every
opportunity where discretion can
enter into it, the people of color
lose."
Law officers across the region
say they simply ticket or arrest
people who break the law.
"I can assure you that in my
experience in three years as cliief
of police I have not seen any racial profiling by my department
or the sheriffs department," said
Bruce Preece, the Bemidji police
chief. "We do not condone it."
In Cass County, where Indians
made up 11 percent of die population in 1999 but accounted for
more dian half the arrests, County Attorney Earl Maus offered a
reason: the poverty of much of
the Indian population. "People
who live in poverty generally
have a higher rate of crime," he
said.
Minnesota is not the first
state to hear such complaints.
In South Dakota, Indians have
complained that officers were using a law against hanging objects
from rear-view mirrors to pull
CLAIMS to page 3
Supreme Court won't disturb Indian gaming;
victory for tribes
By Gina Holland
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The
Supreme Court on Monday
sidestepped a dispute over
tribal gambling, a victory for
California tribes and their
new high-profile supporter,
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Justices refused to consider whether states can let
tribes operate casinos while
barring others from this enterprise. More than 20 states
allow tribes to run gambling
businesses, but not private
companies, the court was told.
The appeal had been filed this
past spring by four San Francisco-area card clubs and some
charity organizations. They
contended that California tribes
were wrongly given a $6 billion
a year monopoly on gambling.
Since then, Schwarzenegger
has banked on an expansion
in Indian gambling to help die
state's ailing finances. In August, he announced agreements
with five Indian tribes to add
diousands of new slot machines
statewide and create one of die
world's largest casinos in the
heart of the Bay Area. Plans for
diat urban Indian casino have
been scaled back because of
criticism over the size.
California voters agreed in
2000 to change the state's constimtion to pennit tribes to operate
casinos. Some gambling is allowed by private companies, but
American Indians have a monopoly on Las Vegas-style gaming,
like slot machines and blackjack.
The San Francisco-based 9tii
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
had ruled diat giving Indians
special gambling rights is not ra-
COURT to page 3
Tribe to appeal ruling on size of reservation
The Associated Press
SHAWANO - The
Stockbridge-Munsee Indian
Tribe says it will appeal a
federal court decision diat
reduced its Shawano County
reservation by about three-
quarters, to about 15,000
acres.
"It is such a complicated
matter that the court ruling
was 147 pages long," Tribal
President Bob Chicks said of
last week's decision by U.S.
Magistrate Patricia Gorence.
'We are taking our time to
review all of the details. We
believe in the merits of our
case and will continue to
persevere."
Chicks said die ruling
would be appealed to the 7di
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
The state went to court in 1998
after the tribe began operating
slot machines at its Pine Hills
Golf Course, on land the state
claimed was ceded in die last
century.
The tribe claimed much larger
borders for its reservation and
had argued there was no explicit,
unequivocal, or substantial and
compelling evidence diat its
boundaries did not include all
of the towns of Red Springs and
Bartelme.
The tribe contended because
die tribally owned golf course
was on property it considered to
be within its reservation boundaries, it could legally operate die
gambling devices.
But the federal court issued an
injunction a short time later ordering die tribe to stop operating
the slots at Pine Hills.
In her summary judgment
ruling, Gorence said the Act of
1871 diminished the two-township Stockbridge-Munsee reservation to 18 continuous sections,
or about 15,000 acres. In that act,
Congress authorized the sale of
54 sections, or three-quarters of
the reservation, to lumber barons. The ruling did not give an
acreage for diose sections.
Chicks and the tribe contended diat Stockbridge-Munsee
lands were taken in 1871 without the knowledge of most tribal
members.
I -:-r:;- jmmmmssam
MOMMM