Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2005-01-21

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Mescalero Apaches
challenges other
tribes to match
tsunami pledges
page 7
Leech Lake
power corrupts
page 4
Headbird respond to
Dawn Puma
page 4
King George, Let the
people decided
page 4
Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe
federal charter
revoked. Why?
page 4
Leech Lake's secret police
VOICE       OF       THE       PEOPLE
Recently Press/ON has received informal (i.e. verbal) reports of interrogations of Leech
Lake Band of Ojibwe (LLOB)
employees and government
workers. Several callers have
stated that Ned Tripp, Chief of
Internal Investigations for the
LLBO, has been giving a Miranda Warning during the questioning. These sessions are held
behind closed doors. Typically,
the Miranda Warning, which
informs detainees of their rights
under the law, is given only to
individuals who are in formal
police custody. Mr. Tripp reportedly wears a gun and badge,
but does not identify himself as
a police officer.
In an Unemployment Insur
ance appeal hearing in January, Mr. Trip disclosed under
cross-examination that he is a
police officer licensed by the
Minnesota Peace Officers Standards and Training Board (MN
POST Board). The MN POST
Board confirmed that Mr. Tripp
became a licensed officer in the
Leech Lake Tribal Police in October 2004.
Press/On was told that before
Mr. Tripp was terminated from
the position, he had worked as
a security officer at the White
Oak Casino.   It appears that
Mr. Tripp was employed during
the time Chairman Goggleye
was the manager of the casino.
In the past Minnesota Chippewa Tribe band members
have raised concerns about the
establishment of tribal police
forces and cooperative law enforcement agreements with the
State. The argument was that
such arrangements could lead to
abuse by Reservation Business
Committees (RBC).
In the past, a reporter for
Press/On was removed from
a public meeting, arrested and
jailed by Tribal Police at the direction of the Mille Lacs RBC.
If in fact secret interrogations
are taking place at Leech Lake,
this is a matter of concern. Persons with verifiable information
concerning such questions are
asked to call Press/On at 218-
444-7800.
Tribal Referral Program at Leech Lake becomes a
political football
By Bill Lawrence
The February 15 Special Election for Leech Lake Secretary/
Treasurers nears, new allegations of misspending ofTribal
Referral Funds continue to be
circulated by the Leech Lake
Reservation Business Committee (RBC). Several weeks ago, a
five page pamphlet accusing former Secretary /Treasurer Archie
LaRose of misspending Tribal
Referral Funds was circulated.
The pamphlet is believed to have
been authored by the RBC. It
speculated that additional mis- •
spending would have been disclosed if a "truthful" audit had
been conducted. Presumably the
authors of the pamphlet regarded
the forensic audit commissioned
by LaRose while in office as
"untruthful."
As the campaign for the Special Election progresses, District
1 Representative Burton "Luke"
Wilson continues to accuse former Secretary/Treasurer LaRose
of misspending, in particular of
Tribal Referral Funds.
Recently new documents have
surfaced indicating that Representative Wilson has himself directed Tribal Referral dollars for
at least one questionable request.
Press/ON has received a copy
of a Tribal Referral request
showing that Representative
Wilson has acted in a manner
that deserves further scrutiny.
A handwritten note by Claudia
Nason-Lyytinen, Representative
Wilson's assistant, accompanied
the request. It stated, "Wants
help paying 25% of this bill for
taxes. Is willing to take a payroll
deduction." The note is signed
"OK Burton Wilson."
The request is not however a
"bdl for taxes." It is simply the
handwritten note by Ms. Nason-
Lyytinen and Representative
Wilson's OK on a letter to Kevin
Fairbanks from Itasca County
responding to an Application for
Repurchase of Forfeited Lands,
Parcel #35-032-3305. Evidendy
the taxes (amounting to approximately $300 a year) for this
parcel had not been paid for the
last ten years. The owner, Kevin
Fairbanks, is a brother to former
District Representative Alfred
Fairbanks, Jr. With penalties and
interest over this period of time,
the total repurchase price has
grown to $4,794.59.
The Tribal Referral request
directs, "make check payable
to: Alfred Fairbanks, Sr.....
Claudia Nason-Lyytinen will
pick up the check to hand deliver
to Alfred, Sr." (Kevin's father).
Interestingly, the addresses included on the request show that
Kevin and Alfred, Sr. both live
on County Road 39 in Ball Club,
Minnesota. It's believed however that both Kevin and Alfred,
Sr. reside on Indian trust land in
Ball Club.
Parcel #35-032-3305 is located in Itasca County about three
miles north of Inger on a point
of land protruding into the south
end of Sand Lake in Section 32.
This parcel of land is located
some twenty miles from Kevin's
actual home. Representative
Wilson's signature on the Tribal
Referral funds allowed for the
purchase of private land in Kevin
Fairbanks' name.  This raises
many questions.
Representative Wilson has
alleged that former Chairman
Pete White and former Secretary/
Treasurer LaRose used Tribal
Referral funds amounting to
$1200 to buy votes in the last
election. "Luke" Wilson authorized a payment of $1,198.65
(surprisingly close to the $1200
FOOTBALL to page 7
A farewell to a warrior of two worlds
By Larry Oakes
Star Tribune
CASS LAKE, Minn. - He
was part U.S. soldier, part
Ojibwe warrior, and that's how
they honored him Tuesday, the
young infantryman who came
home from Iraq in a casket.
In this town of 830 people,
more than 600 gathered at the
high school during an afternoon
snowstorm to pay their final
respects to Specialist Dwayne
Bellanger McFarlane, who was
killed Jan. 9 by a roadside bomb'
in Baghdad. He was 20.
His closed coffin, draped by
a U.S. flag, sat at one end of the
gym where, just three years ago,
he ran his heart out playing basketball for a regional champion
Cass Lake-Bena team.
"He is a hero in the hearts
of all of us in this room," said
George Goggleye, chairman of
the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe.
McFarlane grew up on the Leech
Lake reservation.
A veteran ofthe U.S. military
himself, Goggleye stood at a
lectern and addressed the fallen
soldier, saying: "God loves
you, America loves you and the
Leech Lake nation loves you.
We will never forget your sacri
fice."
McFarlane was the
14th Minnesotan to die
in military operations
related to the Iraq war.
After waiting several
days for McFarlane's
body to be flown home,
relatives began a traditional Ojibwe wake in
the school on Sunday.
Such wakes run
around the clock for
two or three days as
loved ones and well-
wishers grieve together.
McFarlane's uncle
and aunt, Don Bellanger and Alvera Reyes, who
raised him, said he practiced
Ojibwe spirituality and had an
Indian name — Oshkii Inini, or
Young Man.
McFarlane's funeral reflected
the two worlds in which he hved
and the sacrifice he made when
he died.
More than 80 veterans packed
one side ofthe gym, behind a
row of 13 active members of
McFarlane's unit, the 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry, 10th Mountain Division, from Fort Drum,
N.Y. One of them traveled from
Iraq, having just been granted
Legislative auditor criticizes
state's regulation of gambling
by Pat Doyle & Mark Brunswick
Star Tribune Staff Writers
The state agency that inspects tribal casinos in Minnesota fads
to fully exercise its authority to ensure that they comply with
rules intended to keep the games honest, the legislative auditor
said Tuesday.
The failure was among findings detailed in a report that was
critical ofthe state's regulation of legalized gambling, including
the card room at Canterbury Park and tavern games such as pull
tabs.
The evaluation by the Office of the Legislative Auditor concluded that the Department of Public Safety, which has limited
authority to inspect casinos, should spend more time scrutinizing
casino audits and other financial data and less time inspecting
slot machines.
The department's gambling division "has access to an array
of information , including relevant casino information systems,
casino financial and internal control audits, compliance data from
tribal regulatory authorities" and other data, the auditor said. Because the division hasn't fuUy used those tools, its judgments on
casino compliance are based on limited infonnation.
The auditor also found:
The agency that oversees pull tabs and other games played
in taverns doesn't adequately detect and deter violations by the
organizations running the games. Whde the express purpose of
so-called charitable gambling is to provide money for clubs and
non-profit organizations, the auditor found that "some organizations have excessive expenses and make small contributions to
charities."
GAMBLING to page 2
„   irf
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Renee Jones, star iriDune
Alvera Reyes (in tan jacket) and Don Bellanger (at her right) listen during a prayer
at the burial of their nephew, Dwayne Bellanger McFarlane, in Cass Lake.
leave.
"We came here to give a fallen
soldier the proper military honors," said Sgt. First Class David
Ventura, a member of the unit.
In an emotional ceremony during the funeral, members of the
unit presented the dead soldier's
aunt, uncle and brother with
U.S. flags in triangular display
cases, as well as medals awarded
posthumously to McFarlane. The
medals included a Bronze Star
for meritorious service in combat, a Purple Heart and a good-
conduct medal.'
One veteran who witnessed
WARRIOR to page 6
Grand Forks
Casino planning
process moves
forward
By Susanne Nadeau
Herald Staff Writer
Turtle Mountain tribal leaders
will pitch their Grand Forks casino concept directly to the public
in a meeting next week.
They'll try to convey the potential benefits of a tribal casino
in the first of a series of public
meetings intended to answer
questions and get feedback on
the community's reaction to the
proposal. The meeting wdl be
held at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the
Alerus Center.
Ken W Davis, Turtle Mountain tribal chairman, reiterated
that the process is in very preliminary stages.
"We're just trying to determine
if this is a project that can be
done," he said. "In doing some
public meetings, we hope to address any questions or concerns
the people have. It's important,
with a project of this kind, to
hold community meetings, to get
CASINO to page 6
web page: www.press-on.net
 ■ We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.  Copyright, Native American Press, 2004
Founded in 1988
Volume 17 Issue 31
January 21,2005
Bureau of Indian Affairs launches
New School Achievement Effort
(l-r) Doug Fallen (Brewster Academy), Allison Rose (KIPP Academy), Tom Torkelson (IDEA Academy), Dave Anderson (Assistant Secretary), Ed Parisian (OIEP Director), and Dr. Turnball (Harlem
Boy's Choir Academy) were key presenters in the meeting of OIEP school officials.
By Rick St. Germaine
San Diego, CA. - The
U.S. Department of Interior
met on January 12-13 in San
Diego for a "visioning meeting" with many of their top
Indian school officials and
school staff to set a course
that will halt the reoccurring
nightmare of failing BIA
schools.
Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Dave Anderson
and a host of BIA Office of
Indian Education Program
(OIEP) officials gathered for
two days to strategize ways
for the system's 185 schools
to produce higher levels of
success. Even Associate
Secretary Jim Cason attended, on behalf of Secretary
Gayle Norton, to "stress the
importance" of this planning
seminar. According to statistical data from the past five
years, a large majority of
the schools persistently fail
to meet the rigorous NCLB
standards of student achievement in reading and math.
Anderson, who is fast
earning a reputation for his
extraordinary interest in
Indian education and youth
development, challenged the
educators to create a new
vision of schooling, one that
will make Bureau and tribal
grant schools the best in the
nation. He charged the audience of over one hundred
with electrifying slogans,
chants, and challenges that predicted success.
"We've got to change the way
we look for the government to
do everything for us," he argued,
and, "we've got to change being
the victim of change and become
the architects of our own destinies."
Anderson explained that the
rural features of our reservations
don't have to be a disadvantage
anymore. "Internet technology
has changed all that," he stated.
He listed the ways that Indian
children must compete with millions of children from the global
society and need to now use the
computer as Indians once used
the buffalo.
His oratory several times
pulled the school leaders, which
included principals, teachers, and
school board members, to their
feet with thunderous signals of
approval. He called for BIA educators to pull together as team
members to "search for the com-.
monsense solutions and reach
for the summit of excellence that
will halt the loss, the wasted lives
of our youth."
In motioning to a waiting
group of presenters in the wings,
Anderson said, "We have found
some incredible schools, some
leadership academies to leam
from this week."
Anderson introduced and
marched in about ten school
reform and youth development
specialists who were described
as common sense innovators
with proven success. The invited presenters instructed the
OIEP educators on practical,
but tested, strategies that have
produced results elsewhere.
According to the speakers,
these mediods work with kids
from poverty-stricken, ethnic
minority communities in Latino
barrios and Harlem inner-city
ghettoes.
Tom Torkelsen, director of
the IDEA Academy in Donna,
Texas, spoke emphatically
about the grass roots effort that
he and a few other disenchanted
public school teachers undertook to change the attitude and
the school environment in his
rural Mexican bordertown. The
steps included using money
incentives to hire the best and
most dedicated teachers, establish extra hours of engaged
instruction, reconfigure school
budgets to reward teaching and
learning excellence, and set
higher expectations for Latino
students and for teachers. This
results in higher test scores and
fulfilled lives.
"This isn't rocket science,"
he repeated several times to the
audience of attentive listeners,
"this is simply borrowed ideas
from the schools of the world
that have consistentiy produced
the world's most successful human beings." He added, "This
is what smart educators in
China and Japan have done that
SCHOOL to page 3
Pawlenty, Bloomington mayor
discuss Mall of America casino
By Patrick Condon
Associated Press
ST. PAUL - Gov. Tim
Pawlenty met with the mayor
of Bloomington last month
to discuss opening a partially
state-run casino at the Mall
of America, the governor's
spokesman said Tuesday.
Lawyers for the mall's
owners also met recently
with the Bloomington City
Council to discuss the same
possibility.
ST think we're open to
what people have to say,"
said Maureen Bausch, the
mall's vice president for business development. ST certainly understand why it makes
sense. We're the number one
tourist destination in the Midwest, and we certainly have
the land."
The casino, which could
include a resort and other
amenities, would likely be
located across the street from
the mall at the former site of
Met Center, Bausch said.
The Ghermezian family,
which helped build Mall of
America and recently re
gained a controlling interest,
also own the West Edmonton
Mall in Edmonton, Canada,
which includes a casino.
Pawlenty's spokesman, Brian
McClung, stressed that the governor has met with several local
officials around the Twin Cities
in recent weeks to discuss his
casino proposal. It would be a
partnership between the state
and several northern Minnesota
Indian tribes that don't currently
own casinos.
ST would caution people not
to read too much into the fact
that the governor has met with
anybody," McClung said, adding that Pawlenty has also met
with officials in the Anoka area.
McClung also said Pawlenty
would not support building a
casino in any community that
doesn't want one.
Pawlenty suggested last year
that the Minnesota's casino-
owning tribes should give the
state a share of their profits
in order to retain their casino
monopoly, an idea roundly rejected by tribal leaders. Since
PAWLENTY to page 3
IRS probes use
of tax-exempt
bonds for
Cabazon Band's
new Indio resort
By Jonathan Shikes
The Press-Enterprise
For Investors: Tax-exempt
bonds offer tax-free returns,
which often means a higher
yield.
For those issuing the bonds:
They offer lower interest-rate
payments.
The Internal Revenue Service
is investigating the groundbreaking, $145-million bond-financing deal the Cabazon Band
of Mission Indians used to help
pay for the hotel, convention
center and parking garage it
opened last month in Indio.
The IRS move may snuff out
what many tribes had hoped
would be a new economic development funding tool, said
Perry Israel, a tax attorney and
an adviser for the tribe, and others familiar with the subject.
IRS to page 6