Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2005-03-25

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
LaRose, Tribal
members left
In the dark
page 4
Cant believe anyone or
anything, it's all for money
page 5
LA's response to
John Jourdain's letter
to editor
page 5
This week's Top 10
Reasons Leech Lake
RBC may call you
a terrorist
page 5
A time for grief and
introspection
page 4
The Red Lake Tragedy
By Bill Lawrence
Monday March 21,2005. The
events of this day at Red Lake
Reservation, a community that
knows too well the effects of
violence, will be remembered as
a day of mindless violence, a day
of deep sorrow and of unanswered
questions. During the short space
of about ten minutes at Red Lake
High School, ten lives were lost
and 7 other individuals were
wounded by gunshot. Five remain
in hospital, three of those at the
North Country Regional Hospital
in Bemidji and two in Meritcare
of Fargo.
The ghastly events took place
around 3 p.m. when a young person inexplicably created a terrible
tragedy. The story is by now well
known, not only locally and nationwide, but world wide as well.
A young man, described as a
"towering loner," named Jeff Weise
caused immeasurable sorrow by a
series of killings, beginning with his
grandfather, Daryl Lussier age 58
and Michelle Sigano age 32 believed
to be a companion of Lussier.
Evidently the young gunman
first shot down his grandfather
and friend, after which he donned
his grandfatheris bulletproof vest and
gun belt He took the pohce vehicle
and drove it to the high school. He
rammed the building with the vehicle.
Presumably as Derrick Brun, age 28,
came out to investigate, Weise shot
and killed nun.
He then headed down a school
hallway armed with two handguns
and a shotgun. Upon seeing Weise
approach, Teacher Neva Rogers,
age 62, and a smdent dashed into
a classroom. Weise followed
them into the room and shot both
individuals. Three other smdents
were also killed in the same classroom. According to FBI reports,
he fired more shots in the hallway
and continued to shoot throughout
tlie school. He attempted to enter
another classroom where smdents
and a teacher were barricaded.
The teacher and several smdents
called 911.
Red Lake Police, stationed just
across the street, responded immediately. A pohce officer came
into contact with Weise. Tlie two
exchanged shots, neither seem to
have been hit. After that encounter
Weise retreated into a classroom.
One report indicates the police
officer saw Weise put a gun to
his own head and pull the trigger.
Weise's death was number 10.
No one knows what motivated
the smdent to do this senseless and
irreversible act. Fellow smdents
say he always dressed in black,
wore chains and combat boots and
in general resembled the smdent
shooters in the Columbine High
School shooting. They reportedly "....always suspected him of
something. . . . but nothing like
this." As the shooting was in
progress smdents recognized the
gunman. Some heard others call
his name and ask, Jeff, Jeff. Why
are you doing this?
Some thought he might have
had a hit list but so far FBI
Agents have not found anything
of the sort. They say they have not
found any letters or messages that
might relate to his actions. Special
FBI Agent Michael Tabman said
this incident has the appearance
RED LAKE to page 3
Slain Guard
Called a Hero
For Actions at
Minn. School
By Sylvia Moreno
Washington Post
RED LAKE,
Minn., March 23
— Derrick Brun
wrote    poetry,
derrick BRIAN brun played _ trumpet
and guitar, and
more than anything else, wanted
a career as a cop. Like the tribal
pohce officer he longed to be, he
faced down a killer this week and
paid for his courage with his life.
Brun was the first person killed
Monday afternoon at Red Lake
High School by 16-year-old Jeff
Weise, who went to tlie campus
armed widi a 12-gauge shotgun
and two odier guns. Brun, working a temporary job as an unarmed
security guard, rose from his desk
at the school entrance and approached Weise, who had already
fired several shots outside and two
more inside. Weise marched in, a
witness said, cradling the shotgun in his left arm, the butt of tlie
BRUN to page 5
Authorities search for motive in
Minnesota school shootings
By Joshua Freed
Associated Press
RED LAKE, Minn. - Authorities were trying to determine
Tuesday what caused a teenager
to gun down his grandfather, put
on the man's police-issue bell
and bulletproof vest, and drive
his marked squad car to a high
school, where he began shooting
his classmates at will.
Jeff Weise, who authorities
said was 16, killed nine people
and woimded seven Monday before trading gunfire with a police
officer and apparendy shooting
himself. His motive still wasn't
clear Tuesday, but die FBI said
the shootings appeared to have
been planned in advance.
It was the nation's worst school
shooting since the Columbine massacre inApril 1999 that ended with
the deaths of 12 smdents, a teacher
and the two teen gunmen.
The killings on this northern
Minnesota Indian reservation
began at the home of Weise's
grandfather, Daryl Lussier, 58,
who was shot to deadi with a .22-
caliber gun, according to Michael
Tabman, die FBI's special agent
in charge for Minneapolis. Also
killed was Lussier's companion,
Michelle Sigana.
Lussier had worked as a tribal
police officer for decades. Weise
then drove the older man's squad
car to the school, where he gunned
down security guard Derrick Brun
at the door and spent about 10
minutes inside, targeting people
at random.
Hearing the shots, students
and adults barricaded themselves
into offices and classrooms and
crouched imder desks, authorities
said. A teacher and five smdents
were shot to death and two 15-
year-olds remained in critical
condition at a Fargo, N.D., hospital
with gimshot wounds to the face.
"Right now we are in utter
disbelief and shock," said Floyd
Jourdain Jr., chairman of the Red
Lake Band of Chippewa.
Audiorities were investigating
whether Weise, who dressed in
black and wrote stories about zom-'
bies, may have posted messages
on a neo-Nazi Web site expressing
admiration for Adolf Hider.
Using die handle "Todesengel"
MOTIVE to page 5
LaRose officially placed on Notice
for Nonfeasance
Under Tribal Attorney Michael Garbow recommendation,
LaRose is placed "on noticed
that continued disregard for
established Policies and Procedures will result in the Tribal
Council amending Ordinance
#1 to include a section whereby
the Council will appoint an
alternate Council member who
will perform the legal duties of
the Secretary/Treasurer in tlie
event the Secretary/Treasurer
refuses to carry out lawful directives from the Cliairman or Leech
Lake Tribal CouncU."
By Diane E. White
CASS LAKE, MN - In an official Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
(LLBO) memo dated, March
7, 2005 to Secretary-Treasurer
Ardiur LaRose signed by Chairman George Goggleye, Jr. and
the three district representatives,
LaRose was placed on official Notice for Nonfeasance. The memo
cites LaRose's March 4 letter to
Governor Tim Pawlenty as die
official cause of nonfeasance and
includes die support and signatures of District 1 Representative,
Burton "Luke" Wilson, District
II Representative Lyman "DeDe"
Losh, and District III Representative Donald "Mick" Finn.
At issue appears to be two very
different interpretations of the
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Con
stitution and the Ordinance #1
concernhig job duties of each of
the Tribal Council members, and
the timing in which the Minnesota
Gaming Equity Act (MGEA) had
been approved by the Band's
Tribal Council.
According to another memo
dated March 10,2005 to the Tribal
Council from Mchael Garbow, the
Tribe's attorney, the Metro Casino
Bid, aka, MGEA was voted on by
the Tribal Council several months
ago to proceed with negotiations
with die State to build a Twin Cities Casino.
It was during the time period that
LaRose had been removed from
the Coimcil and was campaigning
to regain the Secretary-Treasurer
seat back. LaRose was re-elected
and was sworn in as the Secretary-
Treasurer on February 25,2005.
According to die memo, the
Coimcil lias not as of March 10
signed anything that would legally
bind any of the anticipated parties,
the state of Minnesota, the White
Eardi Band of Ojibwe, the Red
Lake Nation or the Leech Lake
Band of Ojibwe to die project.
The Tribal Coimcil cites two
instances of nonfeasance adeging
LaRose had violated his official authority and the Band's Ordinance
#1. They questioned LaRose's
authority to independently write
a letter to an entity with whom
LAROSE to page 6
Eyewitness gives
different account
of vehicle stop in
Bena
By Bill Lawrence
BENA, MN-An eyewitness to
a Bena vehicle stop reports event
differendy than what was reported
in the Bemidji Pioneer's March
23 edition. MicheUe Ruckdaschel
wrote, "Two Bena Men arrested
this week after vehicle stop." The
main difference in the two accounts
is that Ruckdaschel reports the location of the stop, according to aTribal
Police press release, had nothing to
do widi die suspects or the criminal
activity. She does say however that
the Press Release indicated the' 'suspects appeared to have selected the
private driveway they pulled into in
[an] attempt to avoid law enforcement"
The Bemidji Pioneer was the only
news agency to receive the press
release according to a source high
within the Leech Lake Band of
Ojibwe (LLBO).
The eyewitness, who asked not
to be publicly identified, provided
this account of the vehicle stop
to PRESS/ON. He stated that a
bunch of cops pulled into George
Goggleye, Jr.'s driveway at about
11:30 a.m. on Monday, March
21, 2005.in pursuit of a vehicle
containing 4 occupants. They
are: Jesse Eugene Seelye, Richard
BENA to page 6
Dakota Tribes Purchase Wild Horses
Bureau of Land Management has 8,400 horses for sale
By Jean Pagano
There are 37,000 wild horses
and burros living on public lands
managed by the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM). Under a
controversial provision of Public
Law 108-447, BI A1 is audiorized
to offer for sale horses and burros
that are 10 years old as well as
diose which have been available
for adoption at least three previous
times. As a result of this provision,
8,400 wild horses are currendy
available for sale.
The first sale of wild horses was
made to a Wyoming-based horse-
protection group and consisted of
200 mares. Two Dakota tribes, the
Rosebud Sioux of South Dakota
and the Three Affiliated Tribes of
North Dakota, purchased more
than 500 animals from BLM. The
first allounent of this large purchase consisted of 141 wild horses
(105 mares and 36 studs) to the
Rosebud Sioux and 120 horses (96
mares and 24 smds) to tlie Three
Affiliated Tribes. The sale of die
remaining horses will be finalized
over the next few weeks.
Kathleen Clarke, the BLM
Director, said, "As the BLM
implements tlie new sale-authority
legislation passed by Congress, we
are pleased to announce our first
sales to Tribes. We look forward
to completing more sales with
Tribes and aU others interested in
providing long-term care for the
wild horses affected by the new
sale-authority law."
Critics of the new law fear that
the wild horses offered for sale
may end up in the slaughterhouse.
A number of organizations have
stepped forward to buy horses
fearing that those that are not sold
wdl be destroyed. Director Clark
stated "I urge horse advocacy
groups, humane organizations,
and more Tribes - as well as the
general public - to help the BLM
HORSES to page 6
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 40
March 25, 2005
A homemade sign mourns for the community of Red Lake on the road to Red Lake on the Red Lake
Indian Reservation on March 23, 2005. Jeff Weise, a 16-year-old student at Red Lake High School,
killed nine people and then himself in the town of RedLake on Monday. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Teenage survivors share their story of Monday's
deadly rampage at their high school
By Diane E. White
BEMIDJI, MN - Two victims of Monday's Red Lake
deadly shooting held a Press
( kMiferenee to relay what they
remembered of tlie events that
killed their classmates and two
staff members at die Red Lake
High School. Also, killed
were the shooter, Jeff Weise's
grandfather and his long-time
companion. The two boys
were wheeled into tlie hospital
pressroom, which was filled to
capacity with video cameras,
large microphones, hghts and
many reporters from all over
die United States.
Cody Thunder, age 15, spoke
as his cousin, Lance Crowe,
sat quietly next to him. Cody's
mother, Martha sat by him as she
has been by his side throughout
this whole ordeal. Cody appeared
to be a thin, clean-cut teenager
with a young face dressed in
hospital pajamas and sitting in a
wheelchair.
Cody is a 10th grader who was
sitting in die front row of his Biology class when he heard about 6
gun shots. Ironically, he said with
a little chuckle, he chose the front
row because it was closest to the
exit. Also in the classroom were
his teacher, Mrs. Rowed and about
15 other smdents.
Lance Crowe, age 15, was accompanied by his mother Janet
Crowe. Lance looked younger
than his age evidenced by bis
baby face and small stature. He is
a 9th grade smdent. He declined
to comment.
Ryan Auginaush, age 15, was
unable to be present at tlie Press
Conference due to pain and his
uncle spoke to the crowd at the
end of the Press Conference.
He was shot in the right hip
whde he was still sitting in his
classroom chair. "I just remember
the shots going off and I looked at
tlie clock and it was a little before
3 and I mrned around there's Jeff
Weise pointing a gun at me and
he started shooting. He had a
mean face." Cody remembered
STORY to page 6
School shooter liked to create
macabre drawings and stories
ByAMYFORLJTT
Associated Press Writer
BEMIDJI, Minn. (AP) _
He created comic books with
ghastly drawings of people
shooting each other and wrote
stories about zombies. He
dressed in black, wore eyeliner'
and apparendy admired Hider
and called himself die "Angel
of Death" in German.
His fadier committed suicide
about eight years ago, and his
mother is in a nursing home
after an auto accident, according to news reports.
On Monday, 17-year-old
Jeff Weise went on a rampage,
shooting to death his grand-
fadier and the grandfather's
companion, then invading his
school on tlie Red Lake Indian
Reservation. Armed with two pistols and a shotgun, he killed nine
people and woimded seven before
shooting himself to death in die
nation's bloodiest school shooting
since Columbine High in Colorado
six years ago.
Investigators are not sure exactly
what set Weise off, but fellow smdents at Red Lake High said they
saw what looked, hi retrospect, hke
warning signs.
About a mondi ago, his sketch
of a guitar-strumming skeleton
accompanied by a caption that
read "March to die death song
'til your boots fill with blood"
was displayed in his English class,
said classmate Parston Graves Jr.
Graves, 16, said he was thinking about diat picture Tuesday. "I
SHOOTER to page 6
Gunman kills 9
on Minnesota
Indian reservation
By JOSHUA FREED
Associated Press Writer
RED LAKE, Minn. (AP) _
The suspect in the worst LIS.
school shooting since Columbine
smiled and waved as he gunned
down five students, a teacher
and a guard, asking one of his
victims whether he believed in
God, witnesses said. The teen's
grandfather and his grandfather's
wife also were found dead, and
die boy killed himself
Some of the victims were shot
at close range, medical officials
said.
Reggie Graves, a student at
Red Lake'High School, said he
was watching a movie about
GUNMAN to page 3
Family of Red
Lake victim
upset over
media limits
By Amy Forliti
Associated Press
REDLAKEMiim. -Thefather
and sister of a Red Lake school
shooting victim on Wednesday
criticized officials on this Indian
reservation for the strict limits
they've placed on journalists trying to cover tlie story.
A day earlier, police with
guns drawn arrested two phen
tographers and confiscated
camera equipment. Reporters
and photographers have been
corralled in a parking lot at the
resenation jail and have been
told not to leave Minnesota 1,
tlie main highway, as they enter
and exit tlie resenation.
Francis Brun and Victoria
Brun, the father and sister of
MEDIA to page 3
Security guard, injured student's
family describe shooting scene
By Joshua Freed
Associated Press
BEMIDJI, Minn. - A security
guard who survived tlie bloody
shooting at Red Lake High School
described a frenzied scramble to
warn smdents, and credited a fellow
security guard with saving hves - at
tlie cost of his own.
In an inteniew Wednesday with
The Associated Press, LeeAnn
Grant said Derrick Brun ignored
her pleas to run, and rose from his
desk to confront Jeff Weise, tlie
16-year-old shooter.
"Derrick saved my life," Grant
said. "I know he bought me time
by confronting Jeff, for me to even
get that much farther away with
the smdents. Derrick's my hero,"
GUARD to page 6
Indian tribe sets tight access for
media in Minnesota shooting
By Joshua Freed
Associated Press
RED LAKE, Minn. - Police in
this Indian resenation town have
imposed strict limits on journalists trying to cover the nation's
deadliest school shooting since
Columbine, even arresting two
photographers who allegedly violated die rules.
Widi authorities saying little
about the slayings, journalists on
Tuesday spread through the community, looking for residents who
knew the people involved.
Reporters and photographers
were told later not to knock on
doors to speak with residents and
were ordered not to leave tlie main
ACCESS to page 7