Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2005-04-22

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Floyd Jourdain
should resign
page 4
At Nett Lake, it appears
PRIVATE supersedes
PUBLIC
page 4
Red Lake healing
process delayed
page 4
Red alert for
all members
of the tribe
page 4
2004 campaign
spending gone amok
page 4
Negative campaigning, undue influence in Minnesota House races
Moe campaign outspent Fuller by over $46,000 in
District 4A race
By Bill Lawrence
Published within this week's
edition is a series of charts compiled by Minnesotans for Responsible Gambling from reports fried
at the State Campaign Finance
and Pubhc Disclosure Board for
the November election of 2004.
The information was complied
this month.
The charts are both informative and unsettling.   Two issues
Democrats spent
50.35% on negative
expenditures;
Republicans expended
16.71% in negative
expenditures.
immerge —one a great deal of
money was spent by Democrats
to unseat Republicans in general.
A concerted financial commitment
was made to unseat 3 term incumbent Representative Doug Fuller
of District 4A and elect Frank
Moe, a newcomer to the game.
Second, negative campaigning
was used extensively by the DFL,
and it worked.
The DFL spent $83,129 and
PACS spent $38,350, to get Moe
elected as one of over 300 candidates for 267 seats. Only two other
candidates received more in both
cases, although total spending for
Moe was second only to that spent
by and for Rebecca Otto DFL
candidate, District 52B. Including his individual campaign fund,
expenditures for Moe's election
totaled $155,664.
Otto's individual campaign
expenditures exceeded Moe's by
double ($69,111 to $34,184). She
trailed Moe in receipt of party
funds by $14,500 and received
less than half the amount Moe
received from PACs. Otto lost
the election.
Republicans spent $56,588 and
PACs spent $18,485 on behalf of
the Fuller campaign. Including
individual spending, total expenditures for the Fuller campaign
totaled $109,240. There is a
$46,400 difference in campaign
expenditures between the two candidates. Fuller lost the election
receiving only 45.3% of the votes.
Charts reveal that Republicans
(Rs) spent $1.25 million on campaigns and Democrats (DFL) spent
$1.60 million. Political Action
Committees (PAC) spent $776,
CAMPAIGN to page 6
Leech Lake pays more keeping Shakopee debt, wants
constitutional reform
By Diane E. White
CASS LAKE, MN- The Leech
Lake Band of Ojibwe Chairman
George Goggleye, Jr. wanted to
end the rumors that Leech Lake
was planning to refinance the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux debt
by holding a question-only open
forum meeting at the Palace Bingo
Hall on Tuesday, April 19 at 6:00
p.m. All three district representatives were present. The RBC did
not make any presentations about
the proposals or the current Mdewakanton Sioux loan.
According to Chainnan Goggleye they are seeking three Request
for Proposals (RFP) from financiers and had already received
two proposals. He stated they are
seeking $50 million in financing.
However, PRESS/ON sources
have provided the two proposals,
which seek $60 and $70 million in
financing which would pay off the
Mdewakanton Sioux loan and allow for $8 million to infrastructure
needs or for a distribution.
Chairman Goggleye stated the
term of the loan sought will be
considerably shorter and will cut
the loan term to around 8 years,
rather than the cmrent 20 year
loan. The payments will be quite
a bit higher and would be around
double the current loan.
Despite the reported dismal financial condition reported to the
PRESS/ON by District 1 Representative Burton "Luke" Wilson,
Chairman Goggleye maintains the
Band will be able to pay the high
monthly finance payments without any program cuts, job cuts, or
budget cuts.
According to one proposal, the
Band could save $27 million in
the long run by refinancing the
Mdewakanton Sioux loan to a
shorter term loan where the total
paid over the term would be $71
milhon, rather than $98 million,
which will be the total amount,
paid on the current 20 year loan.
There was some confusion over
who could speak at this meeting.
The RBC requested only LIC
members to be able to ask questions, but the crowd disapproved
of that idea. I "he RBC responded
they would only entertain questions if the audience remained
"nice, quiet and respectful" according to District III Donald
"Mick" Finn. The Secretary -Treasurer Arthur "Archie" LaRose was
not present at the meeting.
Some Local Indian Council
committee members disagreed
with expanding gaming in Mnnesota while others wanted more
information regarding the loan
proposals. The Tribal Council
provided a copy of one page out
of one of the proposals, but did not
elaborate on any of the proposals.
They indicated two reason for
re-financing the Mdewakanton
Sioux loan as: 1) it gives up total
sovereign immunity; and 2) life of
loan is too long (20 years).
Constitutional Reform
Lenny Fineday, a young
Leech Lake tribal member and
graduate of Bethel College with
a Bachelor's degree in Political
Science will be heading rrp the
Constitutional Refonn campaign.
REFORM to page 3
A month later,
pain and sorrow
at Red Lake
By Terry Collins
Star Tribune
RED LAKE, MINN. - A heavy
sadness still lingers across this
sovereign soil.
A smile or two can be seen
now and then. Idle chit-chat and
laughter can be heard outside the
convenience store, the gas station
and elsewhere on the Red Lake
Indian Reservation.
But despite the hugs and the
reassurances, the pain isn't going
away anytime soon.
"We are going to recover. I'm
just not sure how long it's going
to take," Tribal Secretary Judy
Roy said Wednesday. "We'll get
through this and come out even
better tiian before. We owe it to
those who perished in this tragedy."
Today marks one month since
the second-deadliest school
shooting in U.S. history. Ten
people died March 21, including
16-year-old gunman Jeff Weise;
seven others were wounded.
The caravan of federal authorities and the intense media swarm
have all but gone, satisfying many
PAIN to page 3
Government attempt to limit trust
responsibilities denied:
U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Appeal by DOI
By Jean Pagano
The U.S. Supreme Court, without comment, denied an appeal by
the federal government relating to
trust cases involving two Wyoming
tribes. The cases, US v. Shoshone
Indian Tribe and Eastern Shoshone
Tribe v. US, once again involve the
Department of Interior's mismanagement of Native trust assets.
The issue of trust and responsibility has come to the fore in recent years. The landmark Cobell v.
Secretary of Interior, filed in 1996,
attempts to hold the federal government liable for what plaintiffs claim
is more than a hundred years of trust
mismanagement by the Department
of Interior. In this most recent case,
the Eastern Shoshone Tribe and the
Northern Arapahoe Tribe share an
undivided interest in mineral resources on the Wind River Indian
Reservation in Wyoming.
The two tribes involved in the
litigation claim that the federal
government has breached their
trust by mismanaging tribal resources and tribal funds. The first
part of tlie claim dated from 1946
asserts mismanagement of sand
and gravel resources. The government has argued, unsuccessfully,
that (lie statute of limitations had
mn out on this claim; At issue is
verbiage included in all Department of Interior appropriation act
from 1990 to the present which
delays the statute of limitations
on Native trust claims against the
federal government "concerning
loss to or management of trust
funds, until the affected tribe or
individual Indian has been furnished with an accounting of such
funds from which the beneficiary
can determine whether there has
been a loss." The standard statute
of limitations for trust accounting
cases is six years.
The Court of Federal Claims
ruled in favor of the Uibes, stating that the statute of limitations
had not run out since a complete
accounting has not been rendered.
The matter of a complete accounting, whether it applies to die Wind
River litigation or to the Cobell
case, is contentious indeed. Neither
the White Hortse nor the Department of Interior seems willing to
discuss what an accurate historical
account really is. The Federal Circuit Court, in the Wind River Reservation cases, asked the question
DOI to page 3
Jourdain pleas for federal help to
shore up Red Lake reservation's
infrastructure
By Charles Homans
St. Paul Pioneer Press
WASHINGTON - Red Lake
tribal Chairman Floyd Jourdain
Jr. met with White House officials
and members of Mnnesota's congressional delegation Wednesday
to plead for increased federal
spending to help the impoverished reservation still reeling
from last month's shootings that
claimed 10 lives.
In a closed meeting at the U.S.
Capitol, the Chippewa leader
called for $22.1 million to ease
tribal money problems that are
expected to worsen in the wake
of the March 21 shootings.
"We have severely lagging infrastructure needs," Jourdain said.
In a detailed assessment of
needs, tribal officials said a history
of inadequate federal funding and
a growing population have meant
that the Red Lake reservation in
northern Mnnesota struggles to
meet its basic law enforcement
and infrastructure needs.
"We can no longer settle for
this situation or with piecemeal
attempts to patch over it," the assessment said. "We cannot run the
risk of losing more of our people
to the hopelessness and despair
which are the partners to decline
and neglect."
Among the tribe's wonies is
that the federal Community Oriented Policing Services grants
that support nine of the tribal law
enforcement division's 23 officer
and investigator positions will be
cut this year.
Tribal officials also anticipate
educational funding woes to
worsen in the aftermath of the
shootings. Per-pupil funding for
Red Lake's schools is based on
students' attendance, so truancy
and the departure of students to
other districts via open enroll-
JOURDAIN to page 5
Tribes attempt
to curb teen
suicides
Associated Press
Mclaughlin, s.d. - The
suicides of seven young people
last year left this northern outpost
reeling with grief.
The story is minored in headlines around the country. The
Cheyenne River Indian Reservation lost 17 people to suicide in
2002 and 2003. Last month, a high
school smdent on the Red Lake
Indian Reservation in Mnnesota
killed 9 people before taking his
own life.
But once the media attention
fades, residents are left to deal
with the devastation. An inspired
few are turning that devastation
into feats of hope.
Mary Hayes lost her 16-year-old
granddaughter, Billie Jean Left
Hand, to suicide Dec. 30. Once
the despair faded, Hayes started
taking in troubled teens, leading
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Volume 17 Issue 44
April 22, 2005
Arthur "Archie" LaRose is being sworn into the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe by President Norman Deschampe
at Black Bear Casino & Hotel on the Fond du Lac Reservation. Secretary-Treasurer LaRose was attending the
Tribal Executive Committee.s Special Meeting regarding the Irrevocable Resignation of Leech Lake District 1
Representative Burton "Luke" Wilson. Picture by Frank Bibeau
MCT Executive Coinmittee votes 9-2 to allow Leech Lake
District 1 Representative Wilson to revoke resignation
By Diane White
Fond Du Lac, MN—The
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
(\ K T) I executive C 'omrnittec
voted 9-2 to allow I .eech l>ake
DisUict 1 Representative Burton "I .rrkc" WilsOti to remain
in office. The committee's
special meeting was forced
by four TEC members request-
ing the measure to address
possible violation(s) of the
1 lection Ordinance #9 by the
Leech Lake Reservation Business Committee (RBC). The
open meeting was attended
by nearly 100 interested tribal
members who were allowed to
testify for or against Wilson's
resignation. Then Ihe meeting
then went into Executive Session, which closed discussion
to the public, but allowed the
RBC members and their attorneys to continue discussions.
The meeting was held at the
Black Bear Casino & Hotel
on the Fond du Lac Reservation on April 20. The first order
of business was to swear in the
recently re-elected Leech Lake
Secretary-Treasurer Arthur "Archie" LaRose.
It was during the Executive Session that White Earth Cliainvoman
Erma Vizenor made a motion ro
recognize the validity of the Special
Election announced on October 12,
2004, such that the August 2,2004
resignation of Representative Wilson has no force or effect because
it occurred in a different election
cycle. The motion was seconded
by Leech Lake Chairman George
Goggleye, Jr. and approved by a
vote of 9-2. The Secretary-Treasurers of Leech Lake and Fond du
Lac dissented on the vote.
LaRose opened the hearing
stating the reason for the Special
Meeting is because the Tribal
Council did not address his motion
to uphold Wilson's resignation in
a Leech Lake Special Meeting on
March 25. He made a motion to
uphold Wilson's resignation, but
the motion died for lack of a second. LaRose believes the issue is
a constitutional issue and should
be ruled on by the TEC.
LaRose read a paragraph
in Election Ordinance #9 that
spells orrt the process of a sitting
elected RBC member to run for
a different elected position during the middle of the four-year
term. The three criteria to call a
Special Election are promulgated
in the Constitution and are death,
removal, or resignation. LaRose
said the second special election
was called without any one of the
criteria to have occurred.
There were two interpretations
of the number of special elections
that occuned. LaRose and attorney Frank Bibeau testified that
only one Special Election took
place, however, Garbow and
MCT to page 4
Leech Lake
band says it
won't join
Canterbury
plan
■ Associated Press
ST. PAUL - One of three
Indian tribes that agreed with
Gov. Tim Pawlenty to operate a
Twin Cities casino said it won't
merge its gambling plan with a
proposal pushed by the owners
of Canterbury Park.
"We just didn't see a benefit
to us as a tribe," Leech Lake
Tribal Chainnan George Goggleye said Monday. "We saw the
possibility the revenues would
be cut in half. We looked at
some numbers."
Goggleye said the band would
remain interested in pursuing a
casino in partnership with only
the state and two other northern
tribes, the White Earth and Red
Lake bands.
The Indian bands and
Pawlenty have promoted a
state-tribal casino as a source of
revenue for a state with a budget
deficit, and an economic benefit
for Indians from the three most
populous and poorest reservations in Mnnesota.
Earlier this month, however,
a state Senate committee shot
down the proposal for a state-
tribal casino. The Senate committee also defeated a separate
proposal by Canterbury for a
so-called racino.
Facing the possibility that
both proposals would fail in
the House Taxes Committee,
backers have been exploring
the possibility of merging
them into one bill audiorizing
SUICIDES to page 5 LEECH LAKE to page 3
Red Lake High seniors gather in
Washington D.C.
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Heven high
school seniors from Red Lake High
School are visiting the nation's capital, a trip that school officials hope
will let tlie students take dieir minds
off last mondi's school shootings.
The school traditionally sends
its top academic achievers to
Washington, as a way to help die
students get a firsthand view of
dieir lessons in govenunent, history and cunent events.
This year's participants had to
write a paper on gun control and
what it means on die reservation.
In a horrible coincidence, all
of die participants heard or saw
16-year-old classmate Jeff Weise
shoot and kill a guard, a teacher
and five snrdents at school before
killing himself on March 21.
The shooting added Red Lake
High School to a growing list of
national school tragedies that the
smdents feared would set them firr-
dier apart from the world outside
the Red Lake Indian Reservation.
'People have a tendency to try to
make us different," said Principal
Chris Dunshee. 'We're not We're
just like all odier high school kids."
At die National Museum of die
American Indian, officials put togedier a private tour for the group.
The students cheered when they
learned diat die building was made
of Kasota limestone from Mankato.
Social science teacher Sheila
Horn, who acted as chaperone,
noted diat die students wanted to
be part of die larger youth culture,
but also to stick together.
"They want to be part of the
larger world, but diey also want to
keep die traditions of the reservation at home, "she said. "That's die
conflict."
When Weise struck, alert system
fell silent
School failed to broadcast intercom warnings
By David Hanners
Pioneer Press
Although Red Lake Senior
High School had an emergency
response plan in place, teachers
and students weren't warned
after Jeff Weise shot his way into
the building last mondi, school
officials said.
While the emergency plan arils
for warnings to be broadcast over
the school's intercom, that warning never came, and officials
aren't sure why, said the school
district's acting superintendent.
Federal officials investigating
the shootings said diis week diat
the school's disaster plan helped
save lives. But interviews with
school officials and others indicated diat initiative on the part
.of individual teachers - not the
fonnal response plan — helped
protect faculty and smdents.
Widiin nine minutes of entering
the school March 21, Weise had
killed seven people and wounded
seven odiers. After being wounded
diree times by a police officer,
the 16-year-old killed himself.
Before going to the school, he
had killed his grandfather, who
was a tribal policeman, as well as
his grandfadier's longtime female
companion.
"Hearing gunshots, you don't
SYSTEM to page 5