Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2005-05-06

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Sundancing In
Red Lake without
Bellecourt
page 5
Leech Lake governance
seems hopeless
page 4
Open letter to Floyd
"Buck" Jourdain; Red
Lake members thinks
Jourdain should resign
page 4
Thoughts for the Leech
Lake Tribal Council;
Response to Teddy
Brown
page 4
The City Pages
article, The Real
Red Lake, another
perspective
page 4
Judge dismisses MLB request for HRO against Deotis
By Bill Lawrence
At a hearing April 18, 2005,
Mille Lacs County District Judge
Michael S. Jesse dismissed a request for a Harassment Restraining (HRO) Order by officials of
the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
(MLB) against James M. Deotis
of Garrison, Mn. The Judge also
'dissolved' a Temporary ex parte
restraining order dated 2/2/05
against Mr. Deotis.
Non-member tribal officials
successfully initiated the ex
parte temporary restraining order against Deotis, a Mille Lacs
resident and political gadfly. Ex
parte is a legal procedure wherein
an order is initiated with only one
side to the dispute present.
This means the accuser can
make statements against an individual to ajudge without the accused being present. The use of
ex parte orders can be extremely
damaging to an individual.  De-
Public officials...should
expect criticism as a
natural accompaniment
to their position and as
part of the democratic
process.
nial of h/his rights is being proposed and the individual doesn't
even know it is happening.
Had the temporary order remained in force, it would have
barred Mr. Deotis from "entering the exterior boundaries of the
Mille Lacs Indian Reservation."
He would have been prohibited
from attending pubhc as well as
tribal meetings. Since many non
tribal public meetings are held in
tribal facilities, this action would
have effectively eliminated lus
participation in public events.
He would have been prevented
from visiting any of the three
townships on the lower end of
the lake. Even traveling highway
169 would be problematic for him
if the order had remained.
Upon receiving notice of the
Temporary Restraining Order,
initiated by Mary Louise and
David Sam, Petitioners, from
the Crow Wing County Sheriff's
Department, Mr. Deotis (the
named Respondent) requested a
hearing. Had he not done so, die
order would likely have remained
in effect for a considerable dme
period. As it was, his disbarment
was in effect (wrongfully) for almost three months
Judge Jesse stated in the
memorandum that accompanied
the decision to deny the HRO
that the Respondent's (Mr.
Deotis) actions appeared to be
politically motivated or were
related to positions taken by the
Petitioners (Mary Louise and
David Sam). He acknowledged
that the Petitioners could understandably find the Respondent's
actions objectionable. However,
the memorandum continued,
politically motivated objectionable behavior does not constiUite
harassment. To so rule would
violate the Respondent's right to
free speech.
Public officials, whether
elected or appointed, should expect criticism as a natural accompaniment to their position and as
part of the democratic process.
A little history will illuminate
the matter more completely. Mr.
Deotis is a chronicler and an
enthusiastic protestor against observed tribal mismanagement and
suspected abuse. He is a political
activist, noting and commenting
on events that strike him as being
wrong. He has a history of calling
unwanted attention to the doings
of tribal officials and, while he
is sometimes profane, his observations and instincts are often
correct. He unabashedly points
fingers at questionable actions.
JUDGE to page 6
Heart disease and stroke #1 killer of American
Indians/Alaska Natives
By Diane White
According to the American Heart
Association, die leading cause of
death for American Indian/Alaska
Natives was heart disease. Some
contributors to heart disease are
physical inactivity, smoking, and
obesity. In 1999, the percentage
of total deaths among American
Indian/Alaskan men from heart
disease and stroke was 25.2%
and among women 27%.
Among both genders (another
contributing factor to heart disease
and stroke) who have been told by
a professional that they have high
blood pressure is 20.7%. Smoking is another contributing factor
to heart disease and stroke and
among American Indians/Alaska
Natives over age 18, 40.9% of
men and 40.8% of women smoke.
In adults, total cholesterol levels
of 240 mg/dL or higher are considered high risk and levels from
200 to 239 mg/dL are considered
borderline high risk. The median
HEART to page 5
Leading Causes of Death for American Indian or Alaska
Native Males and Females
United States: 2002
24.5
19.3
8.6
DJn
ABCDEABCDF
A Diseases of the Heart,
and Stroke
B Cancer
C Accidents
Source: CDC/NCHS.
D Diabetes Melius
E Chronic Liver Disease
and Cirrhosis
F Chronic Lower
Respiratory Diseases
Veteran's home loan program open to Indians living
on trust land
By Theodore White, Jr.
Leech Lake Reservation-The
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
and Veteran's Affairs signed a
Memorandum of Understanding
(MOU) nearly one year ago to
approve home building on the
Band's trust land. The MOU protects the veteran home builder and
the lender from losing the home,
because of the trust land issues.
Walter "Frank" Reese, a Vietnam-era veteran, was approved
for a VA home loan in November
2004 and his home is now nearly
complete on trust land in Onigum,
a village on die Leech Lake Reservation. He said, "All home loans
are available to Indians up to
$140,000." Walter "Frank" Reese stated from his recent building
experience, "Be very careful on
choosing contractors. I advise all
veterans to get a lawyer to sign a
contract with building contractor,
because it's a safeguard from anything going wrong.'Tt is also good
advice to check widi the State of
Mnnesota Department of Commerce to see if your building contractor is licensed and bonded.
A VA direct loan can be used to
purchase, construct, or improve a
home on Native American trust
land. These loans may also be
used to simultaneously purchase
and improve a home or to refinance another VA direct loan
made under this program in order
to lower die interest rate.
Easy Steps to a VA Loan
1. Make sure that your tribal
organization is participating in
the VA direct loan program by
having signed a Memorandum
of Lenderstanding with the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, which
includes the conditions governing
its participation in the program.
2. The veteran must have a
Certificate of Eligibility and can
easily obtain one by applying to
your local VA office on VA Form
26-1880, Request for Determination of Eligibility and Available
Loan Guaranty Entidement.
3. Decide on a home to buy
and sign a purchase agreement or
a contract with die builder to build
the home. Make sure to include in
the contract a provision, which
makes the contract void if you are
unable to obtain a VA direct loan.
4. Applications are available
through Veteran's Administration in
St. Paul, Minnesota and any Indian
veterans who would like to have a
home application, contact Mrana
Reyes Bible at 612-790-5573 to
receive an application package.
Who is Eligible?
Veterans who were honorably
released from active duty service,
during World War II and later
periods are eligible for VA loan
benefits. World War II (September 16, 1940 to July 25, 1947),
Korean conflict (June 27, 1950 to
January 31, 1955), and Vietnam-
era (August 5, 1964 to May 7,
1975) veterans must have at least
90 days service. Veterans with service only during peacetime periods
and active duty military personnel
must have had more dian 180 days
active service. Veterans of enlisted
service, which began after September 7, 1980, or officers with
service beginning after October
PROGRAM to page 5
Security breach at Bureau of Land Management website
Inspector General hires firm to test security of BLM
By Jean Pagano
The Department of Interior's
Office of the Inspector General
recently hired a security firm,
Internet Security Systems (ISS),
to run security tests against the
networks belonging to the Bureau
of Land Management (TBLM). The
security tests, described as "penetration" tests, were undertaken to
determine if Native trust data is
secure from hackers.
The tests were performed between February 21st and March
11th 2005 and were intended to
evaluate potential security weaknesses of network devices and
hosts. Individuals at BLM were
not notified of the security tests,
to better simulate a real attack
and to evaluate the responses to
die various intrusions. Testing proceeded in three stages. The first
phase was described as Network
Reconnaissance and the various
networks in BLM were identified.
The second phase was entided
Vulnerability Identification and
was initiated on all of the hosts
identified in the Network Reconnaissance phase through extensive
automated and manual testing. The
third phase was called Validation
and Exploration and was used to
review and exploit discovered
vulnerabilities.
In the Summary of Finding,
the risk rating assessed against
the BLM systems was High Risk.
According to the document "Some
significant vulnerabilities were
discovered that allow penetration into BLM networks or allow
unauthorized access to information. The environment exhibits
some good security practices and
controls that can help mitigate
the affect of vulnerabUities, but is
still at a significant risk of system
compromise or access to unauthorized data as a result of the issues
identified."
ISS also claimed that there
are "significant weaknesses in
the overall system architecture."
6 high risk and 6 medium risk
vulnerabilities were exploited
and allowed penetration into the
system. Vulnerabilities were also
examined by impact and the risk
of exploitation. 2 of die vulnerabilities had a high impact and
a high likelihood of exploitation.
Another 19 had a medium likelihood of exploitation, with 8 having a high impact and another 11
with a medium impact.
Scott Miles, an employee of
ISS, was called as a witness in
an evidentiary hearing held by
BLM to page 5
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Volume 17 Issue 46
May 6, 2005
Michelle Johnson, right, and her daughter Anita Scott walk April 11, 2005 in Red Lake, Minn., past
a memorial fence in memory of those killed in the Red Lake High School shootings three weeks
earlier. A healing ceremony was held outside the high school Monday and classes will resume
Tuesday. Johnson was pleased with increased security at the school. "I feel that it's safe for my
children now." (AP Photo/Jim Mone)
Same Country, Different Nation: The Real Red Lake
By Mike Mosedale
CV/v I'ages
On March 21, after 16-
year-old Jeff Weise killed nine
people on die Red Lake Indian
Reservation and then committed suicide, die local and
national media wasted no time
delving into the padios. The
story arc conformed to a now-
familiar pattern. The initial
round of coverage was devoted
mainly to eyewitness accounts
and what mordant German
media folk call widow-shaking. Then the attention shifted
to the matter of paramount importance: developing a profile
of the killer.
While the early stories
screamed "Why?," they
might just as well have read
"Why not?" There was no
shortage of explanations for
why and how Weise became
so unraveled. To begin with,
there were the heartbreaking
elements of his biography. His
father committed suicide in a
standoff widi police during which
his grandfather--later, Weise's first
victim—unsuccessfully attempted
to negotiate a surrender. There was
neglect and abuse. Then his mother
suffered serious brain damage in a
car accident, causing the boy to
be uprooted from his Twin Cities
home and sent to Red Lake to live
with relatives.
Suicidal, medicated, and alienated, Weise evidendy spent much
of his time in cyberspace, where he
all but announced Ms intentions to
die world. In one online profile, he
listed his hobbies as "Planning,
Waiting, Hating" and dien tacked
on an eloquent and prescient
self-assessment: "16 years of accumulated rage suppressed by
nothing more dian brief glimpses
of hope, which have all but faded to
black." (Writing under the moniker
NativeNazi, Weise also expressed
admiration for Hi tier and nuninated
extensively on die importance of
racial purity. Many expressed
shock that a Native kid would
gravitate to such ideology, but diat
is a litde less bizarre than it ap-
pears; after all, racial purity—in
die fonn of blood-quantum mea-
surements-deternunes eligibility
for uibal enrollment and therefore
is a central element of identity).
Among his peers, Weise's dark
enthusiasms were no secret.
Widiin a week of the shootings
came accounts from classmates
and friends concerning Weise's
obsession widi violence and talk
of shooting up die school.
Biographical nuggets like these
shaped the pubhc understanding
of die events of March 21. By the
time The National Enquirer and
A Current Affair weighed in on
the story, Weise's personal pa-
diologies were really all anyone
talked about. It helped that he left
behind neat, media-friendly artifacts: "Target Practice," (lie disturbing flash animation video he
created, which depicts a hooded
killer shooting people in the head
before eating his gun; "Surviving
RED LAKE to page 2
Thousands of
cormorants
targeted on
Leech Lake
this week
Associated Press
Federal sharpshooters will
begin killing cormorants on
Leech Lake this week as part
of a plan to cull a growing flock
of birds, which are blamed for
declining walleye numbers on
die lake.
The population of cormorants has jumped from about
150 nesting adults in 1998
to more than 5,000 last year.
There may be another 3,000
juvenile birds. Officials say die
soaring number of fish-eating
birds has coincided with poor
walleye fishing.
"We're pretty convinced
they are having a significant
impact," said Ron Payer, Department of Naniral Resources
fisheries management cliief.
The birds each gobble up
about 1 pound of fish daily.
'We estimate they consumed
in excess of 1 million pounds
of fish last year," said Henry
Drewes, DNR regional fisheries manager in Bemidji.
"That's a level of predation
that wasn't present prior to
1998. There's going to be an
effect."
The U.S. Department of
BIRDS to page 5
Bismarck hearing discusses
reservation teen suicides
By James Warden
Associated Press
BISMARCK,N.D. -Americmi
Indian reservations are seeing
alarming teen suicide rates, said
Sen. B yron Dorgan, D-N.D., who
led a hearing Monday at die state
Capitol widi students, counselors
and health experts.
"It is a difficult and sensitive
issue and, frankly, not easy to
talk about," Dorgan said. "There
are diose who say,s Let's not talk
about diis because it will give odi
ers ideas:' That strategy simply has
not worked."
Tribal statistics show that
10 teenagers have taken their
own lives on the Standing Rock
reservation since 2004, Dorgan
said. The reservation straddles
the border between Nordi Dakota
and Soudi Dakota.
Other tribes also are dealing
with youdi suicides, including
Minnesota's Red Lake Band of
Chippewa. Authorities on the
SUICIDES to page 5
Thousands attend Gathering of Nations
Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -
The Gadiering of Nations always
begins with a memorial song to
honor dancers, singers, friends
and relatives who have died in die
past year. On Friday, die Red Lake
Band of Chippewa Indians were
in die hearts of the participants of
what is billed as the largest powow
in die world.
A 16-year-old shot nine people
to death at die reservation's high
school and then nirned the gun on
himself March 21.
Delana Smith of Red Lake
traveled from the reservation in
northern Minnesota to hand in
her Miss Indian World crown at
die end of her one-year reign at the
22nd annual Gathering of Nations
here. She was on hand as powwow
veteran Charlie Tailfeadiers lined
up dozens of jingle dancers and
introduced an honor song by the
Nordiern Cree Singers.
'We are losing an Indian chdd
every day," Tailfeathers said. "Pray
and help wipe the tears for our
brothers and sisters of Red Lake."
The powwow began Friday and
will run through Sunday.
A total of 3,000 American Indians from around die country were
registered to compete for $ 140,000
in cash and prizes in die dancing
and drumming categories. An additional 100,000 were expected to
attend.
The annual pilgrimage to Albuquerque is a time for Indians from
across North America to commune
and commingle wliile surrounded
by die best traditional music and
dancing.
"It's like a family reunion," said
George Shields, one of the arena
directors.