Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2005-05-13

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Top 10 things to
■Watch Out For"
on Leech Lake
Reservation
page 4
Not a proud
Leech Lake enrollee
page 4
Update from Secretary/
Treasurer Archie LaRose
page 4
Not embarrassed
to say who I am
page 4
Leech Lake
Cooperative Law
Enforcement
Agreement at risk?
page 4
#1 source of cocaine on White Earth jailed
VOICE       OF       THE       PEOPLE
By Bill Lawrence
David James Bower, age 36 of
the White Earth Band of Chippewa,
was arrested Monday, May 9,2005
on federal narcotics charges. The
arrest, made by federal agents, was
in connection with a 5-03-05 Grand
Jury indictment, which alleges that
Bower and an accomplice distributed cocaine and crack cocaine
on the White Earth and Red Lake
Indian Reservations. Todd Douglas Miller, age 24 of Bemidji, was
also named in the indictment. He
remains at large.
Both were charged with one
count of conspiracy to distribute
and possession with the intent to
distribute more than 50 grams of
crack cocaine and more than 5
kilograms of cocaine. Individually, Bower was charged with one
Count of "unlawfully, knowingly,
and intentionally, conspiring with
others to commit a variety of drug
distribution, and possession with
The Grand Jury found
probable cause to
believe that the
defendant... has
entangled [his] juvenile
sister [in the drug trade].
intent to distribute offenses... he
is also charged with four Counts
of aiding and abetting the distribution of cocaine.... The conspiracy offenses are alleged to have
occurred from on or about early
1990s, and continuing through on
or about May 3,2005, and, for the
aiding and abetting offenses, on
specified dates in September and
October of 2003, and in January
of 2004."
The street value of the narcotics
possessed by the two is estimated
to be as high as $1 million.
Bower was arraigned in Bemidji
May 9; he appeared at a Detention
Hearing in the U.S. District Court
in Duluth May 11,2005. The U.S.
Attorney's office requested that
Bower be held without bail until
his trial. He is in the custody of
U.S. Marshals. The trial is scheduled to be held in Minneapolis on
August 8, 2005.
Defendant Bower has been under investigation by the Minnesota
Bureau of Criminal Apprehension
since 1999. Special agent Todd
Taylor, in testimony, "characterizes the Defendant as being, and
as having been, the number one
source of cocaine on the White
Earth Indian Reservation."
Agent Taylor "testified to numerous reports" that Bower has
threatened several individuals if
they "should . . . seek to cooperate with law enforcements." One
individual reported that Bower had
said "if he cooperated with law enforcement, he would be found six
feet under the ground." The agent
added that Bower had made good
on "such a threatby committing a
third degree assault against the son
of a competing source of cocaine
on the White Earth Reservation."
Bower, according to testimony,
relies on others to sell the drugs
for his benefit. He is accused of
selling drugs within 1000 feet of a
school and within public housing.
He is reputed to employ "juveniles
in his drug distribution scheme, including children as young as ten
years old."
Pre-Trial Services at one point
had recommended that Bower be
released on bond, pending trial.
However that recommendation
was modified upon further investigation and ultimately the detention
recommendation was supported.
In the Order for Detention,
Raymond L. Erickson, U.S. Magistrate Judge, stated ". . . we find
the evidence both clear and convincing that the Defendant poses
an unreasonable risk of danger to
the community, and to persons in
the community, and he also poses
JAILED to page 3
Further security breaches at Interior revealed:
Security expert hacks data on Secretary Norton
By Jean Pagano
The evidentiary hearing into
computer security at the Department of Interior relating to the
landmark Cobell v. Norton case
continued this week with new reports of penetration into sensitive
data at the Department of Interior
(DOI). The hearing, called by
U.S. District Court Judge Royce
C. Lamberth, attempts to discover whether there is any risk to
Individual Indian Money (IMM)
account data currently stored on
DOI computers.
The Department of Interior
computer system, described by
one Bush administration official
as "bulletproof, has proved to be
anything but secure. Testimony
last week from Internet Security
Systems employee Scott Miles detailed easy access into Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) computers and the intrusion went so
far as to access EMM Trust data.
This week's testimony, by Internet Security Systems employee Phil
Brass, detailed additional security
breaches into DOI systems. Internet Security Systems was hired by
the Department of Interior's Office
of the Inspector General to discover
just how secure the DOI's systems
really are.
Whereas Miles' testimony last
week described attempts to penetrate numerous systems at Interior,
Brass' intrusion attempts were specifically geared to discovering sensitive data about Interior Secretary
Norton and other top officials.
Brass' efforts were concentrated
on the National Business Center,
an agency within Interior that
processes $9 billion in payroll
for upwards of 200,000 government workers and also handles
an additional $3 billion in other
financial transactions. Beginning
in March of this year and continuing for numerous weeks into April.
Brass was able to access sensitive
financial data, including credit
card numbers for all Department
of Interior employees.
While Brass had free reign in
these sensitive systems, he compiled information on a number of
top Interior officials, including
associate deputy secretary Jim
Cason, who described the systems as "basically bulletproof,
assistant secretary for policy,
management, and budget P. Lynn
Scarlett, and even Secretary Gale
Norton herself. The test was concluded before too much data could
be gathered on Secretary Norton.
When Brass discovered the
type of data he had access to, he
continued to look for sensitive
data beyond the Department of
Interior. Brass was able to access
data on NASA personnel, including personal information on all of
the astronauts.
Prior testimony by Scott Miles
indicated that he was finally discovered during his forays into
Department of Interior systems.
Conversely, Phil Brass was never
discovered but was required to
conclude his penetrations when
the test was called off.
The evidentiary hearings in the
Cobell lawsuit were requested
by the plaintiffs in this landmark
case. The Plaintiffs are seeking a
court order to disconnect the Interior computer systems that house
trust data from the Internet for fear
that the data is not secure. Judge
Lamberth has disconnected the
NORTON to page 6
Native American
science education
flourishes at
STAR School
By Rick St. Germaine
Leupp, AZ - Deep in the high
plateau country of Arizona near
the southwest corner of the Navajo Nation reservation, Chalmer
Battle fiddles with a model solar
powered electronic board in his
classroom at the STAR School.
His science teacher, Tom Tomas,
hovers close by as he glances at
a varied array of science projects
being organized by smdents in the
7-8th grade.
Chalmer, who was 13 at the
time, won the first place award
for electrical engineering at the
Navajo Nation Science Fair last
spring, in the 7-12th grade division. This thirteen year old boy
beat out all of the high school
student entries in the category.
He was quick to credit the work
of his classmates and the fact that
the project was a team effort.
This year, Chalmer is an eighth
grade student at the STAR School,
a four year old charter school that
STAR to page 5
Research on Indian children possible
Expert cites opportunities at education meeting
By Rick St. Germaine
Santa Fe, NM - When Bill
Demmert was much younger,
he worked far across the continent with the Kennedy brothers
(Robert and Edward) on a major
research study that resulted in
landmark legislation, the Indian
Education Act of 1972. A lot of
ground has passed since that time
and Demmert, a Tlingit-Oglala
education researcher at Western
Washington University, spends
much of his time nowadays
exploring questions of Native
language and student learning.
In mid-March, Dr. Demmert co-
sponsored a colloquium in Santa
Fe on Improving Academic Performance Among Native Smdents.
A host of eminent researchers
were invited to address the issues
of identification and assessment of
learning and learning disabilities
in Native children, including leading brain researchers, Ken Pugh of
Yale University and Elise Temple
of Cornell University.
According to Temple, an
explosion of student brain studies occurred within the past ten
years as neuroimaging machines
became .available to educational
psychologists. The applications
in child development are nearly
endless and incredibly valuable,
especially to those educators who
seek an understanding of reading
and literacy development.
Pugh concurred. "Spoken
language is a biological specialization," he said, "while written
language is largely a cultural
invention."
He elaborated, "Spoken language is mastered naturally in all
people without direct instruction,
but reading is difficult and reading
failure occurs in large numbers of
children across all languages."
After describing in some detail, the brain research underway
in the Haskins Laboratory at Yale
University, Pugh pondered out
loud the uses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)
in American Indian children. He
expressed an interest in applying
an fMRI study of reading disorder in American Indian smdents,
to better understand perhaps the
biology of Indian children.
RESEARCH to page 5
Ho-Chunk making changes after
accountant warns of bankruptcy
Associated Press
MILWAUKEE -The Ho-Chunk
Nation is making major financial
changes after a Milwaukee accounting firm told the American
Indian tribe that it was facing
bankruptcy.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Sunday that the tribe
hired Virchow, Krause & Co. to
look at its books. In October, the
firm told the tribe it must make
sweeping changes.
"The consequence of not
making immediate and sweeping
system changes is certain financial ruin," the 20-page report
states. "The Nation has worked
too hard and has too much of its
culture and people's fumre at stake
to allow this to happen."
Ho-Chunk runs one ofthe most
profitable Indian casino operations
in the nation, with its popular
Wisconsin Dells casino and other
facilities bringing in more than
$100 million in profits a year.
In response to the review, which
was given to a small circle of tribal
officials, the tribe last month cut
a per-capita payment to all band
members to about $2,300 per
quarter, down from $3,250.
Tribal President George Lewis
told the paper that other problem
areas of spending were being reviewed.
"The Nation would like to
announce that the areas deemed
HO-CHUNK to page 6
May is Asthma
Awareness
Month
By Diane White
Asthma is a chronic lung condition characterized by difficulty in
breathing which can be developed
at any age. People with asthma
have extra sensitive airways that
react by narrowing or obstructing
when they become irritated making it difficult for air to move in
and out.
Asthma is most common in
childhood and occurs in approximately 7-10% of the pediatric
population and accounts for a
quarter of school absenteeism. In
early childhood, it affects more
ASTHMA to page 6
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A weekly publication.  Copyright, Native American Press, 2005
Founded in 1988
Volume 17 Issue 47
May 13, 2005
Lindsey Scazella from Kodiak, Alaska, kicks a skin ball hanging 54 inches off of the floor during the one-foot
high kick event at the Native Youth Olympics in Anchorage, Alaska, May 7, 2005. The annual three-day
Native sporting event draws athletes from around the state to compete in traditional games like the two-foot
high kick, the seal hop and other games that test strength, balance and flexibility. (AP Photo/AI Grillo)
Survey finds GOP opposition to Pawlenty's casino plan
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS - Gov. Tim
Pawlenty's proposal for building
two state-sponsored casinos at
Canterbury Park has significant
opposition from within his own
party, according to a Star Tribune
survey of legislators.
Thirteen Republicans in the
GOP-controlled House told the
newspaper they oppose the two-
casino proposal, the Star Tribune
reported Sunday.
Altogether, 60 House members _ nearly two-thirds of
those taking a position _ told the
newspaper they were against au
thorizing an Indian band and Canterbury Park to each run a casino at
the track and send $300 million in
licensing fees and a share of future
profits to the state.
That's seven votes shy of what
would be needed to defeat the
proposal.
The newspaper also said 24
House members said they support
it, 12 were undecided, and 38 did
not respond.
The Star Tribune said its survey
doesn't necessarily reflect the way
that the House members would
vote on the measure if it reached
the House floor. They were allowed to respond confidentially,
asked only to share their sentiments based on what they know
now. Also, more Democrats than
Republicans replied.
"The numbers don't look
good," said House Speaker Steve
Sviggum, R-Kenyon, who still
predicted that the proposal would
advance through the House Taxes
Committee this week. "I'm not the
type of speaker that twists arms. I
SURVEY to page 6
Officials call
for overhaul
of tribal
recognition
process
By Lolita C. Baldor
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The thirst
for lucrative Indian casinos
can taint the tribal recognition
process, which is too slow and
costly, state and federal officials
told the Senate Indian Affairs
Committee Wednesday.
And the panel's chairman, Sen.
John McCain, R-Ariz., signaled
a greater willingness to tackle
reform of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs' recognition process.
"The role that gaming and its
non-tribal backers have played
in the recognition process has
increased perceptions that it
is unfair if not corrupt," said
McCain, adding that it is up to
Congress to ensure the BIA is
performing correctly. "I anticipate that, informed by this and
past hearings, this committee
will begin looking at ways to
fix the process."
Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell
and the state's congressional
delegation have been vigorously
urging federal officials to improve
the tribal recognition process.
Sen. Christopher J. Dodd, D-
Conn., said efforts to pass legislation reforming the process
OVERHAUL to page 3
Racino's biggest backer doesn't
want tribal partnership
By Patrick Condon
Associated Press
ST. PAUL - The Legislature's
most vocal supporter of a casino
at Canterbury Park racetrack said
Tuesday that he no longer supports
linking that project with a second,
state-tribal casino in Shakopee.
The decision by Senate Minority Leader Dick Day, R-Owatonna,
to yank his support is yet another
blow to Gov. Tim Pawlenty's push
for expanded gambling in Minnesota to help fund state needs.
Day, who has pushed for the
Canterbury Park racino for the last
seven years, had initially supported
the concept of joining the two proposals in a plan that calls for both
the racino and the state-tribal casino
at another site in Shakopee.
But he said Tuesday he realized
that the plan was getting too big and
unwieldy, and he felt it was starting
to harm the racino's chances as a
stand-alone project.
"It's getting very convoluted,
and we're saying, let's take it back
to square one," Day said. "We
want the racino to be clean and
stand or fall on its own."
Day said he expects the Legislature won't authorize the racino this
year, but he said it would allow he
and other supporters to renew their
push next year.
The racino-casino merger had
been the latest permutation in
Pawlenty's gambling push, which
initiated out of what the governor
has said is a desire to help poor
RACINO to page 3
Dozens of chidren with special
needs have found home near Tower
By LEE BLOOMQUIST
Duluth News Tribune
TOWER, Minn. (AP) _ Three
meals a day. A stable home life.
And love.
It's all that Becky and Jim
Gawboy have ever offered to the
58 emotionally needy or physically abused foster children whom
they've helped raise over the past
nine years.
For most of their kids, it's more
than enough.
"I always say that we do it
because we're human beings and
human beings take care of each
other," said Jim Gawboy, a 68-year-
old retired Minnesota Department
of Natural Resources game warden
who's half Ojibwe Indian and half
Finnish. "That's what Indians do
... they take care of everyone."
Since 1996, the Gawboys have
accepted dozens of emotionally
scarred or physically challenged
children into their simple, 10-bed-
room, country-style home on 100
CHILDREN to page 7