Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2005-11-04

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INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS . 7
Tribes have different
view of Lewis and
Clark voyage
page 5
U of MN American Indian
students host Ethel Curry
Fall Welcome Feast &
Pow-wow
page 5
Vote No on
MCT Constitution
Proposition
Amendments
page 4
Betrayed in the
House of Our Friends I
page 4
Goggleye's
plea for help is
disingenuous in
view of his prior
actions
page 4
Honors for Minnesota Indian Chamber of Commerce
By Robert Franklin
Star Tribune
When Karri Plowman sees
Indian voters, he doesn't see just
people who may influence policies on transportation, health and
unemployment insurance. He also
sees future business leaders.
Plowman is executive director of the Minnesota American
Indian Chamber of Commerce,
which has been a leader in a get-
out-the-vote effort for the state's
tribes. That effort was cited as a
reason why the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits will present an
award for nonprofit advocacy to
the chamber tonight in St. Paul.
The chamber joined the nonpartisan tribal voting effort "because
we really believe community
members who are civically engaged become potential entrepreneurs," Plowman said. "Your
business leaders are voters. They
care about their community."
Founded 19 years ago, the
chamber is billed as the nation's
oldest Indian Chamber of Commerce and the oldest continuously operating ethnic chamber
in Minnesota. It represents tribal,
nonprofit and individual Indian
enterprises employing nearly
17,000 people statewide and its
190 members include non-Indian
companies such as 3M Co. and
General Mills, Plowman said.
Plowman, a Paiute Indian from
California, said he and Jolynn
Reeves, the chamber's community advocate, helped win
acceptance of tribal identification cards for voter registration,
helped prevent voter harassment
and helped register first-time voters, including a man who had been
a prison inmate in the 1980s.
The chamber also promotes
tourism as well as Indian businesses, he said.
Assortment of honored groups
Jon Pratt, executive director
of the Council of Nonprofits,
described   Plowman, 30, as "a
dynamic young leader" who has
increased the visibility and clout
HONORS to page 3
NOTICE
Notice of Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations visit and invitation to interested parties.
The Joint Commission on
Accreditation of Healthcare
Organizations (JCAHO) will
conduct an accreditation
survey at Red Lake Hospital
November 21 and 22nd.
An advance notice of the
Red Lake visit invites individuals with "pertinent and
valid information" about
organizational quality, safety
of care issues, and the safety
of the environment in which
care is provided to come forward to be interview by team
members.
Individuals who wish to
come forward with information must request a public
information interview in
writing five days before the
survey is scheduled to begin.
Persons interested in being
heard should contact the
commission stating the nature of the information they
wish to provide.
Requests to speak to commission members should be
sent to Division of Accreditation Operations, Office of
Quality Monitoring; Joint
Commission on Accreditation
of Healthcare Organizations;
One Renaissance Boulevard; Oakbrook Terrace, [L
60181. Requests for an
interview may also be faxed
to 630.792.5636 or emailed
to: complaint@jcaho.org.
Persons who can give reliable information are urged
to make a request for an
interview.
Ex-leader of White Earth Band
arraigned in car title scheme
By Chuck Haga
Star Tribune
BEMIDJI, MINN. - Darrell
(Chip) Wadena, former chairman of the White Earth Band of
Chippewa Indians, was arraigned
before a federal magistrate judge
Tuesday on charges that he and
a Florida used-car broker ran an
automobile title fraud scheme to
register more than 150 salvaged
cars through motor vehicle licensing offices on two northern
Minnesota reservations.
Wadena, 66, of Naytahwaush,
Minn., and Guillermo Gonzalez,
49, a used car dealer from Hollywood, Fla., are each charged
with one count of conspiracy and
five counts of mail fraud. The
indictment was returned by a federal grand jury on Oct. 25 and unsealed after Wadena's appearance
Tuesday before federal Magistrate
Judge Mary Kay Klein.
Wadena was arrested Monday
by FBI agents and a State Patrol
officer near the Shooting Star Ca
sino in Mahnomen, on the White
Earth Reservation. He was held
overnight in the Beltrami County
jail.
Wadena was chairman of the
White Earth Band for 20 years
and one of the most influential
Indian leaders in Minnesota until
his defeat at the polls in 1996 and
his conviction that year on 15
federal charges, many having to
do with misapplying tribal funds.
He spent about two years in
prison and was ordered to repay
the tribe $585,000.
Judge to appoint attorney
Because of his debts and Wadena's limited income from Social
Security and a part-time job at the
casino, Klein agreed to appoint an
attorney to represent him.
She set his next court appearance
for Friday before Magistrate Judge
Raymond Erickson in Duluth.
After his arraignment, Wadena
was released on an unsecured
bond. He declined to comment
SCHEME to page 4
News organizations sue to open
Red Lake trial
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS - Attorneys
for the Star Tribune and The Associated Press are seeking to open
the proceedings when a teenager
is tried in juvenile court for his
alleged role in the Red Lake killings.
Louis Jourdain, 17, the son of
Red Lake Tribal Chairman Floyd
Jourdain Jr., is facing charges in
the March 21 shootings at Red
Lake High School. The media
outlets filed the motion in U.S.
District Court in Minneapolis in
anticipation of the Nov. 14 start
date for the trial.
Prosecutors have not released
the specific charges Jourdain is
facing. He was a friend of 16-
year-old Jeff Weise, who shot
and killed nine people before
killing himself.
Prosecutors unsuccessfully
sought to try Jourdain as an
adult.
The motion seeks greater
public access to the records and
hearings, said John Borger, an
attorney for the media organizations. The papers related to the
motion are sealed, he said.
Examiner rules death of man under arrest accidental
Associated Press
DULUTH, Minn. - An American Indian man died accidentally
after a confrontation with police,
according to the St. Louis County
medical examiner.
David Croud's death was
caused by "anoxic encephalopathy due to cardiopulmonary arrest
due to acute alcohol intoxication
and Haldol administration," said
Dr. Thomas Uncini of Hibbing.
Anoxic encephalopathy involves a lack of oxygen to the
brain. Haldol is an anti-psychotic
drug used to treat a variety of
things, including mental disorders
and to relieve the effects of cancer
drugs. It should not be taken with
alcohol.
It was not clear whether Croud
was taking Haldol himself, or
whether hospital staff gave it to
him.
. Croud, 29, a member of the
White Earth Band of Chippewa,
died Oct. 18, six days after he
was arrested. Duluth Police Chief
Roger Waller said Croud resisted
when officers tried to take him to
the detoxification center.
Croud was medicated at St.
Mary's Medical Center and never
regained consciousness after going into a coma.
A witness to the arrest said
he saw police with a Taser gun,
but didn't know if it was used
on Croud. Uncini's report said
"trauma or the use of a Taser
played no role in his (Croud's)
death."
The Washington County
attorney's office is investigating
to see whether criminal charges
are warranted.
Meanwhile, the American Civil
Liberties Union of Minnesota still
has questions about police conduct
in the case.
"The fact is that a bystander
called 911 on a police arrest because of the violence of it," said
ACLU of Minnesota Executive
Director Chuck Samuelson. The
ACLU is investigating and may
file a civil rights lawsuit.
Cobell v. Norton - BIA Official Threatens to
Withhold Money in Defiance of Judge
lndianz.com
WASHINGTON- A Bureau
of Indian Affairs official has
warned members of the Ute
Mountain Tribe in Colorado
that the Interior Department may
begin to withhold trust payments
from them, an action that would
defy the explicit instructions of a
federal judge.
"We are greatly alarmed by the
comments of Priscilla Bancroft,
superintendent of the BIA's Ute
Mountain agency," said Elousie
Cobell, lead plaintiff in the long-
running class action lawsuit over
the government's mismanagement of individual Indian trust
accounts.
In an interview with The Cortez
Journal, Ms. Bancroft was quoted
as saying that an order issued by
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth on Oct. 20 could lead the
BIA to stop payments to members
of the tribe.
"We've been through this
before," Bancroft told the newspaper. She said that the BIA, in
retaliation, deliberately withheld
trust fund distribution checks for
eight months or more because
Indian people were enforcing
the trust duties that continue to
be breached by Interior Secretary
Gale Norton and her staff.
Judge Lamberth has repeatedly
directed the Interior Department to
disconnect its computers from the
Internet because critical electronic
trust records are vulnerable to
computer hackers and individual
Indian trust funds and other assets
can be stolen without a trace.
"This statement by Ms. Bancroft
confirms what we have been telling the judge: that BIA officials
are blaming him and our lawsuit
for their inability to control the
security of critical trust information," Ms. Cobell said. "Now
the BIA is once again getting
ready to retaliate against some
of the poorest people in America
by withholding their desperately
needed trust funds."
This shows the utter disregard
Interior Secretary Norton and her
Interior Department subordinates
have forjudge Lamberth, Ms. Co
bell said. He has stated from the
bench that Indian people should
not be hurt by his order and that
Interior must continue to make all
scheduled payments to
individual trust account holders,
she pointed out.
"We requested — and the judge
agreed — that Interior must continue to make these payments
without delay. His Oct. 20 order
explicitly says: "that the Interior
defendants may reconnect, for
specified periods not to exceed
five (5) business days per month,
any Information Technology
System that houses or provides
access to Individual Indian Trust
data, for the purpose of receiving
and distributing trust funds, or for
the purpose of conducting other
necessary financial transactions.""
(Page 5 of order)
"Yet once again we have an
explicit statement by a BIA official that says to the members
of this tribe: 'We're going to hold
your money hostage,'" said Ms.
Cobell.
COBELL to page 3
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Volume 18 Issue ^
, 2005
Derrick Brun
to receive
Award of Valor
posthumously
By Bill Lawrence
The Award of Valor is the
highest award given by the
Minnesota Public Safety Services. This year the award will
go posthumously to Derrick
Brun who was killed during the
Red Lake Highschool shooting
of March 21,2005. Brun confronted the shooter, Jeff Weise,
and tried to prevent him from
entering the school.
His family has been invited
to accept the honor at the Twenty-
Second Annual Minnesota Public
Safety Service Awards ceremony
and banquet on November 10 at the
Northland Inn in Brooklyn Park.
The Minnesota Public Safety
Services Awards program was
set up to honor individuals who,
"through their actions or deeds
have given of themselves for the
safety of the citizens in the State
of Minnesota."
The State Commissioner of
Public Safety will be presenting
a plaque to the family that commemorates Derrick's bravery
and sacrifice.
The Red Lake High School
will also be awarded a plaque.
A representative of the Red
Lake Comprehensive Health
Services has been asked to accept
the award for the high school.
Twenty-one individuals will be
honored at this year's awards
ceremony.
Red Lake School District
restricts movements of students
Associated Press
RED LAKE, Minn. - The
Red Lake School District restricted students' movements
on Tuesday in response to
unspecified rumors, but they
assured the public there was
no immediate danger.
In March, the district high
school was the scene of the
worst school shooting since
Columbine. Students returned
this fall to find security upgraded throughout the district.
Public Safety Director Tim
V. Savior confirmed for The
Associated Press that at least
some schools were locked
down. He did not elaborate and
referred questions to Superintendent Stuart Desjarlait.
"We have nothing unusual
to report," Savior said. "We
are aware that people are anxious. We are alert and in tune
to any of those situations, but
we have nothing to substantiate
to cause alarm. ... There is no
clear and present danger."
Desjarlait did not immediately
return a phone message left at his
office and he did not take a phone
call from a reporter who tried to
reach him by cellular phone.
He told WCCO-AM in Minneapolis that rumors, on which he
would not elaborate, in the community prompted the northern
Minnesota district to do a practice
run of its security protocol.
Desjarlait said students
throughout the district were being restricted to their classrooms
and needed an escort to leave for
the bathroom.
Last March, 16-year-old student Jeff Weise shot and killed a
teacher, a security guard and five
students at Red Lake High School
before committing suicide on the
American Indian reservation in
northwest Minnesota.
High school principal Chris
Dunshee said he hadno comment
and referred calls to Desjarlait.
Tribal Chairman Floyd Jourdain
Jr. was out of town on Tuesday.
Ousted Fort Peck tribal
chairman re-elected
Associated Press
POPLAR, Mont. - Former
Fort Peck Tribal Chairman John
Morales, who was removed from
office last year after just seven
months on the job, was re-elected
in the tribes' biannual election
over the weekend.
Morales, 38, of Poplar defeated three-term tribal councilman Tom Christian, 52, also
of Poplar, by a vote of 1,130 to
947, according to official returns
released Sunday.
Morales said he plans to pick
up where he left off when tribal
council members removed him
_ with both a sticky personnel
matter and a lease agreement
with Northern Border Pipeline.
"I believe I was wrongfully
and illegally removed," Morales
said Sunday. "And obviously, the
people of Fort Peck tribes agree
with me and voted me back into
office."
In May 2004, the council voted
10-1 to oust Morales after council
members said he refused to recognize motions from the council floor.
The council also clashed with him
over constitutional interpretations
and disagreed with Morales after
he fired three employees for alleged mismanagement of funds.
The three employees were rehired
by the board after Morales was removed, but Morales said he plans
to revoke their rehiring.
"I have every intention of termi-
RE-ELECT to page 4
Supreme
Court takes up
New Mexico
hallucinogenic
tea case
By Gina Holland
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Supreme
Court debated Tuesday whether to
let a small congregation in New
Mexico worship with hallucinogenic tea, the first religious freedom dispute under Chief Justice
John Roberts.
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor
seemed skeptical of the Bush
administration's claim that the tea
can be banned, but she may not be
around to vote in the case.
About 130 members of a Brazil-
based church have been in a long-
running dispute with federal agents
who seized their tea in 1999. The
hoasca tea, which contains an
illegal drug known as DMT, is
considered sacred to members
of O Centro Espirita Beneficiente
Uniao do Vegetal.
The Bush administration contends the tea is not only illegal
but potentially dangerous.
The Supreme Court has dealt
with religious drug cases before.
Justices ruled 15 years ago that
states could criminalize the use
of peyote by American Indians.
But Congress changed the law to
allow the sacramental use in tribal
services of peyote, a bitter-tasting
cactus that includes the hallucinogen mescaline.
O'Connor pointed out during
Tuesday's argument that Congress
changed the rules. She interrupted
the Bush administration lawyer in
his opening statement and peppered
him with difficult questions.
Other justices also seemed concerned by the government's claim
that an exception could be made
for peyote, but not for hoasca tea.
"That is a rather rough problem
under the First Amendment," said
CASE to page 4