Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2005-11-25

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
AG rejects judge's
request to replace
US attorney
page 5
Fight over energy
development, public
access could threaten
canyon's ancient treasures
page 3
Head of GOP group
denies access for tribal
contributions
page 3
MCT Secretarial
Election Challenge
page 4
Any reservation
town USA
page 4
MCT Vote Surprises Voters
By Frank Bibeau
At the request of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, the Bureau
of Indian Affairs has authorized
a Secretarial Election to permit
qualified voters of the MCT to
adopt or reject two proposed
amendments to the MCT Constitution on November 22,2005, the
Wednesday before Thanksgiving
weekend. The Secretarial Election provided for tribal members
to vote at 35 polling places or to
use absentee ballots during about
a 2-3 week voting window.
On Wednesday, it was determined that 6,552 tribal members
were registered to vote after a
reported 27,000 registration/
ballot request letters were sent to
all MCT tribal members in late
October. This means about 24%
of total membership participated.
Of the 6,552 registered voters, less than 5,000 votes were
actually cast, with the majority
supporting both amendments.
Unofficial results at the end of
counting on Wednesday were:
Yes
No
Not counted
(spoiled)
Amendment A
4,127     846        13
Amendment B
4,133     844
12
In speaking with Terry Rainey,
manager of the electronic balloting company's equipment for this
election, he acknowledged that
the 1,500 plus tribal members
who did not vote was because
the ballots from absentee ballot
requests were not returned in time
to counted in the election. That
means approximately 24% ofthe
tribal members who wanted to
vote were unable. This was because ofthe small time frame (3+
weeks) to respond to an absentee
ballot notice and then request the
ballot, and then receive and return
the ballot in time to be counted
November 22nd, all via U.S.
Mail. However, the late absentee
ballots would not have changed
the outcome.
Gary Frazer, Executive Director of the MCT shared that about
2,000 new addresses for tribal
members were obtained during
the process. However, there
were reports that 6,000 notices
were returned to sender of the
initial 27,000 notices mailed by
the BIA/MCT. While there has
not been a voter precinct breakdown provided at press time, it
was estimated that about 40% of
the absentee ballots were from
reservation residents.
Terry Rainey also shared that.
he had "conducted about 50 Secretarial Elections and this was
the first time the BIA waived
the normal tribal member voter
registration process to allow
for registration on the day of
the election. Rainey added that
normally the registration process
closes 30 days before Election."
This MCT Secretarial Election
was conducted under part 81 of
the Code of Federal Regulations
by the BIA to provide for the integrity ofthe elections according
to Gene Virden, Superintendent
for the Minnesota Agency-BIA.
In reviewing the absentee ballot request form from the BIA,
voters were not told that the election was being conducted under
part 81, however the form does
indicate in bold capital letters that
IN ORDER TO VOTE IN THE
UPCOMING SECRETARIAL
ELECTIN ON THE PROPOSED
AMENDMENTS TO THE
CONSTITUTION YOU MUST
REGISTER TO VOTE WITH
THE SECRETARIAL ELELC-
TION BOARD.
Various tribal members expressed concerns about various
irregularities with the voting
process and an at least one challenge to the Election was served
on Superintendent Virden when
the tallying was completed.
Because this Election was conducted under part 81, significant
differences in procedures affect
tribal members' rights and challenge process. Section 81.22
states that "any qualified voter,
within three days following the
posting of the results of an election, may challenge the election
results by filing with the Secretary through the officer in charge
the grounds for the challenge,
together with substantiating
evidence. If in the opinion of
the Secretary, the objections are
valid and warrant a recount or
new election, the Secretary shall
order a recount or a new election.
The results of the recount or new
election shall be final."
Superintendent Virden stated
that the contest period expires
Tuesday, November 29.
Authority to issue subpoenas questioned
Part 2 in a series
by Vivian Clark
Messenger Staff Writer
Attorneys representing Mille
Lacs Band of Ojibwe member
clients have attempted another
loophole strategy in Mille Lacs
County Seventh District Court.
Charles Frey from the Office of
Indian Legal Assistance has questioned the state's jurisdictional authority to issue subpoenas to tribal
members living on reservation or
trust lands.
Mille Lacs County Attorney
Jan Kolb in a Nov. 7 interview
said the state puts in a lot of time,
resources and money into preparing cases for trial — especially
serious felony and felony assault
cases. "Often times we see the
same people coming through
assaulting the same people. We
need to get convictions and stop
the cycle," she said.
Kolb added the state often has
"trouble getting witnesses - even
victims to show up for a trial. So
we decided to issue subpoenas
in serious assault cases." If subpoenaed persons do not appear
in court they can be charged with
failure to appear in court, a felony
level offense.
The state has been charging
such cases, hoping to use it as a
catalyst. "News spreads fast, and
it was working," Kolb said.
However, Frey has brought forth
the question whether the state has
subject-matter jurisdiction regarding the issuance of subpoenas.
On March 28, 2005, a juvenile
was subpoenaed to appear as a witi
ness in a criminal jury trial taking
place at the Mille Lacs County
Courthouse. The juvenile did not
appear in court as required by the
subpoena, and as a result, the case
was subsequently dismissed.
On April 12 the state filed a "Juvenile Delinquency Petition" alleging
the juvenile violated the subpoena
and failed to appear in court
The matter was held before
Judge Steven P. Ruble at a pre-trial
conference on Aug. 8. Judge Ruble
agreed to take the issue under advisement pending submissions of
briefs by both parties. The briefs
had both been filed by Sept. 1.
Judge Ruble, filing an opinion
to the case file on Oct. 18, cited
references to Public Law 280 and
the Cabazon test. Public Law 280
says in order for a state law to be
fully applicable to a reservation it
must be a criminal law. However,
there is no bright-line rule that
separates a criminal law from
EPA enforcing new burn ban on
Northwest Indian reservations
By Christopher Smith
Associated Press
BOISE, Idaho - For the first
time, the U.S. government has
started enforcing a new rule
prohibiting outdoor fires on
Northwest Indian reservations
during periods of unhealthy air
stagnation.
And that has elicited a sad sigh
of relief from Cheryl Menard-
Wentz, who lives in Toppenish,
Wash., on the Yakama Indian
Nation reservation in the south-
central part of that state.
"I have no doubt this rule
would have saved my son," said
Menard-Wentz, whose 11-year-
old son Tony died Feb. 7, 2001,
of an asthma attack.
"There was a lot of burning
going on that day in the fruit
orchards, garbage barrels, wood
stoves, all this extra smoke in
the air during an inversion," she
said Wednesday. "He'd been to
the doctor and my mother was
baby-sitting him and he just said,
'Grandma, I can't breathe,' and
collapsed and died."
Menard-Wentz, who is not a
tribal member, is an asthmatic
also. Years before her son's death
she had begun lodging complaints
about the lack of any burning restrictions on the reservation during inversions _ when smoke and
airborne pollutants are trapped at
low elevations by high pressure
above. She complained to tribal,
a civil law. The shorthand test
(Cabazon) is whether the issue
violates the state's public policy.
"The critical question in this
case is whether the focus should
be on the broad conduct of not
appearing in court, which is
generally allowed, or the narrow
conduct of ignoring a subpoena,
which is prohibited by statute,"
Judge Ruble said. "Because serious public-policy issues are implicated when an individual served
with a subpoena fails to appear in j
court to testify in a criminal pros- i
ecution, the court finds the focus
should be on the narrow conduct
of disregarding the subpoena."
Kolb said, "There are a lot of
serious assault crimes that come
from the trust land up there. Our
point is if we are not allowed
the power to subpoena (tribal
members) anymore, it is going to
become a state of lawlessness. We
will not be able to protect public
safety. We will not be able to enforce criminal law up there. Public
Law 280 says we (the state) are
to enforce the law. That is what I
intend to do."
Ruble's opinion stated the purpose of Public Law 280 was to
combat lawlessness. "The state's
AUTHORITY to page 5
local, state and federal officials.
But until the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency last week
began enforcing a new rule announced in June that allows the
federal government to enforce
provisions of the Clean Air Act on
39 Indian reservations in Idaho,
Washington and Oregon, there
was little air quality protection
on tribal lands. The new rule is
the first of its kind in the nation.
"If someone was burning garbage or anything on a reservation,
there was no way any local, state
or EPA official could take action,"
said Anne Dalrymple, an EPA environmental scientist in Seattle.
The gap in enforcement left
200,000 Northwest residents
living within reservation boundaries vulnerable to exacerbated
EPA to page 3
County wants out of Red Lake costs
Associated Press
BEMIDJI, Minn. - County officials in the area around the Red
Lake Indian Reservation want to
pressure the state of Minnesota
to take over funding of costly
human services for the tribe.
Beltrami County commissioners have determined that the
need for out-of-home placement
for children from the reservation
could bring higher costs to the
county.
Under the current system, Red
Lake children from eligible families can receive court-ordered
placement into foster homes,
relative care or regional treatment
facilities. The placement is based
on income levels and is funded by
county aid.
Presently, the costs are under
control, according to county
human services director Deb
Allison. The number of children
placed outside the home has declined in the last year, she said,
because of an informal agreement
between the county and the tribe
requiring that eligible children
must have all required paperwork
to access the aid.
As a result, the number of children in placement in 2004 was 37,
down from 123 two years ago.
But Allison said tribal officials
are now questioning that policy,
and may push for the county to
pay for all the placements.
"Potentially the Red Lake
numbers could go back up, and
we should be paying for those,"
Allison said.
The county has $2 million budgeted to pay placement costs next
year.
Commissioners, while acknowledging that the government
is bound to pay those costs, believe it shouldn't be the county's
obligation.
"It may be time for the county
to get out of the middle and have
the state and federal governments
step up," County Administrator
Tony Murphy said. "It's a train
wreck they'll want us to pay and
we won't."
County officials are planning
to invite state Human Services
Commissioner Kevin Goodno to
meet with the board and discuss
the state's role.
"There should be a government-to-government relationship
between the state and Red Lake,"
Commissioner Ron Otterstad
said. "We need to get out of the
middle."
Murphy said the county may
have to go to court to escape the
costs. "We cannot keep justifying
tax spending in a non-tax generating area," he said.
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
web page: www.press-on.net
native
American
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.  Copyright, Native American Press, 2005
Founded in 1988
Volume 18 Issue 23
November 25, 2005
In the basement of the MCT building in Cass Lake, MN, Gary Frazier, Executive Director of the MCT along with
Terry Rainey the consultant for the electronic ballot counting equipment used in the BIA.s Secretarial Election,
opened over 3,000 absentee ballots for the proposed Amendments to the MCT Constitution. MCT members
having any questions should call on Gene Virden, Election Board Chairman for the BIA" MN Agency, Bemidji
at 888-233-9262 ext. 401.
BYU professor: There's more to
pilgrim-Indian relationship
By Brock Vergakis
Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY - In
early 17th century Massachusetts, the Wampanoag
tribe found itself facing a host
of problems including epidemics and a powerful tribe to the
south.
Then the pilgrims came.
Facing starvation, freezing
temperatures and the prospect
of hostile American Indians,
the European settlers had
problems of their own.
But the colonists also had
guns, and that made them an
attractive potential ally for the
Wampanoag.
While the tribe was compassionate in providing help to the
pilgrims during their first year
in America _ a relationship
commemorated at Thanksgiving _ there was also a strong
political and military motivation
to make an alliance, according to
a new book by Brigham Young
University professor Jenny Pulsipher.
That alliance is indicative ofthe
Wampanoag's ability to manipulate the English power structure
ultimately to fight attempts to
dominate them, Pulsipher writes
in "Subjects unto the Same King:
Indians, English and the Contest
for Authority in Colonial New
England," published by the University of Pennsylvania Press.
Pulsipher details how many
Indian tribes and colonists were
divided among themselves and
how each used traditional European politics to gain an advantage
even within their own groups
where they could.
"We tend to look at Indians and
PILGRIM to page 4
Plaintiff in Indian trust case
vows to fight on despite ruling
By Jennifer Talhelm
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - An appellate court decision this
week that slapped down an
order for a detailed tally of
money owed to American Indians will not stop the Indian
effort to recover billions in
lost money, the lead plaintiff
in the case says.
"The government is not
off the hook," said Elouise
Cobell, a Blackfeet Indian
who accuses the government
of cheating Indians out of
billions of dollars in royalties
owed them for resources taken
from their lands since 1887.
The Interior Department
still has to account for the
money - just not in the way
the District Court ordered,
Cobell said in an interview
with The Associated Press.
"We'll fight on until we get
that," Cobell said. "Or, if they
admit the truth, that they can't
do an accounting, then we'll take
it from there."
On Tuesday, a panel of the U.S.
Court of Appeals for the District
of Columbia ruled that U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth's
order to do a detailed historical
accounting was unreasonable and
an abuse of discretion. Such an
accounting could cost up to $13
billion and take two centuries, the
court said.
Interior Secretary Gale Norton declared victory, saying
the appeals court validated the
government's less-detailed plan
to account for the estimated $13
billion it has handled in trust for
the Indians for more than 100
years.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs say
the case now returns to District
Court over the question of how
- or whether - to do the accounting.
But exasperation with the case
CASE to page 5
Indian students'
English skills
trail peers
By John Miller
Associated Press
FORT HALL, Idaho - One of
Michele Hernandez's earliest
memories from 1960s southern Idaho is calling across the
playground to a kindergarten
classmate.
Suddenly, a teacher pulled her
inside the schoolhouse by the arm
and washed her mouth out with
soap.
The punishment wasn't for
profanity.
It was for speaking Shoshone,
her grandmother's language.
"I was living in two worlds,"
said Hernandez, now a tutor at
IT Stoddard Elementary in Blackfoot. "You always had to keep a
look out for the other side, depending on who was looking."
Her job today: She helps teach
English to American Indian
youngsters classified by Idaho as
"Limited English Proficient," or
LEP.
While students are no longer
punished for speaking their native
tongues, English in Indian Country remains sensitive, because Native American students continue to
trail white peers in language skills,
records from several states show.
Under the No Child Left Behind
Act, many schools with large Indian populations, could eventually
be forced to take radical steps if the
achievement gap doesn't narrow,
including transporting students
to higher-performing schools or
painful re-organizations.
"It certainly has directed attention to the problem, which has
existed for a long, long time,"
said Jon Reyhner, a professor at
Northern Arizona University and
Indian literacy expert. "Indian
kids come in to school behind, in
terms of vocabulary."
According to a 2005 Mississippi State University report, rural
American Indian and Alaska Native children were the least likely
of major ethnic sub-groups in rural
ENGLISH to page 5