Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2006-01-13

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe
Right to Know
page 5
Tainted cash for Abramoff
scandal is steered to
needy
page 3
South Dakota Native
stationed in N.C. killed
in Iraq
page 3
Watch the federal
government step in,
take over. Or not.
page 4
Abuse Mother
Earth at our peril
page 4
Red Lake Tribal CouncU terminates PSC Director Savior
By Bill Lawrence
Public Service Director Tim
Savior 's contract was terminated
by an 8-1 vote January 10 at the
regularly scheduled monthly meeting ofthe Red Lake Tribal Council.
Council Members heard that staff
were not happy with the Director's
behavior. Representative Donald "Dudie" May was the single
dissenting vote. Representative
Richard Barrett, Sr. was absent due
to illness. Chairman Jourdain votes
only in case of a tie.
Savior was hired in October
2005 without a formal application
process and in the absence of a
background check.   His contract
A senior police officer
invited several Council
members to attend
a..."full Department...staff
meeting January 5, 2006.
was subject to his completing a
90-day probation period successfully, and, because of complaints
from Red Lake Pohce Department
(RLPD) staff, the Council voted
not to continue the contract.
RLPD staff and at least one
Council member had also received
calls and letters from people outside the reservation warning that
Savior was "alcoholic" and "hated
women and children."
According to a lengthy letter
submitted to the Council by a
senior police officer, Mr. Savior
created dissention in the department. Savior's behavior was
described as unprofessional,
manifesting in a lack of
respect for existing hierarchy and staff. The
letter stated he publicly
berated a clerical employee and fired her
just before Christmas.
He also shouted at a
senior telecommunications operator during
the same time period.
This behavior was described
as typical for the PSC Director
throughout his tenure.
Additionally, he admonished
the former chief in front of other
staff, accusing him of undermining
HIS [meaning Savior's] Department. This behavior encouraged
the Chief, a respected, long time
member ofthe force, to resign.
The Department as a whole
was in turmoil as a result of these
actions and other "disturbing issues." There was wide spread
concern over Director Savior's
unauthorized reorganization plan
where personnel had arbitrarily
been reassigned to new positions.
Staff were afraid of losing then-
jobs. Many staff members had
never formally met the new director. Savior had declined to hold
a general department staff meeting for the purpose of meeting
all employees. This failure was
SAVIOR to page 6
BIA Responds to MCT Secretarial Election Challenges
On January 5,2006, Terrance L
Virden, Midwest Regional Director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs issued responses to the three
challenges or appeals Secretarial
Election for the amendments to
the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe's
Revised Constitution. All three
challengers cited numerous irregularities under the Code of
Federal Regulations (CFR) Part
81 and MCT constitutional violations. Denying all three challenges
cleared the way for approval of
both amendments to the MCT
Constitution. However, various
methods of appeal remain available to the challengers.
What may be the most insulting part common to all three BIA
response letters was Virden's
simplistic analysis that the "Article
XII - Amendments of the Constitution, and 25 C.F.R. § 81.7 both
require 30%." While it is true both
require 30%, they are not the same
30%, but instead it's the difference
between apple trees and an apple
orchard.
Under Article XII, amendments
can only occur "if at least 30 percent of those entitled to vote shall
vote." The right to vote (entitled)
is found in Article IV, Section 1 (a)
where "all members of the tribe,
eighteen (18) years of age or over,
shall have the right to vote at all
elections held within the reservation of their enrollment." As noted
in prior stories, the BIA-MCT
Election Board reportedly sent
out about 27,000 letters to tribal
members announcing the election,
of which 30% would be 8,100.
However, 25 CFR § 81.7 provides that "the total vote cast, however, must be at least 30 percent of
those entitled to vote, unless, with
regard to amendments, the constitution provides otherwise." Part
81 does contain its own definition
for "entided" under 81.6, BUT the
MCT Constitution provides otherwise! However, in responding
to the three challengers the BIA
uses its other language stating that
"only tribal members who register
to vote in a Secretarial election
are "entided to vote." Using their
logic, they continue to explain
that "for this Secretarial election,
6,552 tribal members registered
to vote, of which 4,986 cast votes
on proposed Amendment "A"
and 4,989 cast votes on proposed
Amendment "B" which equal
76% voter participation. According to the BIA the "30 percent of
those entided to vote" transforms
into "voter participation is calculated by multiplying the number of
members who registered to vote by
thirty percent (30%)."
The significance of the 30%
threshold is to prevent too small of
number of people from changing
the governing laws, thereby si-
lendy protecting the silent majority
70% of tribal members. Using the
number of votes cast in comparison to the constitutional threshold
of entitled voters (27,000) 4,989
is only 18% of all tribal members
under the Article XII. But according to the BIA its Okay. I can only
BIA to page 5
$55.45 Million Approved for Red Lake Independent
School District:Legislature Must OK Capital Loan
By Jean Pagano
The Department of Education
(DOE) recently approved the
funding for building projects in
the Red Lake Independent School
District. According to the DOE,
"the...school district has met all
statutory requirements, including
voter approval to support the Red
Lake School District." When the
DOE approves applications, they
are submitted to the Legislature
for its approval.
Building projects include
$29,851 million for continued
renovation and an addition to
the Red Lake Middle School and
Red Lake High School including
additions to create space for the
high school in the existing middle
school. The additions and renovations will also include a kitchen/
cafeteria that will be used by the
high school and middle school,
vocational and other specialty
program classrooms, community
education areas, and new offices
for administration. Building areas
where mold growth has been a
problem will be replaced.
The Red Lake Elementary and
Early Childhood Learning Centers
are slated for $22,685 million to
add classrooms and common space
to accommodate an increase in enrollment. A building segment will
also be constructed to connect the
two buildings.
Ponemah Elementary School is
recommended for $2,914 million
for additions and remodeling for
a media center and a Head Start
Center. These changes include site
improvements that will add parking spaces, improve bus drop-offs,
and allow for larger playground
facilities.
The total cost of the project
is $55,450 milhon and the local
district must contribute $67,000
towards this total. The capital
loan request is for the remaining
$55,383 milhon.
The district also plans an
$898,684 expansion and renovation ofthe school bus center. State
bonds funds, which provide the
money for capital loans, cannot
be used for this type of expenditure and the district will fund this
project from a different source.
The school district is currendy
using funds allocated by the 2005
legislature to convert the current
high school facility to accommodate middle school children.
The current middle school, which
was originally constructed as an
elementary school, is being converted to house the high school,
along with an area learning center
and vocational center. The replacement of the current heating plant
will be built to serve the entire
facility and is expected to resolve
the mold growth found in the cur-
LOAN to page 6
Tribe launches     Former Leech Lake Police Cliief
meth campaign    appointed Alcohol, Gambling Director
By Jared Miller
Tribune Regional Reporter
ROCKY BOY'S RESERVATION — Alarmed by "epidemic"
methamphetamine addiction here,
the Chippewa-Cree Business Committee last week adopted a get-
tough plan to curtail the drug and
treat those who become addicted.
Leading the charge is the newly
created tribal meth advisory committee. The 12-member panel is
tasked with curbing meth's spread
across the reservation, using a
combination of prevention, intervention, treatment and increased
law enforcement
The panel also is working to forge
alliances with other area tribes and
existing anti-meth groups.
The project will require participation by every tribal department,
said tribal councilman and state
lawmaker Jonathan Windy Boy.
"We want a more unified approach," said Windy Boy, who
serves on the panel with other
council members, department
heads and local leaders.
Meth is a growing problem
on the reservation, said Brenda
Guardipee, director of the tribe's
social services program.
The drug has caused client numbers at the reservation's outpatient
drug treatment center to rise. The
number of meth-related child welfare cases also is growing.
METH to page 6
By Bill Lawrence
Steve Day, Leech Lake member
and former Chief of the Leech
Lake Police Department has been
appointed the new Director of the
Alcohol and Gambling Enforcement Division of the Minnesota
Department of Public Safety. Day
was employed for over five years
at Leech Lake.
He began serving as Director
January 11, 2006. He replaces
Norm Pint who served as Acting
Director.
Press/ON contacted Mr. Day
in his new office and wished him
well. When asked who was taking
his place, Mr. Day answered that
Gilbert Mitchell, a post certified
officer, had been appointed as
Acting Chief of the Leech Lake
Police Department.
Mitchell is a veteran officer on
the Leech Lake force. He is a Navajo and has considerable experience in Indian law enforcement.
Judge: Snowbowl can make snow
By Mark Shaffer
Republic Flagstaff Bureau
FLAGSTAFF - A federal judge
on Wednesday ruled in favor of
Arizona Snowbowl making artificial snow for skiing on the San
Francisco Peaks, a major setback
to Native American tribes that had
hoped to increase their religious
practices on pubhc land.
In his ruling, Judge Paul Rosenblatt noted that using treated
wastewater in snowmaking did not
present a "substantial burden" on
Native American cultures. Many
tribes in northern and central Arizona consider the Peaks to be the
home of their religious deities.
Rosenblatt reinforced in his decision the federal policy of multiple
uses of pubhc lands.
The judge also concluded that
there was no way to make the
snow in a way that would be
less harmful to Native religions.
Using groundwater had been
roundly criticized since it is at a
premium.
Howard Shanker, a Valley attorney who represented tribes and
environmental groups in the case,
did not return calls to his office
Wednesday. Shanker has previously indicated that he would appeal the decision if it went against
his clients, who had based their
case on the 1993 federal Religious
Freedom Restoration Act.
Snowbowl General Manager J.R.
Murray said he anticipates work beginning soon on a nearly 15-mile
pipeline. The treated wastewater
will be frozen and sprayed on the
slopes during ski season.
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Volume 18 Issue2|fl
January 13, 2006
Melanie Benjamin, chief executive of the Milie Lacs Band of Ojibwe, is shown in the Grand Casino Mille Lacs. Benjamin called for fighting drugs top priority.
Mille Lacs Band makes fighting drugs top priority
Associated Press
ONAMIA, Minn. - The
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe's
top priority this year will be
the fight against drugs, Chief
Executive Melanie Benjamin
said Tuesday.
"It must be the top priority
of the band government to
protect our community from
... supphers and from violence
that drugs cause," Benjamin
said in her annual state of the
band address.
Babies deserve to be born
without drugs in their systems
and children have the right to
safe and secure homes, she
said. When families can't step
in, the tribal government must, she
told an audience of about 1,000 at
Grand Casino Mille Lacs.
The St. Cloud Times reported
that Benjamin called for a new
approach to chemical dependency,
one deeply rooted in tribal culture.
She said band members are needed
to train as drug counselors.
"We must do more to stop
our kids and young adults from
trying drugs, especially meth,"
Benjamin said.
Benjamin said young people
need to be taught to take pride in
their heritage.
"If we help our youth leam our
traditions, if we help them take
pride in their Anishinabe identity,
they won't be so quick to look for
themselves in drugs and alcohol,"
she said.
Benjamin, who's led the band
for six years, said the tribe had
had some notable successes
in 2005 including completion
of a major home construction
project, the opening of public
assistance offices for American
Indians living in the Minneapo-
lis-St. Paul metro area, plans to
open charter schools, saving $1
million in medical insurance
costs, completing a hotel expansion and fighting off state efforts
to open a casino.
Information: St. Cloud Times,
http://www.sctimes.com
DeLay tried,
failed to
shut casino
Abramoff
wanted closed
By Suzanne Gamboa
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP)
- Former House Majority
Leader Tom DeLay tried to
pressure the Bush administration into shutting down an
Indian-owned casino that lobbyist Jack Abramoff wanted
closed _ shortly after a tribal
client of Abramoff s donated
to a DeLay political action
committee, The Associated
Press has learned.
The Texas Republican demanded closure ofthe casino,
owned by the Alabama-Coushatta tribe of Texas, in a Dec.
11, 2001 letter to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft.
The Associated Press obtained
the letter from a source who
did not want to be identified
because of an ongoing federal
investigation of Abramoff and
members of Congress.
"We feel that the Department of Justice needs to step
in and investigate the inappropriate and illegal actions
by the tribe, its financial
backers, if any, and the casino
equipment vendors," said the
letter, which was also signed
by Texas Republican Reps.
Pete Sessions, John Culberson
and Kevin Brady.
DELAY to page 3
Sentencing for Jourdain scheduled
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS - Sentencing
will be Friday for a Red Lake teenager who admitted to exchanging
threatening computer messages
with a friend who later gunned
down nine people on the Chippewa Indian reservation.
Louis Jourdain, 17, admitted in
November to making "threatening
interstate communications." Two
other charges directly connected
to the schooting were dropped.
The charge Jourdain admitted
to carries a five-year maximum
sentence, but" the judge is limited
to sentencing the juvenile until he
turns age 21," said Kevin Wash-
bum, an associate professor of law
at the University of Minnesota and
a former federal prosecutor.
However, U.S. District Judge
Donovan Frank will have wide
discretion in determining the
penalty during that time period.
It could range from detention to
probation, in which case the judge
could impose a variety of conditions, Washburn said.
Jourdain was arrested during
the investigation into a March 21
shooting rampage by 16-year-old
gunman Jeff Weise, who killed
nine people before killing himself.
Jourdain, the son of Red Lake
Tribal Chairman Floyd Jourdain
Jr., was a friend of Weise.
The case has been in juvenile
court, so all of the hearings have
been private and most ofthe court
documents have been sealed.
Those that have been released
did not name Jourdain but instead
refer to him as a "Juvenile."
Friday's hearing will also be
closed to the public.
Several media organizations
fought unsuccessfully to have the
legal proceedings opened, and
survivors of some ofthe shooting
victims also fought unsuccessfully
for access.
American Indian tribe in Nevada
says railroads stole its land
Associated Press
RENO, Nev. - An American
Indian tribe is suing the Union
Pacific Railroad and seven other
landholders, claiming the companies stole land in vast stretches of
the west in violation of an 1860s
treaty with the U.S. government.
The civil lawsuit, filed on behalf
ofthe Western Shoshone National
Council, chief Raymond Yowell
and six national council members, seeks a declaration that the
Western Shoshone nation holds
title to land, minerals and water
in so-called "checkerboard"
lands the government granted to
the railroad in the 19th century. It
was filed late Tuesday in a U.S.
District Court in Reno by lawyer
Robert Hager.
The action seeks "past and
future damages for waste and
trespass" and calls for the companies to "disgorge all monies
and things of value" obtained as
LAND to page 6