Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2006-01-20

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
NEWS BRIEFS
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
CLASSIFIEDS
2
3
4
7
Know your
macronutrients:
Fat is not your
enemy
page 4
Where in the world is
Luke Wilson's lastest
resignation?
page 4
Waiter "Frank* Reese
announces candidacy for
Leech Lake Reservation
Tribal Council
page 4
Call Leech Lake                 HP'S
■Opportunity Lost" or
'Squandered: to a hill
Red Lake Tribal
Council conducts
meeting about
future use of
Red Lake
page 4
Red Lake Tribal Council conducts meeting about
future use of Red Lake
By Bill Lawrence
A crowd of 50-75 people attended a meeting at Red Lake
Wednesday January 18 to hear a
presentation by Red Lake Department of Natural Resources (DNR)
on Lower Red Lake. The lake has
been closed to walleye fishing
since 1996 because of over fishing, but will reopen this spring.
Agenda items included: Opening Remarks by Chairman Floyd
"Buck" Jourdain; Overview of
walleye recovery and current status by Al Pemberton, Director of
DNR and Tribal Council member.
A questionnaire was distributed
for participants to complete and
turn in. The Project Preserve
Class from Red Lake High school
taped the meeting.
The purpose ofthe meeting was
to solicit input from the community on future lake use. Director
Pemberton reported that the lake
has bounced back from the collapse of the fishing industry in
the late 1990s. He indicated the
tribe must make a decision on
lake use before the lake reopens.
Red Lake DNR has the technology, the funding and the staff to
monitor the lake, so over fishing
will not reoccur.
DNR personnel discussed the
current status of walleye in the
lake, gave details of a biological
management plan and monitoring of the harvest. In years past
the harvest limit as set by federal regulation was over 600,000
pounds. This year the optimum
target harvest could yield as much
as 413,000 pounds provided there
was 2-3 pounds per surface acre
of female walleyes.
Approximately ten attendees
made public comments. Helma
Cloud individual questioned who
was on the Fishery Board, asked
There was considerable
concern over violations
of fishing regulation
and the tribe's ability to
prosecute and punish
offenders.
about the scope of their
authority and made
the point that the lake
cannot be sustained
without regulation.
Chainnan Jourdain answered that the Fishery
Board had been suspended. The Council
will oversee future lake
activity. He stated his
concern that the fisheries had been allowed to
collapse, and his anger
about bootlegging and
illegal netting of fish.
There was considerable concern
over violations of fishing regulation and the tribe's ability to prosecute and punish offenders.
Francis "Chunky" Brun raised
questions on how the tribe would
be able to regulate fishing catches
and population. He said a larger conservation force, perhaps
twenty officers, was needed in
order to monitor and control the
lake. He asked whether funding
was available or where needed
funding could come from.
Brun stated that Red Lake
should never allow exploitation of
the lake. He also spoke ofthe need
for a feasibility study to answer
questions as to how many families could be sustained by fishing
on the lake; how much could be
produced in a given time period;
what the highest and best use of
the lake would be for the tribe.
He further suggested the formation of an ad hoc committee to
help develop the plan of operation,
draw up pohcies and procedures,
thoroughly discuss the benefits of
commercial fishing on the lake,
and look into other potential uses.
He added that activity should start
immediately so pohcies and procedures could be in place in time
for this fishing season.
On the question of
violations of fishing
regulations, Brun indicated that in order to
prosecute non-members that trespass and
break tribal laws, the
tribe needs to be able to
show that tribal court is
competent to prosecute
and that offenders will
be given proper due
process under the law.
Brun indicated...the tribe
needs to...show that
tribal court is competent
to prosecute and that
offenders will be given
proper due process
under the law
In order for this to happen, the
Red Lake court must be streamlined, must have qualified and
competent judges and other
staff to deal with issues of this
nature.
Lastly, Brun (and several other
speakers) stated a referendum
should be prepared in time for
the coming election so the people
could indicate their intention for
the lake.
Another speaker asked when
proposed regulations be made
public. No answer was forthcoming. Secretary Judy Roy
and others referred to the old
ways and wisdom for preserving
the lake. Ms. Roy said the tribe
should go slow and do things
right in the matter. She said they
shouldn't be guided by a time
clock mentality.
Roy expressed doubt that a
referendum could be prepared in
time for the May election.
Mickey Fairbanks commented
that the tribe needs to communicate with the Bureau of Indian Affairs and demand they fulfill their
trust responsibility to the tribe by
assisting in the management of
the lakes. He also stated that the
BIA was charged with providing
a warden program, but is currently
not fulfilling its charge.
Robin Stately mentioned that
teaching youth how to fish commercially and allowing sports
fishing were desirable outcomes.
Others expressed that commercial fishing should be held to
minimal levels in the early stages
of lake reopening.
Future meetings are planned to
continue the discussions on the
future of Red Lake.
Report finds Lobbying efforts by Indian tribes
Yakama Nation   advised
tribal court
dysfunctional
Associated Press
TOPPENISH, Wash. - A 52-
page report by the National Indian
Justice Center describes the Yakama Nation's tribal court system as
dysfunctional and lacking leadership, the Yakima Herald-Republic
reported.
The Justice Center, based in
Santa Rosa, Calif., is an Indian-
owned, nonprofit agency that
assists tribes with improving their
justice systems. The tribe commissioned the probe, which was
completed last fall, but the newspaper didn't obtain a copy until last
week.
The report revealed conflicts of
interest, daily breaches of confidentiality and security, a mounting
backlog of cases and a lack of any
appeals process.
Tribal prosecutors and public
defenders refused to be interviewed and public defenders were
not representing clients in court
during the inspection conducted
by the Justice Center, the report
said.
Tribal Council Chairman Louis
Cloud told the newspaper for a
story Saturday that the tribe would
address the issues but that he could
not comment on the findings
before consulting with the tribe's
Law and Order Committee.
Officials at the Justice Center
also would not comment, citing
contractual obligations with the
tribe.
The Yakama tribal court has
four judges, four clerks, and hears
as many as 300 cases a month involving driving infractions to civil
disputes, according to the report.
Tribal member Louis Gunnier,
embroiled in a child custody case
in tribal court, said the Tribal
Council sought the probe after
he complained how his case was
handled.
All major decisions about the
tribe are made at the General
Council meeting, where tribal
members elect the 14-member
Tribal Council. The Tribal Council
oversees daily operations for the
tribe.
REPORT to page 7
By Dave Ranney
LJWorld.com
Haskell Indian Nations University's budget should not be hurting
— not when its student body has
ties to more than 150 tribes, each
of which could be pressuring their
congressmen for increased federal
support.
But few tribes lobby Congress.
If they do, it's usually about casinos. Education issues end up on
the back burner.
"We need to do a better job,"
said Ryan Wilson, president ofthe
National Indian Education Assn.
Haskell officials recendy learned
the school's classroom budget had
been cut by $238,000 and its
maintenance budget by more than
$600,000.
Wilson met Tuesday with a
small group of university faculty,
staff and students and representatives of the Kickapoo and Prairie
Band Potawatomi tribes.
"I understand you have students
here from Alaska," Wilson said.
"Have any of them or their tribes
contacted (U.S.) Sen. (Ted) Stevens' office and said, 'Hey, quit
messing around with Haskell'?"
No one in the group answered.
As the Senate's fourth-most senior
member, Stevens, a Republican,
wields considerable power.
Federal law prevents Haskell
employees from lobbying Congress, but there's nothing to stop
tribes from sending delegations
of students to Washington to meet
with their representatives.
Wilson said NIEA hopes to improve lobbying efforts on behalf
of American Indian education.
Haskell students, he said, should
expect to offset some ofthe university's costs through fee increases.
Wilson later addressed Haskell's
spring convocation.
Cherokees will spend $750,000
on TV ads
Associated Press
TAHLEQUAH, Okla. - Officials of the Cherokee Nation
have agreed to spend $750,000 for
television ads aimed at improving
the tribe's public image.
The public-relations project
follows what the tribe sees as a
battered pubhc image because of
recent tobacco-compact publicity.
The tribe will buy TV air time
for ads that will inform non-Indians and lawmakers of the tribe's
local contributions.
The budget modification plan
approved Tuesday also included a
provision for an added $500,000
to renew a "Get Out the Vote"
initiative that allows the tribe to
fund candidates who favor the
tribe's interests.
Tribal leaders said the expenditure will help correct a series of
negative newspaper stories in the
Tulsa World that have damaged
the tribe's reputation.
"We need to tell them (non-
Indians) Cherokee dollars help
build the roads that they drive on,"
Councilor Audra Smoke-Conner
said. "We're going to cut our own
throats down the road if we don't
promote what Cherokees are doing in Oklahoma."
The tribe's smoke-shop commerce has been questioned, sparking scrutiny of retail-to-retail
sales, tax-stamp availability and
skyrocketing volume in some
tribally licensed shops. The tribe
is in negotiations with the state on
its tobacco issues.
Councilor Cara Watts said the
tribe will produce, the television
pieces in-house. She said the media campaign will serve the greater
good.
"If I have to make a decision
to spend $750,000 on media campaigns to gain us $10 million in
(compact) revenues, ...then I have
to make that difficult decision to
spend that money up front to ensure that we can continue on and
generate revenues through gaming
and tobacco compacts," she said.
Some councilors argued that the
money should be used on tribal
citizens rather than advertising the
tribe's contributions.
"If I have a choice right now, I
would choose to put that money in
for the people. ...It's your fault in
your district if people don't know
where they're spending Cherokee
dollars," said Councilor Melvina
Shotpouch said. "I'm not going to
talk cream when my people have
to live on skim milk."
VOICE      OF      THE       PEOPLE
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A weekly publication.  Copyright, Native American Press, 2006
Founded in 1988
Volume 18 Issued 3>^
January 20, 2006
Mike Swan, Winona LaDuke and Frank Bibeau worked together 20 years ago to prevent paddy
grown products from being falsely labelled as simply "wild rice" or using packaging with Indians,
canoes and other images that suggest Indians or natural wild rice was contained in the packages. Twenty years later they continue to champion and defend natural wild rice.
Protect the Wild Rice!
By Frank Bibeau
On Tuesday, January 17
the Minnesota Department
of Natural Resources facilitated a meeting in Bemidji of
the stakeholders interested in
Minnesota Natural Wild Rice
Resources. The purpose of
the meeting was to discuss
the pending legislation that
would prohibit the release of
Genetically Modified (GM)
Wild Rice in Minnesota.
Senate File No. 1566 is intended to prevent genetically
modified wild rice from entering Minnesota and from cross-
pollinating, cross-breeding or
contaminating natural wild rice
stands. Senate File No. 1566
is sponsored by Senator Becky
Lourey. Attendees of the
meeting included tribal biologists, hand harvesters, paddy
growers, Ducks Unlimited,
several DNR employees and
State Senator Rod Skoe, Vice
Chairman of the Minnesota
Senate's Agriculture, Veteran's
and Gaming Committee.
Senator Skoe, who is also a
paddy grower and member of the
Minnesota Paddy Grown Wild
Rice Council, told attendees that
"genetically modified wild rice is
already being grown in Minnesota
paddies and that the release of
genetically engineered (GE) wild
rice is a different matter." Years
ago the University of Minnesota
developed various strains of genetically modified paddy rice that
changed the natural plant characteristics to be a tougher plant
that would remain standing in
the paddy fields after weeks after
draining so that combine harvesting is' possible. Other GM traits
include non-shattering whereby
the individual grains on paddy
plants remain clustered at the head
to enable harvesting all or most
grains at one time by combine.
Beth Nelson, Executive Director of the Minnesota Paddy
Growers Council informed the
attendees that their Council had
passed a resolution with regard
RICE to page 6
EDITORIAL:
PROTECTING A
SACRED RESOURCE
St. Paul Pioneer Press, 1/15/06
ART COULSON
To the Anishinabe of Minnesota
and Wisconsin, the plant is called
manoomin or mahnomen. We
know it in English as wild rice,
though that black grain we buy at
the grocery store often isn't. Wild,
that is.
Much of the "wild" rice sold
in local stores is commercially
grown in rice paddies, mostly in
northern California. Unfortunately,
Minnesota's official state grain
and a major source of income for
Minnesota's native people has
little to protect it from commercial
interests that would trade on the
good name of one of our state's
natural treasures.
A state labeling law — which
grew out of a lawsuit in the 1980s
—requires that any wild rice sold
as such in Minnesota must contain at least 51 percent naturally
RESOURCE to page 4
Tribal leaders
rejects Burns
donation of
Abramoff money
By Mary Clare Jalonick
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council has rejected a
$111,000 donation from the
campaign of Montana Sen.
Conrad Burns, with some
saying the money is tainted
because it originally came
from lobbyist Jack Abramoff
and his chents.
James Steele Jr., also chairman of the Confederated
Salish and Kootenai Tribes,
said Tuesday evening that
the council voted not to accept the donation, which was
made up of contributions from
Abramoff, his associates and
his tribal clients.
Julia Doney, president of the
Fort Belknap Indian Community
Council, a member of the tribal
leaders council, said that some
of the tribes are "tired of being
used" and do not want to appear
as if they are helping Bums with
his political troubles.
DONATION to page 5
Pataki seeks delay in collecting
sales taxes on Indian land
Associated Press
ALBANY, N.Y. - A state law
that ends tax-free sales of cigarettes by Indian retailers to non-Indians would be delayed by a year
under a proposal by Gov. George
Pataki.
Pataki's effort to delay enforcement of the law due to take effect
March 1 was reported in Wednesday's editions of The Buffalo
News. It comes as the governor
seeks to raise the state's cigarette
tax $1 to $2.50 a pack.
After backing down from at
tempts to coUect the taxes in the
late 1990s amid outbreaks of tribal
violence, Pataki has avoided a
direct confrontation over the issue.
Instead, his administration has
tried to negotiate settlements with
tribes involving land claims, casinos and other issues in which the
state seeks extra payments from
tribes not collecting sales taxes.
In the past, the state Tax Department has simply let proposed
regulations to collect the taxes die
administratively rather than try to
PATAKI to page 7
Lack of seat belt use among
Indians a growing concern
By Jared Miller
Great Falls Tribune
ROCKY BOY - Alonzo Guardipee admitted sheepishly that he
rarely hears the metallic "click" of
a seat belt when he gets into a car
on the Rocky Boy's Reservation.
"Usually, once you get to the
rez, people unbuckle their seat
belts and get more comfortable,"
the 19-year-old said.
A large number of American
Indians on Montana reservations
don't buckle up. The lack of dili
gence contributes to high traffic
deaths among Indians, state figures
show.
In addition to the pubhc safety
issue, traffic injuries and deaths
burden already troubled reservation health care systems and drain
tribal budgets. They also dehver an
emotional wallop to communities
who must bury members killed in
highway crashes.
The Montana Transportation
CONCERN to page 6