Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2006-08-11

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Mentoring programs
honored at
Twins game
page 3
Our leaders are
squandering
our resources
page 4
Campaign to elect
Bill Cross for Beltrami
County Sheriff
page 4
Red Lake Swearing-in
ceremony
page 4
The situation
at Red Lake is
anything but
festive
page 4
RLTC overrules Election Board,
seats Jourdain and others
By Bill Lawrence
Floyd "Buck" Jourdain was
sworn in as Red Lake Tribal
Chairman at the regular monthly
meeting of the Red Lake Tribal
Council August 8, 2008. The
incident was marred by intense
conflict between large numbers
of divided tribal members and
took place after more than three
hours of discussion centering
around the question of whether
his campaign had violated tribal
election ordinance.
Kathryn "Jody" Beaulieu was
sworn in as Tribal Secretary, replacing Judy Roy who had served
in that capacity for 12 years. Four
District Representatives were
also sworn in. They are: Donald
Desjarlait, Red Lake, Gary Nelson, Ponemah, Tom Westbrook
of Redby and William Green of
Little Rock.
Jourdain received the greatest
number of votes in the July 19
run-off election, defeating former
Tribal Secretary Judy Roy. Roy
had received the highest number
of votes on the Red Lake Reservation but was defeated by 71 votes
when the absentee ballots were
counted.
Tribal member Archie R. King,
on July 25 challenged the election results in a six point protest
to the General Election Board.
He alleged that Jourdain had
bought votes and had used tribal
funds and resources for his own
benefit in the campaign. He cited
violations of election ordinances,
mishandling of votes and possible
vote tampering associated with
inadequate security for the ballots
prior to the counting.
The Election Board dismissed
several of King's allegations, but
found that the protest had sufficient evidence of vote buying
and unlawful use of tribal assets to
warrant a challenge to Jourdain's
election and ordered a new run
off vote between Jourdain and
Judy Roy.
Tribal Election Ordinance states
that decisions of the Election
Board are final. However, their
declaration that a new run-off
election was warranted, based on
the charges filed by King, was
overridden by the newly seated
Tribal Council
No one from the Election Board
spoke at the Tribal Council meeting in support of their position.
Chairman Jourdain maintained
he had not been presented with the
charges or the evidence against
his actions and declared that the
protest had not been filed in accordance with tribal ordinance and
was therefore "null and void."
He maintained he had not violated tribal election ordinance.
Tribal members are divided
into two camps, those supporting
Jourdain and those supporting
former Tribal Secretary Judy
Roy. Both camps, almost equal
in strength, agreed to seek advice
from the Nordhaus Law Firm of
Albuquerque, New Mexico. The
law firm specializes in matters
of American Indian law. Tom
Peckham, of the Nordhaus Firm,
researched, wrote and presented
details from an 18-page opinion
on the situation at Red Lake.
The weight of Peckham's testimony at the Tribal Council meeting leaned toward support of the
Jourdain contingent. He pointed
out there was no tribal ordinance
against vote buying. He observed
that Election Board authority to
order a new election seemed to be
limited to cases where there was a
tie vote in an election. He noted
that Jourdain had not been given
the opportunity to face his accusers or to see the evidence that was
presented against him prior to the
Tribal Council meeting.
He said the documents in
support of the protest were less
than convincing from a legal
standpoint. He noted there was
nothing on the purchase orders
for the bus and food that indicated
Jourdain had authorized the expenditures. Further, he said the
affidavits could be considered
"hearsay," under strict definitions
of the law,.
He suggested the Election Board
be given more time to investigate
the allegations made by Archie
King.
Concerning the use ofthe bus,
Michael Sayers, Red Lake's urban
liaison in Duluth, said he had
authorized the bus trip for Duluth
voters, using Red Lake funding,
despite the fact that the Duluth
office has its own budget.
He regarded the bus trip from
Duluth to Red Lake as necessary
since voters in Duluth had not
received absentee ballots for the
May election. He said use of the
bus was not unusual and had been
done in previous elections.
Although the validity of the
information is open to question,
Sayers contended the bus riders
were equally divided between
Jourdain and Roy voters.
The crowd at the meeting was
frequently loud and the meeting
contentious with supporters on
both sides speaking out in support
of their candidate.
Jourdain contended he had not
violated any election ordinance.
He confronted Archie King, saying the burden of proof was on his
attacker. King rose in defense of
his protest and did not weaken in
his assertion that the election outcome, the votes and the campaign
were under suspicion. He also
asserted there were a number of
others who would have submitted
affidavits in protest ofthe election
had there been time enough before
the deadline.
Some in attendance said the
challenged election was taking
energy and movement away from
the important matter of conduct-
RLTC to page 6
VOICE       OF       THE       PEOPLE
Tribal police agencies get federal grants
WASHINGTON -Tribal pohce
agencies—including three in the
Bemidji area—were awarded
$1.1 million in federal grants,
U.S. Sen. Mark Dayton said
Wednesday.
The grants come from the U.S.
Department of Justice's Office
of Community Oriented Policing
Services (COPS), the Minnesota
Democrat said.
The grants will allow the tribal
law enforcement agencies to improve their infrastructure.
Among the awards to Minnesota American Indian tribes were
$354,780 to the Red Lake Band of
Chippewa, $300,000 to the Leech
Lake Tribal CouncU and $ 149,998
to the White Earth Reservation
Council, Dayton said.
"Minnesota's state and local law enforcement officers
work hard every day to provide
indispensable services to our
communities," Dayton said in a
statement. "These COPS grants
will increase the number of offi
cers patrolling the streets of these
tribal communities, helping to
make sure that our neighborhoods
are crime free."
Since 1994, the COPS program
has awarded more that $ 124 million in grants to Minnesota and
put more than 1400 new police
officers on Minnesota streets, he
said. Dayton has been a longtime
supporter of the COPS programs
offering and supporting numerous amendments to increase its
funding.
Ho-Chunk Casino is ready to deal
By Scott De Laruelle
Game on!
It may be a few months before
they return, but Ho-Chunk Nation
officials announced Wednesday
roulette, craps and poker will return to their Baraboo casino after
a brief, legally induced hiatus. The
games were pulled at midnight
June 30 last year after a State
Supreme Court ruling. The ruling
was reversed a few weeks ago.
Ho-Chunk Casino Executive Administrative Officer Jon
Greendeer said the ruling is a
strong victory for both the state
and the Ho-Chunk Nation.
"It did provide more security in
both employment and our future,"
Greendeer said. "It also substanti
ated our position that the tenets of
this compact were compliant with
state, federal and tribal law."
The games were pulled after
the court ruled Gov. Jim Doyle's
negotiations with state tribes
violated state and federal constitutions.
Rep. J.A. "Doc" Hines, R-
Oxford, said if state tribes are
allowed to operate casinos they
should be allowed to have the
same kinds of games as other
casinos.
"It gives people who like to
gamble some other options,"
Hines said. "There are people
who like to play these other table
games and if they are not available here, they'll go someplace
else. Each tribe negotiated for itself and they are very competitive
with one another — they know if
they can do something that attracts
the gambling community, they
have a leg up."
Hines said while he wished
Doyle would have allowed state
legislators some oversight when
negotiating the gaming compacts,
he said last month's ruling was a
step in the right direction.
"As long as we're going to allow
a specific group of people in our
society to be the only ones allowed to run a gambling establishment, we ought to have an open,
upfront decision as far as how
much money those people give
to the state," Hines said. "These
facilities are almost always full."
CASINO to page 6
Kootenai County to tax tribe, Commissioners say
non-trust land is subject to the property tax
By Justin Post
Kootenai County Commissioners have joined the effort to
get property owned by American
Indians on the tax rolls.
Commissioners have asked
Kootenai County Assessor Mike
McDowell to review the roughly
150 properties owned by the Coeur
d'Alene Tribe or other Indians in
the county and send tax assessments to the owners.
"The board has directed that we
place those on the roll and that they
pay property tax just like any other
property owner," he said. "It's
something we certainly reviewed
with the board and we certainly
concur with their recommendation.
I think it's the proper course of action."
The decision is a matter of ensuring everyone pays their share
for county services that everyone
uses, said Kootenai County Commissioner Rick Currie.
"It's been discussed for some
time," he said. "This is property
that is not in tribal trust and anything not in tribal trust is required
to pay property tax just like I'm
required to pay property tax."
On June 12, Benewah County
Commissioners instructed Assessor Teresa Jeffrey to add Indian
property to the tax rolls.
Mrs. Jeffrey said last week she
will comply with the directive.
"I can't say what day we're going to start doing that, it's going to
take some time," she said. "We'll
have to appraise those properties."
Mrs. Jeffrey said her staff is busy
preparing appraisals for 2007, a job
that won't be complete until next
spring.
It's unknown when her staff will
begin work to assess the Indian
property. She estimates about 100
parcels, including some owned by
the Coeur d'Alene Tribe, will be
affected.
The county won't know how
much tax revenue will be generated until assessments are complete.
"I haven't had time to get that in
our schedule," she said.
Mrs. Jeffrey declined comment
when asked whether she agreed
with the commissioners' decision.
In Kootenai County, on the other
hand, Mr. McDowell said his staff
will complete the work in the
coming months with assessments
mailed to property owners in early
November.
"We intend to conclude our work
on this in time for a subsequent assessment this fall," he said.
Property owners will have an
opportunity to appeal the assessed
value of their property before the
county treasurer levies tax bills,
which are due Dec. 20. A second
payment is due June 20.
There are about 150 parcels
owned by Indians in Kootenai
County, Mr. McDowell said.
His staff is working now to
determine how many of those are
required to pay property tax.
"It will be quite a bit of research," Mr. McDowell said.
The tribe and Indians could
avoid the tax by putting their
property into trust. Indian trust
lands are lands held in trust by
the United States government on
behalf of tribal governments or
individuals.
Commissioners from both counties based their decision to collect
taxes on Indian property on a 1998
U.S. Supreme Court decision.
In that case, CASS COUNTY,
MINNESOTA, et al. v. LEECH
LAKE BAND OF CHIPPEWA
INDIANS, the court ruled that
Indian-owned land that was not
put in trust, whether owned by an
individual or a tribe, is subject to
TAX to page 6
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American
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Founded in 1988
Volume 19 Issue 8
August 11, 2006
Local student completes U of M McNair
Summer Research project
University of Minnesota McNair Scholar Amy Ojibway with mentor David Martinez.
Amy Ojibway, a junior at the
University of Minnesota-Twin
Cities, recently completed her
research with the University of
Minnesota's Summer McNair
Scholars Program.
Ojibway, an American Indian
Studies major from Spooner,
Wis., collaborated on a research
project on "From Enemies to
Pan-Indian Allies: Dakotas
and Ojibwes in the Writings
of Charles Eastman." David
Martinez, American studies/
American Indian studies professor at the U, was her mentor. They
completed their summer research
with a poster presentation on Aug.
1.
The McNair Scholars Program,
now in its 14th year at the University of Minnesota, is named
after Ronald McNair, the African
American astronaut who died in
the 1986 Challenger space shuttle
explosion. It is funded by the
U.S. Department of Education
and operated by the TRIO Pro
gram in the university's General
College. It aims to encourage
and assist minority, disabled or
low-income undergraduates to
enroll in graduate programs or
professional schools. Besides
conducting hands-on research,
participants have been attending motivational workshops,
Graduate Record Exam prep
classes and research writing
workshops.
Unions denounce governor's casino
deal with Palm Springs tribe
By Aaron C. Davis
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO - Union leaders on Tuesday denounced a landmark deal between Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger and one of the
state's richest Indian tribes, raising
questions about whether lawmakers will sign off on a dramatic
expansion of Palm Springs-area
gambling.
At issue is a provision in the
deal with the Agua Caliente Band
of Cahuilla Indians that would
reverse tribal labor agreements
Schwarzenegger struck in 2004,
making it harder for casino workers to unionize.
The Legislature already has
held up the past four compacts
the governor's office has negotiated with tribes for other reasons,
including concerns about traffic
congestion. Some lawmakers
suggested Tuesday that upending
a core Democratic principal such
as union representation could stop
the Palm Springs casino expan
sion in its tracks.
Others said the tribe, which has
contributed millions in campaign
donations to lawmakers and political causes, carries enough sway to
push the agreement through the
Legislature.
"This is a very big problem for
us," said Jack Gribbon, California political director for UNITE
HERE, which represents hotel,
restaurant and casino workers.
"For the Schwarzenegger administration to bargain away workers'
rights that were the standard is an
unbelievable betrayal. It's a kick
in the stomach."
Under the re-negotiated compact
signed Tuesday by the governor's
office and the tribe, the Agua Calientes would be allowed to increase
from 2,000 to 5,000 the number of
slot machines it operates and open
a third Palm Springs-area casino.
In exchange, the tribe would
send nearly $2 billion in casino
revenue to state coffers over the
23-year life ofthe compact.
If approved, the tribe's 5,000
slots would dwarf the largest Las
Vegas casinos.
Its labor rules would revert to a
1999 pact signed by former Gov.
Gray Davis. That compact was
blamed for allowing casinos to pay
workers poor wages and letting
them rely on MediCal and other
state programs for health care.
Under compacts Schwarzenegger negotiated in 2004, 4,500
casino workers in the state have
been able to negotiate for health
care coverage and living wages,
Gribbon said.
Darrel Ng, a spokesman for the
governor's office, defended the
agreement.
"This compact has the same
labor protections as signed by
Governor Gray Davis," he said.
Under the compact, the tribe
would pay the state 15 percent
of its net earnings from the new
machines and an increased share
of revenue from its existing slots.
Combined, the tribe would essentially pay a blended tax rate of 12.5
UNIONS to page 6
Tucson-area
tribes among
those fighting
federal labor
ruling
Associated Press
TUCSON, Ariz. - Two local
Indian tribes are among those
joining in with others across the
nation that are arguing that their
casinos and other enterprises
shouldn't have to follow a federal
ruling that says unions are allowed
to organize at tribal casinos and
other businesses.
If the National Labor Relations
Board decision stands, the ruling
will set a precedent for tribes
around the country and for their
workers, many of whom are not
tribal members.
In southern Arizona, the Tohono O'odham Nation employs
more than 1,200 casino workers,
and the Pascua Yaqui Tribe employs 1300.
Those tribes and others want
RULING to page 7
Navajo woman vies to be first
female tribal president
By Felicia Fonseca
Associated Press
FORT DEFIANCE, Ariz.-As a
young girl, Jennie Nez remembers
hearing Navajo medicine men say
that once a woman is chosen to
lead the sprawling Indian reservation, the future ofthe tribe is in
jeopardy.
Speaking in Navajo, the 83-
year-old Nez explained the role
of women as caretakers of the
home and as a foundation for
children. If women start to think
of themselves in leadership roles,
she asked who would ensure that
the children are headed down the
right path.
As the tribe's first female presidential candidate, Lynda Lovejoy
of Crownpoint has set out to
bring the same kind of leadership women have exercised for
generations behind the scenes to
tribal government in an effort to
put the Navajo Nation on the right
track.
"People are looking for new
ideas, people are looking for
someone with firmness, someone who can stand up and show
some leadership, and that's what
the elders like," Lovejoy said
Wednesday.
With no written law banning
women from seeking the presidency, Lovejoy announced her
candidacy earlier this year and
sought support from tribal medicine men, traditional Navajos and
other voters.
During Tuesday's primary, she
did what few political observers
had predicted. She beat Frank
Dayish Jr., the current vice president, to come in second behind
incumbent Joe Shirley Jr.
Unofficial results from all 110
chapter houses, or precincts, show
Lovejoy received 22 percent of
the vote to Shirley's 28 percent.
The two will face off in the November general election.
Elections officials said a variety
of factors could have contributed
to Lovejoy's victory, including
NAVAJO to page 6