Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2006-09-08

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
First American
Indian Youth
Literature Award
Winners Announced
page 4
A reader shares thoughts
on immigration/
sovereignty/federal
Indian policy
page 4
Audacity! The
Buck-Stops-Here
Committee Sounds
Off
page 4
Attention! Attention!
Tribal Conuption.com
going online
September 15,2006
page 5
Pre^/ON
challenges BSU
to redirect AIRC
mission
page 4
National study reveals meth use by moms increases
chance of underweight babies
V  O   ICE       OF       THE       PEOPLE
By Bill Lawrence
According to a study funded
by the National Institute on Drug
Abuse and the National Center
for Research Resources, women
who used methamphetamine
(meth) during their pregnancies
have a higher chance of giving
birth to underweight babies then
do women who do not use the
substance. The study reveals an
average weight of 7 pounds for
babies exposed before birth to
meth. Babies who did not experience exposure to meth weighed,
on average, half a pound more.
Pregnant women who used
meth were 3 'A times more likely
to give birth to underweight babies. Dr. Barry Lester, a professor of pediatrics at Brown University and Director of the Brown
Center for the study of children
at risk, authored the study that
was published in September in
Journal of Pediatrics.
Use of meth, aka 'speed,' is
prevalent in rural areas, primarily the Midwest and the West.
Called the poor man's cocaine,
it is easily concocted using ordinary materials that are available
in homes or over the counter
drug stores. The substance is a
central nervous system stimulant,
similar to cocaine. Meth, a street
drug, can cause psychotic behavior and brain damage. Use has
markedly risen since 1990.
Dr. Lester, and colleagues,
recruited over 1600 women,
averaging 25 years in age, from
clinics in Oklahoma, Iowa, California, and Hawaii.
The presence ofthe drug in the
infant's first stool was used to
determine whether the women
had used meth.
Eighty-four of the participants
had used the drug. The remainder
had not. The ethnic breakdown
of the meth users was: 46 percent white; 17 percent Hispanic;
12 percent Pacific Islander; 15
percent Asian; 6 percent Black;
2 percent Native American; 1
percent 'other.'
Meth user moms often came
from households with an annual income of less than $10,000.
These women usually did not
have a spouse or partner, had
fewer pre-natal medical exams,
and had less than a high school
education.
The authors reported that some
of the women quit using meth
during their pregnancies. Meth
can affect an unborn child in at
least two ways. It can affect the
baby's developing brain directly
or cause the restriction of uterine
blood vessels thus reducing the
flood flow to the baby, stunting
its growth.
Children of meth-using mothers are prone to develop type 2
diabetes as well as metabolic syndrome, a collection of symptoms
that are often associated with
heart disease. These children
often experience learning dif
ficulties in reading and problem
solving.
Dr. Lester, over a 13-year
span, studied children who had
been exposed to cocaine before
birth. He said the incidence of
"crack" babies in the 1980s led
to over reactions. These babies
were often taken from their
mothers immediately following
their birth. "I would not want us
to make the same mistake with
meth," he said.
Instead of putting meth babies
in foster homes as was the case
for many "crack" babies, Lester
proposes "treatment with teeth,"
in which mothers who adhere to
a treatment plan will continue to
keep their babies. He believes
a mother's love for her baby is
strong motivation to quit substance abuse.
Treatment for meth addiction
at this time is confined to behavior modification. A vaccine
that blocks the assimilation of
the substance in the brain is currently being researched. Prevention programs conducted by the
National Institutes of Health in
rural areas have had some success in reducing the use of meth
by adolescents.
Lester intends to follow the
meth babies as they grow up to
see if there are any as yet undiscovered health consequences
of having been exposed to the
substance before birth.
Bush
administration
questions
Cherokees on
Freedmen
Indianz.com
The Bush administration is
again questioning whether the
Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma
excluded the Freedmen from
participating in the tribe.
In an August 30 letter, associate deputy Interior secretary Jim
Cason said African-American descendants may have been wrongly denied a vote in a recent tribal
election. He told Cherokee Chief
Chad Smith that the rights of the
Freedmen should be addressed in
light of pending amendments to
the tribal constitution.
The constitution was approved
by Cherokee citizens in 2003. It
was submitted to the Bureau of
Indian Affairs for federal review
but officials questioned why the
Freedmen, descendants of African slaves, were denied a vote.
At the time, Smith threatened
to bring a prominent delegation
of Cherokee officials, including
former chief Wilma Mankiller,
to Washington if the constitution wasn't approved. He sought
high-level intervention because
he claimed a regional official in
Oklahoma showed a "patronizing
and very paternalistic" attitude
towards the tribe.
Three years later, Smith
dropped his campaign. He said
BUSH to page 5
Are Mille Lacs band members
getting answers they are looking for?
By Irene Wade Benjamin
It appears as though the honeymoon period is over since the
last two elections here in Mille
Lacs. A lot of unrest seems to be
settling amongst the band members. They want their voices
heard without negative repercussions, either for themselves or
for their family members. They
want their leaders to be accountable. They are growing tired of
"Absentee Elected Officials."
Are the Band Members getting
answers they are looking for?
Apparently not.
As Aninshinaabe, living in
Indian Country, we know all too
well the conditions that we are
forced to live with. The poverty
still grips our communities, the
drugs and alcohol continue to
kill our people at an alarming
rate, and to put salt on injury,
Indian People are forced to live
with discrimination, favoritism
and many other human and civil
rights injustices every single day
of their lives. I'm not talking
about discrimination from non-
Indians, but from our very own
relatives and people from our
own communities.
Take for example, the movement back "Home." When our
relatives began to return to the
"rez" to live, it was not uncommon to overhear, or have someone deliberately say that these
people were "transplants." Band
members that are of mixed race
(Indian/Black) are referred to as
"niggers" or "mucks."
At a meeting earlier this summer, it was noted that many Band
Members have a difficult time
with employment opportunities
at our Grand Casino here in
Mille Lacs. They not only face
discrimination from the non-Indians, but are treated quite badly
by their own fellow Band Members. There are two statistics that
are hard to believe; out of 1200
Grand Casino employees, only
100 are Band Members. Forty
percent (40%) of our work force
participants are still unemployed.
Something is seriously wrong,
when after fifteen (15) years, we
are still facing these problems.
The RBC, Band Assembly, or
whatever the hell they're calling
themselves these days, have enacted into Band Statutes a Mille
Lacs Band Gaming Authority.
Band Members now have to
wait ten (10) years after a felony
to seek employment at the Casino. In the original Tribal/State
compact it states five (5) years.
So, the State is saying we'll give
you five (5) years to rehabilitate
yourself, but our own people, our
own elected officials are saying,
no. That's not good enough.
Give them ten (10) years. I feel
safe in saying that this very issue,
(amongst the many others) surely
feeds into a lot of our drinking
and hard-core drug use amongst
our people.
Rumor has it also that there has
been money stolen from a certain
ANSWERS to page 5
Federal Subsistence Board rejects
Kenai Peninsula proposal
Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The
Federal Subsistence board has
rejected a proposal to create a
subsistence fishery on the Kenai
Peninsula, denying residents
of Ninilchik the opportunity to
dipnet in the Kasilof River.
Mike Fleagle, a former chairman of the state Board of Game,
cast the deciding vote in his first
meeting.
The Ninilchik tribal government requested the temporary
fishery in August. The tribal government asked that residents in the
Sterling Highway community of
785 be allowed to catch fish in the
Kasilof beginning in September.
The Ninilchik Traditional Council wanted a quota of 500 silver
salmon for residents, including no
more than 20 per household, said
Greg Encelewski, vice president.
The request drew opposition on
the Kenai Peninsula, one of the
REJECT to page 5
Yakima prosecutors cite blunders,
rule out charges in fatal crash
Associated Press
YAKIMA, Wash. - Charges
cannot be filed in a fatal car-motorcycle collision because the investigation was so badly bungled
that there is insufficient evidence
to make a case stick, Yakima
County prosecutors say.
Even a rare secret court inquiry
failed to generate the evidence
needed for a charge of vehicular
homicide in the death of Bill Hol-
wegner, Deputy Prosecutor Howard W. Hansen said Tuesday.
"This decision not to pursue
charges isn't based on the fact that
we don't believe that a vehicular
homicide exists," Hansen said.
Holwegner, 54, died after his
motorcycle collided with a 2000
Ford Focus at an intersection on
the Yakama Indian Reservation
on July 31, 2005. Investigators
believe all four people in the car
had been drinking.
Holwegner's family is considering whether to continue to press a
civil lawsuit against the occupants
ofthe car, his daughter, Kristi Fa-
vard, wrote Tuesday in an e-mail
to the Yakima Herald-Republic.
All four were Yakama tribal
members and the crash occurred
on the reservation, so the initial
investigation was done by tribal
police, but key evidence was not
obtained _ including who was
driving and blood alcohol levels
of those in the car.
YAKIMA to page 3
Coeur d'Alene
Tribe sues former
executive over
severence payment
Associated Press
COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho -
The Coeur d'Alene Tribe is suing
the former chief executive officer
of its casino for $751,000 plus
damages over a severance package he gave to another casino
executive the tribe says amounted
to looting.
David Matheson was fired in
May after running the casino for
13 years. According to the lawsuit, Matheson gave Jerry Krieg
a $684,000 severance package
and tried to hide the deal from the
tribe.
Krieg had been forced to resign
after accumulating more than
$ 100,000 in undocumented casino
credit card expenses.
The suit alleging breach of
fiduciary duties was filed earlier
this week in tribal court. It says
that Krieg "looted the tribe on
his way out the door because
Matheson allowed it to happen."
It also alleges that the "payment
awarded to Krieg was so utterly
inappropriate that it constituted a
waste of corporate assets."
Matheson told The Spokesman-
Review that the suit was "bogus
and frivolous." He said he plans
to file a wrongful termination
counterclaim, and will ask for
TRIBE to page 5
web page: www.press-on.net
Native ,*»-«
American
Press
We Support Equal Opportunity For Ali People
A weekly publication.  Copyright, Native American Press, 2006
Founded in 1988
Volume 19 Issue 12
September 8, 2006
Brenda Jo Peterson with Darrell Stolle & David Schuldberg. In the next picture are Georgiana Ogema,
LIEC/PAC Chairperson; John Parmeter, Curriculum/ Culture; David Peterson, School Psychologist;
Vickie Azure, Special Education Coordinator; Bonnie Rock, Special Education Teacher and Georgine
Ingwall, Special Education Teacher. Others in attendance: Johnny Mitchell, School Elder; Leslie
Harper, Immersion Director; Chris Gale, Substance Abuse Counselor. Article on page 3.
Huge expansion of Indian gambling
fails in California Legislature
By Aaron C. Davis
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -Pressure from labor unions on Thursday
defeated six agreements between
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and
casino-operating tribes that would
have dramatically expanded Indian
gambling in California.
The demise ofthe bills halted an
effort by Schwarzenegger's office
to bring in billions of dollars in
new state tax revenue by allowing tribes to operate an additional
23,000 new slot machines _ the
equivalent of more than eight Las
Vegas-sized casinos.
One ofthe compacts was voted
down in the Assembly, while the
others were never brought to a
vote. A Schwarzenegger spokesman said that if the governor is
re-elected he will continue working to pass the measures when the
Legislature reconvenes in December.
Democratic lawmakers blamed
the governor for giving them too
little time to review the deals, five
of which were announced just this
week.
Assembly Speaker Fabian
Nunez said he also will attempt
to work with the tribes to broker
a deal that lawmakers and union
interests could support.
"I am committed to working
with California's tribal nations
over the next several months on
these important compacts that
will result in a mutually beneficial
outcome," Nunez said."The tribal
nations deserve no less than the
respectful consideration by the
Legislature."
I. Nelson Rose, a law professor
at Whittier College of Law and
a nationally recognized Indian
gambling expert, said it appeared
the tribes miscalculated the power
of labor groups, major supporters
ofthe Democrats who control the
Legislature.
They opposed the agreements
because they would have rolled
back provisions from earlier com-
FAIL to page 6
Indian tribes fight for exemption
from federal labor law
By Erica Werner
Associated Press
SAN MANUEL INDIAN
RESERVATION, Calif. (AP) _
Once steeped in poverty, the San
Manuel Band of Mission Indians
has become one of the nation's
wealthiest tribes thanks to casino
gambling.
Now the Southern California
tribe is using its riches to fund
a potentially precedent-setting
legal fight contending that tribes
are exempt from federal labor
laws because they are sovereign
governments.
A ruling against San Manuel
could open the door for unions
to organize an estimated 250,000
workers _ dealers, servers, cooks
_ at the nation's 400-plus tribal
casinos. Except for a handful
in California, tribal casinos are
generally not unionized; unions
say it's difficult to make inroads
without the protection of federal
organizing rules.
"It's tremendously significant
because tribal gaming is a target
FIGHT to page 6
American Indian woman promotes
growth as head of electronics firm
By Peter Passi
Duluth News Tribune
DULUTH, Minn.-Mary Mold-
enhauer typically keeps a low
profile. She has to, considering
the classified nature of some ofthe
contracts she handles.
But her business accomplishments have thrust Moldenhauer
into the public spotlight. The
57-year-old member of the La
Court Oreilles band of Ojibwe
was recently named Minnesota's
"Minority Small Business Person
of the Year" by the U.S. Small
Business Administration. She's
the first Duluthian ever to earn the
statewide honor.
The components Moldenhauer
and her team quietly manufacture
at Greystar Electronics Inc. in Duluth go into tanks, jets, ships and
Cirrus airplanes. The company is
in the running to supply parts for
the F-22, the newest fighter jet
in development for the U.S. Air
Force.
Moldenhauer launched Greystar
13 years ago with a staff of two.
Today the company employs 18
people, but that number fluctuates
with work and sometimes swells
to 28 during busy times.
"One of the things that impressed us about Greystar is that it
has been such a steady performer,"
said Randy Czaia, assistant district
director for the Small Business
Administration's Minnesota Dis-
WOMAN to page 3
Reservation
battle fuels Mille
Lacs hostility
A leaked county memo, a jeering of Indian veterans at a July
parade have raised tensions
between the Ojibwe band and
neighbors.
Larry Oakes
StarTribune .com
Mille Lacs County Attorney
Jan Kolb says it was a private
memo to department heads and
not meant for public consumption. But someone leaked it, and
officials ofthe Mille Lacs Band of
Ojibwe were alarmed about what
ended up in their hands.
"This is just a reminder to make
sure all of your staff know that
there is no longer a reservation
in [the] county," Kolb's memo
stated. "... Please make sure that
none of your literature, contracts,
web sites or any other documents
in your department refer to a 'reservation' in any way."
It was the latest chafe point
between the band and some neighbors over whether the original
61,000-acre Mille Lacs Reservation still exists and who's in
charge there on the central Minnesota land.
Both sides say the dispute has
created tension that probably fed
into a July incident in which a
small number of spectators at the
Isle Days Parade booed, jeered
and made disrespectful gestures
toward Indian war veterans on a
float.
That incident drew an strong
response from the Mille Lacs
Messenger, in Isle, (population
710) on the southeast shore of
Lake Mille Lacs.
Editor Mike Kallok said he
normally walks a neutral line between the band and its detractors
but felt that booing veterans went
way over the line.
"1 am truly disgusted!" Kallok
wrote in the Messenger a few days
after the parade.
"... What... prompted this disgraceful display, and why was it
tolerated? It seems that the actions
were motivated purely by race."
Melanie Benjamin, chairwoman of the Mille Lacs Band, said
the Isle Days incident and county
memo confirm that "racism is
alive and well around Mille Lacs
Lake. Our people have experienced it many times as individuals, but I'm somewhat appalled
that people would show disrespect
to veterans."
City Council Member Lowell
Hillbrand, who was in charge of
Isle Days this year, said he suspects that what occurred is
being blown out of proportion.
"From what I understand, this
BATTLE to page 3