Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2006-11-17

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
2
ACLU to proceed with
voting suit despite election
Indian Code Talkers
honored in exhibit
NEWS BRIEFS
3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
CLASSIFIEDS
4
7
page 3
page 6
Behavorial Environmental
Adaptation Mode
page 4
Thoughts about love
and leadership
page 4
Fetal alcohol
syndrome & the
Justice System:
Lawyer, Doctors and
Indian Chiefs
page 4
Red Lake Man indicated federally for murder
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
Minneapolis -A twenty-
four-yearOold member of the
Red Lake Band of Chippewa
Indians was indicted in federal
court November 9, 2006, for
the September, 2006, murder
of a man on the Red Lake
Indian Reservation in northern
Minnesota.
Jacob John Lussier, also
known as Jacob John Martin,
was charged with second-degree
murder, use of a firearm during
a crime of violence, and assault
with a dangerous weapon in
connection to that crime.
According to a criminal
complaint filed in the case,
the Red Lake Department of
Public Safety received a call
on September 30, 2006, that
someone had been shot at a
home on the reservation. When
officers arrived at the scene,
they were directed to the back
of the residence. There they
found a deceased man on the
ground, the apparent victim of
a fatal gunshot. Later, a witness
allegedly told police that prior
to the shooting, the victim had
been sitting in the driver's seat of
a car, a gun on his lap. Lussier,
who also possessed a firearm,
had ordered the victim out of
the car. As the victim exited the
vehicle, however, Lussier had
allegedly shot and killed him.
If convicted, Lussier faces
a mandatory minimum of
ten years in prison for use of
a firearm during a crime of
violence and up to ten years
in prison for assault with a
dangerous weapon. He also faces
a maximum potential penalty of
life in prison for second-degree
murder. The actual sentence will
be determined by a judge.
This case is the result of an
investigation by the Federal
Bureau of Investigation and
the Red Lake Department of
Public Safety. Assistant United
States Attorneys Nathan P.
Petterson and Michael A. Dees
are prosecuting the case.
Seven charged in Twin Buttes school fraud
Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D. - Seven
current and former Twin
Buttes school board members
and employees are accused
of conspiring to defraud the
elementary school of more than
$665,000.
The Twin Buttes elementary
school is on the Fort Berthold
Indian reservation. A grand jury
indicted the seven after an 18-
month federal investigation.
The indictment names school
board president Melissa Starr,
board vice president Darcy
Lone Bear, and board member
Hank Starr, Melissa Starr's
brother. Also charged are former
board member Tammy Grady-
Wells new
chairman of
Three Affiliated
Tribes
By James Macpherson
Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D.
.Three Affiliated Tribes
chairman Tex Hall has been
defeated in his bid for an
unprecedented third term.
Marcus Wells Jr., 40, the
tribe's vice chairman and
a tribal councilman the
past eight years, received
an unofficial 1,335 votes
and Hall 1,109 in the
tribal election Tuesday on
the Fort Berthold Indian
Reservation.
Wells was sworn in
Tuesday night by his
grandmother, Martha Fox
Baker.
"I believe in a team
effort," Wells said
Wednesday. "I will make an
effort to work together with
administrators and directors
who were seldom used
in the past. Tex just used
himself _ I want to move on
with a united council versus
an individual council."
"We lost," said Hall, 50.
"I served back to back and
that's never been done in
the history of our tribes. It's
been an honor."
Hall said he would spend
more time at his cattle
ranch near Mandaree.
"That's not a knock _ that's
my life," he said.
Hall is a former president
of the National Congress
of American Indians. He
stepped down last year after
serving the maximum two
terms.
He said he likely would
work as a lobbyist for
American Indians, along
with working his cattle.
"I never rule anything
out," he said. "There are
issues out there that are not
going away."
In the Sept. 19 tribal
primary, Hall received 485
votes, and Wells 607.
Hall said he believes
management at the tribally
owned 4 Bears Casino used
up to $19,000 in casino
"player cash" to buy votes
in the primary.
Wells disputed that and
said he was offended by the
suggestion.
Wells said Hall's
administration has created
financial problems by
overspending during the
past six years. He said the
tribe needs to balance its
budget and cut expenses.
Hall said he and the Tribal
Council made all financial
decisions together.
Jacobs, former principal Elaine
Incognito, school finance officer
Lillian Holen and custodian Paul
Fredericks.
The grand jury indictment
charges all seven with conspiracy,
embezzlement and fraud. Their
first court appearance is slated
for Nov. 16 in federal court in
Bismarck.
The seven are accused of
defrauding the school through
false travel vouchers, payroll
advances and bonuses. The
stolen money is more than 10
percent of all the federal money
directed to the Twin Buttes
school between 2002 and 2006,
authorities said.
Melissa Starr has been on the
school board for 13 years, and
board president for six years. The
indictment says between 2003
and 2006, she claimed $187,000
in travel vouchers and stipends
and in checks made out to other
people.
Twin Buttes principal Chad
Dahlen said the school's finances
are under close scrutiny now.
Dahlen said he, along with
tribal and Bureau of Indian
Affairs officials, are monitoring
the school's finances.
He said the education of
the school's 45 students is a
priority.
Dahlen started his job in May,
after former principal Incognito
resigned.
Progress Report: Native Schools
Still Lagging Behind
By Jean Pagano
Data from the Minnesota
Department of Education was
released this week relating to
school making Adequate Yearly
Progress (AYP). While many
schools are making AYP, there
are others are falling behind. A
number of schools that are not
making adequate yearly progress
are schools with significant
Natives students.
The Minneapolis School
District, with a total of 37,936
students between Kindergarten
and 12th grade, is not making
adequate yearly progress. Native
students in these schools are,
on the average, not proficient
in reading and mathematics
testing. Native students and
special education students were
not proficient in reading skills
and Native and black students
were not proficient, in general,
in mathematics.
Bemidji Public School District
is an example where schools
are making adequate yearly
progress. There is a higher
that average number of Native
students that attend Bemidji
schools and Native students
are proficient in both reading a
writing.
The Red Lake School District
has a number of schools that
are not making Adequate Yearly
Progress. Only the Ponemah
Elementary School is considered
an AYP school. Native students at
Red Lake are proficient in reading,
but not in mathematics.
The Cloquet Public School
District is also an AYP district.
Native students are proficient in
both mathematics and reading
skills. Walker schools, on the
other hand, are not making
Adequate Yearly Progress.
Whereas Native students are
proficient in reading skills,
they are not proficient in
mathematic.
Cass Lake School District
is also not making adequate
progress. It is listed, by the
State of Minnesota Department
of Education, as a "Needs
Improvement". At Cass Lake
schools, Native students are not
proficient in neither reading or
in mathematics.
Deer River's School District
did not make Adequate Yearly
Progress this year, nor did it have
AYP last year either. Nonetheless,
the Native students attending
Deer River are proficient in both
reading and math.
The Mahnomen School
District is listed as not making
Adequately Yearly Progress
and "Needs Improvement".
Mahnomen did not have AYP
last year either. While most
Native students were proficient
in reading and mathematics,
Mahnomen Secondary School
Native students did not achieve
this proficiency.
Waubun School District is also
listed as not having Adequate
Yearly Progress. In this case,
Native students are proficient in
both reading and mathematics.
Waubun did have AYP last year,
but that knowledge and ability
did not carry forward into this
year.
The Duluth Public School
District did not make Adequate
Yearly Progress this year. Whereas
it did make the list last year, it
missed the AYP designation this
year. Native students do have
proficiency in reading, yet, they
do not have the same proficiency
in mathematics.
Out of the 10 selected school
districts, 8 that have significant
populations of Native students
did not make adequate yearly
progress. In some cases, one
school in the district is enough
to cause the Adequate Yearly
Progress indicator to be lost
for the entire school district.
Perhaps the schools with the
most challenges can be brought
up to the level of the other
schools in the district so that
ideally, all students can be a
part of a district that is making
the progress needed for their
continued proficiency.
Navajo president vetoes bill
Associated Press
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. (AP)
_ Navajo Nation President Joe
Shirley Jr. has vetoed a $24
million spending measure that
he said would have drained the
tribe's undesignated, unreserved
fund to an unlawful level.
The measure originally
was designed to provide $1.2
million to the tribe's education
department for the Navajo Head
Start program. But lawmakers
tacked on spending that Shirley
did not agree with, including
$19 million for the tribe's 110
chapters.
Shirley argued that the plan
didn't spell out how the chapters
would use the money nor did
lawmakers give him a reason for
reducing the undesignated fund
from more than $26 million to $2
million.
Tribal law requires the fund be
at least 10 percent of the tribe's
budget the previous year. In this
case, the fund could not drop
below $12.3 million.
"I continue to be extremely
concerned that our expenditure
of these funds for non-emergency
supplemental appropriations will
compromise the Navajo Nation's
ability to adequately address true
emergencies should they arise,"
Shirley said in a statement issued
Monday.
He said Navajo lawmakers
have a responsibility to be fiscally
responsible.
The president did approve some
legislation, including a revenue-
sharing plan between the tribe
and its Hogback Chapter for
future revenues from a possible
casino.
The agreement provides that
10 percent of the net gaming
revenues generated within the
VETO to page 3
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Founded in 1988
Volume 19 Issue 17
November 17, 2006
This photo provided by the History Channel shows a scene from the cable network's three-hour
special "Desperate crossing: The Untold Story of the Mayflower." The special, which airs at 8 p.m.
EST Sunday, Nov. 19 was shot at historic Plimoth Plantation, among other locations, and features
members ofthe modern-day Wampanoag Indian community.. (AP Photo/History Channel)
NCAA says it won't appeal judge's
ruling on nickname
By Dave Kolpack
Associated Press
FARGO, N.D. - The NCAA won't
appeal a district judge's decision
allowing the University of North
Dakota to host a playoff game despite
its Fighting Sioux nickname.
Judge Lawrence Jahnke's order
granting a preliminary injunction
was formally released Monday.
Attorneys had been notified by e-
mail late Saturday, hours before the
UND football team was chosen for a
home playoff game next weekend.
"We're disappointed," NCAA
spokesman Chuck Wynne said
Monday. "But it's not totally
unexpected.
"For all practical purposes, there
really isn't time (to appeal). UND is
going to host a playoff game and they
will wear their normal uniforms."
UND will face Winona State in next
Saturday's Division II playoff.
The NCAA listed UND among a
handful of schools with American
Indian nicknames and logos that are
considered hostile and abusive. Those
schools are barred from holding
postseason tournaments, or from
using their logos during any playoff
games.
Jahnke, who scheduled a trial in
the case for April 24, said in his ruling
Monday that UND had established a
"substantial likelihood of prevailing"
on its breach of contract claim
against the NCAA over the nickname
ban.
Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem
called Jahnke's ruling "quite well
reasoned," but said it should not be
viewed as a forecast for the trial.
The attorney general's office
is handling the case for UND,
which is paying for it with private
contributions.
Two Oklahoma schools announced
plans to change their nicknames this
year, including Northeastern State
University, which will stop using
the school's Redmen nickname,
and Southeastern Oklahoma State
University, which changed its mascot
in January from the Savages to the
Savage Storm.
Judge grants
injunction in UND
nickname case
Associated Press
GRAND FORKS, N.D. -A district
judge has granted a preliminary
injunction to stop the NCAA from
banning the University of North
Dakota from hosting a postseason
game because of its "Fighting
Sioux" nickname, state Attorney
General Wayne Stenehjem said.
Stenehjem said judge Lawrence
Jahnke alerted him to the decision
Saturday night. Stenehjem did
not know the details.
UND is among a handful of
schools with American Indian
nicknames and logos that the
NCAA considers hostile and
abusive. Those schools are
barred from holding postseason
tournaments, or from using their
nicknames during road playoff
games.
Stenehjem, in asking for the
injunction, said the ban might
UND to page 3
Study: Government, media must
take responsibility
By Hope Yen
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Flawed
government policies and negative
stereotyping of minority men
have limited their economic
opportunities, a new study says.
It urges improved health care
and education for minorities and
less media consolidation.
The study by the Joint Center
for Political and Economic
Studies, a research and policy
group that focuses on issues that
affect minorities, examined the
impact of U.S. policies on men of
black, Hispanic, Asian and Native
American descent.
It said the media and
entertainment industries
overrepresent minorities as
criminals and whites as victims
and law enforcers. Blacks are
twice as likely as white defendants
to be subject to negative pretrial
publicity, it said. For Hispanics,
three times as likely.
Meanwhile, federal laws such
as the No Child Left Behind Act
have hurt minorities by driving
good teachers away from high-
poverty schools to better-funded
ones where whites are more
highly represented, the report
contends.
"We have a duty to stop now
and reverse course," says the
report, which was commissioned
by a group led by Oakland Mayor-
elect Ron Dellums.
It comes as Democrats seek
to plot a legislative agenda after
regaining control of Congress in
last week's elections for the first
time since 1994.
Democratic congressional
leaders have pledged to raise
the minimum wage and step
up oversight of government
agencies.
On another subject the
report addresses, the Federal
Communications Commission is
reviewing the hotly disputed issue
of whether to ease government
rules to allow for more media
consolidation.
Two FCC members, both
Democrats, have criticized the
idea of consolidation under fewer
owners as a threat to minority
and niche programming.
The Dellums commission
is opposing FCC proposals
that would allow media
conglomerates to own more
broadcasting stations.
Dellums, a Democratic former
congressman, said government
leaders should be mindful of
the plight of lower-income
people after the devastation of
Hurricane Katrina exposed racial
and class divides.
"If you look at this election,
not only Iraq but Katrina was
STUDY to page 5
Indian-owned
armor plant
awarded
military contract
By James MacPherson
Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D. - An American
Indian-owned armor plant based
in Fort Totten has a $1.8 million
contract to provide special heat
shield material for the military.
Sioux Manufacturing Corp. is
the only U.S. manufacturer of
the special "ablative tile" used to
line missile launchers on ships
and other military equipment,
said Carl McKay, the company's
president and chief executive
officer.
The contract is part of a $60.7
million contract awarded last
week to Lockheed Martin Corp.,
to provide work on four vertical
launcher ships.
Lockheed Martin is the country's
largest military contractor.
McKaysaidSiouxManufacturing
has been building the special
tile for the past six years, and
the recent contract is "part of
an ongoing program" for the
military.
"We anticipated this coming
down," McKay said Monday. "It's
a new order in addition to what
we're already making."
McKay said the contract
CONTRACT to page 5