Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2007-03-16

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
NEWS BRIEFS
2
3
Billy Walkabout, decorated
American Indian veteran,
dies at 57
DOJ stumbles to explain
Indian health "white paper"
Letter to President Bush,
Indian Affairs to teach
legislators about tribal
enrollment
Where did the
money go?
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
4
Attorney General Gonzales
CLASSIFIEDS
7
page 5
page 5
page 4
page 4
A surprising but true,
version of "the culture"
page 4
Parable of the Good Samaritan
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
By Vincent Hill
An older makadewiiyaas (black
man) was severely beaten by
a young anishinabe (Native
American) in mid-February, near
one of the south side "Jericho
Roads," juxtaposed near the Little
Earth housing complex and the
surrounding low-income Phillips
neighborhood in near southeast
Minneapolis. East 26th Street
begins at the new Hiawatha
lightrail line (Hwy. 55/Hiawatha
Ave.) and runs westward for
several miles through crime-
infested neighborhoods in south
Minneapolis.
The Hiawatha light rail
runs 24 hours a day carrying
passengers from the Mpls-St.Paul
International Airport to the
hotels, restaurants, businesses,
arts, nightclubs and other
amenities offered in downtown
Minneapolis.
In the wee hours of any quiet
morning the sleek looking
Hiawatha's lonesome train whistle
can be heard in east Phillips. As
the Hiawatha Line quickly speeds
by...passengers coming from all
over the nation and world sit
in gleeful anticipation of seeing
one of the few "polluted" free
cities left in the country, if not
the world. But the travelers are
oblivious to the violence and drug
trafficking, that routinely occur
daily on "Jericho Road."
Earnell Luster recently died,
whom the "Anti-Indian" police
departments and media are
painting as the "Good Samaritan"
and, now, a "hero." He had been
53 years of age when he died and
had served in the Marine Corps,
according to a report in the Mpls
Star Tribune on Monday, March
12,2007.
I have tried to obtain a character
profile-sketch on Earnell Luster,
but none forthcoming. Family
members are saying their departed
relative was practically a saint,
which may have been the case.
But notions from Minneapolis
third precinct police officers and
weak sister news reporters are,
in my opinion to be taken with a
grain of salt.
The 25 year old anishinabe
perpetrator was "stoned" out of his
mind from habitual use of mind
enhancing stimulants supplied
from another drug trafficking
street on the opposite side of
town: the north side war zone,
that cuts along Broadway and
into surrounding neighbrhoods.
Another Jericho Road!
The siblings of this young
anishinabe, also, overindulge
themselves in the use of drugs
and alcohol to escape reality in
this city, once dubbed, over a
decade ago, as "The Town With
No Pity!"
(At this time in the early 1990's,
Native American inebriates were
being systematically tortured
in detox chambers or facilities
staffed by racist Anti-Indian"
whites at 1800 Chicago Avenue
South, Minneapolis. MPD (Mpls
Police Dept.) police officers in
this period of time were known to
conduct beatings on defenseless
anishinabeg along the Mississippi
river roads, where their racist and
nazi storm-trooper tactics would
go undetected. Large numbers
of "Ghettor Blacks" from other
geographical locations of the
nation, such as Detroit; Chicago;
and Gary, Indiana, had arrived
with their street surviving skills
and lifestyles.
Hence the spike in violent
crimes, such as homicides,
assaults, robberies and rape.)
The parable of the Good
Samaritan is a Judeo-Christian
message of "who is my neighbor?"
taught by Jesus, that is recorded
in the New Testament of the
Judeo-Christian bible.
See the book of Luke, chapter
10, vs 29-37. Samaritans were
despised by the Jews, an Israeli
tribe of Judah, in the era of
Jesus, for they were a mixed race
of Israeli and non-Israeli blood.
An unidentified man fell prey to
robbers leaving him half-dead
on the infamous Jericho Road
(This was a rugged 30 to 40 mile
stretch of road, from Jerusalem
to Jericho in the Middle East).
Pious and religious Jewish priests
passed this man, even walking
on the opposite side of the road
where he lay unconscious. A
Samaritan traveler came by and
had compassion on this man, and
cared for him.
The story of Earnell Luster
is sad, whom it appears did
intervene on behalf of others at
the cost of his life. My point is the
larger picture of schisms between
the upper and lower classes...
between the races and ethnic
groups, that are becoming very
serious issues today. Relatively
simple and practical policies &
practices can be implemented to
bring about positive changes in
our continuing poverty stricken
neighborhoods in east Phillips.
By example:
1) Shut down the the 1912 multi-
dwelling housing complex, since
it is known to be a place of, or
a coordinating point for drug
dealing on Jericho Road(s). 2)
Civilian partrols
on the Jericho Roads. 3)
Communication and relationship
meetings between the race/
PARABLE to page 6
Rosebud Sioux Tribe declares state of emergency
on reservation suicides
By Richard Winter
Journal correspondent
MISSION - Gang violence
and teen suicide on Rosebud
Reservation recently captured
the attention of state and national
media. The suicide issue also
caught the eye of local leaders,
prompting Rosebud Sioux Tribal
President Rodney Bordeaux to
declare a state of emergency on
suicides and attempted suicides
during a Tribal Council meeting
Wednesday.
The declaration authorizes
Bordeaux to ask the Aberdeen
Area Indian Health Service and
the Bureau of Indian Affairs along
with Public Health Service for
additional resources - including
personnel in Behavioral Health at
Rosebud Comprehensive Health
Care Facility — to address the
suicides and attempted suicides.
The declaration was drafted
by Tillie Black Bear, director of
the White Buffalo Calf Woman's
Society in Mission. Black Bear
and her staff have already been
visiting local high schools with
presentations on teen dating
violence. Black Bear said when
she saw the increasing number
of suicides, she had to do
something.
"I think the youth's reaction
is there is always a lot of talk but
no action," Black Bear said. "So,
from the WBCWS's perspective,
we want to keep going to the
schools and providing them with
information and start talking to
them about teen suicides."
According to Rosebud
Economic Development
Corporation, the Rosebud
Sioux Tribe Law Enforcement
responded to three suicides and
193 attempted suicides from Jan.
1, 2006, to Dec. 31, 2006; and
three suicides and 51 attempted
from Jan. 1 to March 13 this
year.
Black Bear said those numbers
may not reflect the full number
of suicides and suicide attempts,
because they are only the cases
where the Rosebud police
department responded.
RST Councilman Robert Moore
said the tribe needs help from
outside agencies.
"I think all of us agree that this
is an important effort," Moore
said. "It's clear that there are
other agencies outside of just
the tribal programs that have a
great interest and a great role in
helping us address this issue."
Bordeaux, several other
tribal leaders and concerned
community members recently
spoke to students at Todd County
High School. The group talked
about the recent violence and
the suicides that have become
common in the past two years.
During the assembly, students
were asked to fill out a student
questionnaire. Bordeaux said
he wanted to find out what
the students wanted and how
the Rosebud Sioux Tribe could
help.
One student wrote this
comment: "Do your children
sleep at night and do they worry
about the party in your house?
If their mom's going to get beat
up, if their mom or dad's going
to come home or with who? Are
SUICIDE to page 7
Navajo Council considers overriding president's
gaming vetoes
By Lindsay Whitehurst
Farmington Daily Times
WINDOW ROCK, Ariz. — The
battle for control of potential
gaming on the Navajo Nation
continues today as the council
decides whether to override
presidential vetoes on two
chapters' gaming enterprises.
"Everyone has to understand
we have to start somewhere,"
said Shiprock Council Delegate
Pete Ken Atcitty, who sponsored
legislation to establish a gaming
enterprise in Shiprock. "If it's not
this one, that's entirely up to the
council."
It appears likely the veto will
be overturned during the special
meeting, to be held today at the
Dine Education Center in Window
Rock, Ariz. Despite President Joe
Shirley Jr.'s unwavering stance
that all gaming must be governed
by a central board, the council has
consistently come down in favor
of individual chapters' right to
establish gaming enterprises.
During its winter session,
the council overrode a veto on
legislation to create a gaming
enterprise in the Tse' Daa' Kaan
Chapter, formerly known as
Hogback, and overwhelmingly
approved legislation creating
similar enterprises in Shiprock
and To'Hajiilee Chapters.
"It's going to create problems
down the line," if the council
overrides a veto, said Shirley's
spokesman, George Hardeen.
He took a slightly different
approach than the previous
argument that the Arizona
Department of Gaming would
only deal with one entity from
the Navajo Nation, an argument
delegates say doesn't apply to
chapters in New Mexico.
Instead, Hardeen said because
the majority of Navajo voters
passed a referendum in 2004 to
allow gaming on Navajo land,
COUNCIL to page 7
North Dakota judge says NCAA may keep
documents confidential
By Dale Wetzel
Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D. - The NCAA
may keep documents confidential
in a legal fight over whether it
may ban the University of North
Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname
in postseason play, a judge says.
Northeast Central District Judge
Lawrence Jahnke said Friday that
the NCAA's request was "not
unreasonable," and that its reasons
for secrecy were buttressed by a
manual that Stenehjem's office
produces to help public officials
interpret the state's open records
laws.
Jahnke rejected Stenehjem's
argument that granting the
NCAA broad confidentiality for
documents that the state obtains
in the lawsuit would violate North
Dakota's open records laws.
Stenehjem said the judge's
decision could not be appealed.
"We made a good faith argument
on behalf of the state and on behalf
of the public's right to know,"
Stenehjem said late Friday. "The
judge disagreed. That's what
happens when you go into court
sometimes."
Wick Corwin, a Fargo attorney
who is representing the NCAA in
the case, could not be reached
for comment immediately Friday
night.
Stenehjem is suing the NCAA
over the association's decision to
penalize UND for its Fighting Sioux
nickname, which the association
has deemed "hostile and abusive"
to American Indians. He got a
court order to delay the penalties
until the lawsuit is resolved.
In court filings, theNCAA has said
it wants to keep communications
among the 20 members of its
executive committee confidential
as it discloses information the
state wants in the lawsuit.
The secrecy leaves committee
members able to "brainstorm,
weigh options, consider
alternatives, debate strategies,
engage in candid exchanges and
otherwise explore solutions to
issues facing the association,"
the association's lawyers said in a
court filing.
Jahnke's ruling says the state
NCAA to page 5
web page: www.press-on.net
Native
American
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.  Copyright, Native American Press, 2006
Founded in 1988
Volume 19 Issue 25
March 16, 2007
Montana basketball players Tamara Guardipee, left, and Dana Conway are photographed at the university on Friday March 9, 2007, in Missoula, Mont. The two starters are both American Indians. (AP
Photos/Missoulian, Michael Gallacher) Article on page 3.
Feinstein:
Congress
shouldn't ax
funding for
urban Indian
health
By Garance Burke
Associated Press
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) _ Congress
should keep funding tribal clinics
in cities across the country,
rather than slashing a program
designed to provide culturally
competent health care for urban
American Indians, Sen. Dianne
Feinstein said Tuesday.
For the second year in a row,
President Bush's 2008 budget
proposal calls for the Urban
Indian Health Programs' $32.7
million allocation to be axed.
Instead, taxpayer dollars would be
redirected to fund Indian health
programs in rural areas and on
reservations.
The bulk of American Indians
and Alaska natives nationwide live
in urban areas, and eliminating
the program would force many of
the 33 clinics that serve them to
close their doors, clinic directors
said.
"Cutting off funding for the
Urban Health program is a
mistake," Feinstein, D-Calif., said
in a statement to The Associated
Press. "I will work to restore
funding for the program."
Feinstein chairs the Senate
Appropriations Subcommittee
on Interior, which drafts federal
spending bills for Indian health
care programs, among other
issues.
On Monday, Sen. Barbara
Boxer, D-Calif. and 10 other
Republican and Democratic
senators wrote subcommittee
leaders asking them to support
the cash-strapped urban clinic
program, which they estimate
serves 430,000 urban Indians.
Funded by the Indian Health
Service, the nonprofit clinics
operate under contract with the
government in cities as large as
New York and as small as Helena,
Mont., and offer everything
from primary care to referral
services.
But some clinics have recently
stopped admitting patients who
can't document their federal
tribal status, despite a federal
law that entitles all patients of
Indian ancestry to services, clinic
officials told The AP.
HEALTH to page 6
Black congressional leaders
question legality of Cherokee vote
By Ben Evans
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Black leaders
in Congress asked the federal
government Tuesday to weigh
in on the legality of a vote by
the Cherokee Nation earlier this
month to revoke citizenship
from descendants of former tribal
slaves.
Saying they were "shocked and
outraged," more than two dozen
members of the Congressional
Black Caucus signed a letter to
the Interior Department's Bureau
of Indian Affairs questioning the
"validity, legality, as well as the
morality" ofthe March 3 vote.
"The black descendant
Cherokees can trace their Native
American heritage back in many
cases for more than a century,"
said Rep. Diane Watson, D-
Calif. "They are legally a part
of the Cherokee Nation through
history, precedent, blood and
treaty obligations."
Watson emphasized that the
federal government spends
billions of dollars a year on Native
American programs, including
for the Tahlequah, Okla., based-
Cherokee Nation.
In the special election, more
than 76 percent of those casting
ballots voted to amend the tribal
constitution to limit citizenship
to descendants of "by blood"
tribe members and remove
an estimated 2,800 freedmen
descendants.
The descendants had become
VOTE to page 7
Some Indian Clinics deny care to
urban American Indians
By Garance Burke
Associated Press
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) _ After
tribal elder Vera Quiroga was
turned away from the very clinic
she had helped to found, she had
little choice but to drive to a
far-off reservation for her dental
work.
The reason, she said, is that
the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
doesn't recognize her as a Yaqui,
even though her children and
grandchildren have tribal
documentation.
"They said if you don't have
federal paperwork you can't get
service anymore," said Quiroga,
82.
While federal law requires
taxpayer-funded tribal clinics
to serve all patients of Indian
ancestry, some have recently
stopped admitting those who
can't document their federal
tribal status, patients and clinic
officials tell The Associated
Press.
Federal officials deny that
qualified patients are being
turned away and say they're
doing all they can to ensure
a health program for urban
Indians isn't shut down entirely.
The Indian Health Service
oversees 33 clinics nationwide
that provide free or discounted
medical services to city-dwelling
Indians.
But Martin Young, chairman
ofthe board ofthe Santa Barbara
clinic where Quiroga was denied
care, said it received a letter last
fall from the IHS regional office
in Sacramento instructing it to
stop offering free health services
to patients from unrecognized
tribes or who don't have a bureau
identification card.
It has since turned away about
200 patients, he said.
An Indian Health Service
spokesman said the letter
explained who was eligible for
care, but did not instruct Santa
Barbara to withhold services.
However, clinic managers in
Tucson, Ariz.; Wichita, Kan.; and
Boston reported getting similar
directives.
"IHS is suddenly saying that
you can't serve this Indian even
though he looks Indian, and his
family says he's Indian and has
all of this history of being Indian,
but he doesn't have this piece of
paper," said Susette Schwartz,
director of the Hunter Health
Clinic in Wichita. "We need
some consistency."
Under the Indian Health
Care Improvement Act of 1976,
Congress funds health care
programs for members of tribes
recognized by states or the
federal government, as well as
their descendants. Many states
recognize tribes the federal
government does not.
In California, the right to
government-supported medical
care is extended a step further, to
CLINICS to page 5