Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2007-04-01

              ■
■    "■:■,.• ■■-■. ■■:l.'..: .-■..■■■-.  .. .    ■ ■•   ■'    -■        ■■ ..'
INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
NEWS BRIEFS
2
3
MCT Right to Know
Reply to Attorney
General's Response
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
4
CLASSIFIEDS
7
page 5
Just a few misconceptions
page 4
Opening Day for America
page 4
MCT Member urges
Minnesota Court of
Appeals to recognize her
as a person who's civil
rights should be protected
page 4
The Broken Cord:
A family's ongoing
struggle with FAS
- a must read
page 4
Missing Red Lake boys found in lake
By Terry Collins and Chuck Haga,
Star Tribune staff writers
More than four months after
they disappeared on a chilly day
just before Thanksgiving, two
boys were found dead Sunday in
a lake near their home on the Red
Lake Indian Reservation.
Tristan White, 4, and Avery
Stately, 2, were reported missing
Nov. 22 after they went out to
play.
Searchers from the reservation,
located in for northern Minnesota,
were joined by volunteers from
across the state.
But their efforts were futile
until Sunday morning, when a
volunteer rescue squad from St.
Louis County, which included a
half-dozen searchers and three
dogs found the bodies encased in
ice in First Thunder's Lake, about
a half-mile from the boys' home,
said FBI special agent-in-charge
Ralph Boelter.
"Today, our worst fears were
confirmed," Boelter said at a
news conference in Minneapolis
on Sunday night.
He also said that there has been
no determination yet whether
foul play was involved. Autopsies
are pending.
"We're deeply saddened
and heartbroken," said Tribal
Chairman Floyd (Buck)
Jourdain, Jr.
"So many people were hoping
for a safe return back to their
family," Jourdain continued late
Sunday. "Unfortunately, we didn't
get the result we were hoping for.
It is a sad day."
The lake was initially searched
by divers in November as part of
an intense search just days after
they vanished.
The official search was called
off after five days, but some
continued looking in and around
the area including roadsides,
farmland and cabins.
On Sunday, dogs picked up
a scent on the southern part of
the lake and the boys were found
partially floating in the northern
part of the lake near a beaver
dam, Boetler said.
The boys' identification was
confirmed based on the clothes
found on the bodies.
Jourdain said that a series of
small lakes near the boys' home
were frozen and couldn't be
searched thoroughly last fall but
had begun to thaw and were a
priority area for searchers.
'Just playing outside'
Tristan and Avery had been
playing outside their family's
house Nov. 22 in the woodsy
Walking Shield neighborhood
when they disappeared between
9:30 and 9:50 a.m.
"They were just playing
outside," their mother, Alicia
White, said plaintively at a news
conference Nov. 25, pleading for
the public's help. "That's the last
I saw them."
Searchers combed area
Within hours, hundreds of
volunteers were combing the
rough, bramble-filled woods
surrounding the family's home.
Aircraft with heat-sensing
equipment and unmanned aerial
vehicles were also used.
At the time, Jourdain said there
was "nothing to indicate the
children have been abducted -
no evidence that someone pushed
them into a car or something,"
but neither tribal nor federal
authorities were ruling out any
explanation.
"They're so young, so small,
you wouldn't think they'd get
very far on their own," he said.
"We've looked high and low, but
we can't find them."
He recalled on Sunday how
divers looked in the water
repeatedly for the boys.
"There's a lot of mud and weeds
down there," Jourdain said. "So,
it's not unimaginable that they
would sink, get entangled or
stuck in the mud."
In her tearful meeting with
reporters on Nov. 24, Alicia
White described Tristan as an
adventuresome boy who loved
water and sometimes wandered
off when the family lived in
Redby, another community on
the reservation.
"But we always found him,"
she said then. "This is the first
time we didn't find him.
Avery, she said "just follows his
brother. [He is] the sweetest little
boy, just lovey-dovey."
As the search continued that
weekend nighttime temperatures
fell below freezing.
Some reservation residents,
still shaken by the Red Lake
High School shootings of March
2005, reported they were having
trouble sleeping.
Parents suspected abduction
Tribal elders offered prayers
to guide the searchers, who
waved smoke from a wood fire
over themselves as the started
out Psychics and shamans also
weighed in, Jourdain said.
When a month had passed with
no sign ofthe boys, their mother
admitted fearing the worst
"I think somebody picked
them up," she said in a Star
Tribune interview Dec. 22. "I
think all the people looking
would have found something.
And the bloodhounds didn't pick
up any scent" leading into the
woods. "The dogs stopped at
the road and that was it."
Still, she held onto enough
hope to buy Christmas presents
for the boys.
"Toy cars, their favorite," she
said.
Jeff Stately, Avery's father, also
said in December that he believed
the boys were abducted.
BOYS to page 5
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
Indian plaintiffs voice objections
to Interior trust settlement
By Mary Clare Jalonick
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The lead
plaintiff in a decade-old Indian
trust lawsuit told Congress
Thursday that an Interior
Department attempt to settle
the suit is a "slap in the face."
Senate Indian Affairs Committee
Chairman Byron Dorgan, D-
N.D., said his committee will
continue to try and help resolve
the conflict.
At issue is a lawsuit by
American Indians against the
government claiming that
the Interior Department has
mismanaged more than $100
billion in oil, gas, timber and
other royalties from their lands
held in trust dating back to
1887. Earlier this month, the
government proposed paying
$7 billion partly to settle the
lawsuits.
The litigation, filed in 1996 by
Blackfeet Indian Elouise Cobell
of Browning, Mont., deals with
individual Indians' lands. Several
tribes have sued separately,
claiming mismanagement of
their lands.
"We, of course, will work
to ensure that Interior's truly
diabolical scheme fails," Cobell
said in written testimony before
the Indian Affairs Committee
Thursday. "And that is why
vigorous litigation will continue
unless an alternative fair
resolution can be reached."
Interior Secretary Dirk
Kempthorne defended the
proposal at the hearing, saying
money spent on the lawsuit
could be better used elsewhere
in Indian Country.
"For the first time ever,
the administration has put
a dollar figure on the table,"
Kempthorne said.
Under the terms of the
settlement offer, the government
would pay $7 billion over 10
years, without interest. In
exchange for the money, all tribal
and individual mismanagement
claims against the government
would be dropped and the
government would be relieved
of future liability.
The proposal would also
end, over a period of 10 years,
most of the government's
responsibilities, to manage
Indian trust lands and would
consolidate ownership of Indian
lands, which are now often held
by many people.
Roughly half of the $7 billion
would go toward settling
individual and tribal claims,
with the remainder covering
other parts ofthe proposal.
Cobell said the government is
trying to do too much at once
and objected to the inclusion of
the individual and tribal suits in
the same settlement
Dorgan appeared to agree,
asking Kempthorne whether the
administration would consider
a settlement just involving the
individual claims.
"It would be our hope and
our intent" to find a solution
for all of the claims together,
Kempthorne said.
John Bickerman, a mediator
in the case, testified that the
amount owed to the Indians
in the Cobell lawsuit alone
is probably an estimated $7
billion to $9 billion.
He urged Congress to find a
solution.
'Shinobs' lose in the State High School
Basketball finals by one point!
By Vincent Hill
Minneapolis - Ellsworth 74,
Cass Lake-Bena 73
The Cass Lake-Bena 'Shinob'
Panthers (gaazhagensag) from
a small town in northern
Minnesota (and next to the large
Leech Lake Chippewa Indian
Reservation) made basketball
history by making it to the
Minnesota State High School
finals in the IA Classification,
this last Saturday at the Target
Center in Mpls. The Panthers
had been scoring 100+ in
games prior to the tournament
playoffs; in the finals, Cass
Lake-Bena vs. Ellsworth, the
small schools racked up the
highest points. At half-time,
the Cass Lake-Bena Panthers
led 37 to 35.
I thought the 'Shinob' High
School team was superior to
Ellsworth, it being a very small
Senior High School of 47 in
southwest Minnesota, next to
the Iowa border. Ellsworth had
quite a few senior players, and
had been in the finals last year;
this basketball town was also a
runner up team in 2003.
In contrast, the 'Shinobs'
had only one senior, Brady
Fairbanks, a superb player at
6'4", who was off his offensive
maneuvering mark in the
semifinal and championship
games; he had been the high
scorer and the MVP in the
very tough quarterfinals at
the University of Minnesota
William's Arena on the
Wednesday before the finals.
Brady Fairbanks was limping
after this game and continued
to be hurting in the ensuing
games; but functioning at lesser
capacity; this anishinabe was
still great, such as in defensive
playing (blocking shots, and
holding down #21, 6'5" Cody
Schilling, an equally brilliant
player).
Joel and Nate Salscheider,
twin brothers playing for the
Panthers: juniors at 6'6" and
6'5", were absolutely fabulous
in the semifinals, taking up the
team slack due to Fairbanks'
obvious injury earlier. Cass
Lake-Bena had no problem with
Barnum, that is, interestingly,
near the Fond du Lac Chippewa
reservation, next to Cloquet,
25 miles south of Duluth,
MN; I noted many 'Shinob'
supporters for Barnum in both,
the quarterfinal and semifinal
games.
Travis Huesers was the
'Shinob' hero in the final
game on Saturday: He is a
junior at 6'0, and he scored the
highest for Cass Lake-Bena at
19 points.
This talented anishinabe
was easily the MVP for this
championship cliffhanging
game! Travis was all over the
court in aggressive defense
and offensive strategy; he was
swishing in 3 pointers when
needed. Freshman, Martin
Wind, at 5'11" was invaluable,
scoring 12 points. Nate Howard,
a sophomore at 61", while he
scored no points in the final
game, did an outstanding job
in backup.
The "Magnificent Basketball
Five" at Cass Lake-Bena, with
only a few backup players,
went all the way this year in
the Minnesota High School
basketball tournament. Red
Lake anishinabeg made it to
the semifinals 10 years ago,
leaving a bsketball team legacy
unmatched today. I still
remember, that highest scoring
game in Minnesota High School
Basketball History!
Of course, Ellsworth, also
called gaazhagensag or Panthers
was outstanding, for they won!
The 3 pointer hotshot, senior
Aaron Van Der Stoep, was
lucky with his final 3 pointer
in the last seconds. After the
game, I asked the Ellsworth
players how they got so good
in basketball. This tall dude
replied: "We have nothing else
to do but shoot basketball down
in Ellsworth!" I laughed with
them (better than watching
TV).
Next time, anishinabeg!
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 26
April 1, 2007
;
Le Mars-based artist Ken Rader is shown in front of one of his paintings
in March 2007, in Le Mars, Iowa. Rader takes inspiration from nature,
wildlife, and his Native American heritage. (AP Photo/Le Mars Daily
Sentinel, Earl Horlyk)
American Indians lose bid to have Supreme
Court step into lawsuit
Associated Press
The Supreme Court Monday
rejected appeals by American
Indians to step into a decade-
old lawsuit accusing the
government of mismanaging
more than 100 billion dollars
in oil, gas, timber and other
royalties from their lands.
The justices declined to disturb
an appeals court ruling, that
removed U.S. District Judge
Royce Lamberth from the
case. The appeals court said
Lamberth, who held successive
Democratic and Republican
Interior Department secretaries
in contempt of court, had lost
his objectivity in the case.
The court also refused to
review another appeals court
ruling, reversing Lamberth's
order that the Interior
Department disconnect its
computers from the Internet,
for failing to provide adequate
security for the Indians' trust
records.
The government has proposed
paying seven billion dollars to
settle the lawsuits. The Indians
have said they would accept
27.5 billion dollars to end the
litigation.
Tribal leader calls for boxing director's resignation
Associated Press
ST. PAUL - The leader of
the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
urged the head ofthe Minnesota
Boxing Commission to step
down today.
Former boxer Scott LeDoux
was appointed by Governor
Pawlenty last July to oversee the
sport in Minnesota.
The Mille Lacs Band has
its own boxing commission,
which held its first pro card in
Hinckley last Saturday.
The day of the fights, the
Duluth News Tribune reported
that a boxing judge claimed
LeDoux called the tribe "stupid"
for its handling ofthe fights, and
that he pressured that judge and
another one not to participate.
Tribal Chair Melanie
Benjamin calls those comments
"offensive
and inappropriate."
LeDoux says he won't quit. He
says a referee for the Hinckley
fights had inappropriate ties to
one boxer. He also says there's
no need for a tribal boxing
commission because the band
could just hire the state's.
Pawlenty spokesman Brian
McClung says it doesn't warrant
LeDoux's resignation.
Leech Lake gaming vendor indicted in federal court
By Diane White
Note: Complaint on page 6.
MINNEAPOLIS~The United
States Grand Jury arraigned
Craig Keith Potts, owner of
Cash Systems, Inc., on Thursday,
March 22,2007 in federal court
on charges that resulted from
an investigation of possible
corruption of casino development
and contracting practices. He
was charged with one count of
conspiracy, two counts of making
false statement and two counts
of obstruction of justice.
Potts plead not guilty to all
of the charges filed against
him. If convicted, Potts faces a
maximum penalty of five years
in federal prison and a $250,000
fine for each count of conspiracy
and making false statements.
For each count of obstruction
of justice Potts faces 20 years in
prison and a $250,000 fine.
Potts was a vendor to the Leech
Lake Band of Ojibwe (LLBO)
and the Leech Lake Gaming
operations during the time
period 2003-2004. Potts' check
cashing company, Cash Systems,
Inc. operated in each ofthe tribe's
three casinos, Northern Lights
Casino in Walker, The Palace
Casino & Hotel in Cass Lake, and
the White Oak Casino in Deer
River until recently when Leech
Lake Band began their own check
cashing company.
Agents of the Department
of the Interior (DOI) and the
Federal Bureau of Investigations
(FBI) participated in the criminal
investigation that began in 2004.
During two-year investigation,
they interviewed Potts on July
27, 2005, because the agents
had received reports about an
alleged payment to Gaming
Director Rodney White, but did
not know the true circumstances
of the payment. The federal
investigators found that Potts
had caused $35,000 to be wired
to Leech Lake's Gaming Director
Rodney White through Potts'
father's Twin Cities area check
cashing business.
In the indictment, the Gaming
Director is only identified as
"R. W," however, it is known
that during 2003, the Gaming
Director was tribal member
Rodney White. White was later
fired from Leech Lake Gaming
amidst allegations of financial
wrongdoing not related to this
indictment. (See reprinted
story, "Leech Lake investigation
alleges embezzlement of gaming
funds.")
During the July 27th interview,
Potts claimed that the $35,000
payment was a loan to Rodney
White from Potts' father. Potts
could not explain why Gaming
Director Rodney White would
say that the payment was a gift
from him. At the time, Potts did
not disclose to the investigators
that his wife had issued the check
for him that was given to Rodney
White Potts promised he would
supply documentation to support
his claim that the payment was a
loan between Rodney White and
Potts' father.
According to the complaint,
on August 12,2003, the wife of
Potts drafted a check payable to
"Cash," which Potts intended to
give to Rodney White To conceal
the true source of the funds,
Potts arranged for the check
to be processed through his
father, who ran a check-cashing
business in the Twin Cities area.
Potts gave the check to Rodney
White and arranged for Rodney
White to obtain the money
through his father. Shortly
thereafter, on or about August
28,2003, a $35,000 wire transfer
was issued by Potts' father's
business for Rodney White
It was later, but prior to August
3,2005, Potts supplied his counsel
with a document purporting to
be a Promissory Note signed by
Rodney White, and his father,
but the document had not truly
been signed by Rodney White,
according to the eight page
indictment
The federal prosecutors also
stated that on or about August 25,
2004, while the investigation was
underway, including interviews
of persons in and around the
tribe's reservation, Potts falsely
stated to another person that
Rodney White had borrowed
$35,000 and was not paying the
money back as promised.
According to the indictment,
the revenue from the gaming
operations is crucial to the
economic condition of the tribe
and that for many years; the
tribe has depended upon gaming
employees and vendors who
contract to provide services to the
tribe. The indictment explained
that Potts' business Cash
Systems, Inc. was in a position
to engage in other business
deals with the tribe in 2003 and
2004. In particular, Cash Systems
proposed other agreements with
the tribe connected to the gaming
operations and Potts negotiated
with the tribe to participate in
the development of a new casino
location on lakefront property.
[Note from Editor: The property
development was known as
Shingobee Casino & Marina
Emporium.] In the midst of the
casino development dealings,
COURT to page 7
;