Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2007-05-04

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
2
Thank You Veterans for
Making Our Country Free
NEWS BRIEFS
3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
CLASSIFIEDS
4
7
page 5
Has the new James Bond
sold out to the wealthy?
The South Africa-Indian
Gaming Connection
page 4
Restore our status
as a historical North
American tribe
page 4
Leech Lake Grapevine
page 4
Some good news
recommendations
regarding Fetal
Alcohol Spectrum
Disorder
page 4
Leech Lake Tribal Member sues Tribal Police
alleging racial discrimination
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
By Diane White
CASSLAKE.MN-ALeechLake
Tribal member, Esther Bogda,
filed a civil suit against the Leech
Lake Band of Ojibwe's Tribal
Police Department on Monday,
March 23, 2007. Bogda alleges
the tribal police department
discriminated against her and
her family due to race, and that
her car and license plates were
seized and the Tribal Police
attempted to confiscate her
license places and car from her
without due process. Bogda is
also suing Officer Travis Hemp.
According to the complaint
file by Bogda claims that on or
about 11:00 p.m., Tuesday, April
17,2007, Officer Hemp arrested
the driver of a white Cadillac
Deville at County Road 60 and
63rd Avenue for an allegedly
Driving Under the Influence
(DUI) violation.
At the time of the arrest,
Bogda was out of town with her
husband, Ted. She learned of the
incident on her way back into
Cass Lake on Wednesday, April
18, when her daughter called
to tell her that her car had been
impounded.
The vehicle was towed by
Bob's Towing and impounded
at Ronald Connor's place of
residence in Cass Lake at the
request of the Leech Lake Tribal
Police Department. The car and
license plates were impounded
by the Leech Lake Department
of Public Safety (aka Leech
Lake Tribal Police Department)
and Officer Travis Hemp at this
time.
Bogda did retrieve her car from
Ronnie Connor after paying a
$73.90 fee for towing and storage.
Bogda asked Ronnie Connor
where the plates were and was
told that the license plates had
been taken by the Tribal Police.
Ted Bogda stopped at the police
headquarters in Cass Lake to
retrieve the plates where he
was told by the Dispatcher that
there was a problem and that the
officer that had the plates would
come on duty later in the day.
The car was taken to the
Plaintiff's residence. After
unloading the pickup from the
trip Esther and her husband,
Ted, went back to the tribal
police headquarters to pick up
the plates. Ted again asked the
Dispatcher for the plates. This
time Officer Hemp came from
the back of the room and stated
to Ted that he could not have
the plates. He also stated the
car and plates were impounded
and that the car was going to be
confiscated. Officer Hemp told
Ted that the car should not have
been released from the towing
company.
POLICE to page 6
web page: www.press-on.net
American
Indian women
face higher
rates of rape,
sexual assault
By JENNIFER TALHELM
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - American
Indian women are more than
twice as likely to be raped as
other U.S. women, and the
suspects often go free because
of confusing police jurisdictions
and a lack of nurses, Amnesty
International reports.
The human rights group said
Tuesday that at least one in three
Indian women will be raped or
sexually assaulted, compared
with fewer than one in five U.S.
women overall.
Confusion about whether
state, federal or tribal police
should respond means victims
might not see a police officer or
a nurse for hours or days, if at all.
Even if a rape victim is taken to
an Indian Health Service clinic,
almost half lack staff trained
to provide emergency services
to victims of sexual violence,
researchers said.
"What this amounts to is a
travesty of justice for the tens
of thousands of indigenous
survivors of rape," said Larry
Cox, executive director of
Amnesty International USA. He
contended the U.S. government's
treatment of Indian rape victims
is a violation of human rights.
"I haven't found jurisdictional
challenges to be such that these
cases are going unprosecuted,"
North Dakota U.S. Attorney
Drew Wrigley said. "Federal,
tribal, state and local officials
work well together (in North
Dakota). These are cases we are
very aggressive about."
At a news conference Tuesday
in Washington, Cox said the
group will press Congress to
fully fund the Violence Against
Women Act at $683 million.
Tribes would get about 10 percent
of various grant programs under
the act. Members also will push
for money for more sexual
assault nurse examiners at tribal
clinics.
State and federal officials have
ASSAULT to page 3
Lawmakers authorize oil tax agreement between ND governor, tribe
By DALE WETZEL
Associated Press Writer
BISMARCK, N.D. - Legislators
have given Gov. John Hoeven
power to negotiate a tax-sharing
and regulatory agreement for oil
production on the Fort Berthold
Indian Reservation.
They hope the measure will
cause oil production to flourish
on the reservation, which sits
atop the promising Bakken rock
formation. A new oil well has
not been drilled on reservation
trust lands in almost 30 years,
said Rep. David "Skip" Drovdal,
R-Arnegard.
Oil companies "are starting
to crack the technology so that
they'll be able to recover the oil
out of the Bakken formation,"
Drovdal said.
Rep. Dawn Charging, R-
Garrison, said the formation
"holds much potential ... for
the oil industry, and for all of us
in North Dakota." Charging's
district includes the Fort
Berthold reservation.
"Now it's up to the leadership
of both respective governments,"
Charging said. "We have set the
stage."
North Dakota's Senate
approved the bill, 45-0, on
TAX to page 3
Texas Indian tribe settles lawsuit
against former Abramoff firm
By SUZANNE GAMBOA
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - A Texas
Indian tribe whose casino was
shut down after being targeted
by convicted ex-lobbyist Jack
Abramoff and several lawmakers
settled a racketeering lawsuit
against Abramoffs former law
firm, a tribe official said.
The law firm, Greenberg
Traurig, wasn't named in the
federal lawsuit filed by the
Alabama-Coushatta tribe against
Abramoff, former Christian
Coalition leader Ralph Reed
and their associates. But tribe
attorney Fred Petti said the
settlement resolved things
with all parties. Terms weren't
disclosed.
"We are satisfied with the
settlement and we are pleased
to have the Abramoff matter
resolved," JoAnne Battise, the
tribe's chairwoman, said in a
statement. "We are now focused
on restoring our right to game so
that we may create employment
and business opportunities for
us and our neighbors in the
surrounding region."
Announcement of the
settlement came the day before
the Texas House was to consider
a bill that would open the door
for the Alabama-Coushatta and
Tigua tribes to conduct Class 2
gaming - such as pull tab and
FIRM to page 3
Former tribal officials charged
The Rapid City Journal
A former Oglala Sioux Tribe
vice president and former
treasurer along with another
woman are facing charges in
federal court of theft from an
Indian tribal organization.
Eileen Janis, David D. Rabbit
Sr. and Kim Colhoff are charged
with stealing money from the
tribe in 2003 and 2004.
Janis is. a former OST vice
president and served under
Alex White Plume. Since then,
she has been an administrative
assistant for OST President John
Steele.
Justice Dept had concerns about
former U.S. attorney for Minn.
By FREDERIC J. FROMMER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Senior
Justice Department officials
had raised concerns about Tom
Heffelfinger, the former U.S.
attorney for Minnesota, Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales'
one-time chief of staff told
congressional investigators.
The ex-chief of staff, Kyle
Sampson, made the remarks in an
interview with the investigators
last week, according to a senior
congressional judiciary aide who
was familiar with the interview.
The aide spoke Thursday on
the condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the
investigation.
Sampson did not elaborate on
what those concerns were, the
congressional aide said.
A senior administration
official, also speaking on
condition of anonymity,
confirmed that Justice officials
had concerns about Heffelfinger
early in the review that led
to the dismissal of eight U.S.
attorneys.
The revelations could add to
speculation that Heffelfinger,
who resigned his post in
February of last year, was on a
preliminary list of U.S. attorneys
to be fired. Heffelfinger has said
he left on his own accord.
The month before his
resignation, an e-mail from
Sampson to Harriet Miers,
the former White House
counsel, included a list of seven
U.S. attorneys who might be
considered for removal. Four
of those wound up being fired;
the names of three others were
redacted from the copy of the
e-mail provided to Congress,
possibly because they had
resigned.
Eventually, the Bush
administration fired eight
U.S. attorneys, provoking a
firestorm on Capitol Hill as
lawmakers questioned whether
the dismissals were politically
motivated. Minnesota was pulled
into the debate this month when
three top lawyers in the U.S.
attorney's office resigned their
management jobs to return to
prosecuting cases. That called
into question the management
style of Rachel Paulose, who had
succeeded Heffelfinger.
In a telephone interview
CONCERNS to page 6
Tribes face
deadline to join
sex offender
registry
Indianz.Com.
Tribes across the country face
a critical deadline if they want to
prevent state governments from
asserting jurisdiction on their
reservations.
Under a little-noticed provision
of a new federal law, tribes have
to pass a resolution by July
27 to join a national offender
registry and notification system.
If tribes don't act by that date,
the state will automatically have
jurisdiction to enforce the Adam
Walsh Child Protection and
Safety Act, which became law
last year.
The provision was drafted with
almost no input from tribes.
"There wasn't any consultation
or really any recognition of how
tribes have been addressing this
issue," said Virginia Davis of the
National Congress of American
Indians at the recent Federal
Bar Association's Indian law
conference.
NCAI has drafted a model
REGISTRY to page 6
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.  Copyright, Native American Press, 2006
Founded in 1988
Volume 19 Issue 28
May 4, 2007
Dr. Ann Streissguth, Professor emeritus, and former Director of the Fetal Alcohol and Drug Unit; University
of Washington School of Medicine. Dr. Streissguth is a pioneer researcher and is internationally known in
the field of FAS research. She has retired from her University post but still is active in the field.
School Shooters and Violent Juveniles, Are We
Asking the Right Question?
By Jody Crowe
If I were to tell you my dad
passed away from lung cancer,
what is the first question that
j^mes to your mind? Did he
smoke? Now, if I were to tell you
a 15 year-old boy walked into an
apartment in a small town in a
mid-western state and gunned
down another 15 year-old boy,
what is the first question that
comes to mind? I believe the
question we should be asking
is: Did the mother of this child
drink any alcohol while she was
pregnant with this child?
In 2005, a student killed two
people including his grandfather,
took his grandfather's police
car to his school in Red Lake,
Minnesota and shot and killed 7
students before killing himself.
He had the facial and behavioral
characteristics of Fetal Alcohol
Syndrome (FAS) and his mother
was a heavy drinker. As this
tragedy played ouL I started to
research a another Minnesota
school shooting that happened
in 1966, when a student with a
handgun walked up to another
student at my hometown high
school, shot and critically
wounded this student, then
fired six shots into Mr. Wiley, the
administrator who told him to
give him the gun. Mr. Wiley died
eight days later. This shooter, I
found out, had abusive alcoholic
parents and the behavioral and
physical characteristics of FAS.
This was before anyone knew
or heard of FAS. More research
showed Minnesota's third school
shooter at Rocori Cold Springs
High School in 2003 displayed
characteristics of FAE. And yes,
a 15 year old did shoot another
15 year old in a downtown
apartment in the city I was
living in, and, due to knowing
and working with that youth
and having to take him home
several times, I knew the shooter
manifested the characteristic
and had a diagnosis of FAS. Are
we asking the right question
when violent abnormal behavior
happens? Do we know the
root cause of this violence? I
believe we would be amazed if
we knew the extent of violence
and societal damage brought
on by the disabilities associated
QUESTION to page 7
Rabbit is a former OST
treasurer. Both were in those
positions at the time the crime
is alleged to have taken place.
Janis, Rabbit and Colhoff are
accused of misapplying, stealing
or knowingly converting for
their own use, money or property
in excess of $1,000.
Assistant U.S. attorney Bob
Mandel said the specific amount
of money will not be released
until further court hearings.
If convicted, Janis, Rabbit and
Colhoff could each face five years
in prison and up to $250,000 in
fines.
How meth American Indian populations
came to 1 Indi-    face AIDS threat
an reservation,
took hold
By Angie Wagner
Associated Press
WIND RIVER INDIAN
RESERVATION, Wyo. - Just
off the deserted highways, the
silver pickup truck eases down
quiet streets, its driver offering
a numbing tour of a remote
reservation framed by the beauty
of snowcapped mountains.
There, Leon Tillman says, over
there _ the house on the right,
a white, two-story building set
off by itself. It used to be a big
drug house. Now it's shuttered,
its owners in prison.
A man dressed in an army
green shirt and pants appears on
the side of the road, his thumb
up, looking for a ride. "That's a
meth head," Tillman says. "He's
bumming right now."
A few more drug houses and
Tillman's tour of the despair of
methamphetamine ends.
Not long ago, most people
here had never even heard of
meth. But today, most know
someone on meth or in prison
because of it. Tillman, 39, knows
too many to count.
"It's everywhere," he said.
Indeed, American Indians
have been especially hard hit by
meth. Drug cartels have targeted
Indian Country because the
people are vulnerable, and law
enforcement struggles to keep
up.
But the story of how meth
came to this remote reservation
is really quite remarkable.
Like a cancer, a Mexican drug
gang permeated the reservation
and its families. It left behind a
landscape strewn with broken
lives.
METH to page 2
By Darin Fenger
The Sun
YUMA, Ariz. - When national
AIDS experts describe how
American Indians are facing
another historic battle for
existence, they pass up the
word "epidemic" and go right
for "extinction."
These experts stress that
America's first people are
experiencing an alarming
increase in AIDS cases, a trend
that many say could wipe out
whole populations if momentous
action isn't taken now.
"Extinction is not an option,"
said Dr. Monica Ruiz, a top figure
with the American Foundation
for AIDS Research (AmFAR).
"This isn't about a virus. It's
about human beings - families
and communities - entire races
of people facing a disastrous
potential if we close our eyes to
it."
Arizona currently ranks
22nd in the nation in terms of
AIDS overall, according to the
Centers for Disease Control. But
when measuring its occurrence
among American Indians, that
ranking rises to second in the
nation.
American Indians make
up less than 1 percent of the
national population, but this
demographic still represents
the third-highest infected racial
group in the nation.
According to Ruiz, 10.6 of
every 100,000 American Indians
are infected with AIDS. That's
AIDS to page 7
No serious injuries as cops fire
at suspects in 2 incidents
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS - Two
Minneapolis police officers fired
at gun-toting suspects in two
separate incidents Monday.
There were no serious injuries,
but Chief Tim Dolan said officers
are dealing with an increasing
number of gun-pointing
scenarios.
"This was a very unusual day,"
he said.
The first incident happened
about noon Monday, when a
man pointed a sawed-off shotgun
at Officer Tony Adams' marked
squad car on the city's North
Side. There was a chase and an
exchange of gunfire.
About three hours later, two
would-be robbers went into a
bathroom at Legend's Bar &
Grill in Northeast Minneapolis
and came out wearing ski masks
and pointing guns, said Deputy
Chief Rob Allen.
Sgt. Bill Blake happened to be
at the bar, with his cousin Steve
Blake, a member of Minneapolis'
Police Community Relations
Council. Bill Blake was on duty
and in plain clothes.
Steve Blake, who is also
chairman of the Twin Cities
American Indian Movement
patrol, said when the robbers
came out of the bathroom, they
yelled at the 15 customers and
employees "to give it up," he
said. But Bill Blake was already
crouched in a stance, gun
pointing at the robbers, Steve
Blake said.
Bill Blake shouted "police"
and ordered the men to drop
their guns. When they pointed
the weapons at Bill Blake, he
GUILTY to page 6
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