Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2007-06-15

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4
CLASSIFIEDS 7
People convicted in
Abramoff influence-
peddling investigation
page 7
Chairman Goggleye's
banishment plan
page 4
1,200 Attend NCAI's
Mid-Year Session in
Anchorage
page 4
Immigration
Reform is Simple:
Enforce Existing
Laws
page 4
Head Start terminations
reveal ongoing arbitrary
policies of the Jourdain
administration
page 4
Shakopee Sioux tribe wins right
to put more land in trust
By Anthony Lonetree
Star Tribune
The Shakopee Mdewakanton
Sioux Community, owner of
Mystic Lake Casino Hotel, has
regained the upper hand in its
quest to develop hundreds of
acres of land without having to
heed local zoning and land-use
rules.
The central office of the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, which
last year withdrew a decision by
its Midwest office that would
have let the tribe move 752
acres from the property-tax rolls
and into a tax-exempt trust, has
decided that the local office was
right, after all.
A tribe need not be poor, the
BIA wrote last week, to gain full
control of land the BIA says will
create housing and, in turn,
support "the continuation of
Dakota language, ceremonies,
spiritual b! eliefs, traditions and
tribal values."
The BIA's approval usually
would be all a tribe would need
to get earth-movers moving, but
the tribe now is awaiting Scott
County's decision on whether to
appeal - action that it must take
within the next month.
"It is a pretty important
decision," County Administrator
David Unmacht said on
Wednesday. He had yet to decide
what his recommendation to the
County Board might be.
For years, the county, with the
support of Minnesota's governors
and the city of Shakopee,
has sought to negotiate a
compromise with the tribe that
would put fewer acres of land it
has acquired into trust.
But tribal Chairman Stanley
Crooks long has argued that
the tribe, as a sovereign nation,
should have unfettered use of its
lands.
While it pursues the land-
use freedoms that trust status
provides, the tribe has left the
four parcels undeveloped as it
awaited the BIA's action.
Two years ago, when the
county a! rgued its case to the
BIA, the undeveloped parcels
had generat! ed about $65,000 a
year in property taxes. But local
jurisdictions stood to lose an
estimated $2.9 million a year in
revenues, the county said, if the
tribe were to develop the land as
proposed and if the land were no
longer subject to taxation.
In addition to the housing, the
Sioux community also has plans
to develop a new cultural center
and powwow grounds, among
other projects.
Long time coming
In recent years, BIA decisions
SIOUX to page 6
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Volume 19 Issue 31
June 15,2007
Judge delays
ruling on
antitrust
claim in Sioux
nickname case
Associated Press
GRAND FORKS, N.D. - A
judge has delayed ruling on an
NCAA motion to dismiss the
University of North Dakota's
antitrust claim in the legal battle
over the school's Fighting Sioux
nickname.
Northeast Central District
Judge Lawrence Jahnke said he
will not rule until after Sept. 7,
the deadline for attorneys in the
case to exchange information in
the matter.
"This deferral should not ...
be construed by either party as
an indication by the trial court
that it feels the antitrust claim
does or does not have merit,"
Jahnke said in the ruling e-
mailed to attorneys on both
sides. "However, the court feels
that the NCAA's motion for a
dismissal of that particular claim
is a bit premature."
UND is suing the NCAA over
its policy barring schools from
displaying what it terms "hostile
and abusive" American Indian
imagery during postseason play.
The case is scheduled for trial in
Grand Forks in December.
UND's antitrust argument
states that the NCAA unfairly
restrained trade in North
Dakota, damaged competition
and organized a group boycott
when it imposed the nickname
sanctions.
The NCAA, in its motion to
dismiss the antitrust claim,
argued its policy does not restrict
competition at large but only
puts UND at a competitive
disadvantage.
""Antitrust law does not
guarantee equal competitive
results in the marketplace
any more than the results of
competition on the athletic
field," the motion said. "There
will always be winners and
losers."
The NCAA motion also argues
that the commercial effects of
the association's policies are
spread across the country, so
any judgment regulating NCAA
business practices should be
made under federal law, not by
a Grand Forks court.
Tag Anderson, anassistantstate
attorney general, said "Judge
NAME to page 5
State Dems back gambling-rich
Indians' greedy wars of expansion
BY Marc Cooper, LA Weekly
YOU KNOW LOCAL,
EASTSIDE STATE Senator
Gloria Romero, right? The
feisty Democratic majority
leader in the California Senate?
The highest-ranking woman in
the state Legislature? Ardent
defender of civil liberties,
consumers, workers, minorities?
Fearless reformer of prisons and
rogue police forces? Great.
Now you can add another
title: Gloria Romero, faithful
in-the-bag servant of wealthy
gambling interests.
Romero has written and is
carrying an onerous piece of
legislation titled "Unlawful
Entry: Tribal Land" that would
allow California Indian tribes
to issue stiff fines against non-
tribal members entering what
are called "Indian Lands." The
uninitiated here might be
scratching their heads asking:
Exactly what problem does this
bill solve? Aren't "non-tribal
members" just the usual endless
flow of pasty-faced patsies
hurriedly tooling through the
rez eagerly trying to get to the
slot machines? Or has there
been some unreported invasion
of Indian holdings by a Palm
Springs cattle-rustling gang?
Hardly. What the tribes are
worried about are, in fact, their
GAMBLING to page 6
Duo tells students how drug
ruined lives
By Walter Cook
The Riverton Ranger
RIVERTON, Wyo. - At 6 p.m.
on a Sunday, Tilano Montoya
and Kenzie Crawford had a tough
task ahead of them: they had to
walk into the Fremont County
Detention Center in Lander and
turn themselves in to police.
Now, they're behind bars,
waiting be sent to a federal
prison. Where they will be taken
and for how long they will be
there, they don't know.
It's the price they are paying
for dealing methamphetamine,
and they have fessed up to it in
very public fashion.
Before them sat dozens of
high school students cramped
into a corner of the Riverton
High School library on a recent
Friday. It was nearly 3 p.m., but
the students were not anxious.
There was no inconsiderate
whispers in a neighbor's ear,
no laughter, not even a hint
of a smile could be seen in the
crowd. Several of the students
even wiped away tears.
Their collective reaction
was an appropriate reflection
DRUGS to page 5
Natalie Landreth, with the Native American Rights Fund, left, and Jason Brandeis, with the American Civil Liberties
Union, talk about the lawsuit filed Monday in federal court on behalf of Alaska Native voters in the Bethel area
during a news conference in Anchorage, Alaska Monday, June 11,2007. The lawsuit filed by the Native American
Rights Fund and the American Civil Liberties Union of Alaska seeks to have state and regional election officials
provide oral and written voter assistance to Yup'ik-speaking voters in the Bethel area. (AP Photo/AI Grillo)
Lawsuit filed on behalf of Alaska Native voters
ANCHORAGE, Alaska.- A
federal lawsuit was filed Monday
on behalf of Native voters in the
Bethel area in southwestern
Alaska whose primary language
is Yup'ik.
The lawsuit filed by the Native
American Rights Fund and the
American Civil Liberties Union
of Alaska seeks to have state
and regional election officials
provide oral and written voter
assistance to Yup'ik-speaking
voters in the Bethel area.
The lawsuit would require
that elections officials come
up with a plan to ensure that
Yup'ik-speaking voters with
limited English are able to
understand, learn about and
participate "in all phases of
the electoral process." It would
require that federal observers be
on hand for elections held in the
Bethel area.
The lawsuit was filed against
various state and local elections
officials, including Lt. Gov. Sean
Parnell and Whitney Brewster,
director of the state Division of
Elections. Neither immediately
returned calls for comment. The
lieutenant governor's office said
he had not yet seen a copy of the
lawsuit.
The lawsuit says the problem
extends beyond providing an
official ballot for federal, state
and local elections that voters
can read. Officials also have
failed to translate a host of
other written voting materials
including advertisements for
voter registration, election dates,
absentee voting opportunities,
polling place locations and
voting machine instructions.
Under the federal Voting
Rights Act, primarily Yup'ik
speaking voters in the Bethel
LAWSUIT to page 6
Tribes blend modern, traditional
treatments to improve health
Tribal leaders     Federal court won't rehear tribal
By William Kates
Associated Press
ONEIDA, N.Y. - Joellene
Adams is nearing 70 and sees her
doctor on the St. Regis Mohawk
Reservation regularly for her
diabetes medicine.
She also is a faithful follower of
the tribe's traditional healers and
sees no conflict with turning to
them for treatment of other ills.
"The medicine is the only way
to treat the diabetes in my body
but the old ways also help the
mind and the spirit. Life requires
balance," said Adams, one of
150 Iroquois elders at a recent
health conference for American
Indian senior citizens at the
Oneida Indian Nation in central
New York, cradle of the powerful
Iroquois Confederacy.
American Indians have
long experienced more health
problems compared to other
groups of Americans. Inadequate
education, disproportionate
poverty, discrimination in the
delivery of health services and
cultural differences are among
the factors contributing to their
poor health, according to the U.S.
Indian Health Services.
"We have more access to
doctors and drugs now than
we've ever had. We need to
find different ways to heal,"
said Dr. Marilyn Cook, a Cree
who practices on the Canadian
side of the St. Regis Mohawk
Reservation.
"Western medicine is good. We
can't do without it" Cook said.
HEALTH to page 6
Navajos continue to battle AIDS,
HIV despite cultural taboos;
progress cited
By Felicia Fonseca
Associated Press
CHINLE, Ariz. - In recent
months, Jocelyn Billy's
willingness to discuss topics
such as sex, relationships and
disease on the Navajo Nation has
won praise from those working
with HIV and AIDS patients.
While many Navajo officials
shy away from those subjects,
the 24-year-old Billy has used
her unique and prominent
status _ as Miss Navajo Nation
_ to get the word out.
"For her to talk about HIV
and STDs is phenomenal," said
Marco Arviso of the Navajo AIDS
Network.
On the 27,000 square-mile
Navajo Nation, the challenges in
addressing sexually transmitted
diseases are many. Among them:
How to relay to traditional
healers that HIV and AIDS are
not non-Native diseases, how
to obtain services when the
nearest clinic is sometimes
hours away and how to ensure
patient confidentiality in often
close-knit communities.
Also, how to overcome a
Navajo beltef that to speak of
death and disease is to bring it
upon oneself or a loved one.
But as long as Navajos ignore
the problems and fail to educate
the community about how the
diseases are contracted and
how to deal with people living
with AIDS, the more divided
communities will become, Billy
said.
"That's not our way of life as
Dine people," she said.
Beyond the Navajo Nation,
the overall rate of HIV and AIDS
diagnosis for American Indians
and Alaska Natives has been
higher than that for whites since
1995, but generally lower than
blacks or Hispanics, according to
the Centers for Disease Control
AIDS to page 3
Judge tosses
motion to stop
Cherokee
Nation's general
election
Associated Press
TULSA - A federal judge denied
Wednesday a motion to stop
the Cherokee Nation's June 23
general election brought by
descendants of people the tribe
once owned as slaves.
Last month, descendants
of freed Cherokee slaves,
commonly known as freedmen,
filed a motion for preliminary
injunction to stop the tribe's
election, in which current Chief
Chad Smith is running for reelection.
U.S. District Judge Henry H.
Kennedy Jr. denied the injunction
on the grounds a Cherokee tribal
court reinstated the freedmen
descendants the right to vote
last month and the Bureau of
Indian Affairs had approved the
JUDGE to page 5
unveil new
'meth toolkit'
Associated Press
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -
The use of highly addictive
methamphetamine is
endangering tribal cultures
across the nation, leaders
with the National Congress of
American Indians said Monday,
unveiling a new "meth toolkit"
to help communities battle
what they called a looming
crisis.
"Meth is a lot different than
marijuana and alcoholism,
which is more long term,"
NCAI president Joe Garcia
said during a news conference
in Anchorage, where the
organization is meeting this
week. "With meth, the effects
are almost immediate."
American Indians have
been especially wracked by
the drug, with an abuse rate of
1.7 percent, almost three times
the rate for whites, according
to NCAI statistics. On some
reservations, addiction rates
are closer to 30 percent.
"Meth threatens to eradicate
an entire generation," said Carl
Artman, the assistant secretary
of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
"This is something we cannot
waste a lot of time on."
The multimedia toolkit _
packaged in a large colorful
box _ is the product of a joint
effort between tribal leaders,
BIA and NCAI, one of the
nation's oldest organizations
serving indigenous groups,
including Alaska Natives.
Inside theboxare information
sheets and CDs detailing the
devastating effects of meth on
health and families, and the
damage to the environment
from dumping toxic chemicals
used to make the drug. There '
are stickers for children and
a poster showing photos of a
female addict's deteriorating
face over a 10-year span.
The kit,  developed in
consultation with Montana
METH to page 6
labor law dispute
Indianz.com
A high-profile sovereignty
case could be headed to the
U.S. Supreme Court after a
California tribe lost its last shot
at a rehearing on Friday.
In a short order, the D.C.
Circuit Court of Appeals
announced it was denying a
petition to reconsider the case.
That means a controversial
ruling to subject tribes to federal
labor law will stand unless the
high court intervenes.
The San Manuel Band of
Mission Indians, the owners
of a highly successful casino,
sought the rehearing after
losing the case in February. The
tribe hasn't decided whether to
appeal to the Supreme Court, a
spokesperson told The Riverside
Press-Enterprise.
"We've not had a chance to
confer with our counsel or
our governing body," Jacob
. Coin, the director of tribal
communications said.
If no action is taken, tribes
will have to comply with the
National Labor Relations Act
if their business enterprises
impact non-Indians. "You're
COURT to page 6
Federal government says Oneida
gambling compact is valid
By William Kates
Associated Press
VERONA N.Y. - Federal officials
have decided the Oneida Indian
Nation's lucrative Turning Stone
casino can stay open, a tribal
spokesman said Wednesday.
The U.S. Department of the
Interior upheld the legality of the
casino's 14-year-old gambling
compact with the state of New
York, said Oneida spokesman
Mark Emery. Nation leader Ray
Halbritter scheduled a news
conference later in the day to talk
about the decision.
"This should put to rest for
all time any question about the
validity of the gaming compact.
The state challenges should be
no more. The uncertainty and
anxiety experienced by our 5,000
employees and. their families
are over," the tribe said in a
statement.
"The Nation can now move
forward and continue helping
ONEIDA to page 6
Judge hears argument to stop
Cherokee election
Associated Press
TULSA, Okla. - A federal
judge made no immediate ruling
Monday on a motion to stop
the Cherokee Nation's June 23
general election.
Last month, descendants of
freed Cherokee slaves, commonly
known as freedmen, filed a motion
for preliminary injunction to stop
the tribe's election, in which
current Chief Chad Smith is
running for re-election.
Cherokee officials say the
freedmen are asking the court
"to order relief (they) have
already obtained," because their
full citizenship rights have been
temporarily restored, making
them eligible to vote in the
upcoming election.
U.S'. District Judge Henry
H. Kennedy Jr. listened to
nearly 90 minutes of testimony
before taking the matter under
advisement. It was unknown
when he would issue a ruling.
In March, Cherokee voters
decided in a special election to
amend the nation's constitution
to remove about 2,800 freedmen
descendants and other non-
Indians from the tribal rolls.
ELECTION to page 5