Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2007-12-01

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INDEX
Why Would 1 Vote For
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
2
Rocky Papasadora?
NEWS BRIEFS
3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
4-5
CLASSIFIEDS
7
page 4
Leech Lake's Interim
Appointees & Political
Contracts by Uncle Bob's
Human Resource Empire
page 5
Leech Lake Police Order to withhold
Chief ignores issues of payment to Finn
sexual harassment on Trucking
the job
page 5
page 4
The justice system in
Indian Country needs
new strategies
page 4
DOJ awards $82.7 million in grants
Senator looks at problems in Indian justice system
VOICE      a  F      THE      PEOPLE
By Bill Lawrence
In November, tribal justice
was the focus of two separate
announcements from
Washington. D.C.
Early in the month, Senator
Byron Dorgan (D-ND) circulated
a letter to Tribal Leaders asking
for "participation in developing
legislation" to address "a public
safety crisis" in tribal justice
systems."
Within the month, the
Department of Justice (DOJ)
announced grants and assistance
amounting to $82.7 have been
awarded "to tribal communities
for law enforcement and justice
system improvements in fiscal
year 2007."
Both information releases
indicate there are many
"deficiencies in the tribal justice
system," and "challenges today"
facing tribal communities.
Senator Dorgan came to the
issue by way of hearings and
listening sessions conducted by
the Indian Affairs Committee.
The DOJ acted in the course of
its regular duties.
The Dorgan concept paper
listed a whole array of problems
in the tribal justice system,
ranging from declinations by
the feds to prosecute crimes
in Indian Country to the need
for more training for all police
personnel who deal with sex
crimes.
Some of the legislative
solutions included mandates
to the U.S. Attorney's office and
to the Bureau of Indian Affairs
demanding better services.
Other suggestions included
elevating the role of the Office
of Tribal Justice within the DOJ,
commissioning of tribal police
officers and an expansion of
tribal authority over "all crimes"
on Indian lands.
, The suggested fixes for the
multiple justice system problems
in Indian Country was increased
appropriations, more training for
tribal police, and better access for
tribal law enforcement to crime
records and data bases.
The awards from the Justice
Department mirror to some
degree the needs expressed in
Senator Dorgan's report.
Highlights from the DOJ press
release reveal more than $46
million was "awarded through
the newly-created Grants to
Tribal Governments Program
and the Transitional Housing,
Rural, Arrest and Tribal Women's
Coalition Program to combat
domestic violence, sexual assault
and stalking."
Ninety-two tribal police
departments and governments
in 23 state received $14.7 million
"to reduce crime and enhance
the services provided to tribal
communities."
A "Tribal Courts Assistance
Program" received more than
$5.5 million to "improve case
management, train court
personnel, improve prosecution"
and, in general, to augment and
enhance the capabilities of tribal
courts.
Senator Dorgan and the
DOJ both expressed concern
about alcohol and drug abuse
on reservations. The Senator,
acknowledging that 80 per cent
of crimes committed on Indian
lands involve alcohol, called for
reauthorization of the Indian
AWARDS to page 6
Clinton: Alaska
Native firm
may have
unfair bonus
By Alice Lipowicz
The company that received
an improper $475 million
contract from the Homeland
Security Department may also
have received an inappropriate
financial bonus as part of the deal,
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-
N.Y.), said today.
Alaska Native firm Chenega
Technology Services was
improperly awarded the sole-
source screening-equipment
maintenance contract by the
Customs and Border Protection
Agency in 2003, according to
a Nov. 20 report from DHS
Inspector General Richard
Skinner.
The agency used an incorrect
industry code that all-owed
for exemptions from various
restrictions on the contract,
Skinner's report states. DHS
did not comply with federal
contracting regulations, and,
as a result, the government did
not receive the best value for the
contract, he said.
Clinton called on Skinner
to expand the investigation to
determine whether Chenega
also received questionable award
fees as part of the contract and
evaluate whether DHS is paying
other inappropriate award fees.
Under the Federal Acquisition
Regulation, award fees may
be made to reward excellent
contractor performance. But
Clinton said she is responding
to several reports of such fees
being paid without regard to
performance.
Clinton, in a letter to Skinner,
said the IG's staff informed her
that award fees were paid to
Chenega as part of its contract
with the agency. Because those
fees were not specifically reviewed
in Skinner's report, Clinton
requested details of the fees and
further investigation.
Furthermore, Clinton noted
a "troubling pattern" of reports
of award fees at DHS and asked
Skinner to investigate.
"In too many cases, DHS
appears to be awarding bonuses
despite poor performance, or
worse, without even evaluating
work," Clinton wrote. "Failing
CLINTON to page 6
Jury's talk gets man new trial
The Associated Press
SALT LAKE CITY - A judge
threw out an assault conviction
against an American Indian after
some jurors discussed stereotypes
about the drinking habits of
Indians during deliberations.
Kerry Benally of the Ute tribe
deserves a new trial because
two jurors failed to honestly
answer questions about their
"preconceived notions" about
Indians before trial, U.S. District
Judge Dale Kimball ruled Nov.
20.
Benally, 35, was accused of
striking a Bureau of Indians
Affairs officer with a flashlight
after complaints that he was
driving erratically in the White
Mesa area of southeastern Utah.
Benally was found guilty
Oct 10 in federal court in Salt
Lake City. After the conviction,
his attorney, A. Chelsea Koch,
asked for a new trial, based on
information from two jurors.
Juror Karen Cano said the jury
foreman stated, "When Indians
get alcohol, they all get drunk."
"He then added that when
they do get drunk, they get wild
or violent, or something to that
effect," Cano said in an affidavit.
"During another discussion,
another juror asked what would
happen if we found him not
guilty? What kind of message
would we be sending back to the
reservation?" Cano said.
Another juror, Mark Gumsey,
said statements during
deliberations "stereotyped the
Indian culture regarding their
propensity for drinking," wrote
Robin Howell, an investigator
for the defense.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Trina
Higgins opposed the request for
a new trial, saying the reports
by Cano and Gurnsey were
hearsay.
Benally was accused of
assaulting a police officer who
stopped him outside his home.
The officer believed Benally had
been drinking, but alcohol had
nothing to do with the charge,
Koch said Monday.
Benally has been in custody
since his arrest in April and
JURY to page 3
Judge defends document sealing
in North Dakota nickname case
By DALE WETZEL
Associated Press Writer
BISMARCK, N.D.-A judge is
defending his sealing of court
documents in the dispute over
the University of North Dakota's
Fighting Sioux nickname,
saying his goal of encouraging
a settlement of the case was
"most certainly in the public's
interest."
Northeast Central District
Judge Lawrence Jahnke, in a
court filing Friday, also said
legal expenses for UND and the
NCAA in the case have totaled
more than $5 million.
Forum Communications Co.,
a Fargo-based media company, is
asking the North Dakota Supreme
Court to reverse Jahnke's order
to seal the court documents.
Forum Communications owns a
television station and newspaper
in Grand Forks, where UND is
located.
UND sued the NCAA to
challenge restrictions on the
use of Fighting Sioux nickname.
The lawsuit was settled Oct. 28.
The terms give UND three years
to get support from the state's
Sioux tribes for the nickname
and an American Indian head
logo.
Tribal officials have since
insisted their opposition to the
nickname and logo will not
change. The president of the
Board of Higher Education has
said he will suggest a discussion
of the subject among board
members.
Jahnke, in his filing, argues
his September order to seal
court records was necessary,
and that the media had no
right of immediate access to the
documents.
A settlement of the lawsuit
was imminent in August but
news reports about the dispute
scuttled it, Jahnke said.
"There simply was no less
restrictive alternative measure
(than sealing the records), in
light of what had happened in
August, and with the parties so
very close to settlement once
again," Jahnke wrote.
MichaelT.Andrews,anattorney
CASE to page 5
How Pot Ring Exploited Indian Land
Network was largest marijuana
ring in CNY history
By Aaron Gifford
Staff writer
Alexander Cammacho and
Anthony DeJohn aren't Native
American, yet they used the
cover of an Indian reservation
on the Canadian border to
smuggle at least six tons of
high-grade marijuana into
the United States in 2004 and
2005.
They also relied on a network
of friends on that reservation
- the Akwesasne Mohawk
territory - and on Oneida and
Onondaga Indian territories to
distribute the pot, according to
court records obtained by The
Post-Standard since the two
men were convicted in federal
court earlier this year.
That network, which law
enforcement authorities have
called the largest marijuana ring
in Central New York history,
followed a pattern smugglers
established years ago to move
contraband cigarettes through
Indian territories and between
the U.S. and Canada. The
tobacco trade, in fact, helped
provide the money to start up
the marijuana ring, according
to law enforcement officials.
While running the drug
ring, Cammacho lived on
Oneida territory in the city of
Oneida and DeJohn lived on
Onondaga Nation territory in
Nedrow. The drug runners used
"stash houses" not on Indian
land to store the pot, court
documents show, including one
in Phoenix, Oswego County.
While no one suggests
Indian leaders knew of the
drug dealing, the ring's use of
Indian territories proved to be
a jurisdictional headache for
the various law enforcement
agencies investigating the
case.
For example:
The Onondaga Nation
territory in Nedrow has a
community watch group but
not a police force that patrols
the territory or investigates
crimes.
Onondaga Chief Jake Edwards
said DeJohn "absolutely"
took advantage of that lack of
surveillance when he lived and
did business there.
"He's no longer welcome
here," said Edwards, adding that
tribal officials were not aware
of DeJohn's drug dealing until
after the arrest.
On the Onondaga Nation,
sheriff's deputies must first
obtain permission from the
chiefs before entering the
territory. DeJohn had gotten
LAND to page 2
web page: www.press-on.net
Native gmmm
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.  Copyright, Native American Press, 2007
Founded in 1988
Volume 19 Issue 42
December 1, 2007
Scientists
protest Indian
tribe control
over ancient
remains
By MATTHEW DALY
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) _
Scientists hoping to study the
ancient skeleton known as
Kennewick Man are protesting
efforts on two fronts that they
say could block them from
examining one of the oldest
and most complete ever found
in North America.
For the third time in four
years, the scientists oppose a
Senate bill that would allow
federally recognized tribes to
claim ancient remains even
if they can't prove a link to a
current tribe.
They also are contesting draft
regulatioas issued by the Bush
administration on disposing
culturally unaffiliated remains.
Both measures could end
up with the same result,
scientists say: preventing an
improved understanding of
North American history and
the role of the continent's first
inhabitants.
If adopted, the proposed
changes could "result in
a world heritage disaster of
unprecedented proportions"
and "rob our descendants of the
unique insights concerning the
shared heritage of all people that
physical anthropological studies
of culturally unidentifiable
human remains can provide,"
the American Association of
Physical Anthropologists said in
a statement.
Supporters call such concerns
overblown.
They say the changes are
intended to clarify the Native
American Graves Protection and
Repatriation Act, or NAGPRA, to
ensure that federally recognized
tribes can safeguard the graves
of their ancestors.
Neither the Senate bill nor the
draft regulations would affect
the 9,300-year-old bones known
as Kennewick Man, they said.
The skeleton was discovered in
1996 along the Columbia River
near Kennewick, Wash., and has
been the focus of a bitter fight
ever since.
A federal appeals court ruled
in 2004 that scientists can study
the ancient bones, and teams
Rapid prototyping replica of the Kennewick man skull created
from high-power, non-invasive ICT (Industrial Computed
Tomography) scanning of the original bone. The replica
provides an accurate model, reducing the need for future
handling of the original bones.
of anthropologists and other
analysts have begun poring over
more than 300 bones and bone
fragments at the Burke Museum
of Natural History and Culture
in Seattle, where the remains are
housed.
A spokesman for Sen. Byron
Dorgan, D-N.D., chairman of the
Senate Indian Affairs Committee,
said the Senate bill would clarify
what process should be followed
for future discoveries of ancient
remains.
"The court ruling said it's
not clear" what should happen,
"so Congress wants to clarify
what its intent was _ and its
intent is that tribes that believe
they have a connection (to
ancient remains) either through
descent or cultural affiliation,
have an opportunity to make
that case," said Barry Pyatt, a
Dorgan spokesman.
The Bush administration
opposes the Senate bill, which
mirrors legislation proposed in
2004 and 2005. In testimony
before the Indian Affairs
Committee in 2005, Paul
Hoffman, a deputy assistant
Interior secretary, called the
proposed change too broad and
said it would loosen the Indian
graves law to include remains
that might not be connected to
a tribe.
"We believe that NAGPRA
should protect the sensibilities
of currently existing tribes,
cultures, and people while
balancing the need to learn about
past cultures and customs,"
Hoffman said. In cases where
remains are not significantly
related to any existing tribe,
people or culture, they should
be available for appropriate
scientific analysis, he said.
The administration did not
testify on the current Senate
bill _ which was approved by
Indian Affairs Committee on a
voice vote _ but its views have
not changed since 2005, said
Sherry Hutt, manager of the
Interior Department's NAGPRA
program.
"The position that the
secretary took at that time... was
that science is a good thing, and
NAGPRA is not administered to
be a death knell to science. That
remains our view," she said.
But scientists said the Sept. 27
committee vote _ coupled with
the Oct. 16 publication of draft
SCIENCE to page 6
Iowa court rules definition of       Seminoles
Indian child unconstitutional
By DAVID PITT
Associated Press Writer
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) _The
Iowa Supreme Court ruled Friday
a state law defining an Indian
child is overly broad and violates
equal protection clauses in federal
and state constitutions.
The court, in ruling whether
the Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
may intervene in the parental
custody case of two Sioux City
children, concluded a 2003
state law exceeded the limits of
governmental power in Indian
affairs. The law includes the
definition of Indian children as
those of mixed blood who are not
eligible for tribal membership.
The court said Iowa's over-
inclusive law amounts to
a racial classification that
violates the 14th Amendment's
equal protection clause and
the Iowa Constitution's similar
protections.
In its ruling, the court said it
believes the Legislature intended
to expand the definition of
Indian child to advance the
goal of preserving Indian tribes.
However, the court said the
rationale for the state law is
not close enough to the federal
government's stated goal of
advancing tribal self-government
to be considered a political
classification. Instead, the court
said the state's classification of
an Indian child results "entirely
from their ancestry, which is 'a
proxy for race.'"
NVGiven the limits of
Congressional authority to
legislate only in favor of members
of federally recognized tribes,
we conclude the Iowa ICWA's
expansion of the definition
of 'Indian child' to include
ethnic Indians not eligible
for membership in a federally
recognized tribe constitutes a
racial classification," the court
wrote. "The Iowa ICWA's failure
to maintain that integral link to
tribal self government results
in an over-inclusive racial
classification, and therefore
violates equal protection
principles."
The Iowa Indian Child Welfare
Act defines an Indian child as "an
unmarried Indian person who is
under 18 years of age or a child
who is under 18 years of age that
an Indian tribe identifies as a
child of the tribe's community."
The Winnebago Tribe considers
children of tribe members
eligible for membership if they
possess at least one-fourth degree
CHILD to page 6
make billions
but still seek
government
grants
Associated Press
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -
The Seminole Tribe of Florida has
touted publicly that the billions
it makes off gambling has helped
it become self-sufficient, but a
newspaper investigation shows
that it is still pulling in millions
of dollars in federal government
grants while claiming financial
limitations.
The South Florida Sun-
Sentinel, in a story published
Thursday, detailed numerous
examples of the tribe claiming
financial constraints when it
sought federal help, like when it
asked for thousands of dollars to
pay for new officers, an airboat
and computers for its police
department _ all of it needed
because its casinos were drawing
bigger crowds.
The tribe also sent a $123,130
bill to the Federal Emergency
Management Agency after
members evacuated to the
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in
Hollywood ahead of Hurricane
REPORT to page 6