Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2008-01-15

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
NEWS BRIEFS
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
CLASSIFIEDS
Leech Lake's Three Little
2      Rascals Raising Holy Hell
3
4-5
7      page 5
Leech Lake People Demand
Garbow's Termination For
Inappropiate Legal Actions
page 5
Hey Mike Garbow,
How does it feel?
page 4
Raising the Bar in
Native American
Press/Ojibwe News
page 4
FASD101 in Indian
Country updated
page 4
Notes from Rebuilding Native Nations:
Strategies Governance and Development
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
In the last issue we reprinted
extensively from this important
book published by the University
of Arizona Press believing that
both voters and Native politicians
would do well to acquaint
themselves with the contents.
The book is concerned with "how
to govem...and govern well."
It is a joint project between
the Native Nations Institute at
the University of Arizona and the
Harvard Project on American
Indian Economic Development
at Harvard University. Joe felt
and Steve Cornell, economist
and sociologist respectively, co-
founded the Project. Later Manley
Begay joined them. Miriam
Jorgensen edited the book. The
work contains chapters by each of
those mentioned above.
Last issue we printed,
information about the
unfortunate historical legacy of
native peoples that resulted in
tribal Organizational Weakness;
Financial Dependence on
Outsiders with a focus on
programs and services dictated
by the federal government which
created multiple and varied offices
and provided many jobs, but
which gave little in the way of job
security.
A politics of spoils is the natural
outcome of such a system and
leads to corrupt governments
and a cynical and dissatisfied
population.
Remaking the tools of
governance took up the remaining
column space. In this issue we'll
reprint information concerning
powers enumerated to the various
tribal entities—government, the
bureaucracy and the people.
Through a system failure in
publication of the last issue, my
comments were not underlined
as we described they would be
and neither was that material
italicized that we felt should be
emphasized. We will attempt the
same notation system for this
week's offering.
Enumeration of powers, rights
and responsibilities.
In the last reprint, we discussed
that many tribal constitutions
are still dependent on provisions
established by the Bureau of Indian
(BIA) in the 1930s as a result of
the Indian Reorganization Act.
This book advises constitutional
revision to assure that the form
and role of tribal governments
is appropriate for the changed
conditions, responsibilities and
privileges currently enioved by
tribal governments.
"As Native nations take the
initiative to write and rewrite their
own constitutions, there is tension
over how detailed to be when
listing the powers of the various
divisions and offices of tribal
government. On the one hand,
well-placed desires to enhance
the stability and predictability of
the nation's governing systems
push toward greater specificity...
On the other hand, the primary
role of a constitution is to set
down the 'law of laws'—that is
the procedures and systems by
which laws will be made as the
nation goes forward.
"...many nations are finding
at least three key areas where a
relatively high degree of specificity
seems advisable. The first.. .is the
enumeration of the overall scope
of the government's legislative
[tribal council] powers.
"The second area...[for great
specificity] is the defining of
basic rights of citizens and
NOTES to page 6
Mutual Aid
Agreement
By Dawn Slade
Mille Lacs County Times
It appears there may be
a law enforcement agreement
between Mille Lacs County and
the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
once again.
A proposal submitted by"
the band on Monday, Jan. 7 to
the county received approval
by the.county board after
special counsel for the county
Randy Thompson reviewed the
agreement and suggested two
minor changes.
The county was submitting
it to the band on Monday and
according to the band's solicitor
general, Rjay Brunkow, it was
expected to he signed Tuesday
evening (after the Times went
to press) at the earliest.
"We agreed to disagree -
respectfully," Thompson said
of the agreement.
The law enforcement
agreement had been in place for
10 years before it was revoked
by the band. Since Nov. 2,
the sheriff's office has been
working overtime to handle
what was once covered by the
tribal police.
The board of commissioners
approved the Mutual Aid
Agreement at a continued
board meeting on Thursday,
Jan. 10 (commissioner Jack
Edmonds was not present for
the meeting).
Before approval, Thompson
informed the board that he had
contacted the band's attorney
who informed Thompson that
they would take a final look
at the agreement once they
received it.
An appendix was attached
to the agreement with
legal descriptions of trust
properties.
One of the changes to the
Mutual Aid Agreement were
to replace "Under Minn. Stat.
626.90, Sub. 5" with the
words "Under state law," in
paragraph five, which discusses
prosecuting authority.
The other change was to add
Thompson as special counsel to
the list of signatories required
to sign the agreement.
Sheriff Brent Lindgren,
AGREEMENT to page 6
Leech Lake Tribal Judge denies
former legal director's request
for emergency hearing
By Bill Lawrence
Wednesday, January 16, Chief
Tribal Judge Korey Wahwassuck
denied former Leech Lake legal
director Michael Garbow's
complaint and request for an
emergency hearing in response
to his having been terminated
from his position January 11,
2008. He sought an order
recognizing his right to Due
Process procedures afforded
to all employees of the Leech
Lake Band and an "immediate
Injunction overturning the
January 11,2008 termination of..
.[his] employment with the Band
and preventing Defendants' [sic]
LaRose and Finn from directly
voting on any employment
decisions regarding Plaintiff
[Garbow] until the existing
conflict of interest matters
against LaRose and Finn have
been formally resolved."
Judge Wahwassuckstated in her
FINDINGS that Mr. Garbow had
failed to show he had exhausted
his administrative remedies prior
to seeking relief in the Court. He
added that Mr. Garbow was not
entitled to injunctive relief until
such time as he had pursued all
other remedies.
In a very short meeting on
January 11, Tribal Council
members voted to relieve Mr.
Garbow of his duties as tribal legal
director. Secretary/Treasurer
Archie LaRose, Representatives
Donald 'Mick' Finn and Lyman
'Dede' Losh attended the
meeting.
Chairman George Goggleye
and Representative Robbie Howe
were not present. They were
aware of the meeting and its
proposed agenda, but, according
to reservation sources, they chose
not to attend.
Secretary/Treasurer LaRose
had attempted to present a
petition signed by fifty band
members calling for Mr. Garbow's
termination at the Regular
Quarterly Meeting January
4, 2008. However, Chairman
Goggleye refused to consider the
petition.
Accordingly, LaRose and the
two Representatives called for
a special meeting to handle the
petition. Chairman Goggleye
appointed Representative Losh
to preside in his absence. The
question before the Council
was the termination of Mr.
Garbow. The Council voted 2-0
for dismissal. Acting Chairman
Losh's vote would be required
only in the event of a tie vote.
Some critics of the action
state that the meeting was illegal,
citing the twenty-four-notice
rule on change of meeting time
and place. However it appears
not to be a valid point since the
absences of Chairman Goggleye
HEARING to page 6
Red Lake men charged with
sex crimes
Herald Staff
In separate federal cases filed
within the past month, two
Red Lake, Minn., men were
indicted in U.S. District Court in
Minneapolis for alleged sexual
abuse of minors.
Last week, Donald Wayne
Clark, 26, was indicted with
one count of aggravated sexual
abuse for allegedly having sexual
contact with a 14-year-old girl
while on the Red Lake Indian
Reservation. The indictment
was filed Jan. 8.
In a separate case, Bryan
Durrell Stately, 20, was charged
with one count of abusive sexual
contact of a minor. Stately is
accused of knowingly engaging
in sexual contact with a 9-year-
old girl March 19 on the Red
Lake Indian Reservation. The
indictment against Stately was
filed Jan. 7.
The cases are the result of
an FBI investigation and are
being prosecuted by Minnesota
Assistant U.S. Attorney Erica
MacDonald.
If convicted, both men face a
potential maximum penalty of
life in prison.
Strides against reservation violence
By Sara Burnett
Thursday, January 17,2008
One year after the soaring
crime rate on the Ute
Mountain Ute reservation made
headlines, tribal leaders and law
enforcement officials say they
have taken unprecedented steps
to curb violence, even if progress
has been slow.
The tribal council has notified
the federal Bureau of Indian
Affairs that the tribe wants to
take over its own court system,
a move that will allow for
suffer penalties and fines for
offenders.
More than 100 area law
enforcement officers have been
deputized to enforce the law
on the reservation, and efforts
are under way to provide better
treatment for people addicted
to alcohol and drugs - problems
that have long plagued this area
of southwest Colorado.
And perhaps most notably,
tribal officials and area police are
working together in ways never
Ernest House Sr., tribal chairman
of the Ute Mountain Utes, and
other leaders want the tribe to
take over its own court system.
Photo by Javier Manzano / The
Rocky
before seen.
"The attention has been
positive," said U.S. Attorney
for Colorado Troy Eid, who
pronounced the Ute Mountain
Ute reservation the murder
capital of Colorado 13 months
ago.
"I think most exciting is that
we've redefined what's possible in
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Volume 19 Issue 45
January 15, 2008
Criminal trial pits American Indian leader
against Rhode Island government
Narragansett Indian tribe Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas checks his e-mail while in his office on
tribal land in Charlestown, R.I., Jan. 10. Thomas and six others are soon headed to court, where
they'll ask a jury to decide whether they are guilty of scuffling with state police who raided their
tribe's smoke shop in 2003 because it was not collecting state taxes. (AP Photo/Joe Giblin)
UND Controversy: Chancellor to schedule tribal visit
By Joseph Marks
Herald Staff Writer
A spokeswoman for North
Dakota's top higher education
official said Wednesday he is
in the process of scheduling
a meeting with leaders of the
state's two Sioux tribes to discuss
the future of UND's Fighting
Sioux team nickname.
North Dakota University System
Chancellor William Goetz
pledged in late December to
visit tribal chairpeople at the
Standing Rock and Sprit Lake
reservations as the first gesture
in what he hopes will be a larger
nickname negotiation involving
North Dakota state government
leaders and members of the state's
congressional delegation.
Goetz said he would report
back to the board about that visit
at its regular meeting Feb. 21.
As of Wednesday, a precise date
for the tribal visits had not been
scheduled, spokeswoman Debra
Anderson said.
A negotiated settlement in a legal
battle with the NCAA requires
UND to retire its nickname and
Indian head logo in three years if
it cannot win tribal support.
In what may have be en a
signal to the tribes that he is
willing to be flexible, Goetz
pitched his tribal visit to the
state board, in part by listing the
long-controversial nickname's
deleterious effects. Those
included: "negative impacts
on student enrollment and
student perception," "a divisive
environment perpetuated by
positions taken on the issue," and
"impact on alumni-foundation
relations."
Goetz's concessions may yield
little fruit at Standing Rock,
where the Tribal Council has
officially opposed the nickname
since 2001 and voted in November
to reaffirm that opposition.
Tribal Chairman Ron His Horse
Is Thunder has spoken several
times in strong opposition to
the nickname, most notably at
a presentation on UND campus
in late November. He also sent
a copy of the tribes' resolution
opposing the nickname and a
brief letter to the state board at
the December meeting where
Goetz proposed his tribal visit.
Spirit Lake's 2000 resolution
states the tribe will not o ppose
the nickname if "something good
comes of it." Chairwoman Myra
Pearson has said she reads that
resolution as neither supporting
nor opposing the nickname.
When the state board agreed
in October to settle its yearlong
legal battle with the NCAA,
UND to page 2
Navajos take different route to     Mashantuckets
finance tribe's first casino seek to
the eyes of people in Southwest
Colorado and others who said
nothing would ever change
there," Eid said.
But change won't happen
overnight. The reservation,
anchored by the town of Towaoc
and home to about 2,000 people,
still saw its share of arsons,
domestic violence, drunken-
driving deaths and killings this
past year.
"It's going to take a long time,
because there isn't an easy answer
to all our problems," said Ernest
House Sr., who was elected tribal
chairman last fall.
Runaway murder rate
Eid began making noise about
the alarming level of crime
on the reservation in hopes of
bringing attention - and action.
In 2005 and 2006, the
reservation saw six killings, for a
rate of three homicides per 1.000
residents. If Denver had the same
VIOLENCE to page 2
By FELICIA FONSECA
Associated Press Writer
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The
Navajo Nation is shying away
from using a $100 million line
of credit to finance its first
casino and instead is tapping
a tribal trust fund to ensure
the casino will be operating by
midsummer.
Negotiations with JP Morgan
Chase on the line of credit slowed
after the institution requested
that the tribe put up 125 percent
collateral as a term of the loan
agreement, said council Delegate
LoRenzo Bates, who serves on the
tribe's Investment Committee.
"We're not going to sign it,
so we had to look for alternative
funding sources," he said.
Tribal officials on Tuesday
turned to the Land Acquisition
Trust Fund that was developed
to consolidate the checkerboard
of Indian and non-Indian land
around the reservation. Officials
plan to use $35 million from the
$56 million fund, which they say
NAVAJOS to page 2
Wapato native, reigning Miss
Washington prepares for big event
ByADRIANAJANOVICH
Yakima Herald-Republic
PUYALLUP, Wash. - Elyse
Umemoto sparkles.
Up there, under the lights, in a
beaded, coffee-colored gown, she
flashes a megawatt smile, giving
supporters another glimpse of
what the judges will see.
She looks radiant on the
runway. Confidant. Poised.
Prepared. She's been readying
six months for this send-off.
The reigning Miss Washington,
Umemoto leaves Wednesday
for Las Vegas, where she will
compete Jan. 26 at the Planet
Hollywood Resort and Casino for
the title of Miss America. If she
wins, she could make pageant
history.
Umemoto could be the first
Miss Washington to become Miss
America. She also could be the
first American Indian to wear the
crown. And the first Hispanic. As
well as the second Asian.
The 23-year-old, whose
pageant platform is Embracing
Diversity, Empowering Women,
jokingly refers to herself as a
quad. Her ethnicity is exactly
one-quarter American Indian _
she's an enrolled Yakama _ as
well as German, Hispanic and
Japanese.
"One of the messages I want
to share as Miss Washington and
potentially as Miss America is it
doesn't matter the color of your
skin," says Umemoto, a Wapato
native who now lives in Tacoma.
"If it did, I'd be four different
WAPATO to page 7
overturn union
election at
Foxwoods
By STEPHEN SINGER
AP Business Writer
HARTFORD, Conn. - The
Mashantucket Pequots faced
opposition from the United Auto
Workers and National Labor
Relations Board Tuesday as the
tribe sought to overturn the
results of a union election for
dealers at Foxwoods Resort
Casino.
The NLRB, which oversaw the
Nov. 24 union election, began
a hearing in Hartford on the
tribe's contention that it failed
to include ballots and election
notices in two Chinese languages
spoken by 700 workers.
The tribe also claimed the UAW
intimidated workers as it sought
to unionize them.
Foxwoods dealers voted 1,289
to 852 in favor of the UAW
representing them. The vote
followed a campaign on issues
such as pay, health insurance
and cigarette smoking by casino
customers.
The hearing, which was packed
with workers and union backers
wearing "Yes Means Yes" buttons,
is expected to last several days
with testimony about the union
campaign and election.
Tribal officials say the
Mashantucket tribe and Foxwoods
ELECTION to page 6