Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2008-02-01

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INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS' 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4-5
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Dregs of our Society or Leech Lake Ethics Blowup,
How Big Love Woos in Cover-ups: A Falling Out
Re-Election Land Amongst Thieves
page 5
page 5
Leech Lake Legal
Director Illegally
Exposes Name
page 4
Are Leech Lake
Campaign Signs
for Chairman Geo
Paid for by Tribal
Members
page 4
Mille Lacs
Members, Rise
Up! Rescue The
Band From Its
Hijackers!
page 4
Notes from Rebuilding Native Nations:
Strategies Governance and Development
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
Part III
Comments by Bill Lawrence
This is the third installment
of reprinted material from the
above named book, published by
the University of Arizona Press
and edited by Miriam Jorgensen.
It is a joint undertaking between
the Harvard Project on American
Indian Economic Development at
Harvard University and the Native
Nations Institute for Leadership,
Management, and Policy at the
University of Arizona.
The book is basically a 'how
to manual' on governing
tribal societies. It describes
two approaches—the Standard
Approach which is, in most
cases, the status quo of tribal
governments; and the Nation
Building Approach, the
recommended way to effective
tribal governments.
The Standard Approach is
characterized by all power residing
in the Council. The power of the
Council is essentially absolute,
controlling all assets, resources
and revenues. Distribution of
tribal assets is the key to retaining
elective power and is accomplished
on the basis of political favoritism.
Jobs, services, benefits, housing,
etc. are all distributed on the basis
of who owes whom what.
The 'politics of spoils' is the
natural outcome of such a system.
Under this scheme, "control
of. . . government becomes
the key to gaining access to
economic resources. . . . This
turns reservation politics into
a politics of spoils, having less
to do with where the nation is
headed [and what is appropriate
and in the best interests of the
whole community] or how best
to organize tribal operations
than with which faction controls
the goodies that government can
hand out." P.66
Inherent in the standard
approach is the dependence of
tribal governments on outside
resources and decision-making,
i.e. the federal government
through the Bureau of Indian
Affairs (BIA).
The book's plan is built not only
on explaining how things work
under the standard approach, but
also explains how the standard
approach developed historically.
This information is highly useful.
Once it is understood how and
why the status quo developed,
it becomes clear that changing
thatapproach would be extremely
helpful and any loyalty to that
approach is misguided.
The Nation Building Approach
is presented as the positive,
progressive way of freeing tribal
governments from the bondage
and dysfunction of the standard
approach.
Using this tactic, tribal
governments reclaim their
inherent decision making powers
by developing effective governing
institutions—e. g. meaningful
constitutions, adopting the rule
of law, separation of powers,
and an independent judiciary
—to create stable governments.
These institutions "must protect
day-to-day business... take the
politics out of court decisions
[and] provide administration that
can get things done reliably and
effectively." P. 23
In the first of these articles,
we printed information detailing
the historic development
of the status quo, remaking
tools of governance, including
information on constitutional
NOTES to page 6
Tribe likely to
vote on U of
North Dakota
nickname
By Blake Nicholson
Associated Press
BISMARCK, N.D. - Members
of the Spirit Lake Nation likely
will vote on whether to support
the University of North Dakota's
"Fighting Sioux" nickname,
the tribe's leader says, saying
members are weary of constant
talk about the issue.
"It's been something that's
not as important as our health
care or housing or everything
we're faced with out here, but it's
been popping up all the time, and
I think we need to put it to rest
here pretty quick," Myra Pearson
said Saturday.
William Goetz, chancellor
of North Dakota's university
system, said Saturday that a
reservation vote may help speed
a resolution of the nickname
dispute.
"If a vote is taken, certainly it
will be a major step, one way or
the other, in terms of an event
that will, I think, determine the
outcome one way or the other,"
Goetz said. "In my mind... that
vote will, if it's taken relatively
soon, it should expedite the
decision process."
Last October, the university
settled a lawsuit with the NCAA
over its use of the nickname and
an American Indian-head logo.
Its terms gave UND until Nov.
30, 2010, to obtain the consent
of the Spirit Lake and Standing
Rock Sioux tribes to continue to
use the nickname and logo.
If the tribes' approval is not
forthcoming, the logo must be
retired. It still may be retired
after November 2010 if either
tribe revokes its consent, the
settlement says.
The Spirit Lake reservation,
which is about 90 miles from
Grand Forks in northeastern
North Dakota, is closest to
UND.
The Standing Rock Sioux tribe
has said it opposes continued
use of the logo and nickname.
UND to page 7
Leech Lake Announces
Candidates, Primary Set April 1
CASS LAKE, MN-The
Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
announced candidates for
Chairman,Secretary-Treasurer
and District III Representative
after closing the sign up date on
Friday, February 1,2008. An April
1 primary election is scheduled.
Chairman candidates are:
George Goggleye, Jr., Incumbent;
Arthur "Archie" LaRose,
Secretary-Treasurer
incumbent; Birdina Lyons; Dan
White; Glen "Tuffy" Fisher; Skip
Lyons; and David Morgan.
Secretary-Treasurer candidates:
Randy Finn; Tobias Shotley;
Frank Bowstring; Roger Aitken;
Richard Robinson; Mike Bongo;
and Tobias Shotley.
District 3 Representative
candidates: Donald "Mick"
Finn, Incumbent; Eugene "Ribs"
Whitebird; Val Pacheco; "Rocky"
Papasodora; Jerry Morgan;
Louise Masten; Jenny Wind
Reyes;Martin Robinson; and
Donald Headbird.
Former Leech Lake Legal
Director sues NAP/ON
By Bill Lawrence
While traveling across snow
packpH roads in Oregon last
Friday, February 1, we learned
from a cell phone call that Michael
Garbow, former legal director of
the Leech Lake Tribe, has filed
a legal complaint against the
Native American Press/Ojibwe
News (NAPON).
Although we have not yet seen
the actual document, according
to information released to other
media, Mr. Garbow contends
that the NAPON could cause
"immediate and irreparable
damage to the plaintiffs (Garbow)
community reputation and other
individuals' reputations" by
printing unsigned letters from
community members.
The "ousted legal director"
asks for an injunction that would
prevent further publication of
unsigned letters that referred
to Mr. Garbow or to Leech Lake
tribal officials.
Garbow was fired January
11 through an action of the
Leech Lake Tribal Council led
by Secretary/Treasurer Archie
LaRose. He was joined in the
action by Representative Donald
"Mick" Finn. Representative
Lyman "Dede" Losh was the
acting Chairman, having been
appointed by Chairman Goggleye
prior to the meeting. Neither
Goggleye nor Representative
Robbie Howe attended the special
meeting.
Several Council members,
carrying a petition signed by
a number of tribal members
requesting Mr. Garbow's
termination, had asked for the '
matter to be considered at the
regular quarterly meeting in
January. Chairman Goggleye
declined to accept the petition
making a subsequent meeting
necessary.
Mr. Garbow has filed an appeal
to his termination with the Leech
Lake Tribal Court. Chairman
Goggleye has publicly decried the
firing as illegal. He further stated
that he would never allow a tribal
employee to be treated in such a
manner.
Howeverthose 15-25employees
who were summarily fired upon
Chairman Goggleye's election
would be quick to challenge
these remarks. These individuals
were not only terminated without
due process, but were also denied
access to any appeal process.
The local paper's account of
the matter stated, "Lawrence
did not return a call left on his
newspaper's voice mail."
Having left Bemidji January 23
for an extended business/personal
trip, I could not have returned
the call since I had no knowledge
the paper had called. The paper
account did state, and rightfully
so, that letters are unsigned
because the writers "fear for their
jobs" or are fearful of "retaliation
of MG or GG." The initials refer
to Michael Garbow and George
Goggleye respectively.
A hearing has been set for
February 8.
No problems found in
Smithsonian travel review
By Brett Zongker
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -An internal
review of travel expenditures
by Smithsonian Institution
museum directors found no
other problems after a former
leader came under fire last year
for his use of luxury airfare,
hotels and limousines, officials
said Wednesday.
"We're getting questions, as
you can imagine, from members
of Congress," acting Smithsonian
Secretary Cristian Samper told
The Associated Press. "I wanted
to make sure our people are out
there traveling and using our
resources wisely, and I think the
answer is yes, they are."
In December, it was revealed
that the former director of
the National Museum of the
American Indian spent more
than $250,000 in Smithsonian
funds on first-class travel around
the world over the past four years.
W. Richard West recently retired
from the directors post and left
the nonprofit Smithsonian.
Last year, West spent $105,598
in museum funds on 30 trips,
averaging $3,520 per trip. He
was away on business travel 180
days, according to the review
ordered by Samper. West has said
all of his travel was authorized
and necessary for the launch of
a museum that covers cultures
beyond the United States.
The review of last year's travel
by 19 other executives showed
that one spent nearly half as
much as West, and that the rest
spent far less.
Eldredge Bermingham, acting
director of the Smithsonian
Tropical Research Center in
Panama, spent $43,373 on
17 trips for an average cost of
$2,551. Most other directors
spent $1,300 or less per trip.
Samper was named acting
head of the Smithsonian in 2007
after the previous secretary,
Lawrence Small, resigned amid
STRUGGLES to page 7
Fond du Lac
reservation
struggles
with housing
shortage
Associated Press
CLOQUET, Minn. - When
Bobby King moved back to the
Fond du Lac reservation in
2000, a housing shortage forced
him into living in a small, mold-
invested home.
King, his wife and two
children were able to move into
a new four-bedroom home on
the northeastern Minnesota
reservation three years ago, but
now his sister-in-law and her two
children have moved in because
of the same housing shortage.
"We have to settle for what
we have," King said. "We're
fortunate; we have a lot of family
members and there's always
somewhere to rest your head."
With the number of people
returning to the Fond du Lac
VIOLENCE to page 7
web page: www.press-on.net
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.  Copyright, Native American Press, 2008
Founded in 1988
Volume 19 Issue 46
February 1, 2008
Garcia pushes for IHCIA in State of Indian Nations
Indianz.Com.
National Congress of
American Indians President
Joe Garcia on Thursday called
on Congress to pass the long-
overdue Indian Health Care
Improvement Act.
During the sixth annual
State of Indian Nation address,
Garcia said the bill has been
delayed for more than a
decade. "Indian health care
services have not been updated
in 16 years," Garcia said at
the National Press Club in
Washington, D.C.
"Almost two decades of
health modernization has left
Indian Country behind," he
added.
The bill, S.1200, finally made
it to the floor of the Senate last
week. But it was shelved after
two days of debate in order to
move onto other legislative
priorities.
"We applaud our many
Congressional supporters in
this effort, but we need more
champions to step up and
demand a vote to stop the
health care despair engulfing
Native communities," said
Garcia.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-
Alaska), the vice chair of
the Senate Indian Affairs
NCAI President Joe Garcia
Committee, has been one of
the main proponents of the bill.
She said she was "frustrated" by
the delays that have prevented
reauthorization of the IHCIA.
"We will keep pushing in the
Senate," she told attendees of
the speech, as she questioned
why more of her colleagues
haven't made the bill a
priority.
S.1200 has 31 sponsors, or
more than half of the Senate.
Members of both parties have
signed onto the bill.
But during debate last week,
a statement by Sen. Mitch
McConnell (R-Kentucky)
highlighted the challenges
the bill faces in an election year,
when the economy and the war
in Iraq dominate the agenda.
"American lives will not depend
on the passage of Indian health
care by the end of this month,"
the Senate minority leader said
on January 22.
Besides scheduling issues,
the bill faces a potential veto
from President Bush. The
White House issued a statement
of administration policy last
week that objects to numerous
provisions, including those
affecting urban Indians and
fair wages.
Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nevada),
the Senate majority leader,
has said he will bring the bill
back to the floor. More than a
dozen amendments have been
proposed but no agreements
have been made on how the
debate will proceed.
The last time the Senate
considered the bill, it was
derailed by last-minute
objections from the Department
of Justice. A "white paper" that
outlined constitutional issues
was used by Republicans to
delay passage in September
2006.
Judge says Interior unreasonably delayed Indian
trust accounting
By Mary Clare Jalonick
Associated Press
. WASHINGTON - A federal
judge on Wednesday ruled that
the Interior Department has
"unreasonably delayed" its
accounting for billions of dollars
owed to Indian landholders.
The federal agency "has not,
and cannot, remedy the breach"
of its responsibilities to account
for the Indian money, U.S.
District Judge James Robertson
said in a 165-page decision in
a long-running federal lawsuit
alleging mismanagement of
Indian trust funds.
"Indeed, it is now clear that
completion of the required
accounting is an impossible
task" for the department,
Robertson said, adding that he
would schedule a hearing next
month to discuss ways to solve
the problem. He added that
his conclusion that Interior is
unable to perform an adequate
accounting does not mean that
the task is hopeless.
"It does mean that a
remedy must be found for the
department's unrepaired, and
irreparable, breach of its fiduciary
duty over the last century. And it
does mean that the time has
come to bring this suit to a
close," he said.
The suit, first filed in 1996
by Blackfeet Indian Elouise
Cobell, claims the government
has mismanaged more than
$100 billion in oil, gas, timber
and other royalties held in trust
from Indian lands dating back to
1887.
Cobell said in a statement
Wednesday that "this is a great
day in Indian Country."
"We've argued for over 10
years that the government
is unable to fulfill its duty to
render an adequate historical
accounting, much less redress
the historical wrongs heaped
upon the individual Indian trust
beneficiaries," Cobell said.
An Interior Department
spokeswoman said officials
were reviewing Robertson's
decision and had no immediate
comment.
Robertson said that although
department officials had
attempted and continued to
attempt to "cure the breach of
their fiduciary duty" they have
not succeeded in doing so and
"have unreasonably delayed
the completion of the required
accounting."
Robertson also blamed
Congress for the lack of money
appropriated for the cause, citing
the"tension between the expense
of an adequate accounting and
congressional unwillingness to
fund such an enterprise."
JUDGEtopage7
Child accused of sexually
assaulting younger boy at
casino's child-care center
By Patrick Condon
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS -An American
Indian tribe has closed the child-
care centers at its two casinos
while authorities investigate a
reported sexual assault by a child
against a 3-year-old boy.
Tribal authorities said the
suspect is a boy between 8 and
10 years old but wouldn't identify
him further or discuss whether
he was in custody. The police
report will remain confidential
at least until the investigation is
finished, tribal police Sgt. Justin
Churchill said.
The 3-year-old was attacked
Jan. 23 inside a crawling tube in
a play area at Grand Casino Mille
Lacs, in the central Minnesota
town of Onamia, run by the Mille
Lacs Band of Ojibwe.
A worker noticed bruises on
the boy and had his parent paged
in the casino, tribal attorney Tadd
Johnson said. The next day, the
parent noticed more bruising
and took the boy to a doctor, who
concluded a sexual assault may
have happened.
Johnson said that the suspect
was identified from surveillance
video, but that the tube obscured
footage of the actual assault.
Criminal charges against
the older boy won't be possible
under state law if he is younger
than 10, said Mille Lacs County
prosecutor Jan Kolb, whose
office would handle any resulting
criminal case. She said she hadn't
yet reviewed the case for possible
charges.
She and Johnson said that
if the older boy isn't charged,
a social services agency could
intervene to investigate his family
situation.
The Kids Quest child-care
center at that casino and the
tribe's other casino in nearby
Hinckley will remain closed at
least until the investigation ends,
Johnson said.
"We're doing everything we
can to get a quick and accurate
resolution to the case," he said.
Both of the casinos' child-care
centers are operated by New
Horizon Academy, a Twin Cities
company that leases space from
casinos in 11 states and runs
freestanding day-care centers.
In a written statement, New
Horizon said employees failed
to follow its "comprehensive"
procedures to keep children
safe.
"We deeply regret the actions of
these employees," spokeswoman
CASINO to page 7
DNR to limit
walleye
harvest at Lake
Mille Lacs
Associated Press
ST. PAUL - The Minnesota
Department of Natural
Resources will limit the number
of walleyes that anglers can take
out of Lake Mille Lacs this year
due to a mysterious decline in
the walleye population there.
State officials and officials
from the Ojibwe Indian tribe
recently agreed to reduce the
allowable walleye harvest from
549,000 pounds in 2007 to
430,000 pounds this year.
DNR fisheries chief Ron
Payer says the reduction is a
response to the surprising and
unexplained fall in the lake's
walleye population. DNR net
surveys found the problem last
fall,
He says those catches were
at record low levels. Although
some have questioned the
surveys' accuracy, Payer says
officials must consider them
when setting the safe harvest
figure.
The state and the Ojibwe
closely regulate the walleye
harvest on the lake as a result
of a 1999 U.S. Supreme Court
ruling.
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