Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2008-04-01

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INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4-5
CLASSIFIEDS 7
Navajo Nation settles
with former education
superintendent
page 5
Leech Lake "Phony-
boloney" George's Four
Year Report Card On The
RTC
page 5
Press/ON endorses
Mike Bongo for Leech
Lake Tribal Secretary/
Treasurer: He's qualified
page 4
Notes on Leadership
Rebuilding Native Nations:
Strategies for Governance
and Development
page 4
The Come Back
Kid scores a
knockout!
page 4
Mille Lacs Lake Band of Chippewa
not ready for Positive Change
April 3, 2008
By Vincent Hill, Onamia,
Minnesota
The Mille Lacs Lake Band of
Chippewa, with a population
count of 4,000 today, has just
completed its tribal election:
The reservation residents,
including those living off-
reservation and in urban centers
(Minneapolis-Saint Paul) knew
beforehand who they would
be voting for. So why have
tribal election forums? Good
question. In the case of the
Mille Lacs Band, the election
forums for the Chief and the
District 1 Representative were
tilted to benefit the incumbent
office holders; and particularly
true for the highly prized Chief
position, with millions of dollars
to manage, from lucrative
gambling casino profits. The
incumbent chief, Melanie
Benjamin, tried to fair in setting
up the mechanics of where
and how the presentations
of seven candidates for Chief
would be conducted. But,
often, good intentions are
not enough. Example: Three
minute intro and three minute
closing speeches. Comments by
outsiders on Mille Lacs election
forum procedures have been
tantamount to absurdity. I like
to joke anishinabe style, and
told the election officials, that
"it takes me two minutes just
to clear my throat." Laugh.
But doing what is right by the
people is subordinate to an
Indian bureaucracy, worst than,
say, the white bureaucracy
at the county court house in
Milaca, Minnesota; at least
at the county court house in
Milaca, clerks smile at you,
despite institutional racism
still in play there.
Along with this short article
will be the Mille Lacs Band's
primary election results.
Please review: "The Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe, Mille Lacs Band
of Ojibwe: Primary Election
Results, April 1,2008, for Tribal
Chairman/Chief Executive and
District 1 Representative."
Please note that the second
page looks like an official
document, that is, "Mille Lacs
Band of Ojibwe Official Seal,"
signed by Roberta Fox, Chief
Election Board Judge, and
other "sovereignty" election
officials.
Basically, the incumbent
chief, Melanie Benjamin, nearly
wiped out everybody "standing in
her way" in this very important
election year locally; and while
this small Chippewa Band is
ELECTION to page 3
Chairman
Leech Lake
Polling Place
Absentee
Total
%
55.96%
30.02%
2.90%
0.68%
5.62%
2.54%
2.27%
Arthur "Archie" LaRose
1,034
200
1,234
George Goggleye, Jr.
523
139
662
Birdena Lyons
54
10
64
Dan White
13
2
15
Glen "Tuffy" Fisher, Jr.
108
16
124
Raymond "Skip" Lyons
49
7
56
David "Chief Morgan
46
4
50
Secretary-Treasurer
Polling Place
Absentee
Total
%
•      8.70%
14.90%
40.44%
3.08%
4.21%
14.09%
14.58%
%
Randy G. Finn
167
25
192
Burton "Luke" Wilson
268
61
329
Michael J. Bongo
731
162
893
Tobias A. Shotley
63
5
68
Franklin E. Bowstring
77
16
93
Roger T. Aitken
250
61
311
Richard Robinson, Jr.
272
50
322
District III
Representative
Polling Place
Absentee
Total
Eugene "Ribs" Whitebird
406
96
502
33.38%
Val Pacheco
76
8
84
5.59%
Samuel "Rocky" Papasodora
67
22
89
5.92%
Donald "Mick" Finn
251
56
307
20.41%
Jerry Paul Morgan
47
25
72
4.79%
Julian Francis Molash
13
4
17
1.13%
Louise "Weedy" Masten
87
18
105
6.98%
Martin "Mutt" Robinson
42
7
49
3.26%
Donald J. Headbird
188
15
203
13.50%
Jennie Reyes
65
11
76
5.05%
Vizenor re-elected in primary; Bevins and Goodman
to face off in general election
By Nathan Bowe
White Earth Chairwoman
Erma Vizenor made history
Tuesday evening " she was reelected to another four-year term
in the primary election, winning
66 percent of the vote in the
seven-candidate race.
Former Tribal Council member
Tony Wadena of Naytahwaush
came in second with 13 percent
of the vote.
Because Vizenor won more
than 50 percent of the vote in
the primary (the first White
Earth candidate to do so) she
was re-elected Tuesday, and the
chairperson's race will not be
on the general election ballot
June 10.
The race for District 3
committeeman will be on the
ballot, however.
On Tuesday, incumbent
Kenneth "Gus" Bevins won
the primary with 41 percent
of the vote. Ralph "Bucky"
Goodman came in second in
the 12-candidate field with 16
percent ofthe vote, so Bevins and
Goodman will square off June
10 for the third general election
in a row.
Vizenor received 1,278 votes
to 256 votes for Tony Wadena,
her closest competitor. (Tony's
father, former longtime tribal
chairman Chip Wadena, was not
certified to be on the ballot by the
council because of his criminal
history).
Darrell Boone Wadena took
third place with 135 votes,
followed by Raymond J. Bellcourt
with 128 votes.
Frank Stech Jr. received
72 votes, Patrick W. Scott Sr.
received 33 votes and Peter
Charette collected 23 votes to
round out the primary.
"I believe people are very
pleased with the progress during
my term," Vizenor said. "People
know I work hard -1 always work
seven days a week."
She thanked her supporters
and said her priorities for her
next term include finishing a
constitutional reform effort,
continuing to work on economic
development, continuing
the tribe's ethanol initiative
and a renewed focus on the
environment.
Vizenor said she would like to
see a concentrated effort to reuse
and recycle. "We are the first
stewards ofthe land - we need to
show the way," she said.
She also has a "huge educationa
1 initiative" involving all school
districts within the White Earth
Reservation to improve retention
rates and keep native students
from dropping out of high
school.
And she hopes that U.S.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar will hold
hearings on health care in the
Bemidji region, saying the Indian
Health Service is funded at just
37-43 percent of need in the
White Earth, Leech Lake and Red
Lake area.
VIZENOR to page 6
Premium, High   Tne Saga Surrounding Turtle
Class Law Firm  Mountain Casino
Visit Turtle
Mountain
Reservation
by Delvin Cree
Midwest Regional
Correspondant
Representatives of the Wisconsin
lawfirm, Whyte Hirschboek
Dudek S.C. approached a group
of Turtle Mountain landowners
last week and presented to them
a power point presentation of
services provided by their law
firm pertaining to land issues.
Samantha Greendeer and
Richard Lebandowski spent
three days on the Turtle
Mountain Reservation talking
with members of the Turtle
Mountain Allottee Association
and concerned landowners who
own land outside reservation
boundries.
The Attorneys who came
on March 25, 26, and the 27,
also took time to introduce
themselves to the tribal council.
The Attorneys came to Turtle
Mountain because there was
concern among landowners
who have been receiving mis-
RESERVATION to page 6
by Delvin Cree
Midwest Regional
Correspondant
BELCOURT, ND - In the fall
of last year, news headlines
across the provinces of Canada
were announcing a three
year agreement by both the
Turtle Mountain Band of
Chippewa Indians and Sungold
International Holdings Corp.
Turtle Montain owns Chippewa
Downs Racetrack and Sky
Dancer Casino. Sungold is
in the business of developing
entertainment and e-commerce
business in Canada, USA and
Internationally.
Months before, when news
of the agreement surfaced, the
Chairman of the Tribe was on
the front page of a Canadian
newspaper promoting the casino
bus tour industry, for both
Canada and the Turtle Mountain
reservation.
With all this exitement and
praise going on in Canada, news
headlines in the US, especially
Turtle Mountain, have been in a
feeble mode and tribal members
have been unaware of of an
agreement made between the two
countries.
The agreement, signed in
October of last year, by the
General Manager of Sky Dancer
Casino and Sungold International
announced the three year
contract agreement is to market
and launch in partnership, the
horsepower 8 world pool lottery
on the internet.
For those who are not familiar
as to what the horsepower 8
world pool lottery is about, it
states in the agreement that
,"The horsepower 8 world pool
lottery design challenges players
to select the first place winner
in eight live horse races from
participating racetracks, running
each weekend, on Saturdays
and Sundays, additional prizes
will be paid out each day for
seven, six, and five winners
selected correctly. If there is no
prizewinner in a pool, the pool
carries over to the next race date.
As a result, carryover pools are
expected to build to extaordinary
life-changing payouts on a regular
basis."
The first notification of the
partnership agreement sailed
through the media waves in the
Toronto Ontario area, then across
Canada on June 20th of last year,
CASINO to page 6
VOICE       OF      THE.   PEOPLE
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A weekly publication.  Copyright, Native American Press, 2008
Founded in 1988
Volume 19 Issue 50
April 1, 2008
U. of Mich, program seeks to preserve
endangered native language
University of Michigan lecturer Margaret Noori leads a weekly Ojibwe language study group at
the University of Michigan, April 3, 2008, in Ann Arbor, Mich. Noori teaches the school's weekly
Ojibwe Language and culture program, one of the largest of its kind in the nation. It seeks to teach
and preserve an American Indian language spoken by about 10,000 people primarily in the Great
Lakes area, but 80 percent of them are over 60 years old. (AP Photo/Tony Ding)
.RvJEFFKAROUB
Associated Press Writer
DETROIT - The statistics
might not be promising, but
'personal experience offers
! Brooke Simon hope that her
'ancestors' language won't
! disappear.
"I can walk down the street
' and hear someone yell saanii!'
! from across the street," said
1 the 20-year-old University of
Michigan student, referring
to a greeting in Ojibwe, or
Anishinaabemowin. "Students
aren't afraid to use the
language and learn about this
language."
Simon participates in the Ann
Arbor university's Program in
Ojibwe Language and Literature,
one of the largest of its kind in
the nation. It seeks to teach
and preserve the American
Indian language spoken by
about 10,000 in more than 200
communities across the Great
Lakes region _ but 80 percent
of them are older than 60.
"We are literally one
generation away from losing
it or bringing it forward," said
Margaret Noori, an instructor
who coordinates the Ojibwe
program. "That's what makes
it so endangered."
Noori said about 150 students
are part of the program, which
includes language and literature
classes. The program also holds
a weekly "language nest" on
campus for students and others
in the community to speak
Ojibwe, and many of its students
are expected to be involved in
a powwow this weekend on
campus that draws hundreds
from across the country.
Simon, who is majoring in
American culture and English
with a focus on Native American
studies, is joined at the meetings
by her mother, Shirley Fox-
Simon, of Macomb County's
Clinton Township. Simon said
she was drawn to the university
in part because of the Ojibwe
program as she attempts to
reconnect with her past
"My father's parents spoke
the language fluently around
him. Over time they all spoke
English and it was lost," said
Simon, who hopes to teach on
a tribal reservation. "My mom
was taught words from her
family but she wasn't able to
maintain or use it much.
"It's important for me to get
it back because I myself want to
be able to speak my language."
Simon said it's just as
important to keep the Ojibwe
culture alive, and she serves
on the planning committee
for this weekend's 36th annual
Ann Arbor Dance for Mother
Earth Pow Wow in the school's
Crisler Arena. Singers, dancers
and drummers gather for the
powwow designed to celebrate
American Indian heritage.
The Ojibwe program and
powwow both started in 1973
at the height of the American
Indian  Movement when
ELECTIONS to page 6
Study suggests Native Americans Yankton Sioux
can trace DNA back to 6 women    Tribe loses
court challenge
of land transfer
By Malcolm Ritter
AP Science Writer
NEW YORK - Nearly all of
today's Native Americans in
North, Central and South
America can trace part of their
ancestry to six women whose
descendants immigrated around
20,000 years ago, a DNA study
suggests.
Those women left a particular
DNA legacy that persists to today
in about about 95 percent of
Native Americans, researchers
said.
The finding does not mean that
only these six women gave rise
to the migrants who crossed
into North America from Asia
in the initial populating of the
continent, said study co-author
Ugo Perego.
The women lived between
18,000 and 21,000 years ago,
though not necessarily at exactly
the same time, he said.
The work was published this
week by the journal PLoS One.
Perego is from the Sorenson
Molecular Genealogy Foundation
in Salt Lake City and the
University of Pavia in Italy.
The work confirms previous
indications of the six maternal
lineages, he said. But an expert
unconnected with the study said
the findings left some questions
unanswered.
Perego and his colleagues traced
STUDY to page 6
Leecy re-elected as Bois Forte
tribal chair
Associated Press
NETT LAKE, Minn. - Kevin
Leecy has been re-elected as
chairman ofthe Bois Forte (boys
fort) Band of Chippewa.
Leecy won more than 52
percent of the vote, so he
won't have to stand in the
northeastern Minnesota tribe's
general election June 10.
Leecy outdistanced three
other opponents: former
chairman Gary Donald, who
got 26 percent of the vote and
was running to regain the seat
Leecy won from him in 2004.
Cook Hospital employee Donna
Hoffer Barto had 15 percent of
the vote and tribal government
employee Dawn Benner had 6
percent.
Voters also choose newcomer
Cathy Chavers over incumbent
Ray Villebrun as District I
Representative.
Voter turnout was up over
9 percent from the tribe's last
primary election.
ByCHETBROKAW
Associated Press Writer
PIERRE, S.D. - The Yankton
Sioux Tribe has lost a lawsuit that
sought to prevent the transfer
of two federal recreation areas
along the Missouri River to the
state.
U.S. District Judge Lawrence
Piersol of Sioux Falls ruled that
the North Point Recreation Area
just above Fort Randall Dam and
the nearby White Swan Lakeside
Use Area, also on Lake Francis
Case, are not located within the
boundaries ofthe Yankton Sioux
Tribe's reservation.
That means the tribe cannot
block the transfer of the
recreation areas to the state, the
judge said.
The lawyer representing
the tribe, Mario Gonzalez of
Rapid City, was out of his office
Wednesday and could not be
reached for comment on whether
the tribe will appeal.
The two recreation areas were
included in an extensive transfer
of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
land along the Missouri River to
the state.
After the two recreation areas
were transferred to the state,
the tribe filed a lawsuit in 2002
YANKTON to page 6