Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2008-08-15

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INDEX
Happy 150th
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY
2
Yankton but when?
NEWS BRIEFS
3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS
M
CLASSIFIEDS
7
page 5
Indian Trust Cobell v.
Kempthorne: $7 Billion
Offer That Never Was
page 4
The "Real Victim"
notes from the fringe
of the shaw society
page 4
Jury finds self-
proclaimed
Indian chief
guilty
page 2
New Casino at Red
Lake: A Risky and
Ill-advised Venture
page 4
Feasibility study gives mixed message on
proposed Red Lake casino
VOICE       OF      THE       PEOPLE
By Bill Lawrence
The Red Lake Band of
Chippewa Indians is planning
to build a new casino at the
southern edge ofthe reservation
to replace the existing casino that
is presently located in the town
of Red Lake. Construction costs
are estimated to be $20 million
and the casino is projected to
open by September 1,2009.
The proposed casino will
be 65,840 square feet and is
expected to have between "300
and 500 slot machines, a full-
service restaurant seating 60,
a 40-room hotel with a pool,
a small convention center for
banquets/meetings that will
seat 300, meeting space for
tribal workshops or retreats, a
375-space parking lot, a staff
parking area for 100 cars and
corporate office space for Red
Lake Gaming. The complex
will employ 168 people, an
increase [over the present Red
Lake casino] of 50 employees."
The preceding information is
taken from an article by Greg
Peterson, Indian Country Today,
8-01-08, and is credited to
Raymond J. Brenny, COO for
Red Lake Gaming Enterprises.
Red Lake Gaming Enterprises
(RLGE) hired GVA Marquette
Advisors to conduct a feasibility
study that was completed in
November 2007. The report,
prepared for Rick Rothausen,
CFO of RLGE, presents
information on both the
proposed new casino to be
located east of Highway 89
at the edge of the Red Lake
reservation, and a "replacement
of the Warroad casino on its
existing site."
The Marquette's report,
entitled "Recommended Gaming
Developments at Red Lake and
Warroad Minnesota," gives an
overview ofthe economic climate
for both areas. Additionally the
firm provides analysis of regional
gaming competition, analysis
of potential market support,
recommendations for existing
facilities in both locations,
estimates of customer usage and
projections of stabilized revenue
and new revenue for each
existing casino." (Marquette
cover letter).
Their conclusions are based on
their knowledge of the gaming
industry, what they learned
doing market research and what
information RLGE provided.
Additionally, the Advisors stated
their responsibility was to "assist
in identifying the scope of
facilities appropriate for both of
these new casinos, [and] identify
the size and scope of amenities
that can be supported by the
market for each location."
Peterson's article reported
that tribal officials hoped
"several banks" would "loan the
tribe money for the new casino.
. . . The casino construction
will be funded by a 'straight
fixed-term mortgage . . . from
a bank.'"
Press/ON has heard the
Mdewakaton Sioux Community
has offered the Red Lake Band a
$23 million loan with a 15-year
payback at 6 percent interest for
the project.
Here are highlights regarding
the proposed Red Lake Casino
from both the Executive
Summary and the body of
the feasibility study. Quoted
material comes verbatim from
the report.
It is clear that the Red Lake
Casino is "totally oriented
toward local patronage."
The available gaming market
share available to the Red Lake
RED LAKE to page 6
White Earth
plans to
launch radio
station
DL-Online
Organizers on White Earth
hope to have the first Native
American radio station on
the air in Minnesota.
In June, the Federal
Communications
Commissionannouncedthat
Niijii Broadcast Corporation
was a tentative selectee in
a competitive process to
secure a license to operate
a radio station serving
northwestern Minnesota.
The project is designed
to serve the White Earth
reservation area and further
into the region with two
towers and will provide
service from the area near
Detroit Lakes to nearby
Bemidji and nearly to Red
Lake reservation.
The project is coordinated
by the White Earth Land
Recovery Project, which
applied for the license in
October of 2007, the first
time this opportunity for
a community broadcast
license had been opened to
application in 14 years.
Niijii's coordinator
Andrea Hanks said, "The
communities on the White
Earth reservation have been
waiting a long time for this
station to become a reality,
to hear a native voice on
the daily radio, is going to
be great."
There are 33 Native
American radio stations
with 100 percent Native
American content in the
U.S. There are presently
no Native American radio
stations on any Minnesota
reservations, although the
Leech Lake reservation is
in concert with the White
Earth Land Recovery Project
in applying for an FCC
license.
RADIO to page 6
Report: Indian casinos not
immune from hard times
By Heather Allen
Moody's Investors Service
released a report Wednesday
that says American Indian
gaming enterprises are not
immune from the nation's
economic downturn.
And while four of the 19
"Native American Gaming
Issuers" that are rated by
Moody's have received negative
rating actions since the
beginning of the year, which
includes both the Mashantucket
Pequot Tribe and the Mohegan
Tribal Gaming Authority, the
report concluded that many of
the tribal enterprises have the
ability to weather the economic
downturn.
"A prolonged, nationwide,
consumer-driven recession
could result in some negative
rating actions for Native
American gaming operators,"
said Jacques Ouazana, the
author of Moody's report. "But
many operators possess sound
financial profiles that should see
them through."
The report comes two days
before the state's tribally owned
casinos, Foxwoods Resort
Casino and Mohegan Sun, are
scheduled to release their July
slot-machine revenue figures.
The numbers are expected to
be down, possibly dramatically,
as both casinos reported
exceptionally strong numbers
in July 2007, just before the
economy and slots revenues
began to slide.
Mohegan Sun, for example,
saw $1 billion flow through
its slot machines in July 2007,
the best monthly gross ever at
either of the state's casinos.
But revenues began to slide
in the fall because of soaring
REPORT to page 6
Native Americans, Lung
Disease: Facts to Remember
By Jean Pagano
There are a variety of lung
diseases thataffect Native Americans. These diseases strike all
types of Natives, both young and
old, men and women, children
and seniors. While not all lung
diseases are related to cigarette
smoking, many are, and this fact
alone indicates that the rates
could be much lower with the
cessation of smoking, or in never
starting.
Asthma is a disease that crosses
all age boundaries. While Native Americans trail African
Americans in the incidence of
asthma among children, Native
numbers are still higher than
Asians, Hispanics, and whites.
21.7 percent of Native children
have been diagnosed with
asthma along with 18.7 percent
of Native adults. Native adults
have the highest rate of asthma
among any racial group.
COPD, or chronic obstructive
pulmonary disease, which in
cludes emphysema and chronic
bronchitis, is the sixth leading
cause of death among Native
men and the seventh for Native
women. Cigarette smoking is the
most common cause of COPD.
Cystic fibrosis, an inherited
disease, causes the mucus in
the lungs to be thick and sticky.
This in turn leads to clogging
in the lungs and repeated lung
infections and damage. Natives
have the second highest rate
of cystic fibrosis outside of the
white community.
Lung cancer is the leading
cause of cancer death among Native peoples. This type of cancer
is much more prevalent among
Alaskan natives and Northern
Plains Native people than among
the tribes in the Southwest.
Lung cancer rates among women in the Southwestern region
are 7.3 per 100,000 whereas the
rates among Northern tribes for
DISEASE to page 6
Senators slam Indian Health agency for lost items
Minneapolis cuts ties to
Heart of the Earth charter
school
By PATRICE RELERFORD,
Star Tribune
August 12, 2008
Minneapolis school board
members voted Tuesday night
to end the district's sponsorship
of a charter school whose
director is under investigation
for allegedly embezzling money
from the school's coffers.
Without a sponsor, the school
will have to close.
The school board's decision
to sever ties with Oh Day Aki/
Heart of the Earth beginning
Sept. 9 ~ five days after classes
are scheduled to resume —
comes after a recent state-
mandated audit revealed more
than $160,000 missing.
"What was perceived as a
failure is not the school, not
the parents, not the teachers,
not the students and it is not
me," Principal Darlene Leiding
said through tears to board
members. "The bottom line
is, charter school law was not
followed and oversight was not
provided."
Joel Pourier, the school's
executive director, is under
investigation by the Hennepin
County Sheriff's Office on
allegations that he wrote checks
•to himself. He spent a night in
jail last week. No charges had
been filed as of Tuesday.
"Joel is not guilty," said
Tom Sieben, Pourier's lawyer,
before Tuesday's school board
meeting, which his client did
not attend. Sieben said, "He did
not defraud, swindle or steal
from that school."
Heart of the Earth was one
of the first American Indian-
operated schools in the nation.
It serves about 200 students,
most of whom are American
Indian. It opened in the 1970s
as an alternative public school
and became a charter school
in 1999. Several supporters of
the school attended Tuesday's
meeting and said they were
disappointed that developments
there were harming their
children.
"Minneapolis played no part
in this until now, when they're
going to take it away," said
Kileen Weise, whose grandchild
attends the school. "It's not fair
to the children."
Board member Peggy
Flanagan on Tuesday said board
members plan to work with
the school's families to find
new charter, public or private
schools for every student before
the fall term begins. "This is
not an easy decision. It ticks me
off that one person was able to
SCHOOL to page 6
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Founded in 1988
Volume 20 Issue 7
August 15, 2008
John Brown, the historic preservation officer for the Narragansett tribe, said rock mounds ne
field, R.I., probably mark a burial or ceremonial ground common to several tribes.
ar North Smith-
Navajo
leaders talk
government
reform
By FELICIA FONSECA
Associated Press Writer
ALBUQUERQUE -The Navajo
Nation president and the speaker
of the Tribal Council have
agreed to seek a reduction in
the number of tribal lawmakers
by more than half, but the
agreement hinges on council
approval.
President Joe Shirley Jr. had
proposed cutting the number
of delegates from 88 to 24, but
after weeks of talks with Speaker
Lawrence Morgan, the two
agreed on 40 as part of an effort
to reform tribal government.
Talks of government reform
have surfaced since 1989 when
the government was reorganized
under three branches. Although
the change was meant to create
a system of checks and balances,
it arguably tipped the balance
of power to the legislative
branch.
The agreement announced
Wednesday by the two tribal
leaders sets deadlines for
creating a governing document
that Navajo voters would ratify
and attempts to have voters
decide on whether to reduce the
council on Election Day.
"There is a real dire need to
address government reform at
this time, and I'm glad we have
actually begun to do something
about it," Shirley said.
Morgan called the agreement
"a historic step toward
government reform for Navajo
people.
"True reform needs to be
carefully thought through and
not a reactionary event," he
said.
Before the proposals can move
forward, the Tribal Council
would have to amend a section
of law that states that a super
majority of votes is needed to
reduce the council. Instead of
that requirement _ a majority
vote in each of the tribe's 110
chapters _ Shirley and Morgan
agreed to seek a majority of 35
percent of all registered voters.
Forty percent of Navajo voters
typically turn out for elections,
and the number is generally
higher during presidential
elections.
"I think we all wanted to
ensure some minimal amount
of participation before these
monumental issues would be
passed by the Navajo electorate,"
said Steve Boos, an attorney for
Morgan.
When Shirley announced an
NAVAJO to page 6
Exhibit chronicles American
Indians in baseball
Associated Press
HOWES CAVE, N.Y. -Long
before Jackie Robinson endured
torrents of racial taunts in
breaking baseball's color barrier
with the Brooklyn Dodgers in
1947, Louis Sockalexis had a
bull's-eye on his back.
From the day in 1897 when
he first donned a uniform
for the Cleveland Spiders,
Sockalexis suffered more than
his share of racial slurs.
"If the small and big boys
of Brooklyn find it a pleasure
to shout at me, I have no
objections," Sockalexis told
the Brooklyn Eagle during
his rookie season. "No matter
where we play, I go through the
same ordeal, and at the present
time I am so used to it that at
times I forget to smile at my
tormentors."
Sockalexis figured the
tormenting was just part of
the game, and why not? A
Penobscot Indian from Maine,
he's considered the first player
of Native American descent to
make it to the major leagues.
(James Madison Toy played
with Cleveland a decade
earlier and was said to be of
Sioux ancestry, but he never
publicly acknowledged his
Indian heritage and his 1919
death certificate lists his race
as white.)
Sockalexis's story is one of
many chronicled in "Baseball's
League of Nations: A Tribute to
Native Americans in Baseball,"
an exhibit on display through
the end of the year at the
Iroquois Indian Museum.
The exhibit features photos
and several artifacts, many
on loan from the National
Baseball Hall of Fame in nearby
Cooperstown.
"There's never been an
exhibit like this before," said
61-year-old Mike Tarbell, an
Akwesasne Mohawk who serves
as an educator at the museum
and was a pitcher in his athletic
heyday. "For myself, it's like a
breath of fresh air. We're always
doing something that involves
pottery or basket making or
painting or sculpturing of
some kind. We've forgotten
that baseball was a part of our
history as well."
Indeed. Counting current
players Joba Chamberlain
(Winnebago Nation) of the
New York Yankees, Jaco'by
Ellsbury (Navajo) ofthe Boston
Red Sox, and Kyle Lohse
(Nomlaki Nation) of the St.
Louis Cardinals, more than 50
Native Americans have played
major league baseball.
"We came up with a lot of
cool stuff that we didn't, think
we were going to find," said
museum curator Stephanie
BASEBALL to page 7
Wind farm lease in place for tribe
Associated Press
LOWER BRULE, S.D. - Studies
are under way and a lease has
been signed with the Lower
Brule Sioux Tribe and some
nearby landowners to develop a
wind farm, described as the first
such project on the tribe's land.
"We are delighted to be
working with the Lower Brule
Tribe on this important project,"
said Tim Seek of Iberdrola
Renewables, developer of the
225-megawatt wind farm. "We
look forward to moving forward
with the many tasks we need to
complete before construction
can begin."
If all the necessary permits are
granted quickly, the wind farm
could be operating as early as
2010 and would provide enough
energy for 79,000 homes a year,
according to estimates from
the American Wind Energy
Association.
Michael Jandreau, Lower
Brule Sioux Tribe chairman,
said the project is another way
to support a more diversified
economy for the tribe and to
take part in something that will
benefit the entire region.
"Mother Nature has blessed
us with wind, and we are striving
to develop it with our partner,
Iberdrola Renewables, in a
respectful and successful way,"
he said.
Iberdrola Renewables has
gotten permits to install three
meteorological towers to collect
wind data. As many as four more
could be installed this summer.
The company also plans tc
finalize an agreement with a
buyer for the power; get an
agreement to move the power
to where it will be used; conduct
cultural, wetland and biologica
surveys; meet with people in th<
area to answer questions; finis!
a federal environmental impac
statement; and get various othe
approvals.
The North American divisioi
of Iberdrola Renewables is basei
in Portland, Ore. The compan
says it provides more thai
8,000 megawatts of wind powe
globally.