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

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INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4-5
CLASSIFIEDS 7
George Goggleye is a Big
Fat Liar Pants (but only if
he has them on)
page 5
Removal of FDL's
Chairperson Karen Diver
page 4
Leech Lake politicians
wake up
page 4
Leech Lake Legal
Director Mike "Porky
Pig" Blows Up
page 4
Guest Editorial
My New Year's Resolution
- Getting Ready to Die
page 4
Notes from Rebuilding Native Nations:
Strategies Governance and Development
VOICE      OF      THE      PEOPLE
Comments by Bill Lawrence
Readers will recall that in the
last column, we spoke about
useful material found in this
book. It is published by the
University of Arizona and is
the product of collaboration
between the Native Nations
Institute (at the University of
Arizona) and Harvard Project
(Harvard University), partner
programs, that worked closely
together to produce this work.
Miriam Jorgensen is editor.
"Much of this book is concerned
with. . . how to govern and
govern well." P.58
We promised to share more of
this book with you in the hope
that those interested in tribal
leadership will study and pledge
to adopt these concepts. We
also believe this material will be
helpful to voters. It is important
for voters to know what needs
to be done and have a clear
description handy to refer to as
they listen to the politicians.
This is a 'how to' as well as
a 'why' kind of book. It gives
clear, easy to understand
information that explains what
conditions currently exist for
tribal governments, why these
conditions occurred and what
could/should be done to correct
it.
The best way to do this is
simply to reprint pertinent
material. All of the quoted text
comes directly from the book.
Information I wish to emphasize
is shown in italicized print.
My comments will appear as
underlined text.
The following six paragraphs
explain current conditions and
how they came to be.
"Historical  Legacy -
.   .contemporary   tribal
governments... are handicapped
by the consequences of... history,
including the following:
"Organizational Weakness.
In the period from the 1930s to
the 1960s, few people thought
that tribal governments might
one day be managing billions
of dollars in natural resources,
negotiating agreements with
states and multi-national
corporations, or regulating
environmental matters or large-
scale business activities [tribal
casinos and other enterprises].
Instead, the tribal constitutions
that emerged under the Indian
Reorganization Act and its
influence seem designed
primarily to administer
programs, sign resource-
extraction contracts, and
'practice' democracy. Most
have grown in an ad hoc [i.e.
developed just for a particular
condition] fashion, reflecting not
a coherent strategy for building
governing capacity but instead
the gradual accumulation of
offices in response to federal
funding opportunities. The
result is that most tribal
governments from the time are
organizationally weak, with few
separations of powers, few checks
and balances, and unwieldy
administrative structures [my
emphasis]. R64-65
"Financial Dependence
on Outsiders. Many tribal
governments have become
heavily dependent on federal
funds for daily operations. As a
result, many of their activities
are hostage to funding decisions
made by non-Indian decision
makers [and] their operations
have to follow guidelines set by
NOTES to page 6
American Report: Indians denied home
Indian museum loans more often in 2006
director had
large travel
budget
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The former
director of the National
Museum of the American Indian
spent more than $250,000 in
Smithsonian funds on first-
class transportation and luxury
hotels over the past four years,
according to records obtained
by The Washington Post.
During that time, W Richard
West Jr., was away from
Washington for 576 days on
trips that included speaking
engagements, fundraising and
work for other nonprofit groups.
West recently retired from the
director's post, but remains on
the payroll until the end of the
year.
West's travel often took
him far from American Indian
culture. There were more than
a dozen trips to Paris, and
there were also trips to New
Zealand, Greece, Indonesia and
Singapore.
West said all his trips were
approved by supervisors and that
part of his job was to be a global
emissary for the museum.
"There is no point at which
these activities were being
carried on in anything but an
open way and with the approval
of the Smithsonian," he said.
Jacqueline Johnson, executive
director of the National Congress
of American Indians, defended
West's outreach efforts.
"Under his nearly 18 years
of leadership, the museum
raised over $155 million for
construction, programming,
outreach, exhibitions and
endowment," Johnson said in
a statement to The Associated
Press. "I think that record
speaks for itself."
Smithsonian officials have
been under scrutiny following
accusations of spending abuses
by Lawrence Small, former
secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution, which includes
the National Museum of the
American Indian. Small resigned
last March amid the criticism.
At the time of West's travel,
top Smithsonian officials
were allowed unlimited leave
with pay. That policy has been
changed in the wake of Small's
resignation.
BUDGET to page 6
Associated Press
FARGO, N.D. - Willard Yellow
Bird says many American
Indians don't even attempt to
apply for home loans.
"They're just so used to
getting denied," said Yellow
Bird, safety coordinator for
the city of Fargo and a liaison
to the city's Native American
Commission.
An analysis of home loan
applications for 2006 by The
Forum newspaper found that
lenders denied one out of every
three applications made by
American Indians in North
Dakota and more than one out
of every four in Minnesota.
American Indians are North
Dakota's largest racial minority,
accounting for 5.2 percent of
the state's population in 2006,
according to the U.S. Census
Bureau.
They accounted for 1.1
percent of the state's home
loan applications last year.
The Forum analyzed a
database containing records of
34,373 home loan applications
made in North Dakota and
537,288 filed in Minnesota
last year, as reported under
the federal Home Mortgage
Disclosure Act.
American Indians, like other
races, are denied loans for a
variety of reasons.
The HMDA reporting form
includes a space where lenders
may list the reason for denial,
but they're not required to do
so. Roughly 71 percent (3,309)
of the 4,643 loan applications
denied last year listed a reason
for denial.
Last year, 378 American
Indians were the primary
applicants for home loans
in North Dakota. Financial
institutions denied 126 of the
applications.
Credit history was cited as the
primary reason for denial in 26
of the 59 applications where a
reason was listed.
Seven applications were
denied because of collateral,
five because the application was
incomplete, three because of
debt-to-income ratio and two
each because of employment
history, unverifiable information
and insufficient cash. Nine listed
REPORT to page 3
Issue of drugs, pain strikes a nerve
By Leah Beth Ward
Yakima Herald-Republic
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) _ Alex
Four-Horns leans forward as
far as his aching body will allow
while his pain nurse massages a
mixture of castor oil, ginger and
lavender into his shoulder.
Castor oil has a soothing effect,
giving Four-Horns some short-
term relief from chronic pain,
the result of a life-threatening
automobile accident three years
ago that left him in a coma for
a month, broke both his thigh
bones and damaged his knees
and hips.
Once a strong, athletic man,
Four-Horns, 29, now moves
slowly, and he finds it difficult
to keep up with his sons, ages 2
and 8. "My hip went out when
I was putting up the Christmas
tree with my boys," he said.
Healing oils, a lot of ibuprofen
and occasional electrical nerve
stimulation are the only pain
management tools available to
Four-Horns.
The state Medicaid program
pays for occasional visits from
nurse Dionetta Hudzinski to his
home not far from downtown
Yakima. Hudzinski, who has
long been active in advocating
for people with chronic pain,
wonders if he might benefit
from a prescription painkiller.
But she can't find a doctor to
treat him for pain.
Four-Horns' case illustrates
what University of California
pain physician Dr. Scott
Fishman calls a war between
two urgent public health
problems _ the need to address
many patients' undertreated
and untreated chronic pain and
the need to reduce the nation's
alarming rate of prescription
drug abuse.
Washington state became
a battlefront in the pain war
earlier this year when a group of
state agency medical directors,
led by Dr. Gary Franklin of
the Department of Labor and
Industries and in consultation
with practicing pain specialists,
issued voluntary guidelines
to physicians for prescribing
opioids for noncancer pain.
Opioids such as OxyContin are
powerful painkillers that mimic
morphine. Heroin is made from
morphine.
The state's chief
recommendation is that doctors
DRUGS to page 7
Feds approve Indian gambling
agreement with state
Associated Press
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -
Federal authorities approved
an agreement between Gov.
Charlie Crist and the Seminole
Tribe that allows expanded
gambling at the tribe's casinos
in exchange for payments to the
state, officials said Wednesday.
Attorney General Bill
McCollum and the governor's
office said the U.S. Department
of the Interior on Monday
approved the compact Crist
signed with the tribe. It now
has to be published in the
Federal Register to take effect.
It was not immediately clear
when that would happen,
and a spokeswoman for the
department's Bureau of Indian
Affairs didn't return a call
seeking comment.
McCollum said he is asking a
federal judge to quickly hold a
hearing on a lawsuit he filed last
month to keep the agreement
from going into effect until the
Florida Supreme Court decides
whether Crist was authorized
to sign the compact without
legislative approval.
The agreement allows Las
Vegas style slots and card games
like blackjack and baccarat at
the Seminole's seven casinos.
The state would get $50 million
immediately and $100 million
guaranteed in the first year.
In the second year, the state is
guaranteed $125 million and
at least $150 million in the
third year. Following that, the
amount depends on revenues
_ but everyone involved in the
negotiations said it will quickly
add up to billions.
Without the compact, the
tribe would have at least been
able to install Las Vegas style
slots without paying any money
to the state because the Florida
approved slots at Broward
County jai-alai frontons and
horse and dog tracks.
Crist signed the compact in
November. House Speaker Marco
Rubio and Senate President Ken
Pruitt are challenging Crist's
authority to enter into the
agreement on his own and the
Supreme Court plans a hearing
on the case Jan. 30.
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 44
January 1, 2008
An FBI Agenf s True Story about Wounded Knee,
Leonard Peltier, American Indian Movement (AIM)
For the first time, the true
history of the American Indian
Movement (AIM) is told by an
FBI Special Agent in Charge
(SAC) who was there. And for
the first time, author Joseph H.
Trimbach exposes the dirty little
secrets of the AIM leadership,
unlike in any other history book.
In fact, American Indian Mafia
exposes the history books! It is
time to set the record straight
for the benefit of all Native
Americans.
The 1970s legacy of the Pine
Ridge Reservation in South
Dakota is haunted by the
forgotten suffering of innocent
victims and a falsified history
found in almost every library
in America. The perpetrators
are often referred to as "brave
warriors" and "selfless activists,"
while many of their Indian
victims are consigned to
anonymity.
In this provocative narrative,
a former FBI Agent chronicles
the true legacy of the American
Indian Movement (AIM), a small
group of radicals who tore a
path of destruction through the
Pine Ridge Reservation on their
way to personal gain, fame, and
fortune. Part personal odyssey,
part history, American Indian
vlafia tells the real story of AIM's
armed assault on Wounded
Knee village in 1973, where
FBI Agents, BIA Agents, and
U.S. Marshals demonstrated
perpetual patience and restraint
in the face of nightly gun attacks.
Mafia explains how never-ending
negotiations led to the village's
complete destruction, and how
secret murders behind the
barriers and the failure to hold
the AIM leadership accountable
led to a reign of terror on the
reservation. Mafia assigns much
of the blame to federal judges
who advanced a political agenda
at the expense of true justice.
AIM instigators, such as Russell
Means, were thus handed carte
blanche to terrorize Pine Ridge
Indians for years to come.
AIM violenceon the reservation
culminated in the 1975 coldblooded murder of Special
Agents Jack Coler and Ron
Williams, the only FBI Agents
ever to have been executed in
the line of duty. Mafia exposes
AIM member and convicted
killer Leonard Peltier as the
clear perpetrator and as a false
hero who has fooled millions
into believing in his innocence.
Authors, actors, politicians,
world leaders, investigative
journalists, members of the
clergy, and several professors of
Indian Studies have all bought
in to the Peltier ruse. Citing
numerous examples of doctored
history, Mafia fingers disgraced
Professor Ward Churchill as
being particularly guilty of
creating and promoting falsified
accounts of Pine Ridge, AIM, and
the FBI.
In another startling revelation,
Mafia points to AIM leaders as
likely suspects in the Wounded
Knee murder of Ray Robinson,
the only black male seen in the
village during the occupation.
Robinson, a civil rights activist
under Martin Luther King,
was shot in the leg during an
argument and carted off to the
makeshift infirmary. He was
never heard from again. Mafia
is the only book that faithfully
explains why Robinson's death
remains a closely guarded secret.
Trimbach's account also exposes
AIM leader Dennis Banks as a
prime suspect in the ordered
execution of Anna Mae Aquash,
a loyal member falsely accused
of being an FBI informant.
The alleged trigger-man, John
Graham, was recently extradited
from Vancouver, Canada, to
Rapid City. South Dakota. No
other book explains why the
upcoming trial is so important
and why Graham may implicate
several co-conspirators in this
premeditated murder.
Mafia is the long-awaited book
that fills the void in an important
chapter of American history.
It is the first and only account
that tells the true story of 1970s
Pine Ridge from an observer's
point of view. Judge William H.
Webster, former Director of the
FBI and the CIA says Trimbach's
hard-hitting expose is "...an
important contribution to our
understanding of what actually
happened." America's original
Anti-Terrorism Coordinator,
Lt Col Oliver North, describes
author Trimbach as a "myth-
buster" whose "carefully
compiled chronology" should be
read by all Americans who "seek
truth behind the headlines."
Indian Country will find
Trimbach's book a welcome
addition to the historical record.
Native publisher Paul DeMain
(Oneida-Ojibwe), editor of News
from Indian Country, says Mafia is
a "must-read" for understanding
those turbulent years. Award-
winning Native journalist,
Tim Giago (Oglala Lakota),
declares that Trimbach not only
challenges popular beliefs, he
FBI to page 2
Law firm paid $1.2 million to
collect gambling payments
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. - Wisconsin
taxpayers have paid a law firm
$1.2 million so far to collect
gambling payments from the
Ho-Chunk Nation, according
to a letter from Gov. Jim Doyle's
office to the state Republican
Party.
The fees have been paid to the
Quarles & Brady law firm, and
the lead lawyer in the case is
Matt Flynn, a former chairman
of the state Democratic Party,
according to the letter first
reported Thursday in the
Wisconsin State Journal.
"How much money are we
going to spend on this?" state
Senate Minority Leader Scott
Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, asked.
But a state spokeswoman said
the legal fees have already paid
off with a $30 million payment
from the tribe.
"This has been very active
litigation and what the state
has been doing is pursuing the
money the Ho-Chunk owes
the state," said Linda Barth,
a Wisconsin Department of
Administration spokeswoman.
The state contends the Ho-
Chunk still owes $72 million
as part of the tribe's gambling
compact with the state.
The tribe has argued that
it owes nothing following a
state Supreme Court ruling
invalidating a similar compact.
The $30 million payment was
characterized by a tribal attorney
as a "good faith" move.
When the state hired Flynn in
2005, the Doyle administration
estimated the legal fees paid
to firm would amount to
$100,000.
Barth said such increased
estimates are not unusual and
it is never clear how long a
complex legal dispute will last.
Matt Canter, a Doyle
spokesman, said Flynn is
skilled at complex contract
negotiations and it is important
that Wisconsin receives the
payments.
Lester Marston, a California-
based attorney for the Ho-
Chunk, said the tribe wants to
resolve the matter.
It sought arbitration after the
state Supreme Court ruling,
but the state unexpectedly filed
suit against the Ho-Chunk
in the middle of arbitration
discussions, he said.
Barth said state officials filed
suit because the negotiations
were not working.
Marston declined to comment
on how much he has been paid
in the case.
Former
astronaut
Herrington
resigns from
Rocketplane
Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY - Former
astronaut and retired U.S. Navy
Commander John Herrington
has resigned from Rocketplane
Global, an Oklahoma company
which hopes to offer commercial
space travel.
Herrington, who was hired
in September 2005 as the
company's vice president and
director of flight systems,
resigned on Dec. 21, according
to a news release from the
Chickasaw Nation media
relations office.
Herrington is a member of the
Chickasaw Nation. He became
the first American Indian to fly
in space in 2002, when he was a
mission specialist on the space
shuttle Endeavour.
Herrington did not
immediately return an e-
mail message sent Thursday
morning, and Rocketplane's
chairman and chief executive
officer, George French Jr.,
did not immediately return a
phone message left Thursday at
RESIGNS to page 3
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