Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2009-09-01

              INDEX
NEWS AROUND INDIAN COUNTRY 2
NEWS BRIEFS 3
COMMENTARY/EDITORIALS 4-5
CLASSIFIEDS 7
2 charged in 1975
American Indian
Movement slaying
page 3
Chairman's response to
Mike Bongo's August 25,
2009 memo regarding
Special Projects
page 6
Bill is not replaceable,
Indian Country losing
most important news
voice
page 4
Thank you Bill, you will be
missed!
NAP/Press, a Voice for the
people will be missed
page 5
A Warrior's Creed:
Today is a Good
Day to Die
page 4
FINAL ISSUE
First Nations running to Washington to raise awareness
VOICE       OF       THE       PEOPLE
After placing a medicine bundle around each of their necks,
Ernie Cobiness watched his five
children, ages 10 to 20, climb the
steps ofthe Manitoba Legislative
Building to unfurl a banner with
the words Buffalo, Point First Nation Youth Walk for Democracy.
The siblings, joined by members of the Roseau River, Sag-
keeng and Dakota First Nations,
will carry it to Washington, D.C,
during a historic 3,000-kilometre journey to raise awareness
of failing health care and other
indigenous issues in Canada and
the U.S.
"I'm very proud of them. It's
a step in the right direction for
becoming leaders themselves,"
Cobiness said during Thursday's
launch of the Run for Human
Rights II. "Rather than blaming
someone else, they're taking
control of their future."
Participants, who will cover
about 110 kilometres per day,
will travel through Grand Forks,
Fargo, Minneapolis and Chicago
en route to the American capital,
where they hope to meet with
President Barack Obama on
Oct. 9.
They'll carry a bottle of water
and a bottle of tar sands oil -
symbolic of health and energy
issues. The latter also represents
First Nations' claims to royalties
from resources on their lands.
The first Run for Human
Rights was held in 1989, when
development ofthe Native American gaming industry was hailed
as the new "white buffalo" to
restore pride and hope to American tribes. That can happen in
Canada if First Nations are given
a fair share of royalties from oil
and other natural resources on
FIRST NATIONS to pg 3
web page: www.press-on.net
Founded in 1988
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.  Copyright, Native American Press, 2009
Volume 20 Issue 25
September 1, 2009
Emitt Eastman, an elder from the Dakota Sioux nation in South
Dakota, blows a whistle and holds up an eagle feather in Memorial Park this morning to start prayers for runners taking part in
the Run for Human Rights II. Runners will make a 2,000-mile
journey from Winnipeg to Washington, DC to raise awareness
about indigenous issues in Canada and the U.S. (JOE.BRYKSA®
FREEPRESS.MB.CA)
A new pact is negotiated with Seminole tribe
Reprinted from Indianz.com and
The Economist print edition
CHARLIE CRIST, Florida's
governor, first tried to make a
gambling pact with the Seminole
tribe in late 2007. It seemed a
good idea if some of the money
they took in from their seven
casinos—which Indian tribes,
as sovereign powers, may run
on their reservations—was
earmarked for the state. However,
he forgot to consult the legislature
before he signed the papers;
and the state Supreme Court,
taking the miffed lawmakers' side,
nullified the pact the next year.
Since then, recession has bitten
Florida as hard as anywhere, and
the casino revenues have come
to seem even more desirable. So
a second version of the pact was
signed by the governor on August
31st, just hours before a deadline
imposed by the legislature. This
one will last 20 years, rather than
the original 25, and the Seminole
will pay Florida a minimum of
$ 12.5m a month for 30 months,
or $375m in all.
Most of the money will go to
the state's education system,
from kindergarten classes up
to state universities. For that
reason, lawmakers are highly
likely to pass the pact this time.
Erik Eikenberg, Mr Crist's chief
of staff, who helped to negotiate
the second pact, points out that
the new agreement will create an
Proposed tribal
refinery clears
another hurdle
Federal officials have released
their final environmental
impact statement on a proposed
Fort Berthold reservation roil
refinery, saying they prefer
having a wastewater treatment
plant built at the refinery site
near Makoti.
Officials of the Three Affiliated
Tribes have been working with
the Environmental Protection
Agency to get approval for
a 13,000-barrel refinery to
process Canadian crude oil.
The environmental statement
released Friday by the EPA, the
Interior Department and the
Bureau of Indian Affairs, comes
three years after a draft version.
The Department says it prefers
to keep the 470-site as fee land
rather than trust land. The state
and the tribes announced an
agreement last year on sharing
tax revenue on fee land, which
is privately owned. A public
hearing on the environmental
statement is scheduled'Sept. 9
at the casino in New Town. The
government's proposals for
a permit and land ownership
status are open for public
comment until Sept. 28.
Farewell to the
Native American Press/Ojibwe News
Crist really needs that money
extra 45,000 jobs, "which would
be welcome in an economy that
is looking for money". It will also
put an estimated $6.8 billion into
Florida's economy over the next
20 years.
Yet the money is far from secure.
Lawmakers are worried about
how they will regulate the tribal
casinos internally. The Seminole
have won the concession that the
Department of Revenue, which
has no experience whatever of
policing gambling, should have
oversight of the casinos. "The
tribe shouldn't tell us where and
how to investigate," says Bill
Galvano, who headed the Florida
House's negotiating team.
Another possible deal-breaker,
according to Mr Galvano, is that
the second compact would ban
any expansion of so-called Class
II and Class III games (such
as blackjack tables, electronic
bingo and slot machines) outside
the Florida casinos which the
Seminoles operate. Several
Florida horse- and dog-tracks
had been hoping to introduce
slot machines in places well away
from the casinos.
The Seminole have been trying
for over 20 years to make some
sort of agreement with the state.
They are optimistic about this
one. Committee hearings on the
new pact will begin in October.
But as the process will take weeks
to complete, and as the chances
of rejection are still fairly high,
it appears that both the state
government and Floridians will
have to wait a good deal longer
for their money.
Mille Lacs band seeks comment
on cleanup proposals
By Diane White
Bemidji, MN - Today, we
say farewell to the Native
American l'ress/Ojibwe News.
a paper dedicated to our Indian
communities throughout
Minnesota. Publisher and
editor, Bill Lawrence was
going to retire the paper after
20 years which would have
been this year-at least that is
what Bill told those close to
him. But we weren't so sure:
because Bill was dedicated
to his mission of bringing
Indian news and editorials to
us, and we weren't quite sure
if he would really slow down
on the weekly news. Then the
unthinkable happened when
Bill got sick on his annual
journey out west and after
some tests and some miserable
waiting, he was diagnosed with
cancer.
As some of you know Bill,
he was always very fit and
health conscious. He could
run marathons, around Lake
Bemidji and on a regular basis
five or more miles with ease.
Despite all that, the newspaper
business has changed over the
years due to great strides
in technology. Newspapers
around the country have let
go of their writers and either
had a major downsizing or
closed up shop altogether.
For a small newspaper, it is
always a struggle to get ads,
and writers who will work for
Bill Lawrence with Bea.
very little money. These are
only a couple of issues faced
by the paper news business;
in today's information world,
one can write and publish on
the Internet and probably get a
bigger audience with blogging,
tweeting, and Facebook.
The NAP/ON had a dedicated
audience and the paper was
always in demand. If the paper
didn't come out, people called
and asked, "Where is it? What
is going on?"
As I have shared my story of
the NAP/ON with my friends
and relatives, I have heard over
and over, who will take over
the paper? People have shared
their concern for Bill and were
saddened to hear he was ill.
It is hard to separate Bill
from the newspaper and to say
exactly the reason for shutting
down operations, whether it is
20 years is enough or planning
on a well deserved retirement
at age 70 or cancer. I try to find
the answer why, and believe it
is all about change, including
death and the end of an era.
Our lives will go on and I
believe every day we share with
each other is a gift.
Technology will advance
again and again. Even with
the NAP/ON, we changed over
the years. In the later years, we
were able to write from home
and e-mail our stories and
pictures to Bill who e-mailed
the final stories to Infin, a
woman in the Twin Cities who
put the paper into newspaper
form, and she emailed final
tting to Bemidji Pioneer
where it was printed.
There are many people to say
thanks to over the years. There
is even a little dog named Bea
to say thank you to. Bea was
Bill's cute little dog and we
called her our supervisor. She
died last year.
Thanks to Bill, Mel
Rasmussen, Gary Blair, Judy
and her sister (our proofreader)
[Sorry, I forgot her name], John
Rainbird, Pete Barthalomew,
Roman Sigana, Roxanne
Jensen, Luke Hambrecht,
Vince Hill, Sara Lawrence, Jim
Ortiz, Romaine Powell, Frank
Bibeau, John Shields, Infin
Tuan, Julie Shortridge, Clara
Niiski, Ask Grampa and all of
the people who dared to write
Letters to the Editor. Thanks to
all of our dedicated advertisers
and the Bemidji Pioneer where
the paper was printed. (Sorry if
I wrote your name wrong.)
It is time to hand the baton
on to the next generation
of writers and publishers.
Good luck. It is a wonderful,
sometimes scary world to
journey in, especially if you
uncover corruption and dirty
politicians.
Farewell to the NAP/ON and
God bless Bill and Roxanne.
Associated Press
ONAMIA, Minn. - The
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe is
seeking public comment on
proposals to clean up areas
contaminated by pollution. The
band's Commissioner of Natural
Resources is Curt Kalk. He says
the band doesn't have a lot of
contaminated areas, but officials
want to be prepared to clean up
pollution when it's found.
The band's proposals call for
returning contaminated areas to
their original state so the lands
can be used for future purposes,
including housing.
The Mille Lacs Band was
among the first American Indian
tribes nationwide to develop a
brownfields cleanup program in
2002. It has been working with
the Minnesota Pollution Control
Agency on brownfields cleanup
ever since.
The band will continue to
work with MPCA but will now
administer its own standards and
supervise cleanups.
Leo Brisbois honored as first American Indian
president of Minnesota State Bar Association
Federal money going to
Nebraska tribal police
Associated Press
OMAHA, Neb. - Two Native
American tribes in Nebraska will
be receiving federal funding to
support their law enforcement
agencies. U.S. Sen. Mike
Johanns announced the nearly
$196,000 grant for the Omaha
Tribe and the $149,000 grant
for the Winnebago Tribe.
The money comes from the U.S.
Department of Justice's Tribal
Resources Grant Program. It
is to be used to cover salary
and benefits of additional
sworn officers, as well as for
equipment, training and crime-
fighting technology.
Omaha and Winnebago are
two of 102 tribes across the
country receiving a total of
$19.6 million in funding.
Leo Brisbois, the first
Minnesota State Bar Association
president of known American
Indian heritage and descent,
was honored at a dinner hosted
by the Minnesota American
Indian Bar Association Aug. 21 in
Mahnomen on the White Earth
Indian Reservation.
WHITE EARTH, MN - Leo
Brisbois, the first Minnesota
State Bar Association president
of known American Indian
heritage and descent, was
honored at a dinner hosted
by the Minnesota American
Indian Bar Association Aug. 21 in
Mahnomen on the White Earth
Indian Reservation.
In addition to MAIBA members,
attending the dinner were
members of the White Earth
Tribal Council, the MSBA
Council, the Minnesota Supreme
Court, the Minnesota Court
of Appeals, district courts and
several tribal courts.
Brisbois, whose father is an
enrolled member of the White
Earth Band of Ojibwe, was
presented with a White Earth
flag by members of the Tribal
Council in recognition of his
becoming the first American
Indian president ofthe MSBA.
White Earth Tribal Chairwoman
Erma Vizenor and White Earth
Tribal Court Chief Judge Anita
Fineday spoke about White
Earth's constitutional reform
efforts and recent developments
in the expansion of the Tribal
Court's jurisdiction.
Brisbois, senior counsel with
the Minneapolis law firm of
Stich, Angell, Kreidler & Dodge,
PA, grew up in Hibbing and
graduated from Hibbing High
School in 1980. He graduated
from Hamline University School
ofLawinl987.
Brisbois' parents, Gabriel
and Mary Ann Brisbois, live in
rural Lengby on the White Earth
Reservation.
The White Earth Reservation
covers all of Mahnomen County
and portions of Becker and
Clearwater counties. The
White Earth Band of Ojibwe
is the largest American Indian
community in Minnesota.
MAIBA is a nonprofit
organization of American Indian
attorneys, law students and
officers of tribal courts. The
organization also welcomes
non-Indian attorneys and law
students who are interested in
Indian Law.
With more than 16,000
members, the MSBA is the largest
and most influential voluntary
organization of attorneys
in Minnesota. It provides
continuing legal education and
public service opportunities for
lawyers and assistance to the
legal system. In recent years, the
MSBA has worked closely with
the state courts to advocate at
the Minnesota Legislature for
adequate funding of the court
system, public defenders, legal
services for the disadvantaged
and for adequate salaries for
members ofthe judicial branch.
The MSBA also works with
the Minnesota Supreme Court
on setting high ethical and
practice standards for Minnesota
lawyers.