The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1997-03-21

              Why has veterans direct loan program for
Native Americans not been utilized?
By Gary Blair
The U.S. Department of Veterans
Affairs has a direct home loan
program for Native American veterans
living on trust lands. However, the
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe's (MCT)
leadership has not embraced it,
apparently because of federal
constraints which would limit the
Tribal Executive Committee's (TEC)
ability to divert funds from that
program.
Janis Eastman, a Loan Specialist for
the VA in Minneapolis, says the pilot
program was started in 1993, and so
far only one attempt has been made to
use the program in Minnesota. "I also
must tell you that the program is
scheduled to expire on September 30,
1997, or it could also be extended,"
Eastman said on Tuesday.
Public Law 102-547 authorizes the
VA to make direct loans to Native
American veterans on Trust Land in
various geographic areas. Eastman
says the program has been used most
successfully by the Hawaii Native
American veterans. "Some of the trust
land is owned jointly and that can be
a problem if the family members can
not agree on who will use the land,
and that's what happened in the one
case at Morton, MN," Eastman said.
The maximum loan amounts are
$80,000, which may be used to
Loan cont'd on 5
Deputy accused of harassing LL family
By Jeff Armstrong
While the State of Minnesota has
apparently abandoned any effort to
enforce state human rights laws in
Indian Country, some county deputies
continue to aggressively impose state
traffic regulations on reservations in
defiance ofa recent state appeals court
ruling.
In its Dec. 17 decision in Minnesota
v. Stone et. al., the appeals court
seemingly resolved a long-simmering
dispute over traffic jurisdiction by
determining that most state motor
vehicle laws are civil/regulatory rather
than criminal/prohibitory, and thus
uneforceable against tribal members
within reservation boundaries. White
Earth's Mahnomen County, where the
Stone case originated, and the state
Attorney General's office have asked
the Minnesota Supreme Court to
review the ruling, but the high court
has failed to do so to date, meaning
the appeals ruling stands as binding
precedent statewide.
And while dire warnings of imminent
chaos have failed to materialize,
county law enforcement officers have
taken it upon themselves to continue
to ticket reservation drivers and
impound their vehicles, even without
the legal authority to do so. According
to many Leech Lake reservation
residents, Cass County sheriffs deputy
Tim Berglund has made imposition of
state traffic laws on tribal members
something ofa personal crusade.
Pam Smith, a resident of Fox Creek
in the Cass Lake area, says she has
been ticketed, chased and manhandled
Harass cont'd on 8
'State of Tribes' address to Minnesota
legislature all show, little substance
By Julie Shortridge
Several tribal officials met with the
joint House and Senate Local
Government and Metropolitan Affairs
Committee in what was called the
"State of the Tribes Address" to the
state legislature at the Capitol in St
Paul Wednesday night, March 19. Sen.
Jim Vickerman (DFL-Tracy) and Rep.
Ann Rest (DFL-New Hope) chaired
the committee hearing.
Bobby Whitefeather, chairman of the
Red Lake Band of Chippewa, was the
primary speaker. He introduced
several other tribal officials who spoke
to the committee, including Dallas
Ross, chairman of the Indian Affairs
Council; Upper Sioux Community;
Norman Deshampe, chairman, Grand
Portage Band of Chippewa and
president of the Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe; Marge Anderson. Chief
Executive, Mille Lacs Band of
Chippewa; Darelynn Lehto, Vice
President of the Prairie Island
Mdewakanton Dakota Community
Tribal Council; Loretta Gagnon, at-
large member of the Indian Affairs
Council, Turtle Mountain Band of
Chippewa; and Peter Defoe, secretary
treasurer of the Fund du Lac Band of
Chippewa.
Nearly 100 other tribal officials,
attorneys, employees and lobbyists
were present. There were many tribal
members watching the hearing as well.
Several had attempted to get on the
agenda to speak to the committee, but
were denied that opportunity because,
as Sen. Vickerman assistant said,
"Only those approved by the Indian
Affairs Council will be allowed to
speak."
The Indian Affairs Council consists
of the tribal chairs in Minnesota, and
two at-large members from outside the
state. According to Bill Lawrence,
publisher of this newspaper, "The
Indian Affairs Council has zero
credibility and no respect in the Indian
community. Two of its former
chairmen are now in federal prison for
stealing, cheating and lying to their
own people."
The two-and-a-half hour hearing
consisted primarily of tribal officials
and state legislators telling each other
how impressed they are with each
other, and how wonderfully they work
together, and how respectful they are
of each other. Very little of substance
was discussed. The legislators asked
no difficult questions.
Judge allows Chippewa bands to question
federal officials in Hudson casino dispute
Indians say other tribes swayed decision to deny petition
By Greg Gordon
Star Tribune Washington
Bureau Correspondent.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - A federal
judge reversed herself Thursday and
ruled there is "considerable evidence"
that political pressure tainted a 1995
Interior Department decision to block
three Wisconsin Chippewa bands from
opening a casino in Hudson, Wis.
U.S. District Judge Barbara Crabb
of Madison, Wis., said she will allow
lawyers for the bands to subpoena
Clinton administration officials,
including Interior Secretary Bruce
Babbitt and former deputy White
House Chief of Staff Harold Ickes Jr.,
to testify. She said the role of former
Democratic National Committee
Chairman Donald Fowler also bears
scrutiny.
Crabb, reversing a ruling she made
June 11, wrote in a 30-page opinion:
"Although I am reluctant to, accept
NIGC Releases second Compliance Report
14 of 16 MN Casinos stiil not in compliance with IGRA
Washington, D.C. _ The National
Indian Gaming Commission (NIGC)
Thursday released its quarterly report
on tribal compliance with the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). The
report, which is required by Congress,
is the second report completed by the
NIGC and reflects compliance as of
December 31, 1996
"I am pleased that there has been
increased compliance over the first
report," said Ada E. Deer, Acting
Chair of the Commission. "I believe
it reflects the commitment of the tribes
to adhere to the IGRA."
The report shows increased
compliance with regard to approved
compacts, approved ordinances, and
the submission of annual audits, and
significant improvement in the
submission of investigative reports,
finger print cards, employee
applications and the tribal licensing of
gaming facilities.
The NIGC is committed to
achieving full compliance with the
IGRA and advised the gaming tribes
in January that each tribe determined
to he in non-compliance after March
31, 1997, will be scheduled for
enforcement.
The National Indian Gaming
Commission was created by the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. With
an operating budget of $4.4 million
and a staff of 33, the NIGC is
responsible for monitoring gaming in
273 enterprises operated by 183 tribes
in 28 states. It has the authority to take
actions against violations of the Indian
Gaming Regulatory Act, the
Commission's regulations, and
violations of tribal ordinances which
are approved by the Commission.
The document entitled "Report to
the Secretary of the Interior on
Compliance with The Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act," is available through
the NIGC Fax on Demand Service at
202 632-1006.
See charts on page 2.
Red Lake wins state opener 65-62
gains Friday's Class A semifinals
By Pat Miller
Bemidji Pioneer staff writer
Despite being only a sophomore,
Gerald Kingbird is no stranger to
pressure situations. And Tuesday
night at the Bemidji State University
gym, Kingbird and his Red Lake boys'
basketball teammates were facing the
pressure of being denied a trip to St.
Paul for the semifinals of the state
Class A tournament.
Red Lake, having led much of the
game, trailed Cherry 48-43 with 3:01
remaining when Kingbird and the
Warriors hit full stride. And before
Cherry knew what had happened, Red
Lake had posted a 65-62 victory in the
opening round of the state basketball
tournament.
Kingbird ripped a 3-pointer from
the right wing to slice the deficit to
48-46 and after Darin Miller scored
on a rebound for the Tigers, Kingbfrd
began the decisive run at the free
throw line.
Red Lake scored only two baskets
in the final 2:48 but Kingbird sealed
Cherry's fate by canning 11 of 12 free
throws down the stretch, including a
run of three after being fouled on a 3-
point shot which started the parade to
the charity line.
"The free throws down the stretch
sealed it for us," said Red Lake
assistant coach Bill Rutledge. "For a
team that shot only 65 percent from
the line all year, we sure made our
share of critical free throws tonight.
But it also helps to have the ball in the
right hands."
Kingbird finished with 22 points to
lead all scorers as he canned five of
12 from the field and 11 of 14 from
the line.
Joining him in double figures for the
Warriors were Delwyn Holthusen with
15, Charlie Charnoski with 13 and
Red Lake cont'd on 8
Congratulations to the Red Lake Warriors (Boys)
Basketball team for their fine season (26-1) and
winning their way into the semifinals of the Minnesota
Class A High School Basketball Tournament. Good
luck in tonights game with Wabasso and hopefully
you'll be playing in the big one tomorrow.
Voice of the People
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Photo by Julie Shortridge
Law Students host discussion on sovereignty
conspiracy theories of government, it
would be naive to think that abuses of
power never take place or that
government agencies never accede to
strong political pressure . . I believe
there is a distinct possibility that
improper political influence affected
[the] decision."
The three bands of Wisconsin
Chippewa arc suing to overturn the
Interior Department's ruling barring
Hudson cont'd on 8
By Julie Shortridge
On Wednesday, March 19, the
American Indian Law Student Association at the University of Minnesota
hosted a panel discussion called
"Tribal Sovereignty: Inherent Power
or Empty Promise.'"
Panelists were:
* Judge R.A. (Jim) Randall. Minnesota Court of Appeals, who wrote the
thoughtful and far-reaching opinions
about tribal sovereignty in the cases
of Cohen v. Little Six, Inc. and Granite Valley Hotel v. Jackpot Junction
Casino.
*Larry Levcnthal. an attorney who
works for tribal governments,
*Mary Jo Brooks Hunter, Chief Justice of the Ho-Chunk Nation Supreme
Court and Professor at Hamline University School of Law.
*Bill Lawrence, the publisher of this
newspaper and president of the Tribal
Accountability Legal Rights Fund.
The moderator was professor Phil
Frickey, who teaches an American
Indian Law course at the University
of Minnesota. Here's a brief synopsis
of what each panelist said.
Judge Randall—"Laws and court
rulings are nothing but dried ink on
dead leaves until you get down to how
they affect people. My views on sovereignty emanate from that and that
alone...Tribes have attributes of individuality and self-government, but
they are not sovereign like Canada,
Mexico, or France...Tribal sovereignty is subject to the total will of
the United States Congress. That's not
sovereignty. That's not 'nations within
a nation.'...There are only 11 places
in this state where people don't have
the benefit of the U.S. Constitution,
Minnesota Constitution, and Bill of
Rights. People in these 11 locations
[Indian reservations] do not have the
same civil rights that you as law students take for granted...The 17 Indian
casinos in Minnesota should be a bonanza for Indian people. It's a true
monopoly. But we see that only a
small percentage get any
benefit...Those interested in protecting the unaccountable money from
casinos are the ones trying to protect
sovereign immunity. They will call
anyone who questions it "anti-Indian,"
DisCUSS cont'd on 8
HUD Inspector General says agency doesn't
watch Indian housing fund
By Philip Brasher
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The
Department of Housing and Urban
Development has failed to catch fraud
and waste in Indian housing subsidies,
and the problem will only get worse
under a new law deregulating the
program, the agency's inspector
general says.
Tribal housing officials have gotten
away with using federal money to build
huge homes for themselves at a time
when thousands of impoverished
Indians elsewhere can't get housing,
said Susan Gaffney.
She confirmed 29 allegations of
abuse reported last December by The
Seattle Times.
. "Fraud, waste and mismanagement
are much more pervasive in Indian
housing programs than in HUD's
standard housing programs," she said
at a joint hearing of the Senate Banking
and Indian Affairs committees on
Wednesday.
In one of the cases cited by the
newspaper, the director of the Tulalip
tribal housing authority in Washington
state used federal money to build a
5,300-square foot home for herself.
On the White Earth reservation in
Minnesota, favoritism dictated who
got houses, and a former tribal
chairman steered construction
contracts to selected companies and
individuals, investigators said.
The tribe received $4.4 million to
build 50 houses, but only 20 units
were finished.
HUD won't stop further fraud and
waste without tougher laws and an
Housing cont'd on 8
New effort begins to rewrite adoption law
WASHINGTON (AP) _ A
congressman has resumed efforts to
change the law governing off-the-
reservation adoptions by non-Indian
parents.
Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, said
Friday that he has again introduced
legislation intended to take some of
the uncertainty out of such adoptions.
It would set deadlines for giving
notice to tribes of adoptions, foster
care and other proceedings involving
American Indian children, and would
clarify the authority of tribal courts to
declare children wards of those courts.
It also would state that attorneys must
inform Indian parents of their rights
under the law.
Young said his bill would prevent
cases like that of the Rost family of
Columbus, Ohio, which tried to adopt
twins with a fraction of Indian blood
and ended up with a years-long court
battle.
In that case, after first failing to
disclose their ancestry, the birth
parents changed their minds about
giving the children up for adoption
and asserted their right to intervene,
using a law intended to keep tribes
together.
An effort to change the law was
blocked last year, largely by anti-
abortion groups that feared the
proposed changes would have the
unintended consequence of making
adoption more difficult and abortion
more attractive for women of Indian
ancestry.
Rep. Deborah Pryce, R-Ohio, who
took up the cause of the adoptive
families, has not reintroduced her own
bill on the subject. She said Friday she
was lukewarm toward Young's
approach.