The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1997-05-16

              Minneapolis firefighter training may not be
in compliance with court order
By Gary Blair
An April 20, 1993, Minneapolis
Fire Department order prohibiting
firefighter applicants from using that
department's equipment and training
facilities to practice for agility tests
has been violated.
This infraction comes at a time when
the city awaits a federal judge's ruling
as to whether they are in violation of
a 25-year-old court order that
prescribed hiring requirements for
minority firefighters
According to testimony that was
given before the Minneapolis Civil
Service Commission (MCSC) on May
8, 1997, members of the Minnesota
Women Firefighter's Association
(MWFFA) have been conducting
training   for  female  firefighter
applicants in violation of the order.
Ron Edwards, chairman of the
Firefighter Steering Advisory
Committee, told MCSC members that
his group supports the MWFFA's
efforts, but at the same time other
firefighter association groups were not
being given the same opportunity. "It
has been done in secret and there is
an order against it, " Edwards told
MCSC panel members.
Edward's group was given
oversight responsibilities under the
federal court order, which mandates
racial and gender integration of the
Minneapolis fire department.
Deputy Fire Chief Rocco Fote
likewise defended the MWFFA
training. He asked MCSC members
to provide "some direction" to his
department when volunteer firefighter
associations request the use of the fire
department's equipment and the fire
training facilities to assist potential
firefighter applicants.
"I take full responsibility for any
violations that may have occurred,"
Forte told MCSC members.
Edwards.says the Uptown YWCA
and the city's fire training tower were
being used in violation of the 1993 fire
department order. "The Minnesota
Women Firefighters Association
claims their trainees are 24 percent
minority applicants. Watch, when the
testing starts there won't be any
minorities in their group," Edwards
cautioned.
Wording contained in the 1993
order reads as follows: "Under no
circumstances are applicants to be
allowed to 'practice' for the upcoming
Order cont'd on 5
Witnesses to Parker slaying would have
federal protection, FBI investigator says
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By Gary Blair
FBI special agent John Payne said
this week that he has started his
agency's initial probe into the death
of Gene Parker, who was found beaten
and alive on April 16,1997, in a trash
dumpster in the rear of 2920 37th Ave.
S. in Minneapolis.
Special Agent Payne says he can be
reached by phone at (612) 376-3368,
and that all calls will be handled in
the strictest confidence. "We're going
to need the Indian community's
cooperation if we're going to solve
this case. We need people to come
forward who may have seen anything
that could be helpful," Payne advised.
Parker was later taken to the
Hennepin County Medical Center,
where he underwent surgery to relieve
pressure caused by his brain swelling.
He was taken off of life-support
machines by doctors when his mother
learned that he was brain-dead. Parker
died on April 18.
The Minneapolis police department
said in an April 17 press release that
Parker was helped from the dumpster
by police officers who were called to
the scene and was then driven home
after calling a relative for a ride.
Parker's mother, Judy Barrett, says,
however, that her son told her he had
been taken down by the river by police
officers and was beaten up. Barrett
says her son told her that they (police)
had tried to make him cry when he was
being beaten.
Attorney Frederick Goetz, who
represents the Barrett family, says he
has an investigator probing the case
and will also take calls from anyone
with information about the Parker
death.
"All calls to me will be handled with
the strictest confidence," he says. Goetz
can be reached at 612-874-1552.
FBI agent Payne says his office was
asked to assist in the Parker
investigation by (attorney) Goetz,
because he felt that potential witnesses
may need federal protection.
Mole Lake tribal occupation by mining
opponents enters third week
By Tom Goldtooth
Indigenous Environmental Network
MOLE LAKE (Wisconsin) — "We
need help from our allies; it's no joke,
it's one big conspiracy by Exxon, Rio
Algom and BHP international mining
corporations," said Robert Van Zile,
one of the occupying tribal members
and Pipe Keeper of the Mole Lake
Band of Sokaogon Chippewa. Approximately 40 tribal community
members have been occupying their
tribal headquarters since May 1.
The Mole Lake community members
reaffirmed their concerns set forth in
the May 1,1997, press statement. The
statement asked for the removal of
Arlyn Ackley, Sr., Mole Lake tribal
chairman; an audit of tribal and casino funds; removal of tribal staff; recognition of the civil rights of tribal
members; clarification on repeated
parole violations of Ackley and investigation of the role and collusion between Exxon, Wisconsin Governor
Tommy Thompson, his attorneys, and
the law firm representing the Mole
Lake tribal council.
During recent years, Exxon, Rio
Algom and BHP have been teaming
up with a corporate campaign war
against all citizen opposition to their
proposed plans to develop various
mineral deposits around Mole Lake,
including the proposed Crandon
Mine, which is being planned by
Exxon Minerals and Rio Algom
through the creation of Crandon Mining Company. The international corporate giants have waged a million
dollar public relations, scientific, and
lobbying campaign to get Wisconsin
state and federal approval to build the
Crandon Mine.
The Crandon Mine is a hard rock
sulfide mine proposed next to the
Mole Lake Chippewa reservation in
northeastern Wisconsin near the Wolf
River. The mine would leave mine
tailings and de-water the area, destroying wetlands, wild rice beds, and fishing areas. "The Crandon Mine mineral deposit extends to underneath oui
sacred Rice Lake, our spiritual center
and heart of the Anishinabe people
and the source of life-giving
Manomin, our wild rice" said Van Zile
"It's a 'highway 8 trend' which means
that all this area is a mineral track that
is rich in copper, zinc, and silver deposits," he said.
Another concerned tribal member in
the occupation is Bill Koenen, who
says, "Exxon, Rio Algom, BHP and
the politics of Wisconsin state government have infiltrated our tribal government and are pushing Mole Lake
to accept the Crandon Mine proposal.
Mole cont'd on 3
"he Hudson casino deal that wasn't
By Greg Gordon
and Dennis Cassano
Minneapolis Star Tribune Staff Writers
Lobbyists for opposing tribes
devised a special strategy two years
ago for killing a proposed Indian
casino in Hudson, Wis.: Tie its owners
to the mob.
The lobbyists told President
Clinton's deputy chief of staff, Harold
Ickes Jr., that the venture was backed
by the Delaware North Cos. of
Buffalo, N.Y., a firm widely reported
to have had links to organized crime
years ago.
They also  alerted  Sen.  John
McCain, R-Ariz., chairman of the
Senate Indian Affairs Committee; they
said he promised to take up the matter
with the Justice Department. And they
passed the information on to an
official at the Interior Department,
which later ruled against the casino
Hudson cont'd on 3
Small group postpones plan to net, spear
McGREGOR, Minn. (AP)_ About
two dozen Chippewa Indians
postponed plans to defy a court order
by spearing and netting walleyes on
Lake Mille Lacs.
The members of the Mississippi Rice
Lake community of Chippewa near
McGregor decided Friday night not to
risk arrest during the weekend fishing
opener, according to Mushkooub,
formerly known as Steve Aubid.
Mushkooub says he is chief of the
band, a group that wants to break with
the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa.
Last month, the 8th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals postponed large-
scale Chippewa netting and spearing
until it can rule on the validity of an
1837 treaty in a case started by the
Mille Lacs Band.
Mushkooub said the part of the north
end of Lake Mille Lacs where his
group wants to net and spear is subject
to a treaty signed in 1855.
Officials of the state and the Mille
Mushkooub's group could face arrest
if they defy the court order.
Mushkooub said his group decided
to postpone spearing and netting
because it had not been determined
which members were willing to get
arrested or to lose a boat, car or net.
Some at the meeting wanted to wait
until after the opening weekend of the
angling season, Mushkooub said.
He said the group will meet again
Friday to decide whether to net and
spear next weekend.
"federally unrecognized" Rice Lake   Lacs   Band   said   members   of
Decision ending search for alternate nuclear
storage site upheld
ST. PAUL (AP) _ The Minnesota
Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld
a state board's decision that lets
Northern States Power Co. continue
storing nuclear waste outside its Red
Wing plant.
The Minnesota Environmental
Quality Board's Oct. 2 decision to end
a search for an alternate storage site
within Goodhue County had been
appealed by the Prairie Island Indian
Community, whose reservation is one-
half mile from NSP's Prairie Island
plant.
Tribal officials said in a statement
they are disappointed and will consider
appealing to the Minnesota Supreme
Court.
"We believe it was the Legislature's
intent under the 1994 Prairie Island
legislation to move NSP's nuclear
waste out of our backyard," the
statement says. /
When it ended the site search, the
environmental board cited potential
risks in transporting the/spent fuel
away from the Prairie Island plant.
The search was one of several
conditions set by the 1994 Legislature
for NSP to store spent fuel in five
above-ground storage casks.
The board also gave the utility
permission to store additional waste
in four more casks.
In its appeal, the tribe said the board
exceeded its statutory authority and
erred in citing potential risks. The
tribe contended that the Legislature
ordered that another site be chosen as
long as the risks were comparable to
the existing site.
"Although the statute does not
mandate the consideration of the
health, flooding, and safety concerns,
it anticipates these factors as well as
the transportation and handling risks,"
says the ruling by a three-judge
appellate court panel.
Mpls firefighter training may not be in compliance
Witnesses to slaying would have federal protection
Mole Lake tribal occupation enters third week
Tribal newspapers belong to the people/ pg 5
OIC will serve the people of northern Mn/ pg 6
Voice of the People
\
Fifty Cents
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded   in 19BB
Volume 9    Issue 31
May 16, 1997
1
A weekly publication.
Copyright, The Ojibwe Mews, 1 937
A $100,000 donation as an endowment grant from the Prairie Island Casino to the Augsburg College's American
Indian Support Program, left to right are Byron White, Secretary, Darelyn Lehto, Vice President, Charles Anderson,
Augburg College President and Michael Childs, Sr., Assistant Secretary/Treasurer of Prairie Island. submitted Photo
Cass judge rules state has authority to
enforce civil law with RBC consent
By Jeff Armstrong
Citing a boarding school-era law
authorizing the U.S. Interior
Department to allow states to enforce
truancy penalties on reservation
Natives with the consent of the tribal
governing body, Cass County judge
Michael Haas upheld the court's
jurisdiction to bring such charges
against Leech Lake youths.
Issued just 8 days after April 15 oral
arguments, the ruling affects 11
juvenile Anishinaabeg who joined a
challenge to the court's subject matter
jurisdiction on a Child in Need of
Protection or Services (CHIPS)
petition for allegedly missing more
than seven days of public schooling.
Haas later denied a defense motion to
suspend proceedings in order to
appeal the jurisdictional issues to a
higher state court.
A parent of one of the defendants,
Roxanne LaRose said the decision
came as no surprise. "He had stated
before he even heard the case that he
had already made up his mind, so
we've been expecting it." LaRose said
preliminary filings with the state
appeals court have been made, and the
family is also exploring the possibility
of seeking a federal injunction.
In his memorandum, Haas brushed
aside defense arguments that the
Interior Department never consented
to the application of such laws and
ruled that the court had no authority
to determine the legality of a tribal
law. The determination raises obvious
questions of how the state can enforce
tribal law without the ability to judge
the legitimacy of the ordinance or
whether the tribe has even complied
with its terms.
Leech Lake Resolution 96-66,
purporting to consent to state
jurisdiction on a case-by-case basis,
was passed at special (secret) meeting
in St. Paul. The resolution was
allegedly passed by a 2-0 vote, with
Dist. Ill rep. Myron Ellis signing over
then-chairman Alfred Pemberton's
printed name. LaRose maintained,
among other things, that the meeting
was illegally convened, that there was
no evidence of a quorum, and that
Ellis had no constitutional authority
to serve as "acting chair."
In that regard, Haas, who mistakenly
asserted that Pemberton signed the
resolution and that Myron Ellis signed
as secretary treasurer, agrees that the
state has no authority to second-guess
tribal sovereignty. "The juvenile
contends that resolution #96-66 was
not properly promulgated and effected
by a properly duly-constituted tribal
authority, and improper government
officials. The court has no jurisdiction
to determine these issues."
Yet Haas does not state how he
determined who is the "duly
constituted governing body," in the
language of the federal law, of Leech
Lake. Two different entities, the RBC
and the General Council, are claiming
such status.
Haas further ruled that a 1971 U.S.
Supreme Court judgement that any
assumption of state jurisdiction under
Public Law 280 requires a referendum
vote of tribal members "has no real
relevance to the issue before the
court." The judge was careful not to
invoke PL-280 for any authority, but
he identifies no other statute as a
source of state jurisdiction to file civil
CHIPS petitions on the reservation.
States are presumed to lack
jurisdiction over tribes in the absence
of specific federal legislation and/or
tribal consent.
Thompson opposes tax-exempt status for tribal lands
By Andrew Blasko
MADISON, Wis. (AP)_ A property
tax immunity that American Indians
get from the government reduces
municipal revenue and interferes with
local zoning, a spokesman for Gov.
Tommy Thompson told a study
committee.
"This increases the tax burden on
the remaining taxpayers in the local
taxing jurisdiction," John Matthews,
the governor's chief of staff, testified
Thursday.
Matthews addressed the Special
Committee on Federally Tax-Exempt
Lands. Its members include state, local
government and tribal representatives,
studying how tribal lands get tax-free
status.
Spokesmen for tribes accused state
government of unfairly targeting
American Indians.
"We've enjoyed a tax-exempt status
for 8,000 years," Apesanahkwat, a
Menominee Indian spokesman, said.
"Taxation for us is a foreign concept."
Focusing on tribes is unfair because
other groups apply for property tax
relief, and the state seeks tax immunity
for woodlands, he said.
"I want it all on the table. I just don't
want us on the table," Apesanahkwat
said.
Tribes can apply to the U.S. Bureau
of Indian Affairs for immunity from
local taxation when lands are
designated as federal trusts.
The exemption applies to about
9,600 acres of land in Wisconsin since
1984, Robin Jaeger, a supervisor at
the bureau, said.
Since 1992, tribes have requested
immunity for more than 99,000 acres,
state assistant attorney general JoAnne
Kloppenburg said.
Many communities object to the
exemptions that remove real estate
from local tax rolls.
Money that does not go for municipal
taxes is used by tribes for their
reservation road and sewer projects,
committee member Loretta Webster,
an attorney for Oneida Indians, said.
"We're a government just like other
governments," she said.
The Legislature created the
committee to investigate the various
effects of the exemptions, its chairman,
Rep. John Gard, R-Peshtigo, said.
The federal trust designation also
removes tribal land from state and
municipal regulation, which can affect
neighboring land that is governed by
zoning, Matthews said.
Environmental regulations can also
be affected, Ms. Kloppenburg said.