The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1997-08-08

              Present White Earth Council continues
'Chip' Wadena closed meeting policy
By Gary Blair
White Earth officials met Thursday
with federal, state and county
authorities at the Shooting Star Casino
in Mahnomen to discuss the growing
problem of crime on the reservation.
The scheduled 11:00 a.m. meeting
was attended by Minnesota U.S.
Attorney David Lillehaug, state Public
Safety Commissioner Donald Davis,
and County Attorneys from Becker,
Clearwater and Mahnomen counties
along with their respective County
Sheriffs.
Surprisingly, as important as the
issue of crime is at White Earth, the
meeting was to be held in secret, away
from those who have been most
affected by the violence. "How in the
hell did you find out about this
meeting?" reservation attorney Miles
Lord asked your PRESS/ON writer as
we entered the secluded meeting room
in the lower level ofthe casino's hotel.
"You didn't tell Marvin Manypenny
about it, did you? He'll come here and
wreck it, " Lord also inquired.
"No, I didn't tell Marvin
Manypenny," was your writer's
response to the retired federal judge
who once championed civil rights
issues.
Upon your writer's brief visit to the
washroom and return to the meeting
room, I was then asked by reservation
chairman, Eugene (Bugger) McArthur
to leave the law enforcement meeting
that had not yet started. "There is
going to be attorney client privileged
information discussed here,"
McArthurpurported. "Thenwhydon't
you have those people step out into the
hall when they want to talk?" your
writer asked McArthur.
"Well, I'm not going to argue with
you. We'll just open the meeting and
then we'll go into closed executive
session and then you'll have to leave,"
McArthur responded. At that point
your writer then left the meeting room,
after having just been reminded ofthe
days of former White Earth chairman
Darrell "Chip" Wadena, who
controlled the reservation council
meetings in a similar manner.
Wadena's practice, however, was to
just adjourn the tribal council meetings
upon any confrontation from answer
seekers.
According to a document recently
published by the White Earth tribal
council, some of the items council
members say they have accomplished
during iheir first year in office were:
an "Open newspaper. The tribal
council has established a tribal
newspaper that is free of their control
and oversight. Members have a forum
whereby they can freely voice their
opinions, including those critical of
the government."  The new council
Meeting cont'd on 8
Audit Requirements for Gaming Operations
The purpose of this Bulletin is to
reiterate and clarify several of the
audit requirements for gaming
operations. Our reviews of audit
reports received to date reveal that not
all the tribes and gaming operations
are complying with all of the audit
requirements. Although the level of
compliance is improving, it is
important for all tribes and gaming
operations to meet all the regulatory
and statutory requirements.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act
(IGRA), the regulations of the
National Indian Gaming Commission
(NIGC), and NIGC approved tribal
gaming ordinances require an annual
audit of each gaming operation on
Indian lands. Audit reports and
management letters are to be
submitted to the NIGC within 120
days after the end of each fiscal year.
Failure to obtain an annual audit and
submit the required reports to the
NIGC is a violation of the law that
could subject the tribe to a civil fine
of up to $25,000 per violation.
Gaming Operation
First, there seems to be some
confusion about the entity to be
audited, the gaming operation. Section
502.10 of 25 C.F.R. defines the
gaming operation as follows:
Gaming operation means each
economic entity that is licensed by a
tribe, operates the games, receives the
revenues, issues the prizes, and pays
the expenses. A gaming operation may
be operated by a tribe directly; by a
management, contractor; or, under
certain conditions, by another person
or other entity, (emphasis added)
Furthermore, 25 C.F.R. §
522.4(b)(6) and 25 C.F.R. § 522.6(b)
provide that a tribe shall issue a
separate license to each place, facility,
or location on Indian lands where a
tribe elects to allow class II and/or
class III gaming.
Thus, the audit requirements apply
to the gaming operation at each place,
facility, or location on Indian lands
where gaming is allowed.
Audit cont'd on 3
Indian adoption law clears committee
By Katherine Rizzo
WASHINGTON (AP) _ The first
changes in 19 years to the law that
stopped the widespread removal of
Indian children from reservations
moved out of Senate committee
Wednesday, but did not have a clear
path to a final vote.
Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, who
chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee,
said he wants some alterations before
voting on legislation that grew from
an agreement struck by tribes and
adoption groups.
The bill seeks to guarantee that tribes
are notified about off-the-reservation
adoptions and are given a limited time
to intervene. Hatch said he wants to
make sure the wishes of birth parents
aren't relegated to a minor
consideration.
"I am specifically concerned about
cases in which the preferences ofthe
parent may conflict with the
preferences ofthe tribe," Hatch said,
offering as an example a case that left
a child in legal limbo for seven years.
In that case, he said, an Indian father
abandoned a non-Indian mother during
her pregnancy. The mother found an
adoptive couple who agreed "to let
her participate in the child's life," but
after the tribe was notified about the
arrangement it intervened, setting in
motion the lengthy legal case.
Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell, R-
Colo., chairman ofthe Senate Indian
Affairs Committee, said there would
be consultations with Hatch and tribal
attorneys before the bill is called up
for a Senate vote.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., sponsor
ofthe bill, said he wants to protect the
"fragile compromise" that resulted in
the bill. "Tribal representatives and
adoption attorneys worked out a very
hard-fought compromise," he said.
The Indian Child Welfare Act, which
gives tribes the right to intervene in
adoption proceedings, has had no
major alterations since it was enacted
in 1978.
Before that, an estimated one in four
Indian children was adopted or living
in an institution or foster care, as part
ofa policy of assimilation that McCain,
Campbell and others likened to
kidnapping.
The lawmakers tried last year and
failed to amend that law to avoid
drawn-out legal battles over children
without strong connections to a tribe
or with scant Indian blood.
Among the complications: an effort
to incorporate a legal standard in use
in some states which tribes and the
Justice Department viewed as a
violation of treaties; and anti-abortion
groups' fears that the changes would
discourage adoption, thereby
encouraging abortion.
1997 North American Indigenous Games
come ashore in Victoria
More than 10,000 spectators
watched as some 40 canoes eased
gently into Victoria's Inner Harbour
Sunday, August 3, the culmination of
a two-and-half-week-long Tribal
Journey originating in Fort Rupert at
the northern end of Vancouver Island,
British Columbia, Canada. Aboriginal
communities across British Columbia
and Washington state participated in
the kick-off festivities to the 1997
North American Indigenous Games.
The Games, the fourth ever to be
held, are being staged from August 3
to lO.in Victoria, B.C. and represent a
major international gathering of
Indigenous people.
The historical and cultural
significance ofthe event was reflected
in the ceremony and protocol that
marked the coming ashore of
representatives from more than 40
Aboriginal communities, many of
whom paddled the 600 kilometers
from Fort Rupert to Victoria. Local
Coast Salish people of the Songhees
and Esquimalt First Nations invited
the visiting paddlers ashore in a
traditional welcoming ceremony.
Their arrival and the Games
themselves highlight an increasing
unity among Indigenous people across
North America.
During the two-and-a-half-week-
long Tribal Journey, canoes traveled
through the traditional territory of
more than 15 First Nations
communities, welcomed with feasts
and celebrations. First Nations
participating in Tribal Journey
included Tsimshian, Haida, Haisla,
Heiltsuk, Oweekeno, Kwakwaka'-
wakw, Coast Salish, Nuu-Chah-Nulth
and 10 Nations from Washington
state. More than 1,500 paddlers
participated.
The Games were officially opened
later the same day at the University of
Victoria. More than 5,000 athletes and
3,000 cultural performers took part
while a sell-out crowd of 6,000
watched as participants took the
stadium field. Highlighting the
ceremony, Aboriginal role models—
Canadian Olympic runner Angela
Chalmers, Canadian Olympic kayaker
Alwyn Morris and America Olympic
runner Billy Mills — circled the
stadium with Games flags, inspiring
Indigenous athletes in their week-long
endeavours.
Twenty-six teams of athletes from
across Canada and United States will
be compete in 16 competition sports,
plus traditional competitions and
demonstration sports. In addition,
3,000 Aboriginal artists, singers,
musicians and dancers have
converged on Victoria to participate
in cultural programs.
Council continues Wadena closed meeting policy
Audit Requirements for Gaming Operations
Indian adoption law clears committee
Corps gives prelim. OK to dam RR tributary/ pg 5
Groups receive funds to plan for Wei. Reform/ pg 6
Voice ofthe People
i
Judge dismisses Cherokee judge's lawsuit
By Kelly Kurt
TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ Three
embattled Cherokee justices lost their
attempt to force the Bureau of Indian
Affairs' withdrawal from the tribe
when a federal judge dismissed their
case Wednesday.
The ruling in a Washington, D.C,
court leaves the justices with no legal
means to challenge the BIA or
Principal Chief Joe Byrd in an ongoing
tribal dispute, their attorney said.
"This ruling continues to allow Joe
Byrd's and the BIA's strategy of
conquest by firepower to succeed,"
said Tulsa attorney Charles Shipley.
Despite the dismissal, Shipley
continued to meet with government
officials Wednesday on issues raised
by the lawsuit.
Justices Philip Viles, Dwight
Birdwell and Ralph Keen accused the
BIA of illegally intervening in the
tribe's affairs by taking over law
enforcement in April. BIA police
stepped in as the conflict escalated
between Byrd and the judges, who
were later ousted by a Byrd-led faction.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-
Kotelly ruled the justices had no legal
standing to bring the lawsuit as
individuals against the government.
She planned to explain the basis for
the decision later in a written ruling.
Byrd praised the ruling, calling the
dispute "an intra-tribal matter."
"I maintain my position that our
nation can and will emerge from this
controversy stronger and wiser, and
we will do this by our own means," he
said in a statement.
The controversy began in February
when Byrd fired 14 tribal marshals
who served court-issued search
warrants on his office in Tahlequah. A
slim majority ofthe tribe's legislature
later impeached the judges, who
contended the action was illegal.
In June, Byrd ordered a takeover of
the tribal courthouse where the judges
Lawsuit cont'd on 3
Fifty Cents
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded in 1388
Volume 9   Issue 43
August 8, 1997
1
A weekly publication.
Copyright, The Ojibwe Mem, 1997
Photo by L. A.
The 16th Annual Minnesota Indian Institute on Alcohol and Drug Studies was held at Bemidji State
University this week. Pictured is Dennis Hisgun, the White Earth Chemical Dependency Coordinator,
originally from South Dakota, conducting a workshop on crisis intervention to area CD counselors in
the Crying Wolf on the Bemidji State University campus.
Tribal members threatened with arrest at
secret WE law enforcement meeting
By Jeff Armstrong
The White Earth Reservation
Business Committee ordered casino
security and state law enforcement
officers to force reporters and members
ofthe public out of an August 8 meeting
between theRBC,U.S. Attorney David
Lillehaug and high-level state and
county officials.
Interim RBC chief of staff Mike Ryan
and reservation attorney Miles Lord,
both non-natives, ordered tribal
members out ofthe meeting in order to
deal with issues of "public safety and
sovereignty" as a government.
"Whose public safety and sovereignty
are you talking about?" Roxanne
LaRose retorted. "We drove over 100
miles to come hear to listen to what's
going on in our government," said the
Anishinabe Advocates member. "You
deny us our basic human right to sit
here and listen while you discuss our
sovereignty and our rights, and all
you are is a business committee."
While the RBC has attempted to enlist
Lillehaug's backing in negotiations
with the state on tribal law
enforcement, members of Anishinabe
Advocates have sought Lillehaug's
intervention to head off any law
enforcement agreement which does
not involve the people.
Some charged Lillehaug with taking
sides in the dispute. "What we have
here is a conspiracy to deny us our
rights," said Marvin Manypenny. "And
you're endorsing this shit," he said to
Lillehaug, who offered to meet with
the group outside.
Although the tribal members left the
meeting voluntarily, a lead security
officer, who identified himself only as
Jeff, and Mahnomen city and county
officers threatened tribal members
with arrest as they were leaving the
casino. Activists responded to the
harassment with angry rebukes. "This
is our casino," said several White Earth
tribal members.
After about a two hour wait,
Anishinabe Advocates members
exchanged views with Lillehaug
during a break in the meeting.
Lillehaug said he played no role in the
decision to oust the group, stating he
was only a guest. He asserted that the
meeting primarily dealt with strateg ies
for combating gang violence.
Activists said the gang-scare is mostly
hype, used to increase state police
presence on the reservation and
criminalize the youth. "The only gang
we have is the RBC," said Renee
Judkins.
The U.S. Attorney said he had no
authority to call public meetings on
any ofthe tribal law enforcement and
land issues with which the Justice
Department is dealing, but said he
would consider attending grassroots
tribal forums if invited.
Fall hearing planned by federal panel on
internet gambling
BOISE, Idaho (AP) _ The acting
chairman of the National Indian
Gaming Commission said that
America's gambling laws have been
eclipsed by technology and no longer
offer the framework needed for strong
regulation ofthe industry.
"Congress has not kept up with the
technology," Tom Foley, a former
county prosecutor in Minnesota, told
Gov. Phil Batt's special Gaming Study
Committee on Tuesday.
It was the first extensive discussion
of Internet gambling since the panel
began its work two months ago.
In response to the Coeur d'Alene
Tribe's creation of the U.S. Lottery
site on the Internet, attorneys general
from Idaho and 34 other states asked
the commission a month ago to shut
down the multimillion-dollar
operation that is still in the test-
marketing stage.
Foley assured David Matheson, the
manager for the tribe's gambling
operations, that the commission had
not responded.
"We're probably going to have a
public hearing in the fall on that issue,"
he said, "It might also involve whether
you can prosecute individuals betting
from their homes."
The attorneys general contended the
northern Idaho tribe's Internet
operation violated federal law that
restricts legal tribal gambling
operations to the reservation because
the Internet site allows people to
gamble from other locations.
Foley pointed out that there are 400
gambling sites available on the Internet
right now and that legislation has been
introduced in Congress aimed at
checking their operation. That, he said,
is one of many areas that existing
gambling laws fail to address. In the
Coeur d' Alene case, he said, the actual
gambling could occur at the point
where the computer itself is located on
the reservation as the tribe contends.
"The tribes are looking at some of
these issues, the attorneys general are
looking at some of these issues, the
governors are looking at some of these
issues, we are looking at some of these
issues," he said. "If it was easy, it
wouldn't be a problem."
The panel began Tuesday what could
be difficult negotiations on
recommendations for Batt. Its deadline
is Nov. 1.
Batt has expressed some hope that it
could agree on recommendations that
would determine the existing
reservation casino operations _ short
of the Internet site _ legal while
assuring that there is no future
expansion.