The Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1997-09-12

              How Will Treaty Hunting and Fishing be
Regulated ... If This Latest Ruling Holds?
By Julie Shortridge
First of all, only on public lands and
waters will Band members be able to
hunt and fish outside of state conservation regulations. Band members
will have to abide by state conservation regulations on all private lands,
which is by far the vast majority of
the 1837 ceded territory. Still, all lakes
and rivers and most public lands in the
1837 ceded territory will be open to a
treaty hunting, fishing and gathering.
Secondly, for the first five years, the
Band Code and management plan will
limit when and how Band members
will be allowed to take fish, game and
plants under the treaty. Violators will
be subject to tribal courts. The Band's
Code allows for many fishing and
hunting activities that are illegal under state law - such as netting and
spearing walleye and other game fish,
commercial sale of game fish and wild
game, shining deer, and hunting deer
for a four month season. Plus, the
Band Code expires in five years.
Court rulings do not require that the
Bands have any conservation code or
regulations whatsoever. "There are no
guarantees beyond the fifth year as far
as how many fish and deer the Bands
will take," said Marcy Dowse, spokesperson for the Minnesota DNR,
shortly after the Eight Circuit's ruling.
The DNR will limit non-Indian hunting and fishing to compensate for
tribal hunting and fishing, and can
only intervene in tribal activities if the
continued existence of a species becomes threatened.
Up until now, Band members have
hunted and fished throughout Minnesota according to the same rules as
anyone else. The Bands will be able
to start implementing treaty hunting,
fishing and gathering under their own
rules only after the "stay" putting a
hold on the treaty harvest expires in
mid-October, or is lifted by the Eighth
Circuit prior to that date.
On September 4, the Bands filed a
request that the Eighth Circuit lift the
stay now, and allow treaty fishing and
wild ricing to begin immediately. In
their request to the Court, the Bands
say they would give the state three
weeks notice before hunting, so that
the state DNR has time to inform the
public about tribal hunters will be in
the field. The state, landowners and
counties have seven days to submit to
the Court why they think the stay
should be extended until the ruling has
been reviewed by the Eighth Circuit
and/or the U.S. Supreme Court. If the
Ruling cont'd on 3
How Will Treaty Hunting and Fishing be Regulated?
Wadena appeal set, more indictments expected
Review of MIAC loans shows little progress
Replay of Wisconsin 'Walleye Wars' not inevitable
Former DNC chairman admits doing favors for donors
Voice ofthe People
i
Wadena appeal set, more indictments
expected on White Earth, Leech Lake
Fifty Cents
OjibWk
Mem
By Gary Blair
According to assistant US attorney
Kenneth Staffold, appeals for
convicted members of the Darrell
"Chip" Wadena gang are scheduled to
be heard sometime next month by the
Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in St.
Paul, MN.
Apparently, the gang has chosen to
use more of their ill-gotten gains to
retain attorneys who also plan to
benefit from the millions in financial
loses already endured by White Earth
reservation members. As reported by
PRESS/ON earlier this year, famed
Minneapolis Attorney Ron
Meshbesher was retained to write the
appeal for convicted gang member
and former reservation councilman
Rickie Clark. Meshbesher was
reportedly paid $25,000 to prepare
Clark's petition —$15,000 up front
and the balance before the hearing
date.
According to the U.S. Attorney's
Office, however, the gang members
have failed to repay their court-
ordered restitution ofthe hundreds of
thousands of dollars they were
convicted of embezzling. Wadena
owes the bulk ofthe debt, at $585,000,
while Rawley and Clark were ordered
to repay more than $100,000 each.
In June of 1996, the gang, which
included former reservation chairman
Darrell "Chip" Wadena, former
secretary/treasurer Jerry Rawley and
councilman Clark, were convicted in
St. Paul federal court on numerous
counts of corruption. Wadena is now
serving a five-year sentence at the
Sandstone, MN federal prison.
Rawley and Clark are both serving
lesser terms at the Duluth federal
prison facility. The trio was convicted
of bid rigging, tax evasion schemes,
civil rights violations and voting fraud.
Appeal cont'd on 5
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded in 1988
Volume 9  Issue 48 September 12,1 997
1
A weekly publication.
Copyright, The Ojibwe News, 1997
Review of MIAC loans shows little progress
on economic development
An underutilized program providing
low interest business loans to members
of Minnesota-based tribes has more
than $ 1 million available this year.
But Minnesota Indian Affairs Council
loan officer Theresa Wilson says
prospective entrepreneurs must do
their homework before plunging into
the competitive world of small
business.
"First of all you need a business
plan," which should include such
factors as population and market,
competition, and evidence of
community support, said Wilson. "You
need to go to a technical management
person to get business advice," which
is offered free of charge locally and
statewide, she said.
Personal financial experience and
solid credit is also critical, since the
loans must be approved by a bank.
"Just because you know how to do the
work doesn't mean you know how to
run a business," Wilson said.
Indeed, success in small business is
more the exception than the rule, and
so it has been for Native businesses in
the state. Of 85 projects funded by the
MIAC since 1984, 25 loans worth
nearly $ 1/4 million have been written
off as uncollectable.
Another 25 loans have been judged
delinquent, and half of those loan
recipients made no payments in 1997.
At least 8 people owe the entire amount
ofthe loan, or more. Although annual
interest rates are only 2%, some have
apparently made no payments at all,
raising their debt over the initial loan
amount.
Wilson denied that politics has played
a role in loan decisions in her three
years in the office. "A loan has never
been turned down if it met all the
criteria," she said.
But imprisoned former MIAC chair
Chip Wadena (who quit making
payments last February) and the Red*
Lake and Leech Lake Tribal Councils-
-whose chairmen head the Indian
Affairs Council—have received
funding for what some might consider
dubious projects. MCT executive
director Gary Frazer received $46,375
to finance the purchase ofthe Big Tap
bar in Cass Lake, one ofthe 17 current
loans in good standing.
15 loans have been repaid in full.
(For more on MIAC loans, seepg. 4
editorial andpg. 8 documents.)
Walt Bresette (L) spoke Tuesday, in Bemidji, recounting events in Wisconsin concerning treaty rights.
Replay of Wisconsin 'Walleye Wars' not
inevitable in MN, says treaty activist
Former DNC Chairman denies wrongdoing
on behalf of tribes
By Philip Brasher
WASHINGTON (AP)_Thank-you
notes from American Indian leaders
in Minnesota and Wisconsin portray
the Democratic Party's chairman as
playing a key role in getting the federal
government to block a casino project
they opposed.
"Please accept our deepest thanks
for your efforts on our behalf and our
congratulations on a job well done,"
Stanley Crooks, chairman of the
Minnesota Indian Gaming
Association, said in one ofthe letters
to Don Fowler, then the chairman of
the Demo'-ratic National Committee.
The correspondence was released
Tuesday by a Senate committee that is
investigating fund-raising
improprieties   during   the   1996
campaign.
Fowler denied any wrongdoing in
connection wifh the Clinton
administration's decision on the
project, which was proposed by three
Wisconsin Chippewa bands and
opposed by rival tribes who already
had casinos and didn't want the
competition.
Fowler acknowledged that he met in
April 1995 with tribal leaders who
opposed the casino and later contacted
administration officialson their behalf.
"To my recollection I did not suggest
a result, did not ask for an outcome. I
just asked that it be reviewed," he told
the committee.
Bureau of Indian Affairs officials in
Washington nixed the casino project
in July 1995 despite a recommendation
from the agency's regional office in
Minneapolis to approve it.
"We will never know for certain
why BIA reached its final decision.
But it's certainly the case that such
actions as were taken undermine public
confidence," said Sen. Susan Collins,
R-Maine.
The tribes gave at least $273,000 to
the national Democratic committees
in 1996. Crooks is chairman of
Minnesota's Shakopee Mdewakanton
Sioux tribe, which gave $75,000 to
the party in 1996.
Fowler denied those contributions
were linked to the contacts he made
for the tribes.
"Whatever they contributed or didn' t
contribute had nothing to do with my
actions in that regard," he said.
The BIA decision is the subject ofa
federal lawsuit. The tribes that were
DNC cont'd on 3
By Jeff Armstrong
Walt Bresette says he hopes to avoid
having to write a Minnesota sequel to
"Walleye Warriors," the treaty rights
activist's account of Wisconsin's
decade-long conflict over off-
reservation fishing rights.
"Minnesota was found guilty of
violating our constitutional, treaty-
affirmed rights," said Bresette,
referring to the Mille Lacs rulings,
which he said the state should accept.
"What happened in Wisconsin doesn't
need to be repeated in Minnesota."
Speaking Tuesday in Bemidji,
Minnesota, Bresette said he held no
grudge against protesters who hailed
racial epithets, rocks and worse on
Anishinabe people exercising their
legal rights. Instead, Bresette blamed
the media, politicians of both parties,
and their corporate sponsors for
incitinr >e violence on the boat
landings of northern Wisconsin.
"They, were never the enemy,"
Bresette said. "Their lifestyle was
being threatened. But they ended up
throwing rocks at the wrong people."
Bresette said Chippewa treaty rights
served as a convenient scapegoat for
state mismanagement ofthe fisheries
and the withdrawal of investment
capital from the region.
"It was in the [Wisconsin] DNR's
interest to foment racial violence. It
was in the interest ofthe governor of
Wisconsin," said Bresette. "When a
reporter asked [a DNR official from
Rhinelander] what's going to happen
now, he said, 'After the Chippewas are
through, the only thing left in northern
Treaty cont'd on 5
Attorneys General urge veto of Gorton
sovereignty proposal
Judge oks fishing in Grand Traverse Bay
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) _ A
federal judge allowed Indians to
continue commercial salmon fishing
inGrandTraversc Bay after criticizing
all sides in a longtime dispute over the
practice.
U.S. District Judge Richard Enslen
ruled Thursday the Grand Traverse
Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
could take up to 80,000 pounds of
salmon from the bay, instead of the
90,000 pounds allowed by tribal
regulations.
Enslen also denied a request by the
Department of Natural Resources for
a preliminary injunction that would
have required the tribe to remove its
fishing nets from the bay.
But Enslen did require that the nets
be submerged eight feet below the
water. That order could be modified
to allow nets at the surface if the DNR
and tribe can agree on safety measures.
The DNR, tribe and sport fishing
groups are scheduled to return to
Enslen's court Dec. 17 for more
arguments.
"There is enough blame in this issue
to go around," Enslen said. "This
hearing was totally unnecessary. The
parties have been negotiating the issue
of salmon fishing by the tribes for
seven years."
The DNR and the Grand Traverse
Sport Fishing Association contend that
a 1985 court agreement prohibits
commercial salmon fishing by the tribe
in Grand Traverse Bay.
The trirje says it can go after salmon
because the state has failed to live up
to other provisions in the agreement,
which expires in 2000.
Enslen said the groups could
negotiate changes in his order. If they
fail to agree, it will stand as written
until the December hearing.
Tribal fisherman Skip Duhamel said
he was disappointed that the nets must
be submerged because salmon are
swimming in nine feet of water near
the Leelanau County shoreline.
"I can't submerge nets eight feet
under in nine feet of water and catch
fish," he told the Traverse City Record-
Eagle. "We won't catch fish, which is
exactly what they want."
Bill Hicks, legal liaison for the sport
fishing association, said he was pleased
by Enslen's ruling that the nets must
be lowered but disappointed that tribal
fishing was allowed to continue for
the rest of the year.
Jim Ekdahl, the state's liaison for
Native American affairs, criticized
some actions by both the DNR and the
tribe in the dispute.
By Scott Sonner
WASHINGTON (AP) _ Eight state
attorneys general urged President
Clinton on Thursday to make good on
his threat to veto proposals by Sen.
Slade Gorton they say threaten self-
government of Indian tribes.
Gorton, who is pressing to open
tribes to civil lawsuits for the first
time, said tribal officers should be
subject to the same threat of lawsuits
as New York City, whose officers
were accused of "severely brutalizing"
a Haitian immigrant, Abner Louima.
Gorton compared the beating to a
Washington state man's death in a
traffic accident with a tribal officer
responding to an emergency call.
The comparison brought a sharp
protest by the Yakama Indian Nation.
"In what appears to be an attempt to
justify a far-reaching amendment ...
the senior senator from Washington
has chosen to exploit the victimization
of Abner Louima and a tragic car
accident that occurred on our
reservation," the tribe said in a
statement.
The New York officers broke the
law while the tribal officer was acting
within her scope of duty, following
routine procedure, the tribe said.
Gorton's proposal, attached to the
Interior Department spending bill
expected to come to a vote in the
Senate next week, would waive
sovereign immunity for tribes for a
one-year test period.
Clinton administration officials have
warned the president would veto a bill
containing the waiver.
Veto cont'd on 5
Pipestone Indians turn to religion to
preserve their craft
By Robert Franklin
Minnepolis Star Tribune
PIPESTONE, Minn. (AP)_ Before
he quarries pipestone or carves it into
pipes, Travis Erickson often offers
tobacco, smudges burnt sage on
himself and his tools, and offers a
brief prayer of thanks.
"I thank the creator for allowing me
to use the stone to survive and make
sure my children are clothed and fed."
said Erickson, 34, whose family has
been quarrying stone and making pipes
for at least three generations.
Prayer and thanksgiving are natural
compoi ts ofthe centuries-old art of
pipemaking. Tourists may visit the
quarries and trails of the federal
government's Pipestone National
Monument here, but only Indians may
extract the rich red stone. To them,
quarrying is a deeply rooted cultural,
spiritual and. for some, economic
activity.
Now a small group of Pipestone
Indians has taken that spiritual tie in a
new direction by forming what
amounts to a church, the Keepers of
the Sacred Tradition of Pipemakers.
As much as promoting the spirituality
ofthe pipe, it is a move that is aimed
at using the law to preserve Indians'
right to make at least part of their
living from selling pipes and trinkets
made from the pipestone found here.
It is a move that also has divided
families and brought controversy to
the local Indian community.
The Keepers have only about a dozen
active local members, but they have a
spiritual leader and have held
ceremonies, sponsored arts events,
created Web sites and acquired a
building..It is the old railroad depot
Pipestone cont'd on 5