The Ojibwe News / Native American Press(Bemidji, Minnesota), 1998-02-13

              Petitioners set deadline for RBC to act
on Rabideaux removal petition
By Jeff Armstrong
The spokesman for a petition to remove Fond du Lac Reservation Business Committee member Clifton
Rabideaux says he will file for a recall election with the BIA next Friday,
unless the RBC reverses its recent decision to disregard the grassroots initiative.
Blaming chairman Robert (Sonny)
Peacock for the impasse, Kevin
Dupuis said that although he is reluctant to involve the U.S. in tribal affairs, the government has a constitutionally-defined responsibility.
"If [Peacock] doesn't do it, I have
no choice but to bring it to [the BIA],"
said Dupuis. "Sonny's interpreting the
constitution, circumventing the constitution for his own benefit."
More than 20% of Fond du Lac's
resident eligible voters signed a petition to remove the District I representative, a fact which remains uncontested by the RBC. Yet the business
committee dismissed the petition of
214 eligible members without even the
obligatory public hearing.
"They said the State of Minnesota
didn't charge him criminally," said
Dupuis. "But what does that have to
do with our constitution?"
The constitution provides for removal of RBC members for malfeasance, dereliction of duty, absence
from two consecutive meetings,
felony conviction, or violation of any
provision of the constitution.
Rabideaux was charged in the petition
with malfeasance and dereliction of
duty for allegedly using his position
to shield his son from the consequences of an assault he committed
on a juvenile hotel guest.
Article X of the MCT Constitution
states that in the event the RBC fails
to act on such a valid petition, the Secretary of the Interior "shall call an election for the purpose of placing the matter before the Reservation electorate
for their final decision" if he "deems
the charges substantial."
In a Dec. 9 letter also signed by the
other four RBC members, chairman
Peacock stated: "It is the RBC's responsibility to decide a removal petition based upon the evidence pre
sented. In this case, there was no evidence."
The MCT Constitution requires the
RBC to remove or set a recall election on a member found to have committed any of the causes for removal,
but it makes no provision for clearing
them of charges.
Dupuis said the petitioners submitted police reports to serve as a factual
basis for the allegations, but that the
signatures themselves represent sufficient evidence of the charges. "We
just need the 20% of voters. There
doesn't have to be evidence," he said.
In any event, however, Dupuis said
the unconstitutionally closed meeting
afforded the petitioners no opportunity to present such evidence. "It has
to go to a public hearing, not a secret
meeting of five people."
According to Dupuis, the RBC might
inadvertantly be creating evidence
against itself of another cause for removal from office. "They all violated
the constitution. In my eyes, they
should all be removed."
Rabideaux removal effort moves forward/ pg. 1
Dennis Harper pleads guilty to felony theft/ pg. 1
Reno seeks special prosecutor in Babbitt probe/ pg. 1
Ogitchida takes on Bad River logging/ pg. 1
Babbitt ensnared in Clinton campaign scandal/ pg. 4
Christianity and indigenous peoples/ pg. 4
Voice of the People
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Legion argues against theft plea agreement
Convicted manager ordered to repay funds but not penalties    a weekly publicaion
Copyright Native American Press,
By Robby Robinson
Cass Lake Times
Cass Lake, MN - Closure may have
come in the court room for the man
that was convicted of stealing more
than $21,000 from the Cass Lake Jack
Kimball American Legion Post, but
the post is still out $4,410, according
to court documents.
Dennis Maynard Harper, of Cass
Lake, in a plea agreement, was
adjudged guilty of felony theft and
placed on probation for 10 years for
taking $21,811 from the post's gaming
funds.
Because the Legion was found to be
at fault for allowing the theft to occur,
it was given a six month suspension of
its gaming license.The suspension is
expected to be lifted March 1, said a
legion Post employee.
Harper, who was the post gambling
manager in 1996, failed to made a
number of bank deposits, including
one for $8,109 in November of 1996
and another for $2,070 in October,
1996.
As conditions of Harper's probation
he must served 45 days in jail ~ which
he may do through the Sentence to
Serve program -- exhibit good
behaviour, follow the recommendation of a chemical dependency evaluation, abstain from alcohol or people
using alcohol, not be employed in any
job where fiscal trust is required with
Legion/to pg.3
Documents show Cherokee money transfers
from federal funds
TULSA, Okla. (AP) _ A former
Cherokee Nation accountant warned
Chief Joe Byrd about a practice of
transferring money from programs to
the tiibc's general fund, according to
subpoenaed documents that also show
$3.1 million in transfers from a federal
health fund. The documents, obtained
by a Tulsa lawyer, show that Byrd
signed a transfer of $2.4 million from
an "IHS" fund to the tribe's general
fund in October. The IHS fund
represents the federal Indian Health
Service program, said Chuck Shipley,
who subpoenaed the documents as
part of a federal lawsuit involving a
tribal council member. Byrd's
spokeswoman Lynn Adair initially
issued a news release Thursday saying
any comments about the transfers were
inappropriate because the documents
were part of a lawsuit. But in a
statement later, Ms. Adair said officials
looked at a bank statement and
determined the "$2.4 million transfer
never occurred." "From what I
understand, fundsfrom the motor fuels
tax were transferred to cover the
general cash flow on the same day the
request made," she said. "But the cash
Cherokee/to pg 3
Ogitchida targets Bad River logger
Group blocks road to stop cutting along riverbank
By Steve Kuchera and John Myers
Duluth News-Tribune staff writers
ODANAH — A group that has
blocked rail shipments of hazardous
chemicals and held a vigil to draw
attention to the plight of wild rice has
taken on another mission — to stop
logging practices they say harm their
environment.
"It's time we stand up to say 'This is
enough,'" Butch Stone said. "We are
not going to agree to the destruction
of our forests and environment."
Stone made his statement while he,
other Ogitchida (protectors of the
people) and their supporters Friday
blocked a road leading to private land
on the Bad River Reservation where
80 acres of hardwoods and conifers
here were recently cut.
Many of the trees were on the slopes
above or right along the Bad River.
The Ogitchida want loggers to agree
that, in the future, they won't cut
along the river.
The problem is that, while
governments, including tribal, can
control logging on their own land,
they have little control over logging
on private lands. Despite a wealth of
attention on forest issues in recent
years, logging still is mostly an
Ogitchlda/topg. 3
Supreme Court-sponsored committee to
meet in Mille Lacs court staff won
(NAP/ON) A controversial state-
tribal court committee announced this
week that its next meeting has been
set for Feb. 27 at the Mille Lacs casino hotel in Hinckley.
Widely criticized for excluding tribal
members from past meetings, a
spokesperson for the Minnesota Supreme Court-sponsored committee
said she did not know whether the
meeting would be open to the press or
public.
"That's not our decision to make,"
said staff attorney Julie Stenberg, directing inquiries to Mille Lacs attorney Jim Genia. Stenberg denied that
the state judiciary was attempting to
deflect responsibility for its closed
meetings with tribal officials.
Genia did not return phone calls from
the NAP/ON, and neither state nor
tribal staff would commit to informing the Press if the meeting would be
closed.
The choice of venue is significant because Mille Lacs' state-tribal jurisdictional hybrid is viewed as a model by
the state, and as an illegal, unconstitutional farce by many tribal members.
Last October, Mille Lacs tribal police arrested a reporter for attending a
Tribal Executive Committee meeting
at Grand Casino Mille Lacs. A Mille
Lacs county court is currently reviewing the reporter's motion to dismiss
the charges for lack of state jurisdiction.
The following is the planned agenda
for the 10am - 2pm meeting:
I. Welcome (Judge Fineday)
't say if meeting closed
II. Dueling Court Systems: What happens when the same case is being
heard in state court and tribal court simultaneously (Judge Jacobson)
III. Presentation on violence against
women act and Minnesota's order for
protection system (Judge McCarthy)
IV. Working group reports
A. Jurisdiction/Education (Judge
Russell Anderson)
B. Family and Children's Law
(Judge        Mason Moore)
C. Judicial Exchange (Judge Stacey)
D. Full Faith and Credit (Judge Chris
Anderson)
E. Court Administrators (Marcia
Setrum)
V. Set next meeting date/location
VI. Adjourn
Chippewa band nixes governor's offer
HAY WARD. Wis. (AP) _ The first
Chippewa band to consider the
governor's offer for continuing tribal
gambling operations in Wisconsin has
rejected it. After the weekend vote in
a meeting of tribal members, the
governing board of the Lac Courte
Oreilles band planned to meet today
and release the band's official position
on the offer made by Gov. Tommy
Thompson. According to state and
i
tribal officials, the offer would:
Extend the current gaming compact
for five years past its Aug. 16
expiration date while negotiations of
various issues continue, but either side
could cancel out of the deal after one
year. _ The Lac Courte Oreilles would
pay the state $420,000 of its gambling
revenue the first year, compared with
the 7.9 percent, or about $675,000 a
year, the governor is seeking. That
percentage, if applied to all of the
Daryl & Sharon No Heart, owners and operators of Ancestors, Inc, stand in front of a mural
painted on a buffalo hide displayed at a recent art show.
No Hearts' Ancestors Inc. brings Native
arts to cyberspace
By Gary Blair
"First, I want you to put at the top of
your story, that we thank you for
story," Daryl No Heart told your writer
earlier this week.
Native American artisan, Daryl and
Sharon No Heart believe that by going high-tech and collaborating with
other burgeoning artists, so too will
they benefit from their endeavor.
The couple is presently in partnership with another business person and
they now have a state-of-the-art computerized graphic arts system that can
reproduce full size prints on canvas
simulated paper.
The No Hearts' decision to go high-
tech came after Daryl (an established
artist) had his first prints made of three
of his paintings and the printer re
quired 500 minimums at a total cost
of $11,500. Daryl says it was then that
he came to the realization of the cost
involved in reproducing his art work.
His wife Sharon says those 500 prints
now represent $160,000 in inventory
for the couple's art business, which
they call Ancestors, Inc.
"Prints are where the money is in art
work. It's the middle men who make
the real money. This is not only a problem that I face, but it's the same for
other expanding artists, including our
youth who are trying to develop similar interests. My wife and I now have
a way to make top quality prints for
ourselves and at the same time we can
help other advancing artists at a reasonable price," No Heart explained.
"Suppose one of them just wanted
50 prints made, we could do it, and it
would not cost that artists the amount
that he now has to pay," Daryl exclaimed.
The couple's art studio has a large
work area that is filled with Daryl's
canvas artistry and the computerized
printing system that also allows them
access to the World Wide Web. Recently, Sharon gave up her job in
middle management at the Mystic
Lake casino to join her husband's art
business. Sharon has a degree in Computer Graphics Design and graduated
from the Minnesota School of Communication Arts where she says she
graduated, "Tops in her class.."
Daryl says his paintings contain the
spiritual and cultural stories of the
Lakota people. "Messages from our
Ancestor;"as he proudly puts it. Daryl
likewise proclaims, "I am sober and
No Hearts/to Pg. 3
Reno seeks special prosecutor in Babbitt
Greg Gordon and Dennis Cassano /
Star Tribune
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Attorney
General Janet Reno on Wednesday
asked for a special prosecutor to
investigate whether Interior Secretary
Bruce Babbitt lied to Congress about
his department's rejection of a
proposed Indian casino in Hudson,
Wis.
Reno told a special court that "there
is evidence suggesting that Secretary
Babbitt lacked criminal intent" in his
testimony—but not enough evidence
to end the investigation under the
stringent provisions of a federal ethics
law.
Her request, although narrow,
opened the door for an independent
counsel to conduct another broad
investigation into whether the casino
decision was influenced by hefty
campaign donations from Minnesota
and Wisconsin tribes that opposed the
project.
Three congressional committees
have investigated the matter, and the
three Chippewa bands that sought to
open the casino at a Hudson dog track
are trying to overturn the decision in
federal court.
Reno refused, however, to bow to
Republican demands that she give an
independent prosecutor free rein to
examine myriad allegations of
Babbit/to pg. 5
State likely to fight interstate slots at casinos
state's tribes, would mean a payment
to the state of about $20.5 million, up
from the $350,000 total paid under
the existing compacts. The percentage
would be the same as the corporate
income tax. About 100 Lac Courte
Oreilles members recommended
Saturday that their leaders reject the
offer. Spokesmen said tribal members
worry about being pressured to
Chippewa/topg 5
(AP) - The state may go to court to
stop two new slot machine games
called "Quartermania" and
"Megabucks" at two Indian-run
casinos in Minnesota because they
are linked electronically to slots in 11
other states.
That linkage means Firefly Creek
Casino near Granite Falls and the
Shooting Star Casino near Mahnomen
don't have to pay out all the winnings
themselves. The two casinos are using
"interstate progressive gambling
devices" that are part of an exclusive
Indian-casino linkage managed by
Sodak Inc., of Rapid City. S.D. But
state officials say that arrangement is
forbidden under the compacts that
regulate Indian-run casinos in
Minnesota.
"Unfortunately, the casinos didn't
give us notice before they did it," said
Tanja Kozicky. legal counsel for Gov.
Arne Carlson. She said the state likely
would seek an injunction in federal
court to shut down the games.
Wisconsin casinos have had the games
since 1995.
"The philosophy of the compacts
was that the state and the tribes would
control the gambling that goes on in
this state," Kozicky said. Zenas Baer,
an attorney for the White Earth Band
State/to pg. 5