The Ojibwe News / Native American Press (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1998-03-13

              Senate Indian Affairs Committee holds first
of three hearings on sovereign immunity
By Julie A. Shortridge
Should tribes continue to be able to
claim sovereign immunity in contract
disputes, thereby avoiding lawsuits9
Should states be allowed to file
lawsuits against tribes to collect sales
taxes due to them from tribal sales to
non-Indians?
Is tribal sovereign immunity a good
deal for Indian people?
These were some of the questions
addressed ina hearing held by the U.S.
Senate Indian Affairs Committee march
11 in Washington, D.C. Sixteen people
testified at the three hour hearing,
which drew  approximately 200
observers, primarily tribal officials and
representatives of tribal governments
This w as the first in a series of three
hearings the Committee will be holding
about a bill introduced by Sen. Slade
Gorton (R-Wash) which would limit
tribal immunity. (The bill, and a
summary of it, were published in the
March 6 issue of Press/ON.) Because
of tnbal sovereign immunity. Indian
and non-Indian citizens find it nearly
impossible to hold tribes accountable
for wrongdoing. There are many
documented instances of tribal
governments using tribal sovereign
immunity to hide their oppressive,
harassing, abusive, and illegal
activities.
"I'm astounded that in the latter years
of the 20th century there's a
government that claims the right to
wrong other people and violate
decisions of the Supreme Court, and
do so with impunity." said Sen Slade
Gorton in his introduction at the
hearing "...Tribal sovereignty is an
anachronism it impinges on
constitutional rights of individual
citizens. . This bill asks tribes to be
held to the same degree of
responsibility as other governments
...This bill has to do with the rights of
individuals and organizations to seek
a re-dress of grievances in state and
Senate/to pg 3
City relaxes opposition to fire department
reservation recruitment
By Gary Blair
The City of Minneapolis' opposition
to recruiting fire department
candidates from Indian reservations
was softened this week ina recruitment
budget that was issued on Thursday
during a Civil Service Commission
meeting. However, mileageand vehicle
expenses for recruiting minorities were
only set at $500.00
Ron Edward, chairman of the
Firefighters Advisory Steering
Committee told the 3 member Civil
Service Commission panel and the
department's director that the mileage
budget for their recruitment plan was
not adequate. "With today's gas prices
- they'll have to go up as far as Nett
Lake and north ofDuluth. Five hundred
dollars for gas won't be enough,"
Edwards explained as he told
commission members that he was
appealing their recent plan to recruit
Native Americans from reservations.
Edward's committee has federal
oversight responsibilities for
monitoring the integration of the
Minneapolis Fire Department under a
25 year old federal court order.
Noticeably absent at the Civil Service
Commission meeting were our so called
Indian leaders and the city's obviously
token/wooden Indian advocate Valerie
Sheehan, all who claim that "they are
trying to help Indians". Nearly two
years ago Sheehan told your writer at
a Conference on Sovereignty hat was
being held at the College of St. Thomas,
that she was not going to do anything
about the city's hiring practices of
native Americans unless she had the
backing of the Indian community's
leaders.
According to one of Sheehan's
Fire/to pg. 3
Supreme    Court ruling leaves county
debating who's in charge
LAKE ANDES, SD (AP) - The
bloodstains have long since washed
away, leaving nothing but withered
grass in the remote ditch where a 16-
year-old was found shot to death a
year and a half ago.
But the spot where Charles Eli Phillips
was murdered on the Yankton Sioux
Indian Reservation has taken on a
whole new significance in the wake of
arccentU.S. Supreme Court decision.
The October 1996 crime happened
on part of 168,000 acres that the
: jcs, in a Januarj-Tuling, said was
never Indian land because the tribe
sold it lo non-Indians under an 1894
federal law.
That sent the case of Joshua Abdo,
an American Indian charged in
connection with Phillips' death, from
the federal court system to the state.
Abdo, also known as Joshua
Archambeau, had pleaded guilty to
accessory after the fact and was to be
sentenced. But all federal charges
against Abdo were dropped late last
month because officials agreed the
state has jurisdiction, said U.S.
Attorney Karen Schreier.
Charles Mix County State's Attorney
Matthew Gaffey said the state isn't
bound by previous plea agreements
between defendants and federal
authorities. He said he didn't know
what charges will be filedagainst Abdo
but     that     the     state     will
"unquestionably" pursue the case.
"There won't be any gaps in
jurisdiction," Gaffey said.
The case probably won't be the only
one to be shuffled from one legal hand
to another, officials said.
Since the Supreme Court'sdecision,
nearly 100 American Indians charged
in the federal system the past few
years have asked the Bureau of Indian
Affairs to look at maps to determine
exactly where the crimes occurred. But
Tim Lake, superintendentoftheBIA's
Yankton Sioux office in Wagner, sai*
only a few ofthe 90 cases he' s reviewed
COUrt/to pg. 3
9th Circuit upholds broad tribal authority
over water quality
MISSOULA, MT (AP) - A federal
appeals court has upheld the right of
the Confederated Salish and Kootenai
Tribes to set water-quality standards
for their reservation that would apply
to non-Indians as well.
The unanimous ruling ofthe three-
judge panel ofthe 9th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals set the stage for an
expected appeal to the Supreme Court.
"This is a cutting-edge case in the
United States," said Chris Tweeten,
Montana's chief deputy attorney general. "We're the first case before the
Court of Appeals that squarely pre
sents these jurisdictional questions."
The appellate court upheld a 1996
ruling by U.S. District Judge Charles
Lovell in the cliallenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's decision
that the tribes regulate water quality
on the Flathead Indian Reservation in
western Montana.
The state and local governments
claimed they were being improperly
subjected to the civil regulatory authority of the tribes that infringed on
Montana's authority under the Clean
Water Act.
In upholding the decision, Lovell
said that the 1987 Water Quality Act
treated Indian tribes as states in some
areas including setting water quality
standards.
The judge also noted that the EPA
had determined the tribes should have
jurisdiction over surface waters that
cross nonmember lands within the reservation boundaries.
"The EPA affirmed that the tribes require clean water for a domestic water
supply and to maintain fish, aquatic
life and other wildlife for both subsistence and cultural reasons," the judge
wrote.
Water/to Pg. 3
Supreme Court seeks perspective on Native
child custody
1AIRBANKS. AK (AP) - The Alaska
Supreme Court is asking Attorney
General Bruce Botelho and two other
la\\\crs to figure out how the U.S. Supreme Court's recent mling on Indian
country may affect a tribal custody
dispute pending in Fairbanks.
The justices waul legal opinions that
address whether or not Alaska tribes
maintain authority o\cr their members
in CUStOd) cases, and whether that
authority supersedes state jurisdiction
Along with Botelho. Andy
Harrington of Alaska I egal Services
and John Franich ofthe state Office of
Public Ad\ OCaC] arc asked to reply to
the court by April J
Harrington and Franich. both of
Fairbanks, are on opposite sides in a
custody case out of Northway that
may have precedent-setting value regarding tribal jurisdiction.
Harrington said the court's request
caught him by surprise.
"I haven't even scratched the surface of it yet." he said. "Life in the
(Alaska) Legal Services office doesn't
lend itself to be able to con-template
larger issues."
The Northway case involves an unmarried man and woman, both Native.
who arc fighting over custody of two
children
The Northway Tribal Court split custody between the two parents, but the
father was unhappy with that arrange-
primary election candidates, pg. 8
Jcott Morrison testimony on Gorton bill, pg. 5
tear for Indian sovereignty as Indian pact is signed, pg. 6
Wolf Alliance to gather at state capitol March 16, pg. 4
b threat at LLRTC offices in Cass Lake, pg. 5
d Fond du Lac man in third week of hunger strike, pg. 1
on's hearings on limiting tribal sovereign immunity, pg. 4
Voice ofthe People
i
ment. He took his case to state court
in Fairbanks, and subsequently was
awarded primary custody.
The mother appealed, claiming the
state did not have exclusive jurisdiction. Franich, representing the father,
and Harringtoa lawyer for the mother,
argued the case before the Alaska Supreme Court earlier this year.
The U.S. Supreme Court decision
that denied Indian country status to
the Native Village of Venetie prompted
the Alaska justices to ask for additional
legal briefings on the Northway tribal
case.
The court wants to know if tribal law
or state law prevails in those matters
where governments share jurisdiction
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Red Lake's Delwyn Holthusen's makes two or his 27 total points in the Warrior's 63-51 semi-final win over the Trl-County
Wild Cats at the University of Minnesota-Crookston gym Thursday night. The Red Lake Warriors defend their Region
8A defend their scheduled  Region 8A championship against Win-E-Mac at 8:00 p.m. tonight In the UMC gymnasium.
Jailed Fond du Lac man continues
hunger strike into third week
By Jeff Armstrong
An Anishinabe activist in the 16th
day ofa hunger strike says he will continue his protest at the Carlton County
jail until given the chance to prove his
innocence of sexual misconduct
charges.
Jailed since his Feb. 24 conviction of
fourth degree criminal sexual conduct
and obstructing legal process, Gary
McFatridge of Fond du Lac said his 3-
day trial was a farce since both his attorney, Indian Legal Aid director Wes
Martin, and judge Dale Wolf, an employee ofthe tribal college and a member of a state-tribal court committee,
have ties to the Reservation Business
Committee which compromised their
ability to fairly hear the case.
"There's some kind of conspiracy going on," said McFatridge. "We're not
getting fair justice down here," he said,
noting that the county's jail population is overwhelmingly Native.
McFatridge, who had challenged the
jurisdictional authority of both state
and tribal officials in previous and
pending criminal cases, said he was in
the process of filing a petition for a
writ of habeas corpus with the state.
McFatridge said he has lost a considerable amount of weight, but is otherwise in generally good health. The
Fond du Lac man said Carlton County
jail officials have not monitored his
medical condition and reneged on a
previous agreement to end the protest.
Sheriff Dave Scboe did not return a
phone call from the press.
Anishinabe Advocates founder Dale
Greene expressed concern with the
lack of procedural safeguards in the
case, in which tribal politics likely
played a role.
"There was a rush to judgement by
Carlton county." said Greene. "Instead
of requesting a new judge, his attorney asked to remove himself from the
case because he said Gary couldn't gel
a fair trial here. I think they' re coming
down harder on him and with less fairness than if he didn't raise those issues."
Fast/to pg. 6
Incumbents solicit funds from employees
By Jeff Armstrong
Documents obtained by the Native
American Press/Ojibwe News indicate
that a campaign committee for
incumbent secretary treasurer Erma
Vizenor and District I Rep. Irene
Auginaush-Turney has solicited
funds from employees of the
Reservation Business Committee (see
pg-8).
Furthermore, according to a letter
from former White Earth attorney Miles
Lord, federal gaming regulators
sanctioned the practice:
"I have spoken with other attorneys
who have had much more experience in
tribal law than I. Among them arc the
legal counsel for the National Indian
Gaming Commission, federal
government officials who. in turn,
consulted personnel of the Indian
Bureau Affairs (sic).
"Noneofthepeopleabovc-mcntioned
could findanything illegal, immoral or
unethical about asking for financial
support for a tribal election." Lord
wrote.
A spokesperson for the NIGC
acknowledged that it would be
unorthodox for a gaming commission
attorney to take such a position. "It
would be very unusual for anyone
here to do something like thai." said
Darla Silva
Silva said she would respond lo in-
Funds/to pg 6
Sheriff concerned abouttraffic enforcement
on reservations
Lobbyist, Babbitt aide offer conflicting
accounts of Hudson casino affair
Testimony suggests Interior knew of White House interest in situation
Testifying last month in a statecourt   casino application on July 14. I
MAHNOMEN. MN (AP)- The Minnesota attoraq general has decided
noi lo appeal a rating OO enforcing traffic laws on reservations, leaving one
Minnesota sheriff worried about traffic safetv
In December, the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld the dismissal of
traffic charges against nine members
ofthe White Earth Band of Chippewa
The court cited a 1987 U.S. Supreme
Court ruling that said state laws apply
on reservations if the laws relate to
criminal or prohibited behavior, but not
to bchav lor that simply is being regulated
tie officials doubted that the high
court would hear an appeal and decided not to waste taxpayer money on
a request, according to Holly Ziemcr. a
spokeswoman for the attornc>
general's office.
Mahnomen Count\ Sheriff Dick
Rooncy said Friday the ruling affects
people who lose their driver's licenses
and should not be on the road
It only affects those who want to
disobey our traffic laws, and it certainly is a safety issue." Rooney said.
Ziemcr agreed it is a public safety
concern and said the state would have
to explore other ways of addressing
the issue
By Greg Gordon
WASHINGTON. DC - Interior
Department officials have steadfastly
denied that the White House made any
effort to influence their 1995 decision
to reject a proposed Indian gambling
casino in Hudson. Wis
But a lobbyist's testimony suggests
that department officials may have been
alerted weeks before the decision that
President Clinton and a top aide had
taken an interest in the casino
suit in Wisconsin, lobbyist Thomas
Corcoran said he told an aide to Interior
Secretary Bruce Babbitt on April 25.
1995. that his Minneapolispartncr had
approached Clinton and adviser Bruce
Lindsey a day earlier
Corcoran's testimony conflicts with
that of Babbitt aide Heather Sibbison
In September. Sibbison told Senate
investigators that she didn't learn of
Minneapolis lawyer Patrick O'Connor's
contacts with the White House until ,   ,      .    ,.
after the department rejected the   LODDyiSl/tO pg 5
The clashing accounts arc among
several that will confront a special
prosecutor, to be named any day by a
three-judge appeals court panel to
investigate Babbitt's role in the
decision
Three small Wisconsin Chippewa
bands and their joint venture partner
- the owner ofa failing Hudson dog
track-have allegedthat the casino was
killed because opposing Minnesota