The Ojibwe News / Native American Press (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1998-04-24

              Darb McArthur linked to millions revealed
missing in White Earth audit
By Gary Blair
A recent fraud audit concluded at
White Earth revealed that from $5 to $8
mil lion was either stolen or misdirected
by the former administration of Darrell
"Chip" Wadena - and this money includes the missing HUD funds.
"We wou Id like to examine the records
of (former reservation) attorney. Peter
Cannon (of Mahnomen, MN). Cannon is fighting tooth and nail to hang
onto his records and we want to know
why? If he is clean, then he should be
willing to turn over the information we
want," a source who conducted the
audit told PRESS/ON on Wednesday.
A Twin Cities attorney who has
watched the recent problems at White
Earth unfold says, so for, Cannon has
successfully claimed that Eugene
"Bugger" McArthur. the reservation's
present chairman is in office illegally
and hence is not entitled to his records
that involve Chip Wadena. Cannon
was quick to assist Wadena, after his
conviction for corruption by claiming
that McArthur's early seating was illegal.
In Dec. 1996, a U.S. Interior Department administrative law judge ruled
thatMcArthur had taken office prematurely after being elected In June of
that year and had violated the
reservation's election ordinance. Interior BIA Appeals Law Judge, Katherine
Lynn, ruled the voting during that election was "null and void," because of
the early takeovers. The audit source
also says, "It's come down to whether
the reservation wants to forgo the legal expense of Cannon's maneuvers,
just to have him convicted, because
they will most likely not recover any or
the money   anyway."
The source continued, "Their (tribal
council) attorney. Zenas Baer, says
he is too busy to keep up with Cannon.
He (Baer) says it might be too big ofan
expense if they can not recover any of
the money just to see Cannon go to
prison."
PRESS/ON publisher Bill Lawrence
said on Wednesday, "Cannon may
have liability insurance, that's what he
has it for." PRESS/ON reported during
the height ofthe investigation ofthe
Wadena gang by federal authorities
that Cannon had been overheard saying after he had been drinking, "If they
dig any further, I could get fifteen
years."
When asked about former White Earth
McArthur linked to missing White Earth funds, pg. 1
State-tribal court committee releases draft, pg. 1
Squaw Lake woman complains of retaliation, pg. 1
Leech Lake amicus brief text, pg. 3
Testimony on Gorton bill, pg. 4
R. LaRose on Camp Justice 10th anniversary, pg. 8
Voice ofthe People
i
e-mail, presson@bji.net
Audit/to pg. 6
State of Minnesota seeks consolidation of
MCT dictatorship jjj
Fifty Cents
Ojibwe
News,
Native
American
Press
We Support Equal Opportunity For AD People
By Jeff Armstrong
On April 24, 1998, the 10th
anniversary of the arrest by state
deputies of 10 members ofthe newly-
formed Camp Justice who were
occupying the administrative center
of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, a
state Supreme Court-led task force will
seek to make the movement's demands
for tribal democratization and a
constitutional convention all the more
distant. In fact, if state and tribal
officials have their way, tribal legal
systems being created without any
involvement of grassroots tribal
members will solidify and expand the
unconstitutional authority ofthe TEC/
RBC system well into the next century.
The secretive State Court/Tribal
Court Committee this week unveiled
its draft proposals for the presumptive
enforcement in state courts of tribal
court orders and judgements. Thus,
an outstanding tribal warrant or
apprehension order could lead to one's
arrest anywhere in the state, and tribal
court judgements could be enforced
as if they were state court decisions.
In the proposed change to judicial
rules of procedure, the grounds for
contesting the presumed validity of
the tribal order in state forums are
extremely narrow. Although the Indian
Civil Rights Act, for instance, limits
the authority of tribal governments by
application ofa stripped-down version
ofthe U.S. Bill of Rights, there is no
recognition of this fact in the proposed
rule. Instead, it allows for challenges
to the tribe's personal and subject
matter jurisdiction, which in effect
would tend to protect non-Natives but
exclude enrolled tribal members, who
are viewed by federal law as under the
jurisdiction of any reservation they
enter.
Furthermore, thanks to a state law
quietly enacted last February,
questions of internal tribal authority
and law may be certified by the tribe's
highest court. In the case of the
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, this
would amount to granting all power
to the MCT Appeals Court, whose
authority itself has no legal or
constitutional basis. Created in 1988
with imprisoned former Leech Lake
attorney Harold Finn as its chief
judge, the court was established to
Volume 10 Issue 28
April 24,1988
I
A weekly publication.
Goovriuht Native American Press, 1988
State/to pg. 8
Tribal officials ask for more money to fight
reservation crimes
PHOENIX (AP) - Arizona reservations
are overwhelmed by gangs and
underwhelmed by true, federal money
they get to fight them, tribal leaders
said Thursday.
It is one ofthe many crime-related
problems on reservations, where
homicide rates rival those of many
cities, leaders told a U.S. Senate
subcommittee hearing on tribal crime.
More than half of the 200,000 people
on the Navajo reservation are under
age and many are affiliated with gangs
from Phoenix, Denver and other
Western cities, said Donovan Brown,
chief prosecutor ofthe Navajo Nation
Attorney General's office.
Gang members will often hide from
police on the sovereign reservation,
which stretches across northeastern
Arizona into New Mexico and Utah.
"When they have trouble in urban
areas, they seek safety on the
reservation,"Brownsaid. "When they
have trouble on the reservation, they
seek safety in urban areas."
Sen. Jon Kyi, R-Ariz., said he fears
other legislators see the problem as
only Arizona's because the state has
more American Indians living on
reservations than any other. But he
said that reservations in general have
a citizen-to-police ratio of one to 1,000,
compared to three to 1,000 in most rural
parts of the country.
American Indians have the highest
murder rate of any ethnic group in the
country. And the murder rate on Indian
lands soared 87 percent over five years,
even as it dropped 22 percent
nationwide.
President Clinton's 1999 budget
would boost spending on reservation
law enforcement from $130million this
yearto$312million.Tribal leaderssaid
that even more money is needed to hire
extra officers.
Submitted photo by Lori Gelling*'
The sap boils in the pot at the sugar bush this year to make mapie syrup and candy as the Ojibwe have beeii doing
ever since they migrated from the east coast in to the Minnesota territory.
Anishinabe woman alleges police retaliation
since complaint about deputy
One year later: BIA police still on patrol at
Cherokee Nation
TAHLEQUAH, OK. (AP) - It was
supposed to be a temporary move: Cal 1
in the Bureau of Indian Affairs police
to ensure safety in the volatile
Cherokee Nation. The tearsof violence
that brought them have faded, but
after a year, the BIA is still keeping
watch here. "We brought them in
temporarily so somebody wouldn't get
killed, and try to defuse the situation,"
said Tribal Council member Bill John
Baker. "I'm ready for them to go."
A scant majority ofthe Tribal Council
voted to seek the BIA's help when
tribal infighting spawned two rival
marshals forces last year. BIA police
stepped in April 16,1997. BIA leaders
portrayed the move as short-term and
necessary to protect the publ ic. Others
saw it as a threat to sovereignty. "I
think it's very distasteful to have the
bureau there," said Pat Ragsdale, a
marshal who went to court in an attempt
to force the agency's withdrawal. "But
it's still preferable to agroup of security
people who have only one allegiance,
am.  :.at's to Chief Byrd."
He now wants the BIA to stay, even
though the dispute has entered calmer
legislative and administrative arenas.
Ragsdale's investigation into
allegations of misspending by Chief
Joe Byrd's office triggered the
infighting 14 months ago. Byrd fired
the marshals led by Ragsdale and hired
his own security force.
The action split tribal government.
The BIA moved in as tensions
escalated. "It was a temporary thing
originally for three months, then we'd
see how it went," Baker said. Three
months have stretched into a bumpy
year.
BIA agents were on hand to seize
weapons when Byrd's security force
took over the temporary headquarters
of Ragsdale's marshals at the tribal
courthouse in June. Some blamed the
BIA for a melee that erupted months
later as Ragsdale's supporters tried to
retake the courthouse. Policing in the
midst of political turmoil hasn't been
easy, said Perry Proctor, section
supervisor for BIA law enforcement.
Questions of jurisdiction also pose
problems. "It's a challenging area of
law enforcement for Indian Country,"
he said. "We are faced with additional
jurisdictional issues which local law
enforcement has not had to face. Some
By Jeff Armstrong
A Squaw Lake woman says an Itasca
County deputy has stepped up his
campaign of harassment and
intimidation against her family since
she complained publicly about the
officer last month (March 6 NAP/ON
Community seeks protection from
deputy).
One of several Leech Lake
Anishinabeg who alleged that deputy
Darin Shevich has systematically
violated the civil and constitutional
rights of Native residents. Laura
Therriault said the Itasca County
officer has apparently targeted her in
retaliation.
"Since the article was written, the
harassment has gotten worse," said
Therriault. The Anishinabe woman
said she has documented five
incidents of what she described as
unwarranted surveillance and
intimidation since the Press
interviewed her and county sheriff Pat
Medure on the subject.
On March 2, Therriault says that
\v!-,i!e she was away at work, Shevich
pounded loudly on the door and
refused to immediately identify himself
to her 12-year-old son, who was alone
with his younger sister. When Shevich
identified himself as "Darin," she says,
the boy opened the door and was
subjected to a barrage of questioning
about his mother and her spouse.
The couple has been forcibly
separated by a court order they have
been fighting for months, and
Therriault believes the deputy was
looking to make an arrest for violation
ofthe order. Therriault said she angrily
demanded an explanation for
Shevich's actions from Sheriff Medure,
Anishinabe/topg.5
Indians receive more than $300 million
#
annually from some tribes
BIA/topg.5-
Money woes for Red Cliff Chippewa generate
talk of bankruptcy
WASHINGTON (AP) - Some Indian
tribes give their members a total of at
least $324 million a year in revenue
from taxes, gambling and other
businesses, congressional auditors
said Tuesday.
At least 43 of the 556 federally
recognized tribes make such direct
payments, and the number is probably
higher because many small tribes are
not required to file financial statements
with the government. General
Accounting Office officials told a
Senate Appropriations subcommittee.
They did not name the tribes that make
direct payments, but it is known that
one small Minnesota tribe, the
ShakopeeMdewakanton Sioux, gives
each member an estimated $600,000 a
year in gambling revenue. "I can't
believe weshould be providing money
to tribes that are making per-capita
distributions" to members, said Sen.
Ted Stevens, an Alaska Republican
who chairs the full Appropriations
Committee.
Despite resistance from tribes,
RED CLIFF, Wis. (AP) - Bankruptcy
may be an answer for the Red Cliff
Chippewa as they work to recoverfrom
the loss of about $1 million, a
spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of
Indian Affairs says.
Just the talk of bankruptcy
demonstrates how serious the financial
problems are at the Red Cliff
Reservation, Robin Jaeger,
superintendent of the BIA office in
Ashland, said. "It is the first time I
heard that term used." Jaeger said.
"That is certainly something they have
to weigh. They have a lot of creditors
obviously." Reservation officials met
Thursday. Bankruptcy reorganization
is unnecessary "at this moment but it
needed to be put on the table." said
Walt Bresette, a spokesman for a
study comm ittee that reported in March
thatabout$l million was unaccounted
for. Reservation vice chairman Philip
Gordon said talk of bankruptcy
reorganization was premature. "There
hasn' t been a complete audit," Gordon
said.
The tribal council declared a financial
state of emergency on the reservation
and appointed an audit board to
investigate finances. Anne Sullivan, a
spokeswoman for the audit board, told
the council Wednesday the band owes
more in bills than the $477,000 in its
general fund and no additional money
is expected until Oct. 1, when the
government begins its new year. Bills
keep coming in. like some $12,000 in
health insurance premiums, she said.
Jaeger said all but about 30 ofthe
band's 103 employees have been laid
off. Eight workers in the conservation
department, including fisheries
managers, tribal wardens and fish
hatchery personnel, are among them.
"We have been allowed to volunteer
our services," said Larry Deragon.
chief warden. "We want to try and help
out too. Wejust don't want to abandon
ship."
The BIA and the Indian Health Service
are trying to find money to help the
band. Jaeger said. An audit ofall the
tribal programs financed with state
and federal money is planned, he said.
There is some evidence that money
diverted from those programs over the
Money/to pg. 6
Mille  Lacs  Band  plans
investment in bottled water
pressure is growing in Congress to
overhaul the federal funding system
so that money now going to relatively
well-off tribes can be used to repair
dilapidated schools and address other
needs on the poorest reservations.
The government gave tribes about
$750 million thisyearto run a variety of
government programs. Two-thirds of
the money was divided up according
to what the tribes have historically
received without any assessment of
$300 million/to pg.5
$10  million
Larry Oakes
Northern Minnesota Correspondent
The Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
announced Wednesday that it will
invest as much as$l0 million in Indian
Wells Water Co.. a California-based
corporation that wants to fill the
nation's stores with bottled water from
Indian reservations.
The investment will give the band
about one-third ownership in the two-
year-old company, which plans to
market water from springs on Mille
Lacs'and six other reservations. Each
reservation will be the majority owner
of its own bottling plant, strategically
placed to cater to a region.
"Even though the success of our
casinos has allowed us to turn our
people's lives around, we can't rely on
one industry forever." said Marge
Anderson, the band's chief executive
officer.
If successful. Indian Wells will offer
the first domestic bottled water— and
what company officials believe would
be the first American Indian product
— to be distributed nationally under a
single label, said Brian N. McCarthy,
president and CEO. Each bottle's label
would identify the reservation that
filled it.
* Two Minnesota springs
are being tested.
"We have found tribal lands to have
some ofthe highest-quality springs in
the country because they are in areas
that are undeveloped," McCarthy said.
He readily admits that partnering with
Indian tribes is also part ofa marketing
strategy: Other things being equal,
people will chose Indian Wells water
because they will want to support jobs
and help improve life on reservations,
Mille Lacs/to pg.5