The Ojibwe News / Native American Press (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1998-07-17

              Problems on the White Earth reservation
continue unabated
By Gary Blair
White Earth's latest incident took
place at approximately 3:00 a.m. on
Tuesday, July 14, 1998. when
supporters ofthe McArthur cousins
"Bugger" and "Darb" tried
unsuccessfully to take-over the tribal
headquarters. This was the second
time within five weeks that a
dissatisfied faction attempted to takeover the reservation's offices.
On Jun 7, 1998, another group
headed by then council member
Tony Wadena took over the
administration building and 700 or
more marked absentee ballots were
taken before' the building was
recaptured two days later. Reports
say, Tony Wadena had been duped
into' believing that his imprisoned
father Chip and his gang were going
to be released from prison early,
becuase they believed they would
win their appeals. Reports say Tony
Wadena was attempting to stop the
recent election so his father could
regain power.
Former White Earth chairman
Eugene "Bugger" McArthur has
reported, that when Tony Wadena
learned that his father was not getting
out of prison, hecalled him and asked,
"What do I do now?" This is the
same Tony Wadena who was heard
saying  moments  after Bugger
McArthur's removal from the tribal
council. "One down and three to go."
Since Bugger McArthur's removal
from office, the pair who was once
political enemies, are reported to have
joined sides in the ongoing wars at
White Earth.
Press/ON sources say the
McArthur's started conducting
secret meetings shortly before
Bugger's removal as tribal chairman
and Darb's election defeat that
followed on June 9,1998. The latest
take over attempt is reported to have
been spearheaded by reformer, Dale
Hanks, who had been silent while
earning $ 17 per hour while employed
by the reservation's business
committee. It was not until Hanks
was recently terminated for refusing
to take a mandatory drug test that he
became involved in the reservation's
latest problems.
Hanks has been calling potential
supporters to meetings at his home.
Our source says he was invited to
one of those meetings. "When I got
to Dale's house, there was Bugger
McArthur and (his girlfriend) Miss
Vicki. They were talking about taking
over the tribal council building. This
is not the approach that I want to take
in resolving our problems."
Other problems at White Earth.
On July 10, 1998. the tribal council
judge, Anita Fineday conducted an
un-publicized election protest
hearing at the Golden Eagle Bingo
palace in Mahnomen, MN. Although
the hearing's structure was
conventional, the proceedings raised
questions about the ethical conduct
of the election judge and the
attorneys who represented the
election board and the three potential
winners. The 10:00 a.m., 2 1/2 hour
tribunal was remarkably peaceful
compared to other hearings recently
held on the embattled reservation.
The small group of people who
attended the hearing was told that
there would be no outbursts tolerated
during the testimony. The
proceeding was audio taped to keep
a record, however, there was no PA
(public address) system. Film and
video cameras were not allowed.
Many of those who attended the
hearing, left early, because they could
not hear what was being said.
The complainants were candidate
for secretary/treasurer, Darwin
"Darb" McArthur, district one
hopeful, Arthur Lang and district
two incumbent, Tony Wadena, who
were upset in the June 9, 1998,
election. LangandMcArthurargued
that the theft ofthe absentee ballots
and the television news coverage
that reported, that the election had
Problems/to pg. 5
Red Lake Tribal Election, July 22,1998, pg. 9
Senator Gorton introduces five bills to amend tribal sovereign immunity, pg. 4
Problems on the White Earth reservation continue unabated, pg. 1
Red Lake announces issuance of bonds, starts construction of two new admin.
buildings, pg. 9
Whitefeather and his DFL handler's new development projects smell, pg. 4
Reservation Violence: And Then There Were None, pgs. 1,3,5,8 & 9
Voice ofthe People
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And Then There Were None
By Debra Weyermann
Harper's Magazine
Marco La Plante's murder brought
shrugs all around. The Navajo peers
he worked with at the local lube pit
stared pleasantly at the boss who
told them the news and were back to
theirusual horseplay within minutes.
The teenage Navajo girl who could
have called 911 said, quite
indignantly, that she'd really had an
obligation to drop friends off before
detouring to a phone. The surgeon
noted, without much interest, that
Marco died of the usual Navajo
stuff—skull-splintering blows to the
head, delivered, in this case, by a
rock instead of the increasingly
popularaluminum baseball bat. The
Anglo judge who presided over the
killers' preliminary hearing last
August flirted with me while offering,
as an excuse, I suppose, that all these
Indian killings are the same. This
sentiment must have accounted for
the fact that the judge closed his
eyes through about a third of the
daylong proceedings,  not even
bothering to turn his regal chair so
that the gallery couldn't detect him.
The killers, Chris Johnson, twenty-
two, and Lathan Benally, twenty-
one, grinned and waved at relatives
and friends as if they were on a
homecoming court. Benally conferred
eagerly with his public defender like
a bright student trying to wow the
teacher. Johnson looked slightly
unhappy, but Benally actually
appeared to be having fun.
Benally had turned himself in. Most
None/to page 3
White Earth band creates tribal police force
WHITE EARTH, Minn. (AP) - The
White Earth Band of Chippewa and
the state agree that crime is upon the
^northwestern Minnesota
reservation and more police officers
are needed. But they disagree over
who should enforce the law.
A newly created tribal police force
recently began patrolling roads on
the reservation in three counties. It
is a source of friction with the state,
which doesn't license the tribal
officers and is uncertain about their
training or role in law enforcement.
"The potential for conflict ... is so
significant," state Public Safety
Commissioner Don Davis said.
White Earth's action is part ofa
movement by tribes around the
nation to use the federal Community-
Oriented Police Services program,
known as COPS, to create or expand
tribal police forces.
Mahnomen County, which is
entirely within the reservation, saw a
155 percent increase in crime from
1992 to 1997. according to the Public
Safety Department. Mahnomen,
Becker and Clearwater counties, the
latter two cover parts of White Earth,
have been responsible for criminal
law enforcement on the reservation
under a federal law dating to the
1950s. A yearago, tribal, county and
state officials discussed using COPS
grants to increase law enforcement.
The plan was for the tribe to use
grant money to contract with the
counties, which would hire officers
to spend all or much of their time on
White Earth. Davis said the state
offered to work with the tribe to help
itcreate a licensed police force within
several.years.
But after checking with the federal
government, the tribe decided to go
it alone. "We do have authority,"
acting Tribal Chairman John
Buckanaga said. "The state doesn't
understand the authority that tribes
have," The tribe plans to create and _,«
enforce criminal statutes and would
like to coordinate enforcement with
the state, Buckanaga said.
White Earth was awarded $1 million
in federal money. Ofthe more than
200 Minnesota police or sheriff's
departments funded by the COPS
program, only Minneapolis, St. Paul
and Duluth got more money. The
tribe has hired a police chief and
three patrol officers, and it plans to
expand the force.
White Earth Police Chief Mike
Robinson. 40, a former officer for the
U.S. Bureau oflndian Affairs, said
the tribe has the ability to police
Indians on'its reservation. "Our
officers are wel l-trained," he said. "I
tar
The "Red Lake Indians" basketball team were the North District #29 Champions in 1938-1939. Pictured above, left to right;
back row - Roman Sigana. Kenneth Graves, John Graves, Vernon Magneson, Patrick Desjarlait. Middle Row - Coach Allan fields,
Wm. Bobby Spears, Joseph Stromberg, Richard Korstad, Miles Nelson - Assistant Coach, Kenneth Gregg - Student Manager. From
Row - William Strong, Raymond McKenzie, Harold Barrett, Leonard Hawk. Everett Levi Johnson.
FDL man charged with 15th D.W.I.: Driving
while intoxicated or driving while Indian?
PoNce/to pg. 3
Tribes worried that anti-shakopee provision
would set precedent
WASHINGTON (AP) - A
Minnesota Indian tribe's dispute
with Gov. Arne Carlson over a
proposed shopping center in the Twin
Cities suburbs has tribes all over the
revenue base for the tribal
governments." said Ron Allen,
president ofthe National Congress
of American Indians.
Carlson has unsuccessfully pushed
Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt to
tract, now farm land. If the land gets
trust status, the city of Shakopee
and Scott County would have no
control over its development and
say they could lose millions of dollars
in property taxes.
By Dale Greene
A Fonddu Lac man, Julius A. Couture,
appeared in Carlton County Court last
week before 8th District judge Dale A.
Wolf.
Mr. Couture was appearing for a Rule
8 hearing, a defendant's initial
appearance before the district court on
the complaint or "Tab" charge in felony
and gross misdemeanor cases.
Mr. Couture has been detained in the
Carlton County law enforcement center
Jail since he was pulled over and
arrested by the Cloquet police officers
on July 1st, which was, ironically, the
day the Fond du Lac police force was
to come into effect.
Couture's Rule 8 hearing was on six
driving-related charges,  including
country worried about land deals of   reject the trust application, now
"It's unfair to the people of   operating avehicleunderthe influence
their own.
Tribal leaders will be lobbying
Congress this week to kill a provision
Sen. Rod Grams inserted in an Interior
Department funding bill to block the
agency from taking 593 acres of land
into trust for the Shakopee
Mdewakanton Sioux. Trust status
exempts Indian land from property
taxes and zoning restrictions. "This
is a new technique that the Congress
is using to create more and more
impediments for the tribes to become
self-sufficient and create a strong
under consideration in the Bureau of
Indian Affairs' Minneapolis office.
Tribal land acquisitions have
become thorny political issues in a
number of states as tribes with
newfound wealth from casino
gambling have started buying up
adjacent property.
The Shakopee tribe, which has one
of the nation's most successful
Indian casinos, says it needs to
diversify its economy and wants to
put a shopping center, homes and
industrial development on the new
Shakopee, it's unfair to the county,
it's unfair to the state, it's unfair to
the business community in that area,"
said Randy Wanke, a spokesman for
Grams, R-Minn. As many as 200 tribal
ofalcohol. The local Duluth media has
reported that this is Mr. Couture
Fifteenth DWI charge.
At this hearing, no plea was entered
by Mr.  Couture,  but his court-
charge (count 6,) and count 5, the
Driving After Revocation charge. The
othercounts were as follows: Count 1,
gross misdemeanor-Enhanced DWI
(over .20); Count 2, gross misdemeanor
DWI (2 prior within 10 years): Count 3
DWI Child Endangerment; and Count
4, Aggravated DWI.
Defense attorney Joanna Wiegert
asked the court to lower Couture's
Bail, which had been set at $24,000.
This request was turned down by judge
Wolf.
Wiegert then asked that home
monitoring with alcohol testing
capabilities built into the home monitor
be tried. Judge Wolf agreed to consider
this request and rule later.
Carton County attorney James Ross
commented that he thought Mr.
Couture had been through treatment
eight times before, and the prosecutor
objected to any bail reduction.
The judge appeared to agree with the
prosecution's argument, saying the
car (truck he was driving) stopped by
police on  July   1st was  not Mr.
On two jurisdictional questions
before the court, the arguments were
to be submitted within three weeks of
the July 7 court date. These involved
counts 5 and count 6 (driving after
revocation, open bottle). Citing the
state's recent Stone decision, the
defense attorney asked that those
charges be withdrawn since the state
lacks civil regulatory jurisdiction to
enforce these statutes on the
reservation.
According to police reports and court
documents, Mr. Couture was on the
Fond du Lac reservation at the time of
his being stopped by Cloquet Police.
In the police report. Cloquet police
officers said they received a report
from
dispatch that a possible drunk driver
had just left B & B Market in Cloquet,
outside the current boundaries ofthe
reservation. This vehicle was travel ing
west toward the reservation, with a
child passenger inside.
The police report further stated that
police officers, traveling west on
leaders are expected in Washington   appointed attorney was granted, by   Couture's. Wolf said Couture could   County Road 7, had came upon a car
this week to lobby against several
provisions, known as riders, in the
Interiorspending bill.
The Senate is expected to take up
the legislation later this month. The
hottest  issue  is a Robin  Hood
judge Wolf, three weeks to submit
arguments against the Open Bottle
thus pose a risk
released.
to drive again if   pyy,^ pg  3
Clinton urges more attention to plight of
American Indians
Tribes/to pg.5
Enzi wants image of Sacajawea on new coin
CHEYENNE. Wyo. (AP) - The
image of Shoshone Indian guide
Sacajawea should be placed on a
new dollar coin because she was "an
icon of bravery and resourcefulness"
and played a prominent role in
American history, said U.S. Sen. Mike
Enzi, R-Wyo, on Thursday.
Sacajawea accompanied Lewis and
Clark on their expedition to learn
more about the West from 1804-1806.
Although often called their guide.
the 17-year-old girl's major role was
as a liaison to the Shoshone Indians
with whom she had grown up.
In June, the Dollar Coin Design
Advisory Committee decided against
depicting any one person but instead
recommended a coin bearing the
image of "Liberty, represented by a
Native American woman, inspired
by Sacajawea and other Native
American women."
An actual portrait of Sacajawea
won't appear nor will her name, but
Enzi said the coin should "explicitly
honor and bear a likeness of
Sacajawea."
In a July 9 letter to Treasury
Secretary Robert Rubin, Enzi wrote
that   Sacajawea   would   honor
American Indians everywhere and
serve as an important symbol for
women. "Lewis and Clark's
appreciation ofherskills led them to
ARLINGTON, VA(AP)-- Following
up on the advice of his advisory
board on race, President Bill Clinton
says American Indians need special
attention in getting over the
"pathetic      and      inadequate"
grant her a vote on the operation of conditions created for them by the
the expedition that was equal to the federal government,
other members of the group," he During a roundtable discussion on
wrote. race Wednesday. Clinton said the
Becauseofarecentbestsellerabout country must act to ameliorate the
the Lewis and Clark expedition by isolation and neglect that Indians
historian Stephen Ambrose and the feel. He admitted he did not know
Ken  Burns     documentary  that much about Indians until he ran for
followed, the U.S. Mint received president in 1992 and, after visiting a
several letters and e-mails backing few reservations, concluded that this
country has given them a raw deal.
Sacajawea/topg.5
"The paternalistic relationship the
U.S. government has kept them in
was pathetic and inadequate,"
Clinton said. "They literally got the
worst of both worlds. They weren't
getting enough help, and they
certainly didn't have enough
responsibility and power, in my view,
to build a future."
Clinton spoke after his race advisory
board reminded him that he should
develop a strategy to address
American Indian concerns. That
suggestion grew out ofa meeting in
Denver in March, where protesters
complained about Clinton's failure
to appoint an Indian to his race panel.
who directed a film on Indian life. He
said Indians 'were tired of being
ignored in discussions of race, when
so many of their problems are based
on race.
"A poor Native American faces
more hurdles than a poor anybody,"
Alexie said. "I didn't have running
water until I was 7 years old. I still
remember when the toilet came.
"Nobody talks about Indians,"
Alexie said. "Usually what they'II do
to me is come up and tell me they're
Cherokee." That drew laughter from
the president, who had said his
grandmother was one-quarter
Cherokee.  Clinton's  session  with
The president's remarks pleased     _
Sherman Alexie. an author-filmmaker   OlintOn/tO pg. 3