The Ojibwe News / Native American Press (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1998-08-07

              'Pray for me, I drive Highway 93'
"Pray for me, I drive Highway 93."
Those words are on a bumpersticker
commonly seen on this well-traveled
road between Missoula and Glacier
National Park. And for good reason,
according to Confederated Salish and
Kootenai tribal elder and renowned
poet Tom Pablo. Highway 93 is a two
lane highway known for its blind
accesses and hills, speeding drivers,
and increasingly heavy traffic.
On September 12, 1996, and Tom
Pablo and his wife Lynn were
southbound on Highway 93. Entering
the turn lane with their turn signals on,
they waited for north bound traffic to
pass so they could turn into the tribal
college. A sweeper from the State,
also going south, was nearly stopped
beside them. Dust billowed around it.
With no signs indicating traffic should
slow down for the machine, another
southbound truck, coming too fast,
went around the sweeper and straight
into the turn lane, hitting the elderly
Pablo's from behind and shoving the
them into northbound traffic.
"We were hit twice."
Mrs. Pablo spoke for her husband,
who was unavailable at the time of this
report. "I had five breaks in my pelvis,"
she stated, "I punctured my lung, had
a broken arm and lost my spleen. I'm in
a wheelchair now. Tom had a bad
concussion and had to learn to walk
and talk all over again. He's lost his
ability to taste and smell. Worst ofall,
Tom lost his ability to write poetry.
Seven ofhis poems, written before the
accident, are currently being put to
music right now in Canada. And every
year we'd been going to an
International Poets convention. 2000
poets from all over the world. Tom
would wear full Indian dress to the
banquets. But now he can't write
anymore. This will probably be our
last year to the Convention."
Highway 93/to pg.5
Supreme Court rejects Crow request for
new hearing in coal tax case
HELENA, Mont. (AP) -- The U.S.
Supreme Court has rejected a request
from the Crow Tribe to reconsider its
decision that the state does not have
to pay the tribe $58 million for illegally
collected coal taxes.
Without explanation, the court this
week rebuffed the tribe's argument
that the justices had violated their own
rules when they decided the case in
May. The tribe said the court went
beyond the single question on appeal:
whether the tribe could recover the
taxes, even though the money had
been paid by someone else.
The Crow attorneys said the court
went too far in considering a second
issue that neither the state nor tribe
had raised: whether fu 11 repayment was
warranted. The justices decided it was
not and left the door open for a judge
to award the tribe some lesser amount.
The Supreme Court's own rules
prohibit it from deciding issues never
presented on appeal or addressed in a
lower court, the tribe said in its petition.
"The court's failure to abide by its
rules raises profound and disturbing
issues of integrity, judicial restraint
and fundamental fairness," the tribe
Crow request/to pg.5
U.S. Justice Department investigating White
Earth RBC over COPS grant
By Gary Blair
Officials from the U.S. Justice
Department met in a closed session
with members ofthe White Earth tribal
council.
Press/ON reported in the July 31,
1998, edition, that reservation officials
were being investigated for falsifying
aonemillion-dollarCOPS (Community
Oriented Police Service) grant by
claiming they would be serving 20,000
enrolled members. White Earth's
overall enrollment is approximately
29,000, of which about 3,000 reside on
the reservation.
According to former White Earth
chairman, Eugene "Bugger"
McArthur, who says he signed for the
COPS grant, had this to say on Tuesday,
about the justice department visit to
White Earth. "I never looked at the
entire grant before I signed for it," he
said. "They (tribal council) were
probably asked at that meeting about
what they've done, so far with the
money. Or, how come the crime rate is
still so high. Or, where all the enrollees
are to justify the amount of the grant
they received.
McArthur added, "I was told that the
justice department's investigators
would be here on Wednesday, they
must have come a day early."
On Tuesday, Mahnomen County
Sheriff Richard Rooney,
acknowledged that he was aware of
the justice department's meeting with
the reservation's council. However,
he would not comment on why the
meeting had taken place. Rooney did
say that he had requested and received
a copy of White Earth's law
enforcement (assistant) grant, but
would not show your writer a copy of
the document. When asked if he had
seen the number of enrollees that the
reservation alleged would be served
by the law enforcement grant, Rooney
answered, "No, I didn't see that part."
Sources at Mahnomen and St. Paul
COPS/to pg. 5
Cherokee women  part of FBI force
investigating crime on Indian land
MIAMI, Okla. (AP)--Two Oklahoma
women have traded their jobs as
counselors for badges to join a small
group of FBI agents that investigates
crimes on American Indian lands.
Dana Ward and Dorothy Summerfield
are among 100 FBI agents who are
assigned to investigations on tribal
land. The force is smal 1 when compared
with the approximately 11,000 agents
working for the FBI.
Ms. Ward is the daughter ofthe late
Amos Ward, a longtime Rogers County
sheriff. She worked on reservations in
New Mexico and Arizona before
returning to Oklahoma. She is now
stationed in Miami.
Ms. Summerfield worked in public
education, collegiate and mental health
counseling to join the FBI in 1984. A
Jay native, she is based in Muskogee.
Both are on the tribal rolls of the
Cherokee Nation. Both said they were
attracted to the FBI after learning about
criminal profiling.
Ms. Summerfield said that one ofthe
most difficult cases she has worked on
involved a non-Indian teacher who
was accused of molesting children at a
boarding school in tribal land in
Arizona. "He was cycling kids and
every year would pick one," she said.
Both women said getting children to
open up. about such situations is one
of the most difficult parts of
investigating child abuse allegations.
"It takes a lot of time to get their trust
so they will talk about something
terribly personal," Ms. Ward said.
"A lot of times, kids don't have the
vocabulary to express what happened."
FBI statistics indicate that of 6,994
cases opened since 1994, some 83
percent involved a violent crime or
sexual or physical abuse ofa child. "It
is probably one ofthe most prevalent
crimes in Indian country," Ms.
Summerfield said.
Echoing state officials, she said
increased reporting has contributed to
the increased number of cases. Ms.
Summerfield said those convicted of
criminal activity on tribal land generally
receive more prison time when
compared with those convicted of
committing crimes on state land.
Unlike state systems, the federal
system does not have early release
mechanisms, such as good time credits.
Ms. Summerfield said the FBI has
beefed up its training for investigating
crimes on Indian land.
Shakopee tribe files suit
Campaign finance law seen as free speech infringement
By Bill McAllister
Managing Editor
Faced with disclosing the source of
funds transferred to its political action
committee, an Indian tribe is seeking to
have a state campaign finance law
nullified or struck down as
unconstitutional.
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux
Community, underan Aug. 3 deadline
to identify the source of $27,500
donated to the DFL last year by its
PAC or else get the money back from
the PAC, has instead filed a lawsuit
against the state Campaign Finance &
Public Disclosure Board in Ramsey
County District Court.
In an agreement between the parties,
the Aug. 3 deadline will be waived as
long as the tribe does not make any
further contributions to the PAC while
the case is pending.
The tribe contends an recent advisory
opinion adopted by the board,
although amended to address one of
the tribe's concerns, would have the
effect of discouraging any organized
political involvement by Indians in
Minnesota. The advisory opinion,
requested by the tribe, and the board's
concurrent decision on a complaint
brought by the Republican Party would
require the tribe to describe the sources
of future political contributions, in
addition to resolving the issue with
past contributions.
Treasury secretary chooses
new dollar coin
"Requiring tribes to disclose a
description ofthe revenue generating
sources of a tribe's funds does not
assist the public in making decisions
regarding the nomination or election
of candidates or votes on ballot
questions and requires the disclosure
of sensitive and confidential
information, having the likely effect of
preventing tribes from making
contributions." according to the
complaint filed by attorneys for
BlueDog, Olson & Small and Faegre &
Benson.
"The Legislature has not taken the
dire and drastic step of imposing
detailed     financial     disclosure
Shakopee/to Pg. 3
Sacajawea for
WASHINGTON (AP) ~ Sacajawea,
Lewis and Clark's Indian guide, will
appear on a new dollar coin scheduled
to start circulating in 2000, Treasury
Secretary Robert Rubin has decided.
In accepting the recommendation ofa
citizen's advisory committee, Rubin
on Wednesday brushed aside the
strong objections of the senior
Republican lawmaker who had
sponsored the legislation authorizing
the new coin.
Sacajawea was the young Shoshone
woman who joined the expedition of
Merriwether Lewis and William Clark
in 1804 and, with a baby in her arms,
guided the explorers across the Rocky
Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.
No one knows for sure what she
looked like, but a citizens advisory
panel meeting in Philadelphia voted 6-
1 on June 12 to recommend that the
faceofthenewdollar"bearadesignof
Liberty represented by a native
American woman, inspired by
Sacajawea."
Rubin had directed the committee to
choose a woman or women, real or
symbolic, forthe coin. Panel members
said they believed it was important
that a real woman of historical
importance be chosen for the coin,
which is taking the place of a coin
depicting 19th century women's rights
advocate Susan B. Anthony.
"For too long, the women of this
country have had to sit back and allow
depictions of real men on our coinage
but, except for the Susan B. Anthony
dollar, neverareal woman," said panel
member Patricia McGuire, president of
Trinity College in Washington.
Sacajawea/to pg. 5
•"Pray for me, I drive Highway 93", pg. 1
•Naytahwaush 'riot' instigated by police abuse, pg. 1
•U.S. Justice Dept. investigating White Earth RBC over
COPS grant, pg. 1
•White Earth 'newspaper' would be the envy of any Third
World dictatorship, pg. 4
•Supreme Court rejects Crow request for new hearing in
coal tax case, pg. 1
Voice ofthe People
small: prBSSon@bji.net
Native
American
frees
^
Ojibwe
mews
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
r.
Volume 10 Issue 43
August 7,1008
A weekly publication.
Copyright Native American Press, 1808
What could be better than enjoying a warm August afternoon playing at the park. Pictured above, at Diamond
Point Park, in Bemidji, Minnesota are Marie, Ly nette, Christopher and Justine Stone.
Naytahwaush 'riot' instigated by police
abuse, witnesses charge
By Jeff Armstrong
In what the Mahnomen County
Sheriff described as an unprovoked
riot, Anishinabe youths in
Naytahwaush hurled rocks and
bottles at county squad cars after
witnessing an officer run down a
suspect fleeing on foot.
"Craig [Bumette] ran through a yard,
and that cop car went through that
yard and went off the curb while Craig
was running through the yard. I [saw]
the cop car hit the curb and I saw Craig
hit the ground," said James Goodwin.
Goodwin was one of 14 White Earth
youths arrested in connection with the
July 18 conflict, but was later released
without criminal charges.
No mention of the collision with a
pedestrian appeared in an abbreviated
sheriff's press release, which was
repeated unquestioningly throughout
the state media.
But community members say the
county's story is an attempt to cover
up the brutally racist actions of its
deputies.
Mahnomen County Attorney Eric Boe
declined comment on the case. "I'd
just as soon stay out of any comment
on it," said Boe. "It's easier for me if I
can just do my job."
According to acounts by several
witnesses, the dispute began after
Bumette asked deputy John McArthur
for a cigarette. When McArthur said
no, Bumette slapped the back of the
squad car with his hand. McArthur
then got out of the car and began
pursuing Bumette, who may also have
made an unflattering comment to the
deputy.
Unable to catch Bumette, McArthur
instead grabbed his friend, who wishes
to remain anonymous. "When I was
walking away, that cop walked up to
me. He grabbed me from behind and
handcuffed me and he wouldn't tell
me why he was taking me," he said.
"He said if I can't catch him, I gotta
take someone and that would be you."
From there, the young man says he
was hauled to the jail in Mahnomen at
speeds occasionally exceeding 100
m.p.h. While handcuffed to a chair in
the booking room, where he was being
held on an alleged probation violation,
the White Earth youth says he was
physically abused.
"I was almost sleeping in the chair,
and they came in and threw me to the
floor. One cop jumped on my back and
was putting his knee in my back. Then
John McArthur started kneeing me in
the head while I was on the ground,"
he said. "He was calling us all kinds of
names, like 'stupid Indians.'"
Sarah Thompson, age 13, said she was
one of several juveniles roughed up
by officers at the scene. "When they
hit Craig, that's when everyone got
mad. That's when they first started
throwing stuff," Thompson said.
"When they hit Craig, I went running
up to see if he was all right. [Deputy
Paul] Brehm jumped up and gave me a
big shove and I went flying back," she
said.
"They dove on [Craig Burnette],
pushed their knees into his back,
Riot/to pg. 3
Hanson of Red Lake sentenced
Harry'PeeWee'
to 70 mos. for firearms possession
Fifty-nine year old Harry "Pee Wee"
Hanson from the Red Lake Indian
Reservation was sentenced Friday,
July 31 United States Districts Court
to 70 months in prison for possessing
astolen firearm. Hanson was sentenced
by Chief Judge Paul magnuson in St.
Paul.
Hanson has prior convictions in U.S.
District Court in 1976 for voluntarily
engaging in an act of sodomy, in U.S.
District Court in 1979 for conspiring
with others while armed with dangerous
weapons to prevent by force, intimation
and threats, BIA officers from
performing theirduties and in Beltrami
County State Court in 1990 for third
degree criminal sexual conduct. Federal
law prohibits anyone convicted of a
felony from possessing a firearm.
The case is the result of an
investigation by the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms and the Red
Lake Law Enforcement. Assistant
United States Attorney Clifford B.
Wardlaw prosecuted the case.
One child killed, two injured in house fire on
Red Lake Reservation
PONEMAH, Minn. (AP) - The state
fire marshal's office is investigating a
house fire that killed a 7-year-old girl
and injured two of her siblings on the
Red Lake Indian Reservation.
Two firefighters who were shocked
by electrical wiring while fighting the
blaze were treated and released from a
nearby hospital.
The body of Jacinda Kingbird was
found about 7 a.m. Wednesday after
the fire had been extinguished. Richard
White. 8,andSalinaKingbird,5,were
in stable condition at the Miller Dwan
Burn Center in Duluth.
"It appeared as though the roof had
caved in on the girl as she was trying
to escape through a window," said
Ronald Cloud Jr.. Ponemah assistant
fire chief. Cloud said he* didn't think
any adults were home at the time ofthe
fire.
The cause ofthe fire was still under
investigation Friday but authorities
havespeculateditbegan in the kitchen.