The Ojibwe News / Native American Press (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1998-10-30

              Red  Lake  men  acquitted  of federal
manslaughter charge in Strong stabbing
By Gary Blair
Not guilty was the verdict on Tuesday
for two Red Lake men on trial in
Minneapolis federal court for the
stabbing death of 18-year-old Wesley
Strong.
It took the jury just over four hours to
set 18-year-old Roland "Jesse" Roy
and his 22-year-old uncle. William
"Bill" Roy, free. The fatal stabbing
occurred when a group attending a
high school graduation party on May
24,1997 "dogpiled" the Roys.
During the two and a half day trial,
assistant U.S. attorney Kenneth
Saffold attempted to portray the Roys
as the aggressors, "The ones with a
(metal) pipe and the knifes."
N On the defense side, attorneys Scott
Tilsen and Paul Engh seldom objected
to the questioning ofthe government's
witnesses by federal prosecutors. The
defense called just one rebuttal witness
during the entire trial.
None of the witnesses testified
having seen the stabbing. They all
admitted that they had been drinking
and many offered conflicting
testimony.
Saffold told thejury during closing
arguments that the witnesses were too
scared to tell what they had really
seen. A 5-foot pipe was recovered
from the crime scene, but no knives
were found.
The pathologist who performed the
autopsy testified that the victim had a
blood alcohol level of. 188, and that he
could not determine if that level was in
decline or was advancing. The victim
had been stabbed twice with a "buck
style-knife." once in the neck and the
second striking the fatal blow to his
heart.
"He never knew what hit him," the
pathologist told the jury.
A second male was also stabbed during
the May 24th altercation and has since
recovered.
Although the trial was about the death
of Wesley Strong and his alleged
attackers, it also served as a stark
reminder of what reservation life has
become for our youth. It is a place
where their parents have had to live
underasystem which has never worked
for Indians, a place that today is out of
control when it comes to law and order.
Everyone who testified at the trial
Strong/to pg. 3
•Remember to Vote November 3
•PRESS/ON - RM welcome Western Montana readers, pg. 4
•Red Lake men acquitted of federal manslaughter charge
•Campaign Contributions of the Native Kind
•State Appeals Court to hear controversial LL assault case
Voice ofthe People
1
-mail: presson@paulbunyan.iiBt
We shouldn't prevent them from hating one
group by teaching them to hate another:
In defense ofthe only two groups it is still okay to hate.
racist accusation was made clear when
Native
American
Press
^
By Lisa Morris
I saw the film "Pleasantville" the
other night and felt uncomfortable all
theway through it. Whatdisturbedme
was the obvious message that "those
that advocate Fam ily Values" are racist,
redneck, up-tight and close-minded.
However, the movie inferred that those
that feel free to be promiscuous and
adulterous are the "real" people, the
only ones truly able to think and feel.
Because of their ability to feel and
think, they turned from "black and
white" into people with color. Sure,
the producer ofthe movie threw in a
nod towards art and literature as ways
of freeing the mind. But the majority of
those in the movie that became Blessed
with new insight and pigment came to
it through sex, and only after freeing
their minds through sex did they
become interested in books.     The
the black and white townspeople
began putting up signs banning
"coloreds" from the stores.
Racism. We Americans have a very
singularviewofwhatthatis. The other
day while watching the TV show
"Walker," my six-year-old son
observed, "It's the bad white people
against the good Indians again." How
sad for him, a small boy of both
American-Indian and German-Irish
heritage, to be brought into such
thoughts. I immediately told him that
it's wrong for TV to continual ly portray
white people as rednecks. How is a
young boy of both heritage's to feel?
More importantly, by rousing minority
anger and mistrust toward white
people, how is the problem of racism in
America remedied?
The following night, we watched a
show about the bad white-people
against the good black-people.
Let me add my two-cents about hate
and hate crimes. Hate appears to be
something humans do. I'mnotsaying
that makes it okay, I'm saying that if it
isn't another "race" that they are busy
hating, humans find some other point
of difference to hate such as religion,
tribal affiliation, or even politics. The
horrible massacres in Rwanda were
committed by black people against
black people. The horrible bombings
in Ireland are committed by white people
against white people. In Somalia, it is
black against black and in Bosnia,
again, white against white. In
Cambodia, the Khmer Rouge
committed horrid atrocities against
theirown people, and in early America,
Indian Tribes warred and took coup on
other Indian tribes.
So I am tired of hearing about how
horrible us white people are. There will
Ojibwe
News
We Support Equal Opportunity For AH People
rounded in 1888
11 Issue 3
October 30,1888
A weekly publication.
Copyright Native American Press, 1888
Hate/to pg. 3
Campaign Contributions ofthe Native Kind
By Lisa Morris
According to statements filed with'
the Federal Election Commission (FEC)
by October 1, 1998, the Pojoaque
Pueblo Independent Political Action
Committee donated $1000 to New
Mexico Democrat Eric Serna. Schee-
chu-umsh PAC donated $5000 to Idaho
Democrat Dan Williams. And Mah
Mah No Wi No Min II PAC donated
$6,500 to Democrats and $1,500 to
Republicans, including $1000 to
Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell.
These numbers don't amount to
much and are hardly cause for interest.
After all, this is a free country and
everyone has a right to contribute to
the candidates of their choice. It's
only when one digs deeper that
numbers get interesting. It's only
when one looks at "individual"
contributions, notjustPolitical Action
Committees, (PACs) that the numbers
begin to stand out. Interesting
numbers, but even this report doesn't
tell it all. The methods in which tribal
gaming money is being funneled into
the pockets of politicians are varied
and difficult to track.
According to the Center for
Responsive Politics, (CRP), there are
six avenues with which "to move
political money: Lobbying, soft money
to national party committees, soft
money directed national party
committees by state party committees,
individual contributions, PACs, and
paid travel."
Campaign finance reforms cap an
individual's annual political
contributions at $25,000, with no more
than $20,000 to a national party and
$5,000 to a political action committee
(PAC) in a given year. Individual
contributions to candidates are limited
to $2,000 per candidate per election
cycle.
Campaign/to pg. 5
Minnesota tribe with casino contributes to
Skeen's re-election
SANTA FE(AP) -- A wealthy Indian
tribe with the largest casino in
Minnesota is among the most recent
contributors to Republican Rep. Joe
Skeen in New Mexico's 2nd
Congressional District.
The Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux
contributed $1,000 last week to
Skeen's re-election committee,
according to federal campaign finance
reports filed Wednesday with the
secretary of state's office.
Shakopee members each earn an
estimated $600,000 a year from the
tribe's gambling operations in the
Minneapolis area.
The tribe is fighting a federal decision
that prevents it from putting 593 acres
of Twin Cities-area land into trust, a
proposal opposed by the state of
Minnesota because it would have taken
the land off tax rolls. The tribe is
appealing the decision to the Interior
Department.
The contribution to Skeen was made
about aweek after the Bureau oflndian
Affairs ruled against the tribe.
Skeen is a senior member of the
House Appropriations Committee and
serves on its Interior subcommittee,
which decides spending and budget
issues affecting the Interior
Department.
Suzanne Eisold,Skeen'schief of staff,
said today the congressman had never
spoken with representatives of the
tribe on any matter and was surprised
by the contribution. "We had no idea
who they are," she said.
The Shakopee tribe also is one of
several that figures in a campaign
finance  investigation  involving
Minnesota/to pg. 3
Ho-Chunk project expected to add 1,000
jobs
BARABOO, Wis. (AP) - The Ho-
Chunk Nation held ground-breaking
ceremonies Monday for an expansion
of its casino and bingo hall expected to
add 1,000 jobs.
"This is a Ho-Chunk celebration, not
just for the Nation and its employees,
but a celebration ofthe Nation's 3,000
jobs across the Midwest, 1,100 jobs
here and the additional 1,000 jobs with
the expansion," said Jacob LoneTree,
Ho-Chunk president. "This will be a
premier four-season destination that
benefits everyone."
An addition to the current building
will provide space for more dining,
bingo and blackjack tables, plus 1,900
additional casino slots. An arcade, a
second-floor bingo hall and drop-in
child care are other new features.
Administrativeoffices will move from
the current facility to the basement of
the addition.
Remaining charges in Blackfeet housing
fraud case dismissed
GREAT FALLS (AP) -- U.S. District
Judge Donald Molloy on Tuesday
dismissed remainingcriminal charges
against 11 people and two corporations
accused of diverting $5.5 million from
Blackfeet Indian Reservation housing
grants.
Earlier this month, a federal jury
returned 16 innocentverdictsbutfailed
to    reach decisions on eight other
felony counts and Molloy declared a
mistrial on those charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carl Rostad
then asked Molloy to dismiss the
remaining charges and Molloy granted
the motion.
The defendants included housing
contractor William Harvey Aubrey,
his former associate BrendaBernadette
Todd and Blaze Construction Inc.
Authorities had accused them of
On October 6,1998, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Ivey, Chairman ofthe National Endowment for
the Arts, presented the 1998 National Heritage Fellowship to fifteen master artists, teachers, innovators and
guardians of our living cultural heritage. Sophia "Sophie" George - Yakama-Colville beadworker of Gresham,
Oregon - is a model for the recent revival of Native American beadwork. Her work is found in many museums
and is considered an invaluable cultural resource and treasure. Pictured, from left to right: Sophia "Sophie"
George, First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton, Mr. Bill Ivey.
State Appeals Court to hear controversial
Leech Lake assault case
By Jeff Armstrong
Claiming they were illegally stopped
on the reservation and subjected to
unnecessary force by Cass County
deputies last year, two Leech Lake
women have filed a legal brief with the
Minnesota Court of Appeals seeking
to overturn their convictions.
Pauline Wilson and Renee Judkins
were arrested and charged with fifth
degree assault and obstructing legal
process with force on June 21,1997. In
an incident which sparked demands
by tribal members foran investigation
of police abuse of authority on
reservations throughout the state,
Judkins said Cass County Deputy
Robert Karbowski maced and struck
her with a flashlight in the head after
she and Wilson challenged the
officer's jurisdiction
According to the officers involved, a
minimal amount of force was used to
control the women after they started
kicking and punching them without
provocation.
The state appeals court at the time of
the traffic stop had ruled that the state
lacked authority to enforce regulatory
laws against tribal members within the
reservation, a ruling (State v. Stone)
upheld last December by the
Minnesota Supreme Court.
On Feb. 25, 1998, Wilson was
convicted on both counts and
sentenced to serve 30 days of a one-
year stayed sentence in jail and pay a
$400 fine. Judkins was acquitted of
assault charges but found guilty of
obstructing legal process with force.
She was sentenced to 20 days jail with
a $400 fine.
During the trial, Karbowski admitted
macing Judkins and pulling her hair.
but he denied striking her. However,
jailer Mary Ann Tweder testified that
when Judkins was booked, she had a
facial bruise, a cut and a swollen lip.
Deputy Tim Berglund, who assisted in
the arrest by subduing and handcuffing
Wilson, testified that Karbowski
attempted to mace both women.
Karbowski said he identified the two
women as Natives immediately, but
Cass County districtjudge John Smith
refused to allow the defense to
question the deputy on his knowledge
ofthe Stone court ruling.
Wilson and Judkins are appealing the
■ guilty verdict largely on the ground
that the court denied them the right to
argue an essential element of their
defense to obstructing legal process-
-that Karbowski was knowingly acting
outside ofhis official duties.
State/to pg. 5
Plans have not been finalized for a
separate expansion expected to include
an indoorwaterpark,a250-room hotel
with a convention center, golf course,
convenience store, parking garage,
retail shops and an entertainment
complex.
Revenue from casino and bingo
operations benefit non-tribal members
due to the more than $21 million
contributed in taxes to state and federal
governments, LoneTree said.
OITlCer SJUriSUICUUIl. making juuivjiio mm ^u.img itwi  nun,       — —   ro-
No on 5 campaign launches ad accusing
Indians of deception
mismanaging and misallocating federal
low-income housing grants earmarked
for new reservation dwellings.
Federal investigators from the
Department of Housing and Urban
Development, the Department ofthe
Interior, the FBI and the Internal
Revenue Service spent more than five
years developing the case. No one was
convicted.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - In an attempt
to challenge voter sympathy for
impoverished American Indians,
opponents of a ballot initiative on
Indian gambling launched a television
ad Monday accusing the tribes of
greed and deception.
"Voters wanting to help poorlndians
are being deceived by the backers of
Prop 5," an announcer intones as
images of poor, weathered Indian faces
appear on the screen. "(Proposition) 5
just makes a few rich casino owners
richer."
The latest ad juxtaposes the pictures
of Indians with images of extravagant
homes apparently built on a Southern
Californiagambling tribe's reservation.
It accuses the San Manuel Band of
Serrano Indians of spending millions
of dollars to pass Proposition 5 so
they can make "even more money."
With just one week left until Election
Day and spending on the proposition
reaching a record-breaking level of $71
million, the campaign became even
more cutthroat Monday.
"Proposition 5 will permit tribes such
as the tiny San Manuel tribe to retain
theirotherwise illegal casino gambling
operation, including slot machines,
with virtually no independent
regulation and withoutany obligation
to share revenues or reimburse costs
associated with the impact of large
commercial casinos," said Cathy
Christian, an attorney for the No on 5
campaign.
The ad also claims the San Manuel
tribe has given the equivalent of a
million dollars to the Yes on 5 campaign
for each of the 25 members living on
the reservation.
Between donations and loans, the
tribe has given about $26.8 million to
support the proposition, according to
campaign finance reports.
The Yes on 5 campaign, however,
disputes the tribal membership figures
offered by the No on 5 campaign. There
are 95 members living on the
reservation out ofa total membership
of 163 Indians, said Waltona Manio'n,
spokeswoman for the Yes on 5
campaign. Those figures are more
recentthan the Bureau oflndian Affairs
tribal directory the No on 5 campaign
referred to, Manion said.
The Yes on 5 campaign, which is
supported by 88 of California's 107
tribes, lashed out at the opposition
campaign for criticizing the San Manuel
tribe's new homes in light ofthe $1.6
billion one contributor to the
opposition recently spent on a luxury
hotel.
Mirage Resorts Inc., which has given
$9.5 million to the No on 5 campaign,
opened the Bellagio resort on the Las
No on 5/to pg. 5
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