The Ojibwe News / Native American Press (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1998-11-20

              MIEA awards top Indian educators, student
By Gary Blair
This year's Minnesota Indian
Education Association Eagle Awards
for grades K-12 went to Michelle
Fairbanks, who was named American
Indian Teacher of the Year.
Fairbanks teaches at the Mounds
Park All Nations Magnet School in
St. Paul. Fairbanks' mother is enrolled
at Red Lake and her father is enrolled
at White Earth.
Susan (Smith) Kieger was selected
as American Indian Teacher of the
Year for Early Childhood Family
Education. Kieger is employed at the
Rondo Education Center, North End
Elementary, also in St. Paul. Kieger is
enrolled in the Creek Nation, located
in Okmulgee, Oklahoma.
Gordon "Gordy" Campbell received
the Eagle Award for American Indian
Counselor ofthe Year. Campbell is a
social worker employed with the St.
Paul Public Schools, Indian Education.
He is of Dakota (Prairie Island) and
Ojibwe heritage and is enrolled at
White Earth.
Janelle D. Chief was named American
Indian Student of the Year. Chief is a
10th grader at Harding Senior High
School in St. Paul, Minnesota. Chief
is a Navajo from Tuba City, Arizona.
Indian educators awarded
Removed children's mother alleges neglect
Robinson easily wins Leech Lake Dist. Ill
Dismissal of Menominee lawsuit upheld
DFL seeks cash, not votes, from MN Indian community
Newagers and wannabes costly to Indian community, pg. 4
MIEA/topg.5
Robinson easily wins Leech Lake Dist. Ill
Voice ofthe People
(NAP/ON) Leech Lake natural resources head and former executive director Richard Robinson defeated
Helen Cummings in a low-key runoff
election for the District III RBC seat
vacated by the ouster of Myron Ellis,
who pled guilty in 1995 to embezzling
from the reservation.
Claiming nearly 2/3 ofthe on-reservation ballots, Robinson coasted to victory in the reservation's largest district
with 57%of the vote. Cummings topped
Robinson among Twin Cities, Onigum
and absentee voters.
After a nearly invisible election campaign void of policy discussion, it is
not clear what effect if any the vote
will have. Walter (Frank) Reese of
Onigum said Robinson was backed by
members of the former administration,
including convicted former secretary
treasurer Dan Brown. Reese said voters in Onigum and elsewhere were
unenthused about the choice of candidates.
"People are so fed up with RBC and
their promises, they stayed away (from
voting)," said Reese. He said vote totals from Onigum were less than half
that of past elections.
Voter turnout overall was down 15%
from the primary totals. (Election results on page 5)
e-mail: presson@paulbunyan.net
DFL politicians seek cash, not votes, from
Minnesota Indian community
^
American
Press
Ojibwe
H/ewe
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
By Gary Blair
It appears that Minnesota's
Democratic Farmer Labor (DFL) party
was not interested this year in
attracting the Native American
community's vote for the state's Nov.
3,1998 general election. DFL records
indicate that Indian people were not
included in the party's community
outreach efforts, as other minority
groups were.
However, the party did obtain
substantial contributions from tribal
governments, according to the
Minnesota Campaign Finance Office.
Pre-primary election numbers indicate
the lower Sioux gave $10,000 versus
$500 two years ago. Fond Du Lac gave
$10,000, plus $777.48, compared to
$639 two years ago. Prairie Island gave
$20,000, a less drastic increase over
the $ 15,000 contribution of two years
ago.
Two years ago, the Shakopee
Mdewankton community's pre-
primary election contribution to the
DFL party was $27,500. Donation
amounts for that group have not yet
been made available by the DFL party
for this year. Up-to-date figures for all
the tribal groups will not be available
until Feb. of 1999.
White Earth enrollee David Glass, a
member ofthe DFL party's affirmative
action committee, said this week that
"the Indian community was snubbed"
when attention was given to other
groups and not the Indian community.
"I got up and told them at the meeting
how I felt about this," said Glass,
referring to the first DFL meeting
since the election.
When Reform Party Governor Jesse
Ventura takes office in January of next
year, it will be interesting to see if tribal
governments continue to influence
the political agendas of state senators
Roger Moe and Doug Johnson. Will
the pair provoke Jesse into body
slamming their big-buck benefactors
with their well-paid attorneys?
It will be even more interesting to see
how the new governor handles the
issue of strangling poverty in
Minnesota's Indian communities,
which was created by the DFLers.
Ironically, poverty has increased for
the Chippewa since the Sioux's vision
quest for a "New Buffalo" came in the
form ofa casino.
Volume 11 Issue
November 20,1988
A weekly publication.
Copyright Native American Press. 1998
Yankton Sioux tribe suspends chairman
MARTY, S.D. (AP) - The Yankton
Sioux Tribe has suspended its
chairman and vice chairman while it
launches an investigation into a
possible abuse of power.
Brothers Steve and Robert Cournoyer
were suspended Saturday without pay
on a 46-0 vote of the tribe's general
council. Tribal Chairman Steve
Cournoyer led the tribe 10 years ago
and was re-elected chairman in 1997.
An investigation will be conducted
into possible unauthorized
expenditures and contractual
agreements, the tribe said in a news
release.
The general counci 1 also ordered that
Harlan Horned Eagle, the tribal
treasurer, be retested for drug and
alcohol use. Horned Eagle had failed a
previous test for alcohol and drugs,
and if he tests positive in this test, he
also will be terminated, the tribe said.
Members also named Ellsworth Chytka
as pro-tem chairman and Lois "Pokey"
Weddell as pro-tem secretary. The
changes take effect immediately.
The pro-tem officers, tribal leaders
and tribal members are scheduled to
meet with U.S. Attorney Karen
Schreier. The release also said tribal
members were frustrated that the
Business and Claims Committee had
refused to recognize the authority and
direction ofthe Yankton Sioux Gene
Council.
Members believe the committee
acted out ofthe scope of its authority.
Since January, several attempts have
been made to convene General Council
meetings to allow tribal members to
provide input and resolve concerns
that may involve unauthorized
expenditures and contractual
agreements.
The Minneapolis Community Development Agency (MCDAI recently accepted the 1998 Meritorious Achievement Award from the national
Association of Local Housing Finance Agencies for its role in developing the Maynidoowahdak Odena project. Maynidoowahdak Odena.
which means "a place where ceremonies happen." consists ofthe new construction of affordable rental housing for individuals and familes
living with HIV/AIDS. The $2-million building project, located in the Phillips neighborhood in Minneapolis was designed incorporating
American Indian culture as well as features specific to persons living AIDS.
Mother of children removed by state
alleges neglect by Ramsey County
Local officials will have big say in divvying
up casino proceeds
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A plan for
aAllocating the additional millions of
dollars that Indian tribes will pay the
state under new gambling agreements
is being fashioned to emphasize local
control, a newspaper reports.
Gov. Tommy Thompson and other
state officials are developing the
procedure for handling the payments
under the extended compacts for
operation of tribal casinos and bingo
halls, the Green Bay Press-Gazette
reported over the weekend.
Thompson's plan will emphasize
local decision-making, Administration
Secretary Mark Bugher said. "Our
approach will be local decision-making,
local control, local response," Bugher
said. "We don't want the state of
Wisconsin and the state Legislature
telling local units of government how
they should be investing these dollars."
The state is likely to receive more than
$20 million a year by the time all the
agreements are renewed, or about 60
times as much money as the tribes paid
to the state underthe initial compacts
negotiated in 1991 and 1992.
The state plans to spend the
revenue on economic development
initiatives in regions around casinos,
tourism promotion, and otherprograms
and services.
Bugher, the state's lead negotiator
in gaming talks, said Thompson's 1999-
2001 budget proposal will include a
general plan for spending the money.
The money will be targeted at
communities near the 17 Indian casinos
in Wisconsin, he said. Frank Bennett,
president of the Brown County
Taxpayers Association in Green Bay,
said he would have preferred that
casino revenues be used to offset
property taxes. But local officials know
best how to allocate the money, he
said. "It's the right principle to allow
the locals to decide how to spend it,"
Bennett said.
Dismissal of Menominee lawsuit upheld
MADISON. WIS. A federal appeals
court ruling that upholds the dismissal
of the Menominee Nation's treaty
rights lawsuit was disappointing because the tribe now can't tell its story,
an attorney for the tribe said Wednesday. The lawsuit contended the tribe
maintained off-reservation hunting and
fishing rights on millions of acres of
central and eastern Wisconsin in treaties signed in the 1800s. The 7th U.S.
Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago
ruled Tuesday the tribe's lawsuit was
properly dismissed by U.S. District
Judge Barbara Crabb in Madison in
1996. At issue was whether the tribe
could hunt and fish on public lands
near Lake Michigan, Green Bay, Lake
Winnebago and parts of the Wisconsin River. "I believe the process was
cut short in an improper way that prevented the tribe from telling its story,"
said Bruce Greene of Boulder, Colo., an
attorney for the tribe. "The tribe took
, the position it was entitled to an opportunity to give its side ofthe story and
explain what the treaty meant to them,"
he said. Attorney General James Doyle
said the appeals court decision will
have a significant impact on Indian
treaty laws around the country. "It's
the first time in the history oflndian law
decisions, of which there are hundreds
and hundreds, that the court decided
the case strictly on the language ofthe
treaty itself," he said. "This is a major
victory for states like Wisconsin."
Tribal Chairman Apesanahkwat had
not reviewed the newest decision and
declined comment Wednesday afternoon, a receptionist at his office in
Keshena said. Greene said he hadn't
discussed the case with tribal leaders,
but an option was to appeal it to the
U.S. Supreme Court. The high court
has already agreed to hear a treaty
rights dispute from Minnesota which
involves several bands of the Lake
Superior Chippewa Tribe. The 7,000-
member Menominee Nation sued Wisconsin in 1995, claiming it had hunting,
fishing and gathering rights on up to 10
million acres in central and eastern
Wisconsin. The lawsuit argued tribal
ancestors were misled 150 years ago
when-they agreed to a treaty and exchanged about 10 m i 11 ion acres for land
in Minnesota. Afterthe 1848 treaty was
signed, the Minnesota land was traded
in 1851 forwhatisnowtheMenominee
Indian Reservation in northeastern
Wisconsin. Greene said the case involved four treaties signed in 1831,
1836,1848 and 1854. In dismissing the
lawsuit in 1996 without a trial, Crabb
said even if the United States misled
the tribe, the treaties couldn'tbe rewritten. "Even treaties that are the product
of bribery, fraud or duress are valid and
must be enforced," Crabb ruled. The
tribe contended it gave up the land but
said nothing about giving up its hunting and fishing rights. Doyle said the
1848 treaty said that hunting and fishing will remain in place on the lands
"until such time as the land is surveyed
and offered to sale." "The language in
the Menominee treaty very clearly removes those rights," Doyle said. "We
believe the Menominee were asking
the courts to interpret the treaty as they
would like it to have been written, not
how it was actually written."
By Jeff Armstrong
The mother of two young boys removed from Mille Lacs activist Irene
Benjamin's home last month says
Ramsey County social workers have
systematically harassed her while disregarding the welfare of the children on
whose behalf they claim to act.
Shannon Johnson, mother of
Donavon and Jacob Johnson, ages
two and four respectively, alleges
among other things that since his Oct.
23    removal to a St. Paul shelter, her
youngest son was denied medical attention fornearly a week. When 2-year-
old Donavon was finally hospitalized,
he was diagnosed as suffering from
hepatitis A, a highly contagious and
potentially lethal disease which could
easily have spread throughout the
shelter.
"My baby was sick with hepatitis for
five days before they took her to a
hospital. When I found out about it, I
went to visit him and he was ail alone up
there," said Johnson. "[Shelter employee Ronnie Sletter] told me [case
worker] Jane LaFroth had denied the
initial request to bring the baby into the
hospital. My kids have been through
hell and no one's addressed the issue."
Sletter said she was barred by law
from confirm ing or denying Johnson's
allegations, but Johnson says Sletter
has filed a complaint in the matter.
LaFroth could not be reached for comment.
Johnson said her problems with
Ramsey County began in 1995, when a
police raid netted a tiny amount of
methamphetamine in her apartment.
Ramsey/to pg. 3
Man pleads guilty in murder of his child's
mother
SHAKOPEE, Minn. (AP) - A Prior
Lake man pleaded guilty to second-
degree murder forkilling the mother of
his child last December on the
Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota
Reservation.
Dean L. Brooks, who police say is a
heavy drug user, admitted killing
Kinscem Teta, 22. Teta was last seen
near the Mystic Lake Casino going to
find Brooks to get money for their
daughter's Christmas presents.
Teta's body was found amonth later,
on Jan. 18, in the trunk ofa car towed
fromsouthMinneapolisduringasnow
emergency.
Her body was wrapped in a comforter
from the mobile home where Brooks,
23, a tribe member, had been staying on
the reservation. Teta had been shot
once behind the right ear with a gun
that still hasn't been found.
Police interviewed several people
who said Brooks told them he killed
Teta because she refused to have sex
with him.
Brooks agreed to a 3 6-year sentence,
including at least 24 years in prison.
He is forbidden to have contact with
Teta's family until he is 59 and must
pay prosecution costs of $23,000 under
the sentence imposed Thursday by
Scott County District Judge Michael
Sovis. In exchange, Scott County
Attorney Tom Harbinson agreed to
drop two first-degree murder charges.
Teta's mother, Wanda Lemke, is
caring for Brooks' and Teta's 2-year-
old daughter, Alicia. Lemke said she
favored the plea agreement. "It makes
me feel good that he admitted that he
did it, although there never was any
doubt in my mind," she said.
State Supreme Court to hear fight over
hunting rights
OLYMPIA (AP)-- State wildlifeagent
Bob Lamb drove up the d irt road on the
trail ofa suspicious report-somebody
was firing ahigh-powered rifle in prime
elk country, and it wasn't hunting
season. What he found on that cold
January day in 1995 marked the
beginning ofa bitter legal fight over
Indian hunting rights, a battle that
shifts this week to the Washington
Supreme Court.
What Lamb found were three men -
members ofthe northwest Washington
Nooksack Tribe - loading two bull elk
into a pickup in the eastern Cascades
about 30 m i les west of Yakima off State
Route 12.
Lamb charged one of the hunters,
Donald Buchanan, with possessing
big game during a closed season and
hunting while his state license was
revoked.
On Wednesday, nearly four years
later, Buchanan will tell the state's
highest court thatthe 1855 Point Elliott
Treaty between Northwest tribes and
the federal government gave him the
right to hunt elk on "open and
unclaimed lands," in this case public
lands managed by the state Department
of Natural Resources.
Lawyers for the state Department of
Wildlife and Yakima County,
meanwhile, will tell the nine justices
thatBuchanan'sclaim -upheldbytwo
lower courts - is a misread ofthe treaty
State/to pg. 3
r