The Ojibwe News / Native American Press (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1998-12-04

              U.S. Supreme Court reviews
Mille Lacs treaty case
By Julie Shortridge
On Wednesday, December 2 the U.S. Supreme Court
heard oral arguments in their review of theMille Lacs treaty
lawsuit. Approximately 400 people filled the hearing room
for the hour-long Mille Lacs treaty discussion which
started at 10:00 a.m. At least several dozen were from
Minnesota, including members ofthe press, and supporters
on both sides of the issue.
Fourattorneys testified: John Kirwin with the Minnesota
Attorney General's office, Randy Thompson for the
Landowners, Marc Slonim for the Mille Lacs Band and
Barbara McDowell for the U.S. Department of Justice.
The nine Supreme Court justices interrupted the
presentations often, interjecting numerous questions as
the attorneys talked. Only Justice Clarence Thomas
remained silent.
Most ofthe questions had to do with defining what
hunting and fishing rights the 1837 treaty gave the
Chippewa, and whether President Zachary Taylor's 1850
Executive Order rescinded those rights. The Indian Claims
Commission (ICC) payment to the Minnesota Chippewa of
$9 million was also a point of questioning and discussion.
Here are some excerpts ofthe hearing:
Justice O'Connor: The respondents got an ICC award in
1970. Did that claim encompass any ofthe hunting and
fishing rights?
Kirwin: The tribe mentioned it in the beginning of their
claim in that they said the hunting and fishing right had
been temporary and the federal government had ended it.
The Band experts then evaluated their loss based on the
'highest and most valuable' uses of the land, which
presumably included all possible uses including hunting
and fishing. They received $9 million dollars from thelCC,
which was 10 times more than the original payment they
got for the land [under the 1837 treaty].
Justice Rehnquist: Was that the Mille Lacs Band?
Kirwin: It included all the MinnesotaChippewa bands by the
end.
Souter: One ofthe problems we have seeing it your way is
that anyone could have hunted and fished this way at the
time because there were no hunting and fishing regulations.
Supreme Court/to pg. 3
White Earth-Mahnomen law enforcement
pact slated for signing today
By Gary Blair
A joint law-enforcement agreement
between White Earth and Mahnomen
County officials to be formally
approved on Dec. 4,1998 is apparently
problematic and could create more
unrest for the already troubled
reservation.
Press/ON sources at White Earth
reported shortly before press time that
this agreement may have already been
signed by Mahnomen County's Board
of Commissioners. They say a protest
that was planned for the signing may
have to be called off.
The agreement, if signed, would open
the way for the reservation to receive
a one million dollar U.S. Justice
Department, Community Oriented
Police Service (COPS) grant. The
grant, opponents of the agreement
say, will adversely affect the dark-
skinned Indians, who already occupy
most ofthe area's jails.
White Earth tribal council members,
however, say the federal policing
funds are needed to curb a reported
rise in the reservation's crime rate.
Four newly constructed temporary
holding cells in Becker County's
portion ofthe reservation have not yet
been licensed for use, and it's not
known if they can be utilized under
this agreement. The agreement would
force Mahnomen County officials to
request funding from the state to build
a new jail facility for their portion of
the reservation.
A Press/ON source says, "Once that
agreement is signed, (Richard)
Rooney, (Mahnomen County's
Sheriff) will then go to the state
legislature and request money to
build a new jail in Mahnomen. And,
,to your question about who will
occupy that jail—Yes, it will, most
likely by filled with 95 percent of dark
skinned Indians."
Opponents of the agreement are
concerned that there is no mention in
the law-enforcement agreement to
assure White Earth members that their
civil rights will be protected. Civil
rights do not exist on Minnesota's
Indian reservations. As presently
practiced, basic liberties are subject
White Earth/to pg. 5
Difference between 'privilege,' 'right' is
crucial to treaty case
By T.David Price
On Sunday, both major Twin Cities
newspapers carried front-page stories
on the 1837 Chippewa treaty case that
is to be heard by the U.S. Supreme
Court today. In each article the
disputed hunting and fishing quotas
are alternately described as "rights"
or "privileges." While the difference
in definitions may seem unimportant,
in a legal sense it is paramount.
Both newspaper articles incorrectly
state that in 1837 Indians sold land in
Minnesota in exchange for hunting,
fishing and gathering rights on the
lands in question. In fact, the treaty
only granted hunting, fishing and
gathering privileges.
More importantly, the 1837 treaty
specifically provided cash payments
for a period of 20 years in exchange
for the lands sold. These payments
were to provide food, tobacco, farming
and blacksmith equipment, as well as
iron, seed for crops, steel and
instructors to teach farming and
blacksmith work. If the Indians
wished, the funds could also be used
to establish schools.
No hunting and fishing "rights" were
granted by the treaty. Article 5 ofthe
treaty states that "The privilege of
hunting, fishing, and gathering the
wild rice, upon the lands, the rivers
and the lakes included in the territory
ceded, is guaranteed to the Indians,
during the pleasure of the president
ofthe United States."
"Privilege" and "right" have very
different legal meanings. Americans
have a right to own land, a privilege
to drive a car. If the government takes
private land by eminent domain to
build a highway, for example, the Fifth
Amendment to the Constitution
requires the government to pay the
owner for it. A privilege can be taken
away without compensation.
Underthe 1837 treaty, Indians were
paid for their land and given a
temporary privilege to hunt and fish
on the ceded territory. Congress,
which approved all treaties,
understood that hunting and fishing
privileges would be revoked when the
ceded lands had been surveyed and
Difference/to pg. 5
Culture part of Indian housing community
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Ricardo
Rojas, 37 and HIV positive, says he
nearly lost his will to live when he
became homeless. His partnerof nearly
20 years had died ofan AIDS-related
illness, and his apartment building
managers stopped taking federal
government vouchers for low-income
people.
Then the Maynidoowahdak Odena
housing complex opened early this
year in the Phillips neighborhood. He
moved in and began to remake his life.
The name ofthe complex means "a
place where ceremonies happen," and
the buildings' architecture and intent
incorporates American Indian designs
and traditions.
It is intended to help Indians who
have AIDS-related illnesses and has
15 housing units, ranging from
efficiency apartments to four-bedroom
homes. The buildings are octagonal.
"It's as close to a circle as we could
get," said Sharon Day, executive
director ofthe American Indian AIDS
Task Force. "What everybody said
was that they wanted more of an
organic living space," Day said.
Maynidoowahdak Odena, like
Agape Dos, a Minneapolis refuge for
people of Hispanic origin with AIDS, is
part of a growing focus on culturally
sensitive and specific treatment and
housing facilities forpeople with AIDS.
There have only been 62 reported
cases of AIDS among American
Indians in Minnesota, according to a
November report from the Minnesota
Department of Health. But the rate of
AIDS cases among American Indians,
128.5 cases per 100,000 people, is more
than twice the rate for non-Hispanic
whites. The rate is much higher among
Hispanics (285.8 per 100,000) and
blacks (609.3 per 100,000).
Across the nation, the picture is
similar. According to a May report
from the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, "Racial and ethnic
minorities constitute approximately 25
Culture/to pg, 5
Casino not complete answer to tribal woes,
study says
CANNONBALL, N.D. (AP) - Prairie
Knights Casino and Lodge is
generating millions of dollars for the
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, but a new
study says casino revenue isn't the
long-term solution to the tribe's social
and economic woes.
Figures from the tribe show that the
casino's adjusted gross income,
income after prizes, has reached about
$92 million since the facility opened in
December 1993. Of that, $50 million
has gone toward operating expenses,
$29 million to the tribe and$13 million
to Seven Circles Resorts, the company
that manages the casino. Of the $29
millionthatwenttothetribe,$12 million
went to pay off a$ 14 million loan from
Seven Circles Resorts and $2.6 million
went to set up and fund the tribal
gamingcommission, required by federal
law. That has left$ 14 million forvarious
tribal programs. "It helps quite a bit,"
said Tribal Chairman Charles Murphy.
"I'm happy where it's at. But we need
to try to draw more people here, let
them know what we have."
The tribe also wants to dispel the
notion that the tribe's 12,000 enrolled
members are getting rich, said Wilbur
Red Tomahawk, executive secretary of
the tribal gaming commission. "What
we wanted to do is beat 'em to the
punch and say, 'Hey, we're not all
multimillionaires," he said.
The tribe, along with four others,
commissioned a study on the
socioeconomic effects of American
Indian gaming. The Economics
Resource Group in Cambridge, Mass.,
which did the three-month study,
concluded that gambling revenue on
the Standing Rock reservation is
providing "only modest means of
social recovery" because the tribe's
Casino/to pg. 6
•U.S. Supreme Court reviews Mille Lacs treaty case
•WE-Mahnomen law enforcement pact slated for signing
•Complaint pending against Hill City mayor-elect, police dept.
•Difference between 'privilege,' 'right' is crucial to treaty case
•News from around "Native Country", pg. 2
•Black Bear Crossings warms body, nourishes soul, pg. 3
•Don't count on having treaty rights just yet, pg. 4
Voice ofthe People
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Copyright Native American Press, 1888
On Wednesday. December 2 the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in their review ofthe Mille Lacs treaty lawsuit. Approximately
400 people filled the hearing room for the hour-long Mille Lacs treaty discussion which started at 10:00 a.m. At least several dozen were
from Minnesota, including members ofthe press, and supporters on both sides ofthe issue.Pictured above, the U.S. Supreme Court building
in Washington. D.C.
Human rights complaint pending against
Hill City mayor-elect, police department
By Jeff Armstrong
The Hill City police department and
the town's mayor-elect have been
named in a pending discrimination
complaint before the Minnesota
Department of Human Rights.
An indigenous Grand Rapids
resident, John Herrera alleges that Bill
Klennert, a former city council member
elected mayor of Hill City last month,
assaulted Herrera's 8-year-old son
outside of Klennert's store. According
to Herrera, Klennert "grabbed my son
by the throat, lifted him up, and
slammed him against a pick-up truck."
City police arriving on the scene
failed to arrest or charge Klennert.
Herrera said Hill City officers have not
only failed to investigate the incident,
but have also refused to turn over
police reports and claim to have
misplaced pictures they took of the
boy's injuries.
"He threatened and abused my son,"
Herrera told the Press. "The police
department took no action, other than
to pursue an investigation that was
wishy-washy. Had they done a
correct, total investigation, they
would have found that there were
witnesses to the incident," said
Herrera.
"My belief is that the reason they
sent the report down to Aitken
[County] is to say that they went
through the proper steps, but I know
they didn't when they didn't send the
photograph along with the report. Bill
Klennert never made a formal
statement to the police officer doing
the investigation," Herrera said.
"They refused to give me a copy of
the report, or my wife. They said they
didn't have to."
Herrera said he was subsequently
threatened not to return to Hill City
by a caller identifying himself as a
local law enforcement officer. "He said
I would be delayed and harassed if I
ever came back to Hill City," where
Herrera's son lives with his mother.
For his part, Klennert expressed
regret over the incident. "I agree, I
shouldn't have grabbed him,"
Klennert said. "I should have just
stood there until the police got there."
Klennert said, however, that the boy
had been barred from Klennert's store,
the only grocery store in the town of
489. According to Klennert, the boy
responded with a profane comment
when the store owner ordered him off
the property.
The mayor-elect said his anger then
got the best of him. "I grabbed this
kid, dragged him across the street and
said 'you can't come back on my
property," said Klennert. However, he
Human rights/to pg. 5
Talks with Potawatomi, Menominee tribes
near deadline
MADISON,Wis.(AP) -Gambling-
compact talks between the Thompson
administration and two Indian tribes
are nearing a crucial deadline with
casino expansion issues to be decided.
Gov. Tommy Thompson must
decide by Friday whetherhe will renew
state gambling agreements with the
Menominee and Forest County
Potawatomi tribes. Among items at
issue with the Potawatomi is its desire
to expand its bingo hall in Milwaukee,
Thompson spokesman Kevin Keane
said Tuesday.
The tribe wants to eliminate the 200
slot-machine limit it faces under its
current compact. "The Potawatomi
have asked for the removal of
restrictions that no other tribe in the
state of Wisconsin must live by," said
Tom Krajewski, a spokesman for the
tribe.
If the slot-machine limit were lifted,
the tribe could expand the casino,
adding an estimated 2,500 jobs,
Krajewski said. The governor won't
back eliminating the limit unless there
is strong local support, Keane said.
Whether the tribe will win that local
backing remained to be seen.
Milwaukee County District Attorney
E. Michael McCann wrote to
Thompson on Monday urging him to
reject the gambling expansion. Mayor
John Norquist also has opposed an
expansion. Other city and county
officials met with tribal officials to
discuss a possible agreement under
which the tribe would make payments
in exchange for official support ofthe
expansion.
In related news, the St. Francis
Common Council voted 3-2 Tuesday
night to allow its city administrator to
talk formally with the tribe about
possibly expanding its casino
operation to the Milwaukee suburb.
The tribe "is experiencing some
resistance from Mayor Norquist, and
the question came up, could we be an
alternate site" for a casino expansion,
St. Francis City Administrator Ralph
Voltnersaid.
The state also is negotiating a
compact with the Menominee tribe.
The tribe wants to open a casino at a
dog track in Kenosha. Keane said
voters' rejection of a proposed ban on
casino gambling last month shows
there is community support, but added
that the governor would not expand
gambling in the state.
The Menominee would have to agree
to close an existing casino before
Thompson would back the Kenosha
proposal, Keane said. Spokespeople
for the tribe did not immediately
respond to messages left at their offices
Tuesday by The Associated Press
seeking comment.