Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1999-02-12

              White Earth
Red Lake shooting
White Earth police
Leech Lake tribal
Aitkin's
Premo Artworks
removal petition
search continues;
start program to
government must
appointment to the
to feature the
ready for
Suspect arrested on drug
charges allegedly related to
case
aid elderly, others
stop fostering
MN Judicial
artwork of Ojibwe
signatures,
who may be
dependency, pg. 3
Selection Board is
artist Joe Geshick
submission to
homebound
silly, pg. 4
P9-5
TEC/BIA
White Earth removal petition now ready  [
for signatures, submission to TEC/BIA
Voice ofthe People
e-mail ppesson@paulhunyan.net
By Gary Blair
Petitions that demand the removal of
the entire White Earth Reservation's
Business Committee (RBC) were held
up this week by reservation activists
who wantto add additional information
to them before the documents are
circulated. However, just before press
time it was learned that the changes to
the petitions have been completed and
they will be ready for signing by this
weekend. The petitions will eventually
be submitted to either the Tribal
Executive Committee (TEC) of the
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe once they
are completed, orforwarded to the BIA
for action.
Tribal official
tired of being
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - American
Indians don't want "to be mascots any
longer," a former Standing Rock Sioux
tribal chairman said Friday, describing
the University of North Dakota's
"Fighting Sioux" nickname as dehumanizing. The words "Lakota" and "Dakota" translate into "friends and allies." That is the opposite of how UND
describes them, which is especially
insulting to the Sioux, Jesse Taken
Alive said Friday. "When I go back to
my childhood ... growing up all my
years on the reservation, I looked at my
great-grandparents, who could only
speak our language. I looked at my
Activist Marvin ManyPenny says
his group wants the petition to also
call forthe invalidation ofall resolutions
passed by the Reservation Business
Committee (RBC) since the June 11,
1996 elections. "We want the petition
to include charges against the RBC.
We want a referendum to be held on
the law-enforcement agreement they
(RBC) made with Mahnomen County.
We want to stop the RBC's purchase
of that place in Fargo. We want the
people to have a say in how their
money is spent, and we want all new
elections for these people. They're all
in office illegally," ManyPenny said
on Wednesday.
ManyPenny's comments referred to
the recent attempts made by the White
Earth RBC to enter into a joint law-
enforcement agreement with
Mahnomen County that is yet to
receive needed approval by the State
of Minnesota.
On February 3,1999, the White Earth
RBC announced that they had reached
an agreement to secure operations of
"The Great Northern Restaurant and
Brewery" located near the downtown
Fargo railroad lines. According to the
news release, the operation would also
serve as a shuttle site for the
reservation's Shooting StarCasino in
Mahnomen.
Shortly after the news release was
issued, White Earth members were
White Earth/to Pg. 3
Mine
American
FREE
Press
Ojibwe Mews
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded in 1988
Volume 11 Issue 18
February 12,
A weekly publication.
Copyright Native American Press,
says American Indians are
mascots
grandparents, my parents, who taught
me the beautiful language of Lakota,"
Taken Alive said. "I can't look at them
and say that they are mascots." But
UND officials opposed a legislative
resolution to change the name, saying
the matter should be settled on campus
and by the Board of Higher Education,
not by the Legislature. In a statement
read at the hearing, UND President Ken
Baker said the university doesn't have
a mascot like most schools. "In other
words, we do not ask a Native American to wear traditional clothing and
participate in the cheerleading that
takes place at athletic contests." Baker
wrote. He said the name's use "could
be a positive influence in helping UND
encourage respect and appreciation
fordiversity in all of its forms." Baker
said the school name, which was
adopted in the 1930s, is meant to honor
North Dakota tribes. The legislative
resolution, which was taken up by the
House Government and Veterans Affairs Committee, is not binding. If
adopted, it will not force UNDtochange
the school nickname. UND student
Petra Fox said she, like Taken Alive,
found the "fighting" part ofthe name
offensive. "They were fighting, not
Common council endorses proposal to
expand Potawatomi casino
MILWAUKEE (AP) - A planned expansion of the Potawatomi gambling
hall in downtown Milwaukee has won
approval ofthe Common Council, but
odds are still high that a mayoral veto
will block it.
The tribe wants to add 800 slot machines and 25 blackjack tables to the
formerbingo hall thatnow has 200 slot
machines. Casino proponents said the
expansion would provide hundreds of
new jobs, boosting the local economy,
while Mayor John O. Norquist and
other opponents said it would have a
negative impact, contributing to increased crime and other social problems.
Jeff Crawford, a tribal spokesman,
said the inner city has "something like
10 or 20 percent unemployment."
"That's a crying shame, and that's
wrong," he said. "We need to have 700
new employees with our expansion,
and we're going to tap into that
workforce." Mayor John Norqu ist said
he could understand how the potential
for more revenuecould affect debate of
the issue.
"When this amount of cash is involved, greed takes over from reason,"
he said. "Commitments that are made
one day don't mean much the next."
The expansion was part ofthe tribe's
gambling agreement with the state.
However, the state said it will not authorize the expansion without local
consent. If the expansion doesn't get
backing through city council and
county board resolutions, then the state
and tribe will reopen negotiations.
The council vote Tuesday was 10-6,
with one member excused from voting.
That was two shy ofthe votes needed
to override Norquist's expected veto.
Norquist needs six ofthe council's 17
votes to sustain a veto. If the mayor
blocks Common Council approval with
a veto, the courts will have the final
word on casino expansion, Common
Council President John Kalwitz has
said.
Both sides said they were pleased
with the vote but planned to continue
to push their messages in the weeks
before the council votes on whether to
override or sustain Norquist's likely
veto.
That vote is expected March 2. The
tribe launched an all-out media campaign, including television, radio and
newspaper advertisements, in the
months leading up to the council vote.
Norquist has seven working days to
consider a veto.
Minnesota Governor ./cam'  Ventura welcomes party goers who attended the recent Super Bowl bash held on January 31 at Canterbury
Park in Shakopee, Minnesota.    Approximately 500 people attended the event.
Red Lake shooting search continues
Suspect arrested on drug charges allegedly related to case
American Indian activist challenges
Navajo courts
By Brad Swenson
Political Editor, Bemidji Pioneer
The investigation into the apparent
shooting death of a Redby man
continued Wednesday, but drug
charges were filed against a Red Lake
Reservation man in what authorities
said was a related case.
John Dale Shoenbom, 24, of Redby
was found dead early February 4 in a
home about a mile east of Redlake. the
victim of gunshot wounds to the head.
Roderick Arlyn Sayers, 30, through
his attorney, surrendered himself trafficking, he said.
Tuesday to federal authorities in
Minneapolis on a federal warrant
al leging two drug-related charges, John
Engelhof, FBI agent in Bemidji, said
Wednesday.
"The investigation into the homicide
is ongoing," Engelhof said, adding
that no details will be released yet. No
one had been charged with homicide
as of Wednesday.
The investigation into that case,
however, led to federal felony charges
filed against Sayers involving drug   ShOOting/tO pg. 6
The charges against Sayers include
possession with intent to distribute an
amount of marijuana, 500 grams, said
Karen Bailey, spokeswoman for the
US.Attorney'sOfficeinMinneapolis.
Also filed was a charge of knowingly
possessing and use of a firearm in the
furtherance of a drug trafficking
offense, she said.
Sayers was being held Wednesday,
pending a 10 a.m. appearance and
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) - Sioux
actor and activist Russell Means went
on trial before theNavajo Supreme Court
on Saturday in a case that tests the
legitimacy ofthe American Indian justice system.
The court convened at Harvard University to hear an assault case against
Means, a long-time leader ofthe American Indian Movement who led an uprising at Wounded Knee, S.D., and has
appeared in such films as "Natural Born
Killers."
Means is accused of beating his fa-
ther-in-lawin 1997 in Arizona'sNavajo
Nation, but as an Oglala Sioux he insists
he cannot be prosecuted by another
tribe.
Tribal leaders nationwide are watching
the case, since it could mean the erosion
of their rights to handle crimes on their
own lands. Means claims a federal law
that gave Indian tribes the right to prosecute nonmember Indians is invalid because it came a year after the U.S. Supreme Court ruledatribe'sjudicial powers extend only to members of its own
tribe.
He also says such a rule discriminates
against Indians not belonging to the
ruling tribe. "If you assert jurisdiction
oyer Russell Means, you deny him his
right to equal protection under the Fifth
Amendment,"said Means'attorney, John
Trebon. Means was in Ecuador on Saturday and did not attend the hearing.
In 1973, members ofthe Indian rights
group AIM seized the hamletofWounded
Knee in protest against reservation conditions and the federally backed tribal
government.
Means emerged a leader in the two-
month standoff that ensued, and
shootouts left two occupiers dead and a
federal marshal paralyzed. In addition to
Activist/to pg.5
Indian members of legislature push
tribal agenda
HELENA (AP) - Montana's Indian
tribes are seeking more than $58 million
as their share ofthe settlement ofthe
state's claim against tobacco companies, part of an Indian agenda being
pushed by four tribal members serving
in the 1999 Legislature. Rep. Bill Eggers,
D-Crow Agency, is sponsoring the
legislation as part of his drive to boost
economic development on reservations.
The share he is seeking is 7 percent of
theexpected$832million,26-yearsettle-
ment. Indians represent 7 percent of
Montana's population. "We paid the
tax. We're part ofthe population. We
want part of the settlement," Eggers
said. Mickey Pablo, chairman of the
Confederated Salish and Kootenai
Tribes, said the tobacco settlement is
very important to tribes, since Indians
have higher rates of smoking than non-
Indians and tribal members tend to
have more health problems.
The settlement is part of a broader
agenda of Indian members in the Legislature. There are four Indian mem-
White Earth police start program to aid
elderly, others who may be homebound
Squabble over hunting-fish
agreement on NW Montana
WHITE EARTH - Starting a tribal
police department from scratch, the
White Earth Reservation last week
initiated a new program designed to
aid the elderly and others who may be
homebound.
The White Earth Tribal Police
Department's Elderly Assistance
Program saw its first visit to Kay and
John McCauley's home in White Earth,
on the White Earth Reservation.
"TheElderly Assistance Program was
implemented to focus our efforts on
assisting the elderly, handicapped and
shut-ins," Tribal Police Capt. Rusty
Pavey said in a statement. "This
complements ourCommunity Policing
Program going on throughout the
reservation. This is just one of the
many positive programs that the
department will be starting. We need
to be in touch with the community."
In an effort to enforce certain laws on
the reservation for which the state of
Minnesota has no jurisdiction, White
Earth officials have started its own
tribal police department. Heading it up
is former Beltrami County Sheriff
DeeWayne Rognstad. The Leech Lake
Reservation is also forming a tribal
police department.
Visiting the McCauleys was Tribal
Officer Jennifer Reimer, who will
coordinate the Elderly Assistance
Program on White Earth. She will
periodically check people who are
alone or need special attention, and
make sure everything is all right.
After the initial visit, Reimer said it's
Elderly/to Pg. 5
HELENA (AP) - A hunting and fishing agreement between Montana and
the tribes ofthe Flathead Indian Reservation unfairly imposes tribal jurisdiction on non-Indians, a state lawmaker
said Tuesday. Rep. Rick Jore, R-Ronan,
proposes to terminate the nine-year-
old agreement, a move that state and
tribal officials fear could poison the
relations between state government
and Montana's seven Indian reservations.
Montana has more than 500 agree
ments with Indian tribes on taxation,
law enforcement, gambling and other
governmental concerns, said Attorney General Joe Mazurek.
"Repealing this agreement would
have a ripple effect across Montana,"
he said. Mickey Pablo, chairman of the
Confederated Salish and Kootenai
Tribes, said that to terminate the agreement "would send a message to all the
tribes that the state of Montana wi 11 not
live up to its written word."
Pablo also told legislators that, in
virtually every instance where the tribes
bers: Eggers; Rep. Carol Juneau, D-
Browning; Rep. Jay Stovall,R-Billings;
and Rep. Frank Smith, D-Poplar. Pablo
said the state's Indian people had a
wake-up call two years ago when U.S.
Sen. Conrad Burns, aRepublican, proposed legislation to limit tribal sovereignty.
Since then, the tribes have mobilized.
"It's taken a while for us, as tribes, to
learn all the systems," Pablo said. "We
are citizens of the state of Montana,
Agenda/to Pg. 3
ing
reservation
ofthe Flathead Nation have taken the
state to court over sovereignty issues,
the tribes have won.
The agreement, undertaken in 1990
and renewed after public hearings last
October, was the product ofa lawsuit
by the tribes in U.S. District Court in
which the tribes had already won a
partial victory before the state moved
to negotiate a settlement. The agreement requires non-Indians to buy a
tribal hunting or fishing permit to hunt
Squabble/to pg. 5