Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1999-04-09

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The state of Minnesota's role in Indian
education Should the state be doing more?
By Bill Lawrence
Although Indian parents traditionally educated their own children in the
necessities of life and taught them
culture and language long before the
coming ofthe Europeans, the forma!
education oflndian children in what is
now the state ofMinnesota, is generally considered to have begun in the
1850's.
Most treaties that were negotiated
and signed with the Chippewa, Sioux
and other tribes who were inhabitants
of what is now the state ofMinnesota
contained provisions that portions of
payments to the Indians for the lands
sold would be used for educational
purposes. Manual labor schools
started on the Red Lake and other
Chippewa reservations in the mid-
1850's, with the first "day school"
being built on the Red Lake Reservation in 1873. Catholic missionaries
started their first schools on Chippewa
Reservations in the late 1880's. Government and church boarding schools
were established about 1890, play ing a
significant role in the education of
Indian children, and continue to this
day in several locations around the
country.
According to the State ofMinnesota
Constitution Article XIII, "... it is the
duty of the legislature to establish a
general and uniform system of public
schools ... .throughout the state. As a
result, the legislature, working with
local communities, organized school
districts on or near all Indian reservations in the state. State public schools
in Minnesota are reported to have
been educating Indian students as
early as 1899. By the time the 1924
federal Citizenship Act made all Indian
people citizens ofthe U.S. and ofthe
states in which they reside, the majority of Indian students in Minnesota'
were being educated in state school
districts. In 1936 the federal government started to provide funds for the
education of Indian students under
the Johnson O'Malley Act. That Act
provides for direct federal funding to
school districts that have Indian students.
Minnesota has long been a leader in
the education of Indian students and
was one ofthe first states to establish
an Indian scholarship program in 1955.
Education/to pg.5
Mother finds help for abused daughter -
Part 2
By Gary Blair
(This is the second part ofan article titled, "Mother finds help for
abused daughter" that appeared in
the April 2,1999, edition of this newspaper.)
It appears that the Indian Child
Welfare Act (ICWA) will be tested
again. This time it involves a Wisconsin divorce/custody case being
heard in Sawyer County Circuit Court
by   Washburn County judge, Eugene Harrington.
Patricia Price says she filed for divorce in 1997, on grounds of psychical abuse of herself and the couple's
now 9 year old adopted daughter.
That action then turned into a custody battle with her husband, Timothy Price, who is anon-Indian. Patricia
Price is enrolled with the Lac Courte
Oreilles (LCO) reservation located
near Hayward, Wisconsin. Her
adopted   daughter   is   her   late
brother's biological child.
Patricia Price says she fled to the
Twin Cities lastNovemberhoping to
find assistance from Indian organizations after learning from her daugh-
terthat Price's husband had touched
the child sexually and done sexual in
front of her. After contacting more
than 20 organizations, both Indian
and non-Indian programs, Price received help from only two agencies:
Help/to pg. 5
Court sidesteps Indian-rights dispute
"State agencies, private landowners   beach and harvest," he said.
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Supreme
Court today gave Washington state
Indian tribes a major victory in their
battle to retain rights to harvest clams,
oysters and other shellfish under a
series of 1855 treaties.
The court, withoutcomment, rejected
an appeal in which state officials, shellfish growers and private property
owners argued that the Indians improperly are being allowed to take shellfish from private property. The decision disappointed state Attorney General Christine Gregoire.
and shellfish growers were looking to
the court to clarify lower court rulings
on treaty rights. There are several questions unanswered and we are disappointed the court declined to review
those issues," she said in a statement.
But Doug Williams, a spokesman for
the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, said the decision was welcome news.
He added that it doesn't mean tribal
shellfish harvesters will be tramping
private beaches anytime soon. "It's a
long process before you can go on a
"There must be a biological assessment ofthe area, sampling and testing,
and a written notice. In fact, as far as I
know, there has been only one harvest
off of a private landowner's beach
since the ruling in 1994."
Representatives of private landowners did not immediately return telephone calls seeking comment. In the
1855 treaties, the tribes gave up most
of their land in then-Washington Territory in exchange for reservations.
COUrt/to pg. 3
Tiny Utah tribe fights state for right to
host nuclear waste dump
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -For Leon
Bear and 27 other members of the Skull
Val ley Band of Goshute Indians, home
is an 18,000-acre patch on the parched
alkali flats of Utah's western desert.
The reservation is tucked between a
low-level nuclear waste dump, a hazardous waste incinerator, an Army
chemical and biological testing range,
the nation's largest storehouse for
chemical weapons and an Air Force
bombing range.
The inhospitable area makes it diffi
cult for the tribe to attract businesses
and jobs, and more and more of the
band's 119 members have had to leave
to find work. In the past, the tribe has
rejected a tire-recycling plant and a
state-run landfill, while abottled-water
company rejected the reservation because of its unsavory neighbors.
In a bid to make a virtue of its desolation, the tribe contracted to store
high-level nuclear waste shunned by
every other state. But the plan has
divided the tribe and placed it in conflict w ith state leaders, who say they' re
Indians reportedly will spend $1 million
or more to defeat Gorton
SEATTLE (AP) - Indian leaders
flush with casino gambling revenue
plantospendSl millionto$5 million to
try to defeat Sen. Slade Gorton when
he seeks re-election next year, The
Seattle Times reported.
"Slade Gorton's name is known on
reservations from Alaska to Florida,"
said Ron Al len, head ofthe Jamestown
S'Klallam Tribe near Port Angeles and
president ofthe National Congress of
American Indians. "Ifwe say we have
a chance to beat the dean ofthe anti-
Indian movement, I think tribes everywhere will scramble for money."
Citing unnamed sources, the Times
said in Sunday editions that the 400-
member Muckleshoot Tribe, which
operates the state's most lucrative
casino south of Seattle, could provide
as much as $500,000 againstGorton, a
Republican seeking a third term.
Michael Moran, who directs the
Muckleshoots' political efforts, said
the amount the tribe spends will hinge
on the strength ofthe Democratic challenger. As of now, with Gov. Gary
Locke refusing to enter the race, Moran
is skeptical.
"We' re not going to just dump money
into a lost cause," he said. Big-time
Tribal chief candidates stress need for
strong leadership
Indian involvement in the race would
be a marked change. In 1994, the last
time Gorton was on the ballot, the
Muckleshoots did not have a casino
and the tribe's annual budget was
about$8 million.
Now the casino outside Auburn takes
inatleast$45 million ayear. In 1996, the
last presidential election year, contributions by the nation's 557 tribes
amounted to less than $ 1.35 million out
of more than $2 billion in federal campaign spending. Last year the
Muckleshoots gave $100,000 to 112
Gorton/to pg. 3
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) - Finances
and the stability of tribal government
are topics of concern for Cherokee
principal chief candidates who participated in a forum at the University of
Oklahoma.
"We must become responsible for
our tribe," candidate Chad Smith said
Wednesday night. Smith said a
leader's responsibility "is to place the
people first. We should spend the
money on the people."
The Cherokee Nation has experienced financial problems. Critics of
Principal Chief Joe Byrd, who is running for re-election, say he has left the
tribe with a large deficit.
Candidates at two sessions Wednesday night estimated the debt at any
where from $6 million to $15 million.
The 200,000-member tribe has a budget of nearly $140 million, most of
which comes from the federal government.
"What the Cherokee Nation needs
today is good, solid leadership," candidate Dwight Birdwell said. "People
who understand the situation know
it's an effort to save our Cherokee
heritage."
Birdwell and Smith were joined by
Meredith A. Frai ley, Pat Ragsdale and
Virginia Stroud at the forum sponsored by the Native American Law
Student Association, the American
Indian Law Review and the Centerfor
Indian Law and Policy.
Four candidates,   including Byrd,
did not participate. About 100 people
"Looking for
Horses" arts &
crafts store a hit
in St. Paul
State of
Minnesota's role in
Indian education
Mother finds help
for abused
daughter - Part 2
Voice ofthe People
e-mail: presson@paulbunyan.net
Native
American
Ojibwe
mews
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded in 1888
Volume 11 Issue 26
April 8,1888
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A weekly publication.
Copyright Native American Press, 1888
Bcb Greywolf from Fond du Lac and Monika DeNasha from Lac Courte O'reille (pictured above).   In their new store, "Looking for
Howes" al MO North Robert Street in St. Paul. Minnesota.
worried the dump wi 11 become permanent.
They also shudder at the thought of
waste being shipped along Interstate
80 and fear the site's proximity to the
bombing range. "We just don't want
it," says Utah Gov. Mike Leavitt, who
has vowed to build a figurative moat
around the tiny reservation 50 miles
west of Salt LakeCity.
"The drawbridge wi 11 be raised to the
waste storage utilities and permission
Nuclear/to pg. 5
"Looking for Horses" arts and craft
store a hit in St. Paul
Couple promoting Indian art and culture
By Julie Shortridge
There's a new Indian arts and craft
store in St. Paul that is well worth a
visit, whether to browse, buy some
supplies or gifts, or talk with the owners. Bob Greywolf from Fond du Lac
and Monika DeNasha from Lac Courte
O'reilles (LCO) opened "Looking for
Horses" at 510 North Robert Street in
St. Paul in October 1998.
They met at the LCO pow-wow two
years ago. Bob started talking to
Monika, having recognized her from
the year before. With the encouragement of DeNasha's lOyearoldneice,
who recognized the romantic potential
before they did, the two danced the
two-step together, and haven't
stopped.
"We're both artists, so we took it one
step forward to create an outlet to
promote Indian art," said Greywolf. He
says they have a 50-50 mix oflndian
and non-Indian customers.   Half are
looking for art and craft supplies, and
half are looking for finished products.
Greywolf, who grew up in St. Paul,
said there's not enough ofan Indian
presence in St. Paul, so being what he
calls a "well we'll see about that" kind
of guy, he decided to open his store
downtown. "There's a lot oflndian
people happy that we're here. We
have a clean, modern store with the
types of things they need, and it's run
Art/to pg. 3
Federal civil rights investigators probing
alleged discrimination in Waubon school
attended two sessions. Chuck Hoskins,
president-elect of NALS A, said more
than 1,000 registered Cherokee voters
live in Central Oklahoma.
All ofthe candidates talked about
the financial situation and the stability
of tribal government. A constitutional
crisis in the tribe has left Cherokee
Nation judges and the administration
at odds and the council split.
They also talked about preserving
the Cherokee language and culture.
"The commonality that we all share _
full blood, mixed blood and thin blood
_ is pride," Smith said.
"The indomitable spirit of ancestral
pride. That is what we want to pass
on." The general election is May 22.
By Jeff Armstrong
Civil rights investigators from the
U.S. Department of Education are reviewing parental allegations that Anishinabe youth are systematically discriminated against in the Waubon
school district on White Earth.
An Education Department investigator described the probe as an "overall
review with regard to racial harassment
and disciplinary policy. The investigation is due to be completed by next
fall.
The investigation is the outgrowth
ofa more than year-long campaign by
Louisa Wadena to force the district to
address what the White Earth woman
describes as a deep-seated racial bias
spanning several generations.
"[Federal investigators] came up finally and they realized there were
some things at Waubon that aren't
quite right," said Wadena.
Wadena says Native students in
Waubon are denied their equal right
to education, in part by discriminatory
disciplinary policies which force Na
tive students out of mainstream class-
rooms-and all too often school itself-
-at an alarming rate.
"Our kids are the ones who are suffering; it goes from bad to worse,"
Wadena said. "The teachers' attitudes
toward the parents is we're all drug
addicts and drunks."
Wadena said about 15 parents attended a Feb. 27 meeting with the civil
rights investigator, testifying to blatant discrimination by teachers and
administrators. She cited several ex-
Waubon/to pg. 3
Red Lake walleye restocking pact to be
signed Friday
BEMIDJI, Minn. (AP) - A program
to restore the depleted walleye population of Upper and Lower Red lakes
will move ahead Friday when state,
federal and tribal officials signan agreement on a recovery plan. One key to the
pact is a moratorium on harvesting
walleye on the twin lakes until the
population recovers-including a ban
on sport fishing for walleye.
The other key is a restocking program. The agreement will be signed in
the reservation town of Redlake. "It
tookalongtimetogettothispoint,and
the lakes will take time to recover,"
Henry Drewes, regional DNR fisheries
supervisor, said Friday. The plan comes
after years of overfishing, which included commercial netting by members ofthe Red Lake Band of Ch ippewa.
The band has had a self-imposed
moratorium on walleye harvesting for
the past two years. "There is cause for
optimism, but the moratorium will be
critical," DaveConner, Red Lake DNR
fisheries director, said Friday.
"The moratorium is an economic hardship on fishing, but everyone has been,
supportive and cognizant ofthe need
in order to restore the walleye and
bring stability."
Under the agreement, 500 quarts of
walleye fry a year will be stocked,
starting this spring, with the federal
Bureau of Indian Affairs paying all
costs for stocking on reservation wa-
Walleye/to pg.5