Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1999-06-11

              MMHBHMteBHW
Worker files
discrimination
charge
Spoke of
circumstances
leading to deadly
accident
Commentary:
Treaties are about
America keeping
its word, pg. 4
Commentary:
Children suffer due
to the Indian Child
Welfare Act, pg. 3
"Where is
community's moral
integrity?" young
woman asks, pg. 4
Commentary:
Michaud sentence
not sufficient
punishment for
predatory actions,
P9-4
New MCT
constitution
receives many
criticisms,
pgs. 4 & 5
Susan Merril and Arlene Weous win
Mille Lacs Band Dist. 1 primary election
By Julie Shortridge
Voice of the People
web page:   www.press-on.net 1^
e-mail:   presson@paulbunyan.net (or)  presson@isd.net
i
The field has been narrowed to
the two top vote-getters in the
Tuesday, June 8 special election
primary to fill the District 1
Representative seat forthe Mille
Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Former
District 1 Rep. Myron Gahbow
passed away on April 9, leaving
the seat vacant. The district includes
the main reservation area near
Kathio township.
Susan Merril with 69 votes, and
Arlene Weous with 64 will
proceed to the July 30 general
special election to fill the position.
Natalie Weous received 51 votes
and Ken Weyas received 3 5.
Mille Lacs Band Primary Election Results
Candidates Dist. 1
*Susan Merril 59
*Arlene Weous 61
Natalie Weyaus 43
Ken Weyaus 34
Totals
Voids & Blanks
Unreturned Absentee Ballots
Absentee
10
3
8
1
Total
69
64
51
35
6
7
Total votes sent out 232 232
'qualified for general special election to be held July 3,1999
Native
American
Ojibwe
Mews
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
^
Founded in 1988      Volume 11  Issue 35
June 11,1999
A weekly publication.       Copyright, Native American Press, 1999
J
Larry Cloud-Morgan dies at 61
He brought people from 'all walks of life' together
Adapted from Chuck Haga's
obituary
Star Tribune, June 10
The beloved Larry Cloud-
Morgan died June 8 at Methodist
Hospital in St. Louis Park from
complications of diabetes.
He was a peace activist, a
playwright, a counselor in shelters
and hospitals, on city streets and
on the White Earth Chippewa
Reservation. Hewasastoryteller,
a spiritual leader, a historian and a
linguist who helped preserve the
Ojibwe language on tape at
Harvard University. He was a
convicted felon who served time in
afederal penitentiary for taking a
jackhammer to a nuclear missile
silo. He was a reformer who helped
reshape tribal government on his
White Earth Reservation in
northwestern Minnesota.
Cloud-Morgan was born Feb.
1, 1939, in Cass Lake, MN. An
enrolled memberof the White Earth
band, he was raised on the Leech
Lake Reservation/He considered
himselfaresidentofbuth, McNally
said, and of the Twin Cities
American Indian community. He
lived for atime in Chicago, where
he worked for Marshall Field's
and traveled the world as a luggage
buyer, acquiring an interest in and
knowledge of fine clothing that
often surprised and amused people
who knew him as a man of the
streets. He returned to M innesota
in the early 1980s.
In the early 1990s, he was a
spiritual leader ofa grass-roots
reform movement known as Camp
Justice at White Earth, which
ultimately led to the corruption
indictment and ouster of former
Chairman Darrell (Chip) Wadena
and other tribal officers. Even in a
The beloved Larry Cloud-
Morgan died June 8 from
complications of diabetes.
"One always felt better after
being with him no matter
what the situation was."
Worker files discrimination charge
Cloud-Morgan/to pg 6   Spoke of circumstances leading to deadly accident
Two brothers with different leadership tasks come
together on Devils Lake
FORT TOTTEN, N.D. (AP) -
- Skip Longie and Ambrose
Littleghost are first cousins, whose
leadership ro les on the Spirit Lake
reservation sometimes confl ict.
Longie is the newly elected tribal
leader ofthe Spirit Lake Nation, in
charge ofthe physical well-being
ofthe tribe. Littleghost is aspiritual
adviser, someone forthe Dakota
people to consult about their spiri
tuality and traditional ways.
Government's answer to a problem and the cultural answer to a
problem sometimes differ. But on
the issue ofDevils Lake flooding,
reality and spirituality have formed
a truce.
"Some traditional people say to
just let the water go wherever it
wants, to not build dikes or interfere with it in any way," Longie
said. "I haveconflict there.
"We have to manage our resources and manage our community so we can stay whole. I have
to build dikes _ there are no ifs,
ands or buts about that."
Devils Lake is considered to be
sacred water by the Dakota. They
refer to Devils Lake as Spirit Lake
Brothers/to pg. 8
Casinos increase lobbying, contributions
By Jonathan D. Salant
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) ~ As a
federal panel was wrapping up its
study ofthe gambling industry,
House Minority Leader Richard
Gephardt flew to Las Vegas to
pick up a $250,000 check from
the chairman ofMirage casinos.
Other Democrats and Republicans have made similar fund-rais
ing trips since Congress created
the gambling commission in 1996.
Many have taken behind-the-
scenes tours of casinos on Las
Vegas' famed Strip, chatting with
blackjack dealers, learning how
the security staff ferrets out cheaters, or watching how the industry
trains its workers.
When it comes to influencing
legislation, the casinos are not leaving anything to chance.
They have pursued a double
strategy of on-location lobbying
and campaign cash in hopes of
solidifying support against some
recommendations approved by the
federal commission that studied
the impact of gambling.
The National Gambling Impact
Study Commission issues its recommendations to Congress, the
Casinos/to pg. 3
By Gary Blair
A Native American construction worker who says he was terminated after he told an Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) inspector about
unsafe working conditions where
two fellow workers were killed,
has filed acharge of discrimination
against the general-contractor,
Ryan Companies US, Inc. his
former employer.
Delvin Cree says he also plans
to file a lawsuit against the company for wrongful dismissal under
the whistle-blower law that protects workers who report employers who permit unsafe working
conditions. Cree says he plans to
work to strengthen that law with
U.S. SenatorPaul Wellstone who
is proposing additional protections
for "whistle-blowers."
According to Cree's complaint
with the Minneapolis Department
of Civil Rights and federal Equal
Emp loyment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), he alleges the
following occurred:
/. / was hired by Respon
dent in Augiist 1997as a
Labourer (laborer). In
October 1998 and November 1998, I was offered the position of foreman, by Randy Parker,
Union Representative.
However that position
was denied me by Respondent. In December
1998, I was terminated
after having spoke to the
media about the accident that occurred at a
Respondent job site.
II. RESPONDENT'S REASON FOR ADVERSE
ACTION: Jim Olberg,
Labour (labor) Foreman, stated that I was
being replaced so that a
"buddy " of Mike Jones,
Superintendent, could be
hired.
III. I believe I have been discriminated against because of my race, American Indian, in violation
of Title VII ofthe Civil
Rights Act of 1964, as
amended." .
On December 2, 1998, at the
construction site ofthe 30-story
Piper Jaffray Center in Minneapo-
Discrimination/topg.8
Former Leech Lake Sec'y.-Treas. James D.
Michaud sentenced forscheme to steal money
Government doesn't own gas found with coal,
court says
WASHINGTON (AP) - Billions of dollars worth of methane
gas found with coal underneath
federal land is not owned by the
government and can be claimed
methane found with coal underthe some participants, including
Southern Ute Tribe's reservation Amoco.
should not be considered part of "It's not atotal loss to the tribe in
the coal the federal government terms of this litigation," he said.
owns intrust forthe tribe. Shipps said half of the reserves
by companies that purchase the  The methane at issue in the Colo- already have been taken,
right to drill for natural gas, the  rado case has an estimated worth Amoco had about 90 percent of
Supreme Court ruled Monday.      of more than $200 million. the acreage, and agreed to give the
The 7-1 decision resolved a big-  Thomas Shipps, attorney forthe tribe a32 percent interest in the
tribe, said tribal members were
disappointed, but said it wasn' t a
totalloss because the tribe already
stakes dispute between Amoco
and an Indian tribe in Colorado.
Amoco won.
remaining reserves, he said.
Writing for the court, Justice Anthony M. Kennedy said a pair of
Former Leech Lake Band
Secretary-Treasurer James D.
Michaud was sentenced today in
United Stated District Courtto 24
months in prison for conspiracy
and misapplication of tribal funds.
Michaud was sentenced by Judge
Michael Davis in Minneapolis.
Michaud admitted during a guilty
pleahearinginFebruary 1999 that
he improperly approved the
payment of tribal funds for work
that was either not done or was
over billed and that a share ofthe
payments were then "kicked" back
to him.
Part ofthe conspiracy involved
the submission of false invoices to
James Michaud for work
purportedly done by co-
defendants in the case. Michaud
misapplied between $200,000 and
$350,000 to his co-defendants
from January 1993 to July 1994
for'lawnmowing,'" 'snowplowing''
andsimilarlydescribedwork. The
scheme involved Michaud's
brothers, Charles and Robert
Michaud, and his assistant Donna
Murray and her husband David
Murray. Michaud also admitted to
aiding and abetting his co-
defendants inthemisapplicationof
tribal funds.
The scheme continued until July
1994 when James Michaud was
defeated inhisbidtobe re-elected
as Secretary-Treasurer.
Co-defendants in the case are
scheduled to be sentenced over
the next two weeks.
The case is the result of an
investigation by the Department of
Interior's Office of Inspector
General and the Internal Revenue
Service. The Cass County Sheriffs
Department, Itasca County
Sheriff s Department and Beltrami
County Sheriffs Department
assisted in the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael
Ward prosecuted the case.
The justices ruled that coal bed  has negotiated settlements with   GOV't/to pg. 8