Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1999-08-13

              isev
Commentary:
Federal-State-
Tribal MOU
causes  justified
fear in Mille
Lacs community,
P94
Leech Lake
revises
TERO,
reduces tax,
pg-1
White Earth
considers
retroceding
from P.L 280,
Pflf- 1
Joyce Wedll
ordered to pay
restitution for
attack of woman
in Mille Lacs
casino, pg. 3
Sundancer
arrested as
Red Lake
forces closure
of ceremony,
P9- 1
Mille Lacs
community alarmed
by federal-state-
tribal agreement
Meeting draws hundreds of protestors,
spectators, pg. 1
Mille Lacs community alarmed by[
federal-state-tribal agreement l
Meeting draws hundreds of protesters, spectators
Voice ofthe People
1
web page:   www.press-on.net
By Julie Shortridge
More than 300 people overflowed a two hour
government meeting, which was not intended to be
apublic hearing, at the Isle City Center in Isle, MN
August 10. Nearly half of the largely non-Indian
crowd had to stand outside and listen through open
windows and doors.
Minnesota Sen. Dan Stevens requested the
meeting, which included representatives from the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the
MinnesotaPollutionControl Agency (MPCA)and
the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe (Band). The stated
purpose was so that Sen. Stevens and other local
government officials could learn more about a
Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) entered
into Feb. 1998 by the EPA, MPCA and Band.
Two staff members from U.S. Sen. Rod Grams'
office also attended. No one from Sen. Paul
Wellstone's office was present, although Sen.
Wellstone has a seat on the Senate Indian Affairs
Committee.
The MOU specifies that the MPCA and Band will
jointly inspect, monitor and advise the EPA on its
Underground Inj ection Control (UIC) Program in
the townships of Isle Harbor, Kathio and South
Mille Lacs/to pg. 3
White Earth considers retroceding from P.L. 280
By Gary Blair
After receiving over a million
dollars in federal grants to help
form a reservation Police
Department and Tribal Court
system, White Earth officials
apparently have hit another
impasse—and they're looking for
an answer.
As recently as this week, sources
say Chairman John Buckanaga
and Secretary/Treasurer Erma
Vizenor were on the phone with a
consultant talking about trying to
retrocede from Public Law 280.
The 1953, federal law gave the
State of Minnesota criminal
jurisdiction on all but one ofthe
states' 11 reservations; Red Lake
was excluded at the time. About
10 years ago the Bois Forte
reservation retroceded and formed
their own criminaljustice system.
Last fall, the Mahnomen County
Board of Commissioner's entered
into a joint law enforcement
agreement with White Earth
officials after months of
controversy and claims by
reservation activists that such and
agreement was illegal. Shortly
after that compact was signed, the
Minnesota Attorney General's
office ruled that the agreement's
wording presented a liability for
the state because the reservation
canclaim sovereign immunity, and
thereby leave the county holding
the bag for tribal misdeeds. That
agreement was then changed and
thereservation waived its immunity
for purposes ofthe agreement.
The next problem White Earth
faced in trying to implement its
pol ice force and court was that the
police officers hired needed a way
to receive recognition from the
state so they could have authority
to act under the Mahnomen
County Sheriff. In May of this
yearthestate legislature approved
White Earth/to Pg. 3
Second roundof new indictments inWhiteEarth
housing investigation More indictments expected
By Gary Blair
Brothers Jason and Chad
Smeby, owners ofNorth County
Lumber, Inc. located in Mcintosh,
Minnesota, are the first to be indicted involving the White Earth
Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) investigation. Thepair were
named in a three count indictment
issued August 6, according to the
U.S. Attorney's office in Minneapolis. It's not known how soon
additional indictments expected in
this investigation will be issued.
Three years ago, the Smeby's
wrote a letter to the editor that
appeared in the Fargo Form newspaper, denouncing allegations that
they were involvement in corruption at White Earth.
The indictment reads as follows:
"United States of America, Plaintiff, v. Jason Smeby and Chad
Smeby, Defendants. THE
UNITED STATES GRAND
JURY CHARGES THAT: INTRODUCTION
At all times materials to this Indictment and incorporated in every
count of this Indictment as if it
Indictment/to pg. 4
No indictments in Hudson casino deal
Greg Gordon
Mpls. Star Tribune, Aug. 11
WASHINGTON, D.C. — An
independent counsel has made a
preliminary decision not to
prosecute Interior Secretary Bruce
Babbitt in connectionwith allegedly
improper political influence in the
rejection of a tribal casino in
Hudson, Wis., people familiarwith
the inquiry say.
Independent counsel Carol Elder
Bruce also doesn't plan to seek
the indictment ofothermajor figures
as a result of her 15'/2-month
investigation, said two
knowledgeable sources who
spoke on condition of anonymity.
Besides examining whether
Babbitt lied under oath to Congress
about the Hudson case, Bruce
examined therolesofformer deputy
WhiteHouseChiefofStaffHarold
Ickes Jr., other Clinton
administration officials and key
Democratic fund-raisers, the
sources said.
The inquiry centered on
allegations that hefty campaign
donations from Minnesota and
Wisconsin tribes opposed to the
Hudson casino swayed
administration decisionmaking.
The sources also said that Bruce
explored the administration's
handling of at least one other
application to open an off-
reservation casino in another state.
Although no indictments are
expected, one ofthe sources said,
some of the evidence gathered
could be forwarded to a Justice
Department task force conducting
a separate, broad investigation of
alleged campaign-finance abuses.
Bruce is on vacation this week
and could not be reached for
comment, but her deputy, Cary
Feldman, cautioned:' Until there's
a report that's been issued, or an
announcement from this office, or
HudSOn/to pg. 5
Judge orders gov't to pay $600,000-plus
for delaying Indian fund documents
By H. Josef Hebert
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON, DC (AP) -
A federal judge ordered the
government Tuesday to pay more
than $600,000 for failing to
produce documents promptly in a
lawsuit concerning the trouble-
plagued Indian trust fund.
U.S. District Judge Royce
Lamberth said the payment is to
cover "all expenses andreasonable
attorney fees" incurred by Indian
plaintiffs because of government
delay and misconduct in not
providing records that detail trust
fund mismanagement.
Lamberth said that he was
dismayed that taxpayers "will be
forced to pay for the misconduct
of their government's officials and
attorneys." He said in his 45-page
opinion he wished he could hold
individual government attorneys
liable but is precluded from doing
so.
The order does not address the
merits ofthe class-action lawsuit
brought by the Indians, who
demand the court take over the
trouble-plagued trust fund,
overhaul its error-filled accounting
system and make restitutions to
Indians who lost money.
The award of fees stems from a
two-year period in which lawyers
for the Indians were blocked
repeatedly from obtaining
documents on individual Indian
Judge/to pg. 3
Native
American
Press
FREE
Ojibwe News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded in 1988      Volume 11   Issue 44
August 13, 1999
A weekly publication.        Copyright, Native American Press, 1999
1
Chief Greenhill
Lakota Tribal Chief, born 1860
Picture taken Sept. 10, 1935   .
"Great warriors do not always
fight,but with wisdom are the
peace makers and protectors of\
the weak. In all your reason,
employ your mind in the search
of truth."
Sundancer arrested as Red Lake
forces closure of ceremony
By Jeff Armstrong
Tribal police forcibly shut down
the first known Sundance
ceremony on the Red Lake
reservation shortly after it got
underway July 24, arresting and
jailing organizer Ron Leith.
Leith, a resident of Red Lake,
was released on $550 bail and
ordered to appear in tribal court
August 12 on charges of disorderly
conduct, criminal contempt,
unlawful assembly and tribal
ordinance violation. The Dakota
man denounced the tribal action as
a heavy-handed infringement of
religious liberties.
"We were in the middle ofthe
ceremony when police showed up
and told us to break it up or they
wouldstarttowingeveryone'scars.
The women and children were
scared and crying. I stepped
forward and said I would take
responsibility,sotheyarrestedme,"
saidLeith. "It'sdiscriminationand
prejudice against my beliefs and
wayoflife."
Leith said he had received
advance approval to hold the
ceremony from tribal council
chairman Bobby Whitefeather on
at least three occasions over the
past year, most recently on July
22. At that time, Leith said,
"[Whitefeather] accepted tobacco
from Joe Johnson and I and said
'go ahead.'"
On July 23, however,
Minneapolis-based National AIM
director Clyde Bellecourt faxed
Red Lake tribal member Keith
Lussier informationsuggestingthat
theparticipationofnon-Natives in
what was described by Leith as an
"open door Sundance" would
violate the cultural integrity ofthe
ceremony. "This exploitation must
stop now—Sundancemustremain
Indian,"Bellecourt wrote.
Lussier responded with a letter
Sundance/to pg. 5
Leech Lake revises TERO
By Devlyn Brooks
Bemidj i Pioneer, Aug. 11
The Leech Lake Band of
Ojibwe announced Aug. 10 it has
completed a revised Tribal
Employment Rights Ordinance,
and that it is available to the public
for comment.
"We feel confident that the
revised TERO plan will be viewed
positively by those expressing
concern with the original
ordinance,''LeechLake Chairman
Eli Hunt said in a news release.
Copies ofthe TERO ordinance
will be available to anyone
interested, said Leech Lake tribal
attorney Joe Plumer, and the tribe
will accept written comments
through Sept. 7.
Comments that are applicable
could be incorporated into the final
TERO draft to be produced at the
end ofthe commentperiod, Plumer
said.
The announcement ended about
a six-week period during which
the tribe had suspended
enforcement of the TERO
ordinance to address the concerns
of private citizens and local
governments.
Leech Lake' s TERO ordinance,
which was enacted in December,
sparked a controversy in May
when the tribe announced it would
enforce rules assessing fees to
construction projects within the
reservation' s boundaries and rules
governing the employment of
highway projects that affect the
reservation. MnDOT has already
agreed to abide by TERO
ordinances across the state.
Plumer said there will be no fee
assessed on non-consensual
projects except when
reimbursement is available to the
contractor such as on County State
Aid Highway projects. CSAH
roads are maintained by county
highway departments, but are
maintained with federal money.
Therefore, he said contractors
working on CSAH projects can
receive 100 percent
reimbursement on any fees
assessed by TERO ordinances.
Originally, the TERO ordinance
called for a three tier system of
fees to be charged to any private
or public construction project
within the boundaries of the
reservation. Projects totalingmore
than $200,000 would have been
assessed a 3 percent fee; projects
TERO/to pg. 6