Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1999-10-08

              :'    - :     '
M/7/e Lacs
Messenger
criticizes Native
American Press
Pg.4
Native American
Press, County
Commissioner
defend against
Messenger criticism
pg.4
Minnesota Appeals
Court draws line on
police searches
pg-l
U.S. Supreme
Court to decide
race-based voting
rights case
Pg.l
City of
Minneapolis
investigates
Native American
liaison
Pg-l
Bellecourt sues
Native American
Press for
defamation
pg.l
Bellecourt
sues Native
American Press
for defamation
Well-known Native American
activist Vernon Bellecourt filed suit
this week against the Native
American Press/Ojibwe News
(Press/ON) and letter-writer Joseph
Geshick in Hennepin County District
Court.
Seeking in excess of $50,000 in
damages for alleged defamation of
character, Bellecourt charges Press/
ON publisher Bill Lawrence and
Geshick with intentionally using the
weekly newspaper to circulate
statements about the activist they
knew to be false by printing
Geshick's letter-to-the-editor in the
Aug. 27 issue this year.
"Defendants knew that the
statements were false, and published
them with reckless disregard for their
truth or falsity," Bellecourt alleges,
claiming publication ofthe letter
caused him "deep emotional
distress, pain and suffering,
humiliation and embarrassment, harm
to his reputation, and loss of
LAWSUIT to pg. 6
After apparent
resistance, Joyce Wedll
abides by court order
By JULIE SHORTRIDGE
Joyce Wedll, wife of Don Wedll,
Mille Lacs Department of Natural
Resources and Environment
Commissioner, was ordered by
Judge Steven P. Ruble July 23 to
pay Mille Lacs Band member and
resident Irene Wade Benjamin
$2,571 in restitution for an incident
Aug. 24,1998 in which Wedll
allegedly physically attacked,
punched and pulled Benjamin
around by her hair at the Mille Lacs
Grand Casino in Onamia, MN. The
entire incident was captured on
casino surveillance cameras, which
the Band provided to the court.
The amount Wedll owed Benjamin
covered Benjamin's doctor's fees
and other expenses related to care
she received due to aggravation of a
neck injury resulting from the attack.
Wedll, who until recently was
employed by the Minnesota
Historical Society at the Mille Lacs
Indian Museum in Onamia, seemed
to be reneging on the restitution
payments and, as a result, appeared
in Mille Lacs County Court on Oct. 4
for a charge of violating probation.
The charge was dismissed when it
was discovered that Wedll had
written a check to the county for the
full amount on Sept. 23. After a
three-week period to make sure the
check clears, Benjamin will receive
the money from the county. If she
had not paid, Wedll would have
faced up to 90 days jail time.
"I'm really impressed with how the
Mille Lacs County attorney's office
has been handling this," Benjamin
said in a phone interview. "Violence
is widespread on the Mille Lacs
Reservation and this sends a
message to people that beating
someone up is not acceptable, and if
you do, you will be held
accountable.... I want to thank the
Indian and non-Indian people of this
community who supported me
through this," said Benjamin in a
phone interview.
Wedll now works at the Nay-Ah-
Shing School in Onamia teaching
children Ojibwe history.
Minnesota Appeals Court draws line on police
searches
By JEFF ARMSTRONG
The Minnesota Court of Appeals
ruled this week that state police
officers cannot constitutionally
search individuals stopped for
routine traffic violations without a
compelling fear of violence on the
part ofthe officer.
In a 2-1 decision, the state appeals
court struck down a Hennepin
County district judge's ruling which
allowed the court to consider
evidence obtained by a Minneapolis
officer in his attempted search of a
16-year-old bicyclist the officer said
appeared nervous and at risk of
fleeing.
"When confronted by an armed,
uniformed officer in a squad car with
flashing lights, it is not unusual for a
person to appear nervous," the
appellate majority wrote in an
opinion by Judge Kalitkowski joined
by presiding Judge Randall. "A frisk
is improper during a routine stop for
a minor traffic violation absent
additional suspicions or threatening
circumstances."
The youth was stopped by an
officer when the former reportedly
pedaled through a stop sign into
oncoming traffic on a one-way street.
When the officer attempted to search
the youth prior to placing the latter
in the back of a squad car, the two
scuffled and the juvenile was found
to have been in illegal possession of
a firearm.
While the district judge upheld the
legality ofthe detainment on the
grounds of suspected intentions to
flee, the appellate court ruled that the
officer violated the appellant's fourth
amendment rights to freedom from
unreasonable search and seizure.
"If the possibility of flight was a
'further criminal act' under the rule,
the police could justify detention
after any minor traffic stop," the
appeals court found. "The inability
of a minor traffic violator to produce
a driver's license is not a reasonable
basis to require the driver to sit in
the back of a squad car... Moreover,
appellant was a juvenile riding a
bicycle who was not required by law
to have a driver's license or other
identification."
Instead, the court held, such
actions must be founded on a
"reasonable suspicion that the
person is armed and dangerous or
the existence of other circumstances
that pose a threat to the officer."
Among examples cited by the
court for establishing a reasonable
basis for search were a subject's
past history of gun possession, prior
criminal record of assault or violence
or direct observations by the officer
ofcriminal activity.
"Respondent has cited and we
have found no cases allowing a
protective weapons search absent
any evidence that a person was
armed and dangerous or otherwise
posed a threat to an officer's safety.
APPEALS COURT to pg. 5
Casino expansion, a hot topic in Upper Midwest
Oxi   DAT   r^f^WI    IT Jfll i'aiii;.>mIiivii    , ■. i ri t, > r   \i>itfiin    ttlc«/
By PAT DOYLE
Star Tribune, Oct.4
A group of Wisconsin towns is
talking about supporting a casino
proposed for Hudson if the
promoters pledge money to their
governments.
Meanwhile, a remote American
Indian tribe is visiting city after city
in southern Wisconsin, shopping for
a more lucrative spot for a casino.
And in North Dakota, casinos are
raising betting limits and adding
roulette tables in an effort to
dissuade gamblers from heading for
Minnesota, where tribes continue to
increase the size of their casinos and
hotels.
A decade after it began, tribal-
owned gambling operations continue
to grow in the Upper Midwest.
Wisconsin is beginning a new era
in which the state now stands to gain
substantial revenue from the casino
business. It expects to draw at least
$24 million ayear from tribal casinos
under agreements reached by Gov.
Tribal Chairman Bobby Whitefeather
of the Red Lake Chippewa
Tommy Thompson and the tribes.
Thompson had leverage because
tribes' gambling compacts were set
to expire.
Minnesota has no expiration dates
in its compacts.
Meanwhile, several Wisconsin
tribes are trying to build casinos or
expand in or near major cities. The
Lac du Flambeau Chippewa have a
small casino on a poor reservation in
north-central Wisconsin. But the
tribe hopes to change its luck by
building a major casino and
convention center within easy
driving distance of Milwaukee and
Madison, and the Lac du Flambeau
areoffering communities millions of
dollars ifthey approve.
In Minnesota, two ofthe biggest
and poorest bands are seeking new
opportunities in tourist areas. The
Leech Lake Chippewa hope to break
ground this fall on a $ 1.5 million
casino in Deer River and are working
on a $25 million expansion ofthe
Northern Lights Casino near waiKer.
The Red Lake Chippewa are
planning a major increase in slot
machines, a 100-room hotel and an
amusement park at their River Road
Casino outside Thief River Falls — a
project expected to cost $20 million.
Red Lake also is contemplating more
ambitious projects. The band was
rebuffed by community opposition
to a casino in Bemidji but is hoping
to one day locate in East Grand
Forks.
EXPANSION to pg. 6
Tribal leader indicted for dumping hazardous materials
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A former
Coquille Tribe official has been
indicted on federal charges he
illegally dumped asbestos-laden
construction debris and knowingly
exposed workers to the hazardous
substance during a 1995 renovation
of a casino in North Bend.
Bruce A. Anderson, the former
head of economic development for
the Indian tribe, allegedly violated
the federal Clean Air Act and made
false statements to investigators,
according to an indictment unsealed
Thursday.
According to federal prosecutors,
an investigation by the
Environmental Protection Agency
found that Anderson, as president of
the Coquille Economic Development
Corp., ordered the demolition and
removal of asbestos walls during the
renovation of a former plywood mill
that the tribe converted into the Mill
Casino.
But Anderson failed to notify the
EPA that he was working with
asbestos or follow removal and
disposal protocols, the indictment
states.
He also lied to an EPA investigator
when he said he didn't know about
the asbestos until agents served a
search warrant in February 1996,
although workers say they
complained to him in April 1995,
according to the indictment.
Danny Gilkey,a31-year-old worker
and a Coquille tribal member, said he
confronted Anderson and other
supervisors at the construction site
and warned them about the asbestos
walls.
"They told us it was cement board
and to just bust it out," Gilkey said.
"The dust was floating everywhere."
Unconvinced, Gilkey took a sample
of wallboard home and called the
EPA. Agents visited him and opened
their investigation based on his
complaint.
Gilkey said he now worries that he
will get sick from his exposure. "It
could be 20 years before I get it, I
don't know," he said.
Anderson faces a possible five-
year prison sentence and $250,000
fine on each ofthe four counts
against him.
Under a federal law passed in 1971,
removal of material containing more
than 1 percent asbestos must be
done under strict conditions. Those
rules include notifying the EPA of
any intended demolition, wetting the
material to prevent dust during
removal, packaging it while it's still
wet in sealed and marked containers,
and disposing of it at approved
landfills.
The debris removed from the
INDICTMENT to pg. 8
Voice ofthe People
1
web page: www.press-on.net
Native
American
Press/
FREE
Ojibwe News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
Founded in 1988 Volume 11 issue 52
October 8,1999
A weekly publication.      Copyright, Native American Press, 1999
I
The Women's
Fancy Shawl
Dance is an
extremely
athletic dance
involving
kicks,  twin's
and fast
movement.
KTCA-TVs
"Wacipi -
Pow-wow" airs
in November.
Photo: Melissa Genr
City of Minneapolis investigating Native
American liaison
ByGARYBLAIR
Valerie Sheehan,Native American
liaison for the City of Minneapolis,
has been subpoenaed to give a
deposition on Oct. 8 after it was
alleged that she had verified some
fire fighter applicants as Native
American even though she knew
they were not. The city then claims
racial numbers foremployment
purposes that are not accurate.
Thecity's former Affirmative
Action Director, Larry Blackwell, is
also expected to be subpoenaed as
part of an initial probe into tne
alleged misconduct. Criminal charges
are possible if inaccurate reports
were intentionally submitted to the
federal judge who's been overseeing
the city's integration ofthe fire
department.
Legal aid attorney Roderick "Rick"
McPherson, who's been assigned to
monitor the integration ofthe
Minneapolis fire department
stemming from a 25-year-old federal
court decree, will conduct the
deposition. The city has never been
in compliance with the court order.
Sheehan's official duties were
recently suspended after it was
learned that her certification of
Native American fire department
applicants may have been
conducted improperly. Sheehan was
hired five years ago by the City of
Minneapolis, after her predecessor
resigned amid complaints that she
had been mistreated by her
supervisor.
"I didn't follow my own protocol,"
said Sheehan in a phone interview
with this reporter. "I took some of
the applicants' word that they were
Indian. I didn't do a complete check
of their ancestry. I got too busy with
other work and I forgot to complete
the checks," Sheehan said.
When asked if she was going to
lose her job over her actions,
Sheehan responded, "I might as well
tell you; they're after me." When
asked who was after her, Sheehan
answered, "The city. They're
blaming me for what happened.",
Sheehan's revelations come on the
heels of years of complaints that the
city has allowed white fire
department applicants to claim
American Indian status in order to
obtain employment without proper
substantiation of there lineage.
Sheehan says she has hired legal
counsel to represent her and plans
to admit what she did and didn't do
during her upcoming deposition.
Allegations against Sheehan come
at a time when the City of
INVESTIGATION to pg. 6
High court to decide race-based
voting rights case
By BRUCE DUNFORD
Associated Press Writer
HONOLULU
Rice sees his
family as a
microcosm ofthe
islands' racially
mixed
population:
Diverse, but not
always equal.
Born and
raised on the
-Harold "Freddy"
"What do I tell my
grandchildren, that
some of them are
different? Some are
privileged, some need
assistance... ? When
(Hawaiians-only) Kamehameha
Schools?" Rice said. " When you
see it in your own family it becomes
       real obvious."
For the last three years,
Rice has been challenging a
state law giving Hawaiians
special race-based voting
privileges.
On Wednesday, the 62-
year-old rancher will break
from tending cattle on his
Big Island spread to listen to
So if Hawaiians can't be given
special rights, it would be hard to
justify them for other Native
Americans."
Briefs in support of the state have
been filed by the National Congress
of American Indians, the Alaska
Native Federation, the Justice
Department, and Alabama,
you see it in your
islands, Rice is a  own family it becomes arguments before the U.S
white rancher               rea i obvious." Supreme Court.
whose great-                                       * Across the country, the
grandfather was governor of Kauai
under the last island queen, Lili'
uokalani. In Hawaii's melting pot,
two ofhis grandchildren are
considered Hawaiian — and
therefore eligible for special state
and federal benefits. Three are not.
"What do I tell my grandchildren,
that some of them are different?
Some are privileged, some need
assistance, some can' t go to
arguments have drawn the attention
of those on either side of the debate
involving minority groups and
affirmative action.
"The potential implications could
be great for all native peoples in the
United States," said Jon Van Dyke,
a University of Hawaii constitutional
law professor. " There's not much
logic in differentiating Native
Americans from native Hawaiians.
"This case could lead to a
deprivation ofthe rights of
large populations in a
number of states if the
declaration of special
relationship with a
minority population is
enough to justify racial
discrimination in voting."
California, Nevada.New Mexico,
Oklahoma and Oregon.
Supporting Rice were Robert Bork,
RIGHTS to pg. 5