Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 1999-10-15

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Wisconsin tribe
must shut down
casino
Pg-l
Minneapolis
firefighters lawsuit
heating up
pg.l
Tribal leaders meet
with House panel
members
Pg-l
Commentary
Personal
responsibility v.
inherent
dependency
Pg.4
Appeals Court to
hear Prairie
Island nuclear
issue
pg-l
White Earth
challenges state
hunting, fishing
jurisdiction
pg-l
Minneapolis fire fighters lawsuit heating up
City of Minneapolis officials being deposed
ByGARYBLAIR
Native American firefighters are
planning a multi-million dollar federal
lawsuit against the City of
Minneapolis that will allege that for
more than 10 years city officials
have systematically discriminated in
their hiring of Native American
firefighters in the city's fire
department.
The litigation is likely to include as
defendants former Minneapolis
Mayor Donald Frazier and the City's
present Mayor Sharon Sayles
Belton. Details of those plans will be
announced next week.
The recent decision to file the
lawsuit came after reports were
submitted by Minneapolis officials
to a federal judge that outlined the
city's recruitment efforts and hiring
of American Indian firefighters that
plaintiffs allege were fraudulent. •
The proposed action also comes
after a five hour subpoenaed
deposition last week ofthe City's
Native American liaison, Valerie
Sheehan, who had been assigned to
verify firefighter applications that
had claimed Indian ancestry.
Minneapolis Legal Aid Attorney
Rick McPherson, who conducted the
deposition, said during a telephone
interview on Oct. 11 that Sheehan
admitted that, among other thing, she
had improperly verified and/or did
not verify 1998 fire department
applicants who had claimed Indian
status.
Sheehan's actions apparently
violated a 25-year-old federal court
decree that mandates the verification
of those firefighter applicants
claiming Indian status. McPherson's
authority to depose is granted under
that same federal court order, and it
is McPherson's role to gather
information necessary to determine
whether the city is guilty of
contempt of court in allegedly
violating the decree.
Wilma Mason, director ofthe
Anishinabe Council of Job
Developers said in a phone interview
this week that she will be a plaintiff
against the City because her agency
was used for years to help recruit
qualified Indian firefighters that were
never hired. "Just think, I had
worked with those people at city hall
for years and I was being lied too.
What's even worse, we were sold
out by our own people," said
Mason.
Mason, who once served on the
Minneapolis Civil Rights
Commission, says she became
suspicious in the mid-1980's after
she obtained a breakdown of how
many Indians were employed by
 FIRE FIGHTERS to pg. 6
Appeals Court to hear Prairie Island nuclear issue
By JEFF ARMSTRONG
A coalition of Native and
environmental groups is appealing a
decision by the Minnesota Public
Utilities Commission to allow
Northern States Power to extend the
life of its two nuclear reactors
bordering the Prairie Island
Mdewankanton reservation
southeast of Minneapolis.
Prairie Island Coalition spokesman
Bruce Drew charged NSP with
attempting to bypass 1994 legislation
obliging the company to develop
alternative energy sources in return
for permitting the plant to store
radioactive waste in 17 casks outside
the facility. The controversial
compromise bill gave NSP enough
storage capacity to insure
production until 2002, but fell well
short of the 48 casks the company
had sought.
"Instead of planning any other
sources of energy, they've spent all
their time trying to get around the
law," said Drew.
Under the nuclear storage statutes,
NSP must produce a total of 800
megawatts of wind power and 50
megawatts of biomass-generated
energy, supplanting the need for
much ofthe power produced at the
Prairie Island facility. Drew said NSP
is lagging behind in its wind power
development and has failed in its
attempts to utilize alfalfa as a
biomass energy source.
Drew said the litigation, scheduled
for oral arguments in the state
appeals court Oct. 26, is aimed at
overturning a May decision by the
PUC to allow the company to add
200 fuel assemblies to its on-site
storage pool. The activist said the
proposed action, which would give
NSP an extra two or three years to
find alternative energy sources or
storage sites, removes a safety
margin promised by the company
and requires legislative approval
under the Radioactive Waste
Management Act.
NSP has also come under fire
from the Indigenous
Environmental Network for the
company's plans to allow for the
transfer of electricity from Hydro
Manitoba through construction of
a high voltage power line from
Duluth to Wassau, Wisconsin.
The IEN condemns the Canadian
utility's dam projects, which have
flooded and displaced the
Pimicikamak Cree on the Cross
Lake Reserve. Drew said the Prairie
Island Coalition would steadfastly
oppose any attempt by NSP to
replace Prairie Island energy with
Hydro Manitoba power.
White Earth challenges state hunting, fishing
jurisdiction, will honor "green cards"
ByJULDSSHORTREDGE
White Earth Chairman John B.
Buckanaga reaffirmed Oct. 12 that
the "sovereign nation" of White
Earth will continue to honor and
issue to qualified members "green
cards" for harvesting natural
resources.
The state does not have the
authority to determine membership in
the Band, nor who can benefit from
tribal resources, said a White Earth
press release. The state's
interference with the tribe's
regulation of harvesting rights
threatens the political integrity,
economic security and health and
welfare ofthe White Earth Band as a
whole, the press release argued.
To resolve the continuing
outstanding issues, the White Earth
Band of Chippewa Indians has
entered into dialogue with the state
Department of Natural Resources to
try to work out the differences
concerning hunting and fishing by
members and non-members within
the confines ofthe White Earth
Reservation.
Buckanaga's statement is in direct
response to the state asserting last
week that all people hunting or
fishing within the boundaries ofthe
White Earth Reservation who are
not official White Earth Band
members must possess state
licenses to hunt and fish.
"Possession of White Earth tribal
'green card' licenses alone will not
be legal licensure for non-Band
members," the MN DNR stated. The
state also says that non-Band
members must follow state laws
when hunting or fishing within the
boundaries of the reservation, or risk
receiving a state citation.
Wisconsin
tribe must shut
down casino
Pending ruling on land status
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10-5-99
The Stockbridge-Munsee tribe
must shut down about 170 slot
machines it operates at a Shawano
County golf club while the state [of
Wisconsin] and [the] tribe fight over
whether the club is on reservation
land, a federal judge ruled in an
opinion made public Oct. 4.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Patricia J.
Gorence issued the preliminary
injunction the state sought to
prohibit the tribe from operating the
machines at the Pine Hills Golf and
Supper Club.
"We believe the magistrate judge
has made a very compelling decision
that this is not reservation land,"
Attorney General Jim Doyle said.
Brian L. Pierson, a lawyer for the
RULING to pg. 6
Bagley school officials say
death threat fears
unfounded
By JEFF ARMSTRONG
Bagley public school officials say
reported death threats against
Native students there are apparently
false, and should no longer be cause
for concern.
"At no time were the children in   '
any danger," said Bagley principal
Don Nordlund. "But in light of
what's happened in this country in
the last few years, even a rumor has
to get our attention."
Nordlund said the matter has been
turned over to the Bagley police for
investigation, possibly contributing
to rumors leading several Native
parents to temporarily keep their
children home from school.
"It ends up on scanners and
people make decisions based on
very limited information,"Nordlund
said. "Right now, everything's back
to normal."
Bagley police declined comment,
but anticipated releasing a statement
Friday.
A Bagley educational official,
requesting anonymity pending
completion ofthe police
investigation, confirmed that a note
was discovered Monday in the high
school girl's bathroom containing
threats to kill several named Native
students. Declining to disclose the
specific contents ofthe note, the
official said one ofthe girls named as
an intended victim is suspected of
having fabricated the threat, as she
is alleged to have done at a prior
school.
"We're quite confident that
there's no threat to the students,"
the official stated.
Babbitt won't be indicted in casino case
By H. JOSEF HEBERT
Associated Press Writer
After 19 months of investigation, a
special prosecutor said Wednesday,
Oct. 13 she would not seek criminal
charges against Interior Secretary
Bruce Babbitt in connection with a
four-year Indian casino controversy.
Independent counsel Carol Elder
Bruce found that there was
insufficient evidence to seek criminal
indictments against Babbitt or
anyone else involved in the decision
in 1995 to reject a permit for a casino
sought by three Wisconsin Indian
tribes.
Babbitt said he welcomed, but was
not surprised, by the outcome.
President Clinton in a statement
called Babbitt "a man ofthe highest
integrity" and said that he was
always "convinced that he would be
vindicated."
Bruce, a veteran prosecutor in the
U.S. attorney's office in Washington,
had been selected by a three-judge
panel in March 1998 to investigate
allegations that the casino decision
had been a payoff for promises of
campaign contributions by rival
tribes opposing the casino.
In a statement issued Wednesday,
bruce's office said that the evidence
uncovered during its investigation
"would not support" allegations of
"a criminal quid pro quo" or any
"explicit agreement" between
opponents of the casino and
government officials involved in the
decision.
Bruce and her staff also concluded
"that the evidence was insufficient"
to prove that Babbitt committed
perjury in statements he made at a
BABBITT to pg. 6
Voice of the People
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Fred Urich of Prairie Island, Minn., dances at the third annual Native American Wacipi held at Yankton
Middle School on Monday night, Oct. 11,1999. Urich is a member of the Sioux Tribe. There were at least six
tribes from four states at the annual celebration. (AP Photo/Press & Dakotan, Kellie Smedsrud)
Tribal leaders meet with House panel
Leech Lake tells of future plans
By DEVLYN BROOKS
Excerpted from the Bemidji Pioneer, 10-13-99
The Leech Lake Reservation is a place of many
needs, tribal officials told a group or Kepuoncan state
legislators visiting the reservation Oct. 12.
The tour was part of a two-day visit to northern
Minnesota by the delegation, which also toured the
Red Lake Reservation earlier Oct. 12 and held a public
meeting in Bemidji Oct. 11 concerning [city] annexation
issues.
"We're in a time where things are changing very
rapidly," Tribal Chairman Eli Hunt told the group, which
included state Rep. Larry Howes, R-Hackensack; Rep.
Peg Larsen, R-Lakeland; Rep. Ray Vandeveer, R-Forest
Lake and Rip. Alice Seagren, R-Bloomington. All
except Howes are members ofthe House Local
Government and Metropolitan Affairs Committee.
After a brief history lesson about the Leech Lake
Reservation, Hunt outlined the tribe's future goals for
development - two of which included focusing on the
tribe's social problems, such as chemical dependency,
and acquiring a larger land base.
Those goals among others, Hunt said, are the result
of a year-long planning effort that will help guide the
Leech lake Tribal Council in its strategic planning....
According to the plans, the tribe must first break
rampant chemical dependency on the reservation or its
other efforts are useless, more than one tribal official
told the legislators.
And second, the band needs to add to its land base
not only to provide more housing for its members, but
also for the tribe to develop more jobs outside the
gaming industry.
Hunt said only 1 percent ofthe land within tribal
boundaries is held in federal trust, and without more
such land there just isn't economic development.
A major discussion on education issues included a lack
of funding at Leech Lake Tribal College and the tribally
operated Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shing School, and the Cass
Lake-Bena School District's capital loan request the
Legislature will consider next year.
Education needs, Hunt and other Leech Lake officials
said, are important because traditionally the education
for American Indians has been sub par.
For instance, Leech lake Tribal College Interim
FUTURE PLANS to pg. 6
Red Lake seeks state aid
ByBRADSWANSON
Excerpted from the Bemidji Pioneer, 10-13-99
.. .The Red Lake Band of Chippewa hopes to expand
[its elementary school]. The Red Lake School District
also hopes to convince the legislature [to provide]...an
$11.2 million state loan.
That's only one of many possible partnerships
between the state and the Red Lake Band, as members
ofthe Minnesota House Local Government and
Metropolitan Affairs Committee were told in nearly a
day-long tour of reservation facilities.
"Red Lake is unique in a lot of ways," Red Lake Tribal
Chairman Bobby Whitefeather said as panel members
attended a pipe ceremony to open the day's Red Lake
Tribal Council meeting in the town of Red Lake. "Even
though the state has no jurisdiction, we look to
Minnesota as a partner. We are citizens ofthe state of
Minnesota as well as Beltrami County."
The Red Lake Reservation is one of only two closed
reservations in the nation, meaning its lands are held in
common. Its most direct relationship is with the federal
government, although a separate school board handles
education and is accountable to the state.
"The state ofMinnesota has been an excellent
partner with the Red Lake tribe," Whitefeather said.
"When I travel throughout the country and compare
notes, Minnesota is the envy of a lot of tribes."
.. .The Red Lake Band of Chippewa now has 9,270
members, and is growing, he said. Many members who
live off the reservation can't find jobs or are in jeopardy
of losing welfare benefits, so they move back to the
reservation, which strains tribal services, he said.
With funding help from the Legislature, the tribe
recently broke ground for a new training and
employment center at Redby, operated in conjunction
with Northwest Technical College-Bemidji....
To further a partnership with the state, Whitefeather
asked to testify before the committee during session, if
not before the entire Legislature, involving a joint
address of Minnesota Indian tribes.
"There are contentious issues that pop up, such as
treaties, and we can get beyond that innuendo," he
said. "We could have an address on the state oflndian
tribes, in a spirit of progress."
The panel's chairwoman, Rep. Peg Larsen, R-
STATE AID to pg. 6