Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-02-04

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INDEX
News Around Indian Country
News Tidbits
Commentary/Editorials/Voices
Smoke Signals ot Upcoming Events
Classifieds
2
3
4
5
6-7
"Lone Ranger"
boosted American
Indian pride
pg4
Commentary
Mille Lacs County attorney
overlooks key issues
regarding tribal jurisdicton
pg4
Department of Natural
Resources' wolf plan
debated
pg 1.5
Jim Thorpe
declared "Athlete
of the Century" by
ABC Sports
pg 1
White Earth Public Safety
Department in turmoil
P9 1	
White Earth law enforcement
builds up weapons arsenal
pg 1
White Earth Public Safety Dept. in turmoil
V o i
By Bill Lawrence, Julie Shortridge
W.E. security guard
Bower arrested for
domestic assault
David Bower, security guard for
the White Earth Band of Chippewa.
. was arrested Jan. 26 and charged
with gross misdemeanor domestic
assault for an incident involving
Tanya Van Wert at her home. Bower
was booked into Becker County jail
in Detroit Lakes. Minnesota at 9:48
a.m. Jan. 26. and posted $2,000
bond before being released at 1:10
BOWER  topg.5
W.E tribal council
names new public
safety director
The White Earth Reservation
Tribal Council has selected Ken
Badboy to be the new White Earth
Director of Public Safety. Badboy
replaces DeeWayne Rognstad who
resigned this month.
Badboy is a White Earth enrolled
member and has worked the past
two years as an enrollment specialist
for the council. Badboy worked in
law enforcement administration for
NEW DIRECTOR to pg. 5
c
O   F
THE
People
Rognstad would not lower his ethics
Former White Earth Director of
Public Safety DeeWayne Rognstad
told Press/ON in phone conversations Feb. I that he resigned last
month because. "I couldn't lower my
ethics and standards."
Rognstad said the department was
"in the hole" when he arrived in
1999, with $500,000 paid to security
without tribal funds available to support the expenditure. According to
Rognstad. the security bill was primarily for Staff hired to guard tribal
headquarters and tribal officials.
Rognstad suggested that many of the
security personnel were hired as a
means of buying their support for the
administration, and to discourage any
dissident protest activities.
Rognstad said he brought the overpayment figure down to $227,000 in
the 13 months he was director, from
Dec. 21. 1998 to Jan. 20. 2000. During his tenure with the department.
Rognstad says he also reduced the
number of security guards on the
tribal payroll from over 50 to 24.
Rognstad says there were numerous discipline problems within the
department. Several staff hired for
security had criminal records, including brothers David and Orville
Bower who Rognstad says have
criminal histories involving drugs
and domestic assault, including felonies. In addition. Rognstad says 809r
of the public safety staff failed the
drug test. He said he did not have the
support of tribal administration to
discipline staff.
According to Rognstad. he tried to
discipline the Bower brothers for not
showing up and not doing their jobs,
but they always "went upstairs" to
top tribal administration for support.
"I had no control over them," said
Rognstad.
Rognstad says that Tribal Executive
Director Sam Rock, to whom
Rognstad reported, "meddled" in his
department. Rognstad claims Rock
signed the Bower brothers' time cards
even though their salaries were paid
out of security funds from Rognstad"?
department.
The Bowers are considered persona!
security for tribal elected officials.
Rock said in a phone interview that
he never signed the Bowers' time
cards.
Rock also said. "I never thought
things were well-managed at the cop
shop. People would come to me for
things that weren't getting done."
Rock said he is unaware of the Bowers' criminal records, and was un-
ROGNSTAD topg.5
web page: www.press-on.net
fi
'tee'
Ojibwe News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2000
Founded in 1988
Volume 12 Issue 16
February 4, 2000
White Earth Reservation law enforcement builds up
weapons arsenal
By Gary Blair, Jeff Armstrong
The controversial White Earth Reservation Business Committee police
force is building up a formidable arsenal of riot control and paramilitary
equipment, according to documents
obtained by the Press/ON.
The U.S. government is underwriting 159c ofthe cost ofthe tribal law
enforcement system at White Earth.
Included in the White Earth Police
Department's $655,302 annual budget is a Sept. 10. 1999 purchase order
for S32.334.26 worth of equipment
from Aardvark Tactical. Inc.. of
Arcadia. California, which specializes in "less-lethal" devices and
weapons accessories. Aardvark's
website ((www.nonlethal.com) fea
tures links to "anti-law enforcement"
sites, including Human Rights Watch
and the American Civil Liberties
Union Police Practice web page.
Some ofthe items ordered (Invoice
Number 9545) include:
• one 40 mm grenade and tear gas
launcher
• seven travel vaults for gas guns
and M-4 weapons, a lighter, shorter
version ofthe M-16
• six "Millenium" tactical lights for
.223 caliber carbine automatic rifles
• one ballistic anti-riot shield
• one 40 mm Exact Impact sponge
gun developed by the U.S. Army
• six gas masks
• one Reload Distraction Device, a
flash-bang grenade which gives off a
light equivalent to more than 2 mil
lion candles
• one pair of night vision infrared
binoculars
• six holsters and grips for dock
pistols
• six magazine pouches for AR-15
rifles
The order was shipped to the
reservation's tribal council's address:
P.O. Box 418. White Earth. MN. The
invoices read, attention: Bob Borden.
White Earth PD.
Marvin Manypenny. director ofthe
Aniishinabe Center in Detroit Lakes,
said the document confirms the worst
fears of tribal members about the
intentions of the RBC in establishing
its police force.
ARSENAL to pg. 8
Clinton to propose $1.2 billion more for Indians, aide says
By Matt Kelley
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON. D.C. (AP) —
American Indian reservations would
get an infusion of $1.2 billion in federal money for education, health
care and law enforcement under
President Clinton' s proposed 2001
budget, a White House aide said.
Lynn Cutler, the president's top"
adviser on Indian issues, said it's the
largest spending increase ever
sought for Indians and includes new
or expanded programs in nearly all
federal agencies.
"It" s important that we get every
agency of the federal government
thinking about Indians and employing Indian people." Cutler said Feb.
1. one day after she outlined the plan
to tribal leaders at a meeting of the
United South and Eastern Tribes,
which represents 23 tribes from
Maine to Texas.
Clinton announced the spending
initiative in his State ofthe Union
address last week, but did not mention any specifics. Those will be included in his 2001 budget proposal,
to be announced next week.
Among the spending Clinton will
seek: $300 million to build at least
six new reservation schools, a $117
million increase for reservation road
repairs, about $300 million more for
the Indian Health Service and $103
million added to reservation law enforcement. Cutler said.
The head of the Interior Department' s Bureau of Indian Affairs, the
main agency funding tribal governments, said the extra money is welcome but won't address all the
problems.
"In all. I don't think it's anything to
have a party over, because the needs
in Indian Country are so great." said
Kevin Gover. a Pawnee who Clinton
picked to head the BIA in 1997.
Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell,
the only American Indian in the Senate and chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, also was skeptical.
"Senator Campbell hates to look a
gift horse in the mouth, but he does
wonder why it' s taken eight budgets
for the president to get around to
taking a look at Indian Country."
said Chris Changery. a spokesman
for the Colorado Republican.
The extra money for reservation
roads will put only a tiny dent in the
estimated $4 billion backlog of
$1.2 BILLION topg.5
Photo credit: Julie Shortridge
Playwright Jin Northrup (pitting) Signs ccpiss of his latest book. "Rez Poad Follies" after opening night of his new one-^an show.  Rez Road
2000" af the Great American History Theater. January 29 in St. Paul. Show continues through February 27. For tickets, call 651-292-4323.
Jim Northrup's one-man show
Rez Road 2000 humorous, insightful
By Julie Shortridge
The insightful and engaging storytelling of Jim Northrup. Fond du Lac
Band of Ojibwe. can be experienced
at his second one-man show Rez
Road 2000. now playing at the Great
American History Theatre in St.
Paul. Minnesota (Thursdays-Sundays. Jan. 29-Feb. 27: see "Smoke
Signals" listing, page 5).
Produced by Bob Beverage, the
show is both written and performed
by Jim Northrup.
Prior to the nearly two-hour show.
Northrup mingled with the audience
as if at a gathering of family and
friends (approximately 200 people
attended opening night. Sat.. Jan.
29). The stage-set. consisting prima
rily of a dinette table strewn with
everyday items, gave the feeling of
being in Northrup's own home.
The 56-year-old Northrup talked
in a casual, conversational style,
about how the Ojibwe came to live
where they do. his childhood and
education in Indian boarding
schools, his training as an enlisted
man in the U.S. Marine Corps, his
service in the Vietnam War. the
struggle to readjust to life after the
war. and his current life as an artist,
poet and storyteller.
Northrup laced his sometimes
heart-wrenching, gritty life-stories
with disarming wit. one-liners,
smiles, and jokes. There's no victim
identity in Northrup. His sometimes
biting insights are tempered by see
ing the humor in life, and the humanity of all people.
Among his many stories and vignettes in the production. Northrup
told ofthe time he met John
Wayne, how his dog Speed Bump
got his name, marveled at the intricate mysteries ofthe white'man's
holiday celebrations such as the
Easter Bunny, and told ofthe time
he was on display at the
Smithsonian Museum in Washington. D.C.
The mere mention of the name
"Luke Warmwater." Northrup's fictional character in his books Walking the Rez Road and The Rez Road
Follies, created a roar of laughter.
REZ ROAD topg.8
Thorpe honored as Athlete
of the Century by ABC Sports
(AP) Two daughters of Oklahoma
native Jim Thorpe said they are
thrilled he was named Athlete of the
Century by ABC's Wide World of
Sports before the Super Bowl.
"I am absolutely super-plus delighted." said 77-year-old Grace
Thorpe, who with her sister Gail
campaigned hard for her father, to
get Athlete of the Century honors.
The honor was voted on by visitors to ABC's web site, who could
read the biographies ofthe 10 finalists for the award and vote for their
candidate.
Thorpe garnered more than half of
the vote, with basketball star
Michael Jordan finishing a distant
second. The title was announced before ABC's Super Bowl telecast.
The award was fitting, said Grace
and Gail, since their dad was one of
the first professional football players
in the country and president ofthe
league that would become the National Football League.
The NFL's Most Valuable Player
award is named in his honor.
Thorpe was third on The Associated Press poll of Athletes of the
Century and named AP's Top Athlete of the first half of the century.
The sisters were glad their father
received the honor on national television in front of millions of viewers.
"'Dad is vindicated because it was
'4&
Athlete of the century, Jim Thorpe
the people who voted." said Grace.
Thorpe was born into the Cherokee tribe in a one-room cabin in
1887 in Keokuk Falls. Okla.. which
later became Prague. His first job
was running after horses, said Grace.
His Indian name was "Bright Path."
In the 1921 Olympics held in
Stockholm. Sweden. Thorpe became
the only man to win gold medals in
the pentathlon and decathlon. He
was a world-class high jumper and
three-time Ail-American in football.
Thorpe also played professional
baseball and was an outstanding
golfer, swimmer, rower, gymnast
and tennis player.
DNR wolf plan
met with criticism
on both sides
Exceipted from Bill McAuliffe
Star Tribune
A wolf-management plan that
would let farmers in northeastern
Minnesota shoot wolves to protect
their animals was greeted Jan. 26th
with criticism from livestock and environmental interests alike, setting up
another wolf battle at the Legislature.
Department of Natural Resources
(DNR) officials, legislative leaders
and advocates on both sides did agree
on one thing: that the issue is likely to
wind up in federal court....
The DNR's latest wolf plan, announced Jan. 26th. is part of a federal
effort to remove the wolf's threatened
status in Minnesota, where the
animal's population has risen from
just a few hundred in the 1960s to
about 2.500. State and U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service officials say that
would prove the Endangered Species
Act has been a success.
But a plan to maintain a healthy
wolf population is required before the
federal government will remove protections for the animal.
Last year the state House passed
such a plan, but the Senate tabled it.
The new DNR plan moves slightly
more toward livestock interests than
last year's bill. It also rules out a wolf
WOLF PLAN to pg. 5
Ruling against Tribal tax on non-Indian resorts upheld
Excerpted from Lorna Thackeray
Billings Gazette
A federal judge in Billings. Montana ruled Jan. 26 that the Crow
Tribe cannot impose its 4 percent
resort tax on non-Indians operating
on non-Indian lands within the
boundaries of the Crow Reservation.
Chief U.S. District Judge Jack
Shanstrom issued the ruling in the
process of dismissing the tribe's appeal of a U.S. Bankruptcy Court decision that said essentially the same
thing.
John Fredericks III. an attorney
from Boulder. Colorado, representing the tribe, said Jan. 27 he will
recommend to the tribe and its tax
commission that they appeal
Shanstrom's ruling to the U.S. 9th
Circuit Court of Appeals.
Tribal taxation authority ranks
among the top legal issues in Indian
Country these days as federal dollars
shrink and tribes implement new
taxes to make up the difference. The
Crow Tribe enacted its resort tax in
1995. and it has been in court battling challenges from the non-Indian
community since.
In addition to the bankruptcy appeal, in which Shanstrom issued this
week's ruling, he has two other challenges to the tax pending in his
court. One was filed in 1996 by Putt
and Julia Thompson, owners of the
Fort Custer Trading Post located on
fee land across from Little Bighorn
Battlefield. The other was filed in
October by five non-Indian businesses that offer services associated
with fishing on the Bighorn River.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars in
taxes, interest and penalties are at
stake.
Although each case presents different facts, the bankruptcy ruling
can be considered a good indication
of how those cases will go. None of
the cases, however, is likely to be
decided at the district court level.
Lately. U.S. Supreme Court rulings have tended to limit tribal jurisdiction over non-Indians on non-
Indian lands within Indian reservations, but the issue of tribal taxation
remains an open question.
One ruling recently handed down
by the U.S. Supreme Court said the
tribal court had no authority to hear
a civil case involving an accident
involving a Burlington Northern
train that occurred on a federally
granted railroad right of way. But
the judges in that case indicated that
the tribe's authority to tax may be
broader than the tribal court's authority to adjudicate conflicts involving non-Indians. Shanstrom did
not refer to that case.in his decision
in the bankruptcy appeal.
What he did say unequivocally
was that the tribe cannot tax non-
Indian transactions on fee lands. Fee
lands are those that have passed
from Indian ownership and are no
longer held in trust by the government.
Shanstrom said the U.S. Supreme
Court has generally ruled that tribes
do not have jurisdiction over non-
Indians except in two instances - if
the tribe and non-Indians have entered a consensual agreement, or if
the activities of non-Indians threaten
or have some direct affect on the
political integrity, economic security
or the health and welfare of the
tribe. Neither of those instances apply to the resort tax. the judge
found.
His ruling came in the tribe's appeal from a bankruptcy court decision last May. Pauline Haines, who
operates Polly's Place, a restaurant
and guest rooms near Bighorn Canyon National Recreation Area, had
filed a Chapter 13 business reorganization bankruptcy action.
A few months after she filed for
bankruptcy on June 26. 1998. the
Crow Tribe filed claims with the
bankruptcy court asserting that she
owed $98,790 in back taxes. Haines
objected to the claim, stating that the
tribe did not have the authority to
impose the tax.
A Chapter 13 bankruptcy is a personal reorganization in which debtors who have income can present a
plan to the judge to repay what they
owe over a period of years. The plan
has to be approved by the judge,
who also hears arguments from
creditors and evaluates their claims .
against the debtor.
Bankruptcy Judge John L.
TRIBAL TAX topg.5