Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-02-18

              INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
News Tidbits 3
Commentary/Editorials/Voices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Classifieds 6-7
Billy Mills tells
of long road
to Olympic
gold
PQ3
Students attend
annual Leech Lake
Career Fair
*r;   P9 3
Commentary
Is Red Lake
tribal government
in chaos?
• pg4
.• >* »
Civil rights
activists protest at
Mille Lacs casino
pgi.8
Turner to seek White Earth
chairmanship
pgj	
Twin Cities American Indian
Legion post seeks veterans
pg'3
Turner to seek White Earth chairmanship
Reservation residents speculate about election outcome, issues
By Gary Blair
Episcopal Priest Doyle Turner, who
in 1996 narrowly lost his bid for the
White Earth reservation's chairmanship, says he will officially announce
his candidacy to seek the office again
March 1, the first day candidates can
file for this year's elections.
Rev. Turner who lost the 1996 race
by 14 votes to Eugene "Bugger"
McArthur, said on Monday, Feb. 14,
"I've been asked by a lot ofpeople to
run, so that's why I've decided to do
so. I wanted to let my church board
know first. That's why I don't want to
say to much now," Rev. Turner said.
In the 1996, election, McArthur received 690 votes to Rev. Turner's 676
votes. Darrell "Chip" Wadena who
was the incumbent and who was also
on trial for federal corruption charges
at the same time received 520 votes. A
week after the 1996 election, Wadena
was convicted of several felonies for
stealing from the White Earth Band
through the rigging of casino contracts, among other things. He was
later sentenced to several years in federal prison. Current chairman John
Buckanaga was elected in 1998.
Wadena is now out of jail and says
he will seek to regain the chairmanship this year. Chairman Buckanaga is
seeking re-election. Another name
being rumored to run for chairman is
controversial AIM activist Vernon
Bellecourt. Bellecourt may claim that
he has been staying with his daughter
on the reservation and that he therefore meets the one year residence requirement to run for office.
A primary election will be held in
April, and the two winners will proceed to the general election in June.
Rev. Turner's planned announcement March 1 confirms recent rumors.
Last Fall, he told your writer that he
had no intentions of entering this
year's race, but he has since changed
his mind. "If I'm elected, I plan to
make sure that tribal members [on the
reservation] who want to work will be
able to work. They can work quarter-
time, half-time or full-time if they
want. Yes, people will be hired based
on their merit and not the way things
are being done today. Yes, I'm aware
that there have been a lot ofpeople
needlessly fired in the past four years
and that's part of reason that I decided
to run this year," said Turner.
When questioned about his campaign plans, Turner had this to say:
"Without going into things to much, I
won't be slinging any mud. That's
never been my style. The first time I
ran for office, they tried to say mat I
had once been appointed as the
reservation's conservation judge by
Chip [Wadena] and that wasn't true. It
is true that I was appointed conservation judge, but Wadena had nothing to
do with it.
"The only connection that I have to
Chip is that I'm related to him on his
mother's side. I did go and see him
when he first got out prison and welcomed him back, but then a lot of
people did that."
Turner also said during the interview, "If we're going to have a police
force and court system, then I will
make sure that it's operated fairly and
that it's not controlled by the tribal
council if I'm elected. I also know that
there is a lot of concern here about
WHITE EARTH to pg. 5
Treuer ruling: Leech Lake RBC can regulate treaty
By Jeff Armstrong
Leech Lake conservation court
judge Margaret Treuer ruled Jan. 25
that the Reservation Business Committee (RBC) has authority over
regualting treaty rights of tribal members.
The case arises from the Aug. 16,
1999 citation of Franklin (Doc)
LaRose by tribal conservation officers
for fishing with an oversized net. A
subsistence fisherman, LaRose challenged the constitutional authority of
the RBC to relinquish Anishinabe
hunting and fishing rights without the
consent of tribal members.
"The MCT Constitution does not
forswear the power to create a tribal
justice system. It must be concluded,
therefore, that the MCT did delegate
to the RBC's ofthe constituent Bands,
including the Leech Lake Band, the
authority to deal with tribal natural
resource assets on their respective reservations by enacting conservation
regulations," wrote Treuer in denying
1 .aRose's motion to dismiss.
"There is no precedent where any
constitution anywhere has been interpreted to say that a government has
authority because the constitution
doesn't specifically say they don't
have the authority," said LaRose.
Treuer rejected LaRose's argument
that the Leech Lake RBC was bound
by federal law to submit to a referendum vote of affected tribal members
the 1973 agreement restricting tribal
treaty rights and establishing a reservation court to enforce the ensuing
conservation code.
Treuer stated in her ruling,
"Whether the tribal decision to enter
into the settlement was unwise or
whether the issue should have been
submitted to a reservation vote is a
political question that is not for this
Court to decide. That the Leech Lake
Conservation Court may have been
established as a result ofthe agreement does not change the constitutional basis for its existence nor place
the Court under the authority ofthe
State."
LaRose also maintainedthat the
RBC's serving simultaneously as
prosecution and court of appeals inherently denies defendants the right
of due process.
In support ofhis motion, LaRose
cited Treuer's 1988 election protest
ruling, which stated that "to deny this
Court the authority to hear and determine constitutional issues raised in an
election protest would be a denial of
right of Plaintiff to due process and
the right to petition for redress of
grievances which were accorded him
by the Congress ofthe United States
under the Indian Civil Rights Act."
After several years of seiving as a
tribal judge, however, Treuer, has apparently developed a far narrower
interpretation ofthe ICRA.
"The defendant has produced no
evidence and does not assert that he
has been, or will be, treated unfairly
or unjustly or that the RTC or any of
its members have, or will, interfere
with the Coiu't in the orderly, just and
fair disposition ofthe charges against
him," Treuer wrote.
Mystic Lake tells its employees not to work at Canterbury
Exceipted from Pat Doyle
Star Tribune
Facing increased competition from
the racetrack 5 miles down the road.
Mystic Lake Casino is forbidding its
employees from taking classes to deal
poker at Canterbury Park's card club
or from working part-time in other
jobs at the track. Mystic Lake, owned
by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota, is the state's largest tribal casino.
A Mystic Lake spokesman said the
casino already has released about 25
employees; several said they were
fired. Many were taking the eight-
week poker class that began tliis week
at Canterbury.
Mystic Lake outlined the policy in
memos to employees in the past four
weeks, shortly before and after the
Minnesota Racing Commission approved the card club. The club is expected to open in April and have up to
50 poker tables, some with high
slakes, to boost revenues and compete
with Mystic Lake.
"They were walking people out with
security, right off the floor," said Kim
Ronhovde, a veteran floor supervisor
who oversaw high-stakes blackjack
tables at Mystic Lake.
Ronhovde said a boss fired her
Tuesday after learning that she had
attended poker classes earlier that day.
Fonner Mystic Lake blackjack dealers and supervisors said they signed
up for the poker course because the
game typically produces bigger tips
than blackjack and has the potential to
boost their incomes by 25 percent.
Tips are the bread and butter of card
dealers, who otherwise work at or near
minimum wage.
Blackjack dealers said they suspect
their firings are intended to scare other
casino employees from taking the
course or moonlighting at Canterbury.
Also, there are no guarantees that
those taking the course will be hired as
poker dealers at the racetrack.
Track president Randy Sampson
said about one-third ofthe 200 people
who signed up for the course were
Mystic Lake employees. When word
circulated that they could be fired,
nearly 50 people dropped out....
Experts say Mystic Lake's policy is
legal and similar to some at other
companies. Such policies assume
greater significance in workplaces
where employers face competitive
pressures from a tight labor market.
Mystic Lake's prohibition also has
been enforced against lower-level casino employees....
Although the Legislature has rejected attempts to put slot machines at
Canterbury or in taverns, the
Shakopee Mdewakanton and other
tribes continue to worry that the issue
isn't dead. Some fear that the card
club gradually could encourage another expansion of gambling that
could hurt American Indian casinos
throughout the state.
"It's a crack in the door," said John
McCarthy, executive director ofthe
Minnesota Indian Gaming Association....
Although it's unclear how successful the Canterbury club will be, poker
dealers in other states make $20 an
hour, S3 to S5 more than many blackjack dealers.
Civil rights activists protest at Mille Lacs casino
By Gary Blair
The first of what could be many
civil right's protests that are scheduled for four of Minnesota's 13 Indian casinos occurred on Saturday,
Feb., 12, at the entrance of Grand
Casino Mille Lacs. Despite the snowy
weather, eight protesters carrying
signs that contained provocative civil
rights messages marched for three
hours on state highway property in
front ofthe casino and at the nearby
DNR landing on Lake Mille Lacs.
Calling themselves the Civil Rights
coalition, participants included local
lakeshore property owners and
people from the Twin Cities. Mille
Lacs Band of Ojibwe member
Vincent Hill, who now lives in Minneapolis, was one of those who protested.
Hill told the group. "As you know,
I'm the chairman ofthe Mille Lac
Lake Tea Pary and we're made-up of
active band members and non-Indians who are concerned about what's
been occurring on the reservation.
The other Tea Party members didn't
want to support this protest and I
want to make it clear why I'm here. I
have concerns about some ofthe
things that have been occurring at
Civil Rights Coalition protesting outside Grand Casino Mille Lacs
Mille Lacs and that's the only reason
I'm here today," Hill told the protesters. I
The next protest is currently scheduled for Feb. 26 in front ofthe Mystic
Lake Casino in Prior Lake, Minnesota. The group also plans to protest
at Grand Casino Hinkley and the
Shooting Star Casino at Mahnomen
during the summer.
Signs the protesters carried included the slogans: "No ethnic zoning in Mille Lacs County", "Warning! The U.S. Bill of Rights does not
apply in this casino. Stay away!",
"Civil rights are not negotiable", and
"Apartheid is morally wrong."
Hill said some other Mille Lacs
Band members joined the protest
when they saw the civil rights messages that the signs contained.
The group's flyer announcing the
protest stated the following:
Tribal government's are domestic
governments, not sovereign nations.
Tliey take their place among other
domestic governments such as states,
counties, cities and municipalities, all
CIVIL RIGHTS topg.8
Voice     of     the     People
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Ojibwe News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2000
Founded in 1988
Volume 12 Issue 18
February 18, 2000
Red Lake
Warriors
basketball
team still
undefeated
The Red Lake basketball team has not
' lost a game this year,"including" at the
Hibbing holiday tournament which they
won by beating Hibbing and International
Falls. When coach Rutledge was asked if
he thought his team would go all the way
this year, he said he was worried about "a
tall team to the West." He said he has great
respect for his team and the training they
put in. Many people at Red Lake predict
they will keep winning.
Photos by Scherling Studio
RED LAKE BASKETBALL TEAM...
Top photo: Cheerleaders in the front row: Carisa Kingbird, Dheena English,
Robyn Pemberton, Clarissa Lussier, Ashlyn Chamoski, and Melanie May.
Second row: DominickJohnson, Gary Spears, Clyde Perkins, James Weise,
Matt Graves and Ronald Kingbird, manager. Back row: Bill Rutledge, head
coach, Dan Fairbanks, Dalton Walker, Rob Head, Dustin Harris, Bryon
Graves, Harold Graves, Joe Nayquanabe, Barb Lussier, cheerleader coach
and Randy Holthusen assistant coach.
Photo, left: (r-l) Head basketball coach Bill Rutledge and assistant coach
Randy Holthusen.
Mahnomen County tribal policing agreement
similar to one at Mille Lacs
By Nathan Bowe
Becker County Record
The tribal-county policing agreement approved by the Becker County
Board Feb. 8 differs from than an earlier agreement between Mahnomen
County and the White Earth Band, in
which the sheriff's department deputizes tribal officers.
Since that agreement was signed,
the Minnesota Legislature changed the
law to allow an Indian reservation to
establish a police force, and to allow
counties to enter into policing agreements authorizing those tribal police
departments to enforce criminal laws
within the borders ofthe reservation.
Under the Becker County-White
Earth agreement:
• The tribe will waive its sovereign
immunity in legal cases involving the
tribal police department.
• The tribe will file certificates of
insurance with the Minnesota Board
of Peace Officer Standards and Training.
• The tribe will follow all state data
privacy laws pertaining to law enforcement.
• All tribal officers must be POST-
certified - the same state certification
required for county deputies and city
police officers
• The sheriffs office will retain control oven crime scenes and tribal officers wilLcpoperate with the county
officer in charge.
• People arrested by tribal officers
will be turned over to the sheriff's
office for incarceration.
• People who are given criminal
citations by tribal police will be prosecuted by the Becker County
Attorney's Office in district court.
• Members of the White Earth Band
charged with breaking tribal regulatory laws will be prosecuted in tribal
court. Non-tribal members will always appear in district court.
• The agreement also calls foi the
exchange of information and communication, with tribal officers participating in the county dispatcher system.
• Tribal officers will prepare investigative reports in accordance with
county procedures, and will do follow-up investigative work at the request of county authorities.
• Tribal officers will be made available for trial or hearings in district
court, and deputies will willingly testify in tribal court.
• If a deputy stops a band member
for a civil regulatory offense, he will
write a report or issue a warning. The
report will be delivered to the director
of tribal security for processing in
tribal court.
• Tribal Court and district court will
swap cases if a case ends up in die
wrong court. For example, if a band
member charged with a civil regulatory offense ends up in district court,
or ends up in tribal court has no jurisdiction, charges will be brought in the
appropriate court.
• The county and tribe will develop
policies and procedures to govern
day-to-day implementation ofthe
agreement. The sheriff and the tribal
director of public safety will develop
the policies.
• The sheriff's office will handle
state and federal crime reporting obligations, distinguishing crimes investigated by the county and the tribe.
• The agreement can be terminated
by either party, with or without cause,
effective immediately upon written
notice to the other.
• A Review Committee with members from the county and the tribe will
meet at least four times a year to resolve any disputes.
• After 11 months the Review Committee will issue a written report to the
tribe and the county, noting whether
the agreement is working well, and
making recommendations concerning
any proposed amendments or termination ofthe agreement.
police officers. of tribal security for processing in tion of the agreemen
More defendants in Hwy. 55 protest go to trial
By Cheryl Fields to trial in smaller groups. Defendants    Peterson, Jr., testifie
Six more defendants arrested for
protesting the removal ofthe "four
sacred oaks" for the rerouting of
Hwy. 55 in south Minneapolis were
found guilty of "obstructing a highway" and each given the maximum
S200 fine or four days "sentence-to-
serve" by Hennepin County District
Judge H. Richard Hopper.
L   In all, 34 protesters including seven
juveniles were arrested Dec. 11 when
the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MNDoT) destroyed the
four oaks and have been proceeding
to trial in smaller groups. Defendants
in the most recent trial refused a plea
for half the maximum fine amount,
fully expecting to be found guilty by
the same judge that had convicted the
previous group of defendants.
According to defendant Scott
Cramer, charges were reduced from
petty misdemeanor to misdemeanor
to prevent "a trial by jury."
During the course ofthe two trials
witnesses for the defense gave testimony to the historic and sacred nature ofthe four oaks near Camp
Coldwater.
MNDoT chief engineer Donald
Peterson, Jr., testified he was aware
of a pending federal court case regarding Native American claims to
the land as "traditional cultural property" when he ordered the removal of
the four sacred oaks and the arrest of
the defendants on December 11, just
one week before the federal hearing
in which the state would argue that
the four sacred oaks which they destroyed were now a "moot point."
U.S. District Judge Rosenbaum's decision regarding "traditional cultural
property" claims is still pending.
HIGHWAY 55 to pg. 5