Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-02-25

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INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
News Tidbits 3
Commentary/Editorials/Voices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Classifieds 6-7
Wolf experts from
around the world
convene in Duluth,
Minn.
P9 5
Presidents' Day:
Little known trivia
about our Great
White Fathers
pg3
More troubles on White Earth Reservation
pgi
Commentary. Disagreeing should
not mean you are a racist
pg4
gW?^
£=**
Commentary
Minnesota state
flag, seal deserve
second thought
pg4
Commentaries
White Earth/Becker County policing
agreement hotly debated
Tribal elections heating up
pg4   .
White Earth
Tribal Council to
replace one of
its own?
By Gary Blair
Sources at White Earth are also
reporting that the Tribal Council is
attempting to replace District 1
representative Irene Auginaush
Tumey with Rev. Don Goodwin
from Pine Bend, Minnesota, even
diough the Reservation's by-laws
call for tribal council members to
be replaced by an election process
during even years. Attempts to
contact Auginaush Tumey for
comment before press time were'
unsuccessful.
White Earth Tribal Council appears
to be preparing to fire political opponents
By Gary Blair
According to a Feb. 18 memorandum issued by Bill Hanks, Human
Resources Director at White Earth, the
reservation's tribal council will attempt to restrain employees from
campaigning for opposing candidates
in this year's election. During the
reservation's pervious elections, challengers with financial means paid
tribal employees secretly to solicit
absentee votes on their behalf during
work hours.
Also in the past, former White Earth
chainnan, Darrell "Chip" Wadena's
administration controlled the
reservation's voter mailing list during
elections. In 1996, the reservation's
secretary/treasurer and District 1
council member were convicted of
federal voting fraud for which they
served time. Wadena and the two
council members were also convicted
of federal corruption charges.
A memo to all tribal supervisors and
managers from Bill Hanks, Human
Resources Director, White Earth Res
ervation Tribal Council, appears to be
an attempt to legitimize the firing of
employees caught or suspected of
campaigning for candidates other then
those approved by incumbents.
The memo reads in part: "Each request for approval of outside activity
must be decided on its individual merits in light ofthe tribal Employee
Code of Ethics which prohibits outside activity which gives rise to 'real
or apparent conflict of interest.'"
The request form, entitled, "White
Earth Reservation Tribal Council Request For Approval Of Outside Activity," requires tribal employees to
specify the "business, person or organization for whom outside activity or
services will be performed," and the
specific time, place, and nature ofthe
activity. The form provides a space for
the request to be "Approved" or "Disapproved," with signature lines provided for the employee, the
employee's direct supervisor, and the
Executive Director of the Tribal Council (Sam Rock).
Woman reports death threats by White Earth security
By Jeff Armstrong
A White Earth woman says she is in
fear for her life after receiving death
threats on Feb. 22 from Reservation
Business Committee security guard
Orville (Casper) Bower in the presence of tribal police.
"He pulled up right by us and
threatened to kill me," said Rebecca
Villebrun. "He was saying 'I'm going
to kill you bitch; you're dead bitch.'"
Villebrun said Bower was flanked
by two tribal officers, Travis Sundvall
and Sgt. Jim Crace, who admitted
hearing the reservation security
guard's violent threats but refused to
intervene.
"[The officers] just sat there. They
told me, go, go," said Villebrun.
According to Villebrun, Sundvall and
Crace did not explain their presence
outside her home, other than to state
that they were waiting for Becker
County Sheriff Tom Hunt. Villebrun
said Bower falsely accused her teenage sons of tiring at the security
guard's vehicle and threatened the
boys with violence as well.
Villebrun called the incident in to 911
and later found Becker County deputy
Eugene (Beebso) Clark in the area.
"I asked him why they didn't arrest
Casper" said Villebrun. "He's made
terroristic threats against my life and
Beebso said I'd be mad too if someone
shot at my car," she said. "He said take
it up with the tribal cops."
White Earth police chief Ken
Badboy said the matter was entirely
out ofhis hands, since the county and
RBC have not legally signed a law
enforcement agreement approved by
Becker County commissioners on Feb.
8.
"It's all laying with Becker County
for criminal investigation" said
Badboy. "It's not within our jurisdiction."
Badboy was at a loss to explain the
purpose of tribal officers being powerless to arrest suspects who commit
serious crimes directly in front of
them. The police chief refused to release the names ofthe tribal officers
involved and denied knowledge of
their presence, though he admitted that
Villebrun had made such a claim.
Becker County Sheriff Tom Hunt
could not be reached for comment.
Having contacted state, federal and
tribal law enforcement, Villebrun continues to wait for someone to do
something to protect her family.
"You can't get protection from
Becker County or White Earth," said
Villebrun. "Tonight I'm scared they're
going to shoot up my house."
Who belongs to Shakopee Tribe?
Associated Press dian tribes wide discretion in defining
their members. Some require one-
fourth, one-eighth or l/32nd blood:
others have less precise standards.
But when a few tribes started to distribute hefty profit-sharing checks
from their casinos, membership took
on greater significance — and controversy. In August, differing membership philosophies among 2, 500
Saginaw Chippewas in Michigan
boiled into a dispute that led to standoffs with police, federal intervention
mid lawsuits over tribal control.
The Shakopee haven't disclosed
their membership, but estimates range
from 250 to 300. By some accounts,
the tribe has expanded its rolls by
about 65 people in the past six years
by " adopting" applicants who could
demonstrate they were direct descendants of tribal members.
Crooks, 32, says he meets a more
restrictive standard also allowed by die
SHAKOPEE. Minn. —- In Minnesota, who qualifies as a Shakopee
Mdewakanton Dakota is a million-
dollar question.
As a member ofthe tiny tribe that
owns Mystic Lake Casino, vice chairman Glynn Crooks makes about $36,
000 every two weeks from his share of
casino profits or about $935, 000 a
year.
But his cousin David Crooks was
rejected for tribal membership, and
lives modestly in south Minneapolis.
"What do I need to get enrolled?"
David Crooks asked. "Is there a secret
handshake I don't know? A password? What is it?"
It's also a question that has
prompted several members of Congress to call for hearings into the enrollment process.
The federal government gives In-
Shakopee tribe — that members have
at least one-fourth Mdewakanton
blood. He says he is more than one-
third Mdewakanton.
But that doesn' t guarantee admittance.
"By majority vote, his membership
request was denied," said William
Hardacker, a tribal spokesman. "The
reasons why? Nobody knows. It's
done by secret ballot."
Crooks doesn't deny he' d like the
money, but says he's also among the
thousands of Indians who rediscovered their roots in the past few decades, dramatically increasing their
census representation.
He grew up in St. Paul. His efforts to
be enrolled began in 1992 — the same
year the tribe' s casino opened and
tribal members were poised to become
millionaires.
"Here I am, a first cousin to Glynn,
" he said, " and F m not getting anything."
Red Lake Band
opens off-reservation resort
WASKISH, Minn. (AP)'- The
Red Lake Band of Chippewa is
about to get into the resort business.
Under the tribe's ownership, Sunset Lodge will reopen sometime
around March 1 in this small community at the east end of Upper
Red Lake, off the reservation.
Sunset Lodge for years was a
gathering place for anglers, locals
and others passing through on state
Highway 72 between Baudette and
Bemidji.
But when Red Lake's walleye
fishery collapsed in the mid-1990s,
the lodge's previous owners were
forced out of business. The nearest
place to buy gasoline or groceries
became Kelliher, some 20 miles
away.
Dan King, treasurer ofthe Red
Lake Band, said the tribe purchased
the property in September and has
been exploring options for using it.
While walleyes are off-limits for
the next several years as part of a
long-term recovery program, crappie fishing has exploded in popularity in the past year, and Waskish is
seeing several hundred anglers converge on the big lake every week.
Initially, King said, Sunset Lodge
will sell gasoline, groceries and
plow an access road onto the frozen
lake for anglers to reach the crappie
hot spots. The lodge won't sell alcohol or offer dining, King said, at
least not yet. But the Band will explore expanding Sunset's offerings
to include boat rentals, camping or
even guide services if the market
justifies it, he said.
Red Lake tribal members win
insurance cases
By Brad Swenson
Bemidji Pioneer
Red Lake tribal members are entitled to basic economic loss benefits
stemming tram car crashes on the Red
Lake Reservation, even if the crash
involves an uninsured motor vehicle,
the Minnesota Court of Appeals said
in a decision filed February 15.
In consolidating two cases, the
three-judge appeals panel affirmed a
Beltrami County District Court ruling
in requiring insurance benefits without
regard to the sovereign status ofthe
Red Lake Band of Chippewa, and to
die uninjured children of a tribal member who dies in a crash.
Minnesota's no-fault insurance laws
are not limited to motor vehicles that
are subject to die vehicle registration
authority ofthe State ofMinnesota,
Court of Appeals Judge Randolph
Peterson wrote in the decision, which
also involved Presiding Judge Roger
Klaphake and Judge R.A. "Jim"
Randall.
Since the claims involved uninsured
vehicles, both cases asked for benefits
under the state's assigned claims plan,
which is maintained by an insurance
pool funded by people carrying insurance and paying premiums.
In one case, Shirley May Sayers and
two minor children - all enrolled tribal
members - were involved in a motor
vehicle crash on a highway within the
Red Lake Reservation. Allen Roberts,
Jr., a resident ofthe reservation,
owned the 1986 Toyota in which they
were riding when the accident occurred. The Toyota was licensed and
registered under the laws ofthe Red
Lake Nation but was not insured.
When the crash occurred, Sayers
and the two children did not reside
with Allen Roberts. Alleging the three
had sustained personal injuries, Sayers
applied for no-fault benefits, with the
claim assigned to State Farm Mutual
Automobile Insurance Co.
State Farm denied the claim, arguing that there was no coverage under
the assigned claims plan because the
accident occurred on the Red Lake
Reservation and involved reservation
residents who were in an uninsured
car licensed by the reservation, not the
state.
In the second case, James Thunder
Jr. was killed in a single-car crash that
also occurred on a highway within the
Red Lake Reservation. He owned the
1985 Chevrolet involved in the crash,
which was licensed under the tribe but
was not insured.
Thunder was survived by his wife,
Muriel Jean Thunder, and three minor
children. The Thunders owned a house
near Blackduck. At the time of
Thunder's death, his wife and children
lived on the Red Lake Reservation,
and he was a part-time resident there,
spending some nights with his family
on the reservation and his family
spending other nights with him at
Blackduck.
Muriel Thunder applied for
survivor's economic loss benefits on
behalf of the three children, and was
assigned to American Family Mutual
Insurance Co. It denied her claim,
contending there is no coverage for
claims arising out of a motor vehicle
accident that occurred on die Red
Lake Reservation and involving reservation residents in uninsured vehicles
under Red Lake Nation registration.
INSURANCE topg.5
Voice     of     t he     People
web page: www.press-on.net
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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 19
February 25, 2000
RACHEL
HILL —
OJIBWE
WORLD
TRAVELER
STUDENT
By Julie Shortridge
At the age of 17, Rachel Hill, enrolled member of the Mille Lacs
Band of Ojibwe, has already seen a
lot ofthe world.
The youngest daughter of Vincent
and Carol Hill, Rachel is in her senior
year at Breck - a private school in
Golden Valley, Minnesota known for
its high academic standards. She has
attended Breck since pre-school. Her
father is an enrolled member ofthe Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe,
and her mother is enrolled at Grand Pottage.
I Rachel has studied in Mexico and Ecuador, and as she approaches graduation, is considering going to college in Spain,'
Hawaii, California or maybe Minnesota.
"Wherever I go, I definitely want to go on another exchange
program when I'm in college too," says Rachel. "I didn't realize
traveling was going to be so life-changing. 1 have become a different person."
"1 could actually do that"
In 1996-97 when Rachel was an 8lh-grader, she switched from,
studying French to Spanish. "The teacher, Senora Upsaul, was the
best. She talked a lot about cultures of different countries. She
made it seem really, really interesting," Rachel explained recently
over a cup of coffee near her home in South Minneapolis. Senora
Upsaul's influence led to a turning point in Rachel's life.
Rachel asked the teacher how she could learn more about Hispanic cultures. "I was thinking of something local, like where the
RACHEL HILL topg.5
Pictured: (top) Rachel Hill as an
exchange student in Ecuador, (bottom)
Rachel Hill with Economics teacher and
another exchange student.
Mille Lacs Band
may pursue more
banks
Excerpted from Dee DePass
Star Tribune
The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe is
digesting its recent acquisition ofthe
S33 million Rural American Bank in
Hinckley, Minn., before pursuing
other banks.
The deal, which closed last fall,
doubled the size ofthe tribe's $32
million Woodlands National Bank in
Onamia, Minn., creating a $65 million bank with 16 employees and
three branches in Onamia, Sturgeon
Lake and Hinckley, where the tribe
has one of its two casinos; the other
is in Mille Lacs.
The tribe, one of only seven nationwide to own a bank, bought Rural American from Frandsen Financial Corp. in Forest Lake, renamed it
Woodlands National Bank and
moved the headquarters to Hinckley.
While intended to diversify the
band's large casino and small retail
operations, the purchase kicked up
conh-oversy. Some area residents
who don't like the new owners'
stand on hunting and fishing rights
— guaranteed in an 1837 treaty —
closed accounts in protest.
"A number ofpeople left the bank,
including some rather substantial
customers who you really wouldn't
think would do that," said Woodlands President Lewis Anderson.
The bank's combined deposits now
stand at $55 million, with loans of
$31 million.
The tribe will eventually pursue
other bank purchases, Anderson
said.
American Indian leaders
organizing to back McCain
By Matt Kelley
Associated Press
WASHINGTON-
Rookie congressman
John McCain flew 2,000
miles to Winslow, Ariz.,
in the early 1980s to
check out Robert Pictou-
Branscombe's work with
American Indian veterans.
McCain's House district was hundreds of
miles away in Phoenix,
and he told Pictou-
Branscombe he was skeptical ofthe
federal program to give job training
to Indian veterans. But Pictou-
Branscombe, himself aVietnam
veteran, showed McCain how his
efforts with Navajo and Hopi veterans were paying off.
"He changed his mind about it
and went back to D.C. and had that
program extended for five years,"
said Pictou-Branscombe, now retired and living in Rimrock, Ariz.
Now McCain is relying on his 17-
year history with Indian causes to
help persuade traditionally Democratic Indian voters to support his
Republican presidential campaign.
McCain has campaigned on the
Navajo reservation in his home
state. His Indian outreach efforts are
headed by former Navajo Nation
president Peterson Zah and former
National Congress of American Indians president Ron Allen.
"John McCain is the only candidate that's currently in the race that
has a good track record on American Indian issues," said Zah, who
changed his voter registration from
Democrat to Republican.
Indians make up only 0.7 percent
Republican presidential candidate
John McCain
ofthe voting-age population nationally. But more than 5 percent of Ari-
zonans are Indian, an important number in his home-state.
McCain supporters say Bush alienated many Indian leaders last year
when he said "state law reigns supreme when it comes to the Indians,
whether it be gambling or any other
issue."
Bush spokesman Scott McClellan
said Bush's comment referred to a
Supreme Court ruling that said states
cannot be sued for refusing to negotiate casino agreements with tribes.
McClellan said Bush "respects the
longstanding tribal sovereignty and
self-governance of Native Americans."
McCain's Indian supporters say his
legislative record, including a stint as
chairman ofthe Senate Indian Affairs
Committee, shows a longstanding
commitment to fulfilling tribes'
needs.
For example, he helped write a
1994 law directing the Interior Department to clean up longstanding
problems with about S3 billion in
trust accounts for tribes and individual Indians.