Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-03-31

              INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
News Tidbits 3
Commentary/Editorials/Voices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Classifieds 6-7
Rally to oppose
wolf hunting
Inspires retelling of
Ojibwe tales
pg4
Minnesota ChippewaTribe
candidates make appeals to
voters
P9 3,6,8
Red Lake Treasurer
Dan King responds to
Press/ON commentary
on troubled
reservation
pgi
Tribal members confused
about how to identify
themselves on Census 2000
pg3
Inmate found
dead in Stillwater
prison cell
P9 1
Congress to review
Shakopee Mdewakanton
tribal enrollment
Excerpted from Pat Doyle
Star Tribune
In a rare look at the inner workings of
a tribal government. Congress is asking
how people become members ofthe
Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota and
receive nearly SI million a year in profits from Mystic Lake Casino.
A House committee is seeking
records about the tribe's enrollment and
profit-sharing practices from the Department of Interior and its Bureau of
Indian Affairs (BIA). The review follows complaints from some member
and people seeking membership who
say the tribe is manipulating its enrollment practices for political purposes.
The federal government seldom scrutinizes the membership oflndian tribes,
preferring that the semi-sovereign governments resolve their disputes internally. Supreme Court rulings haw given
tribes wide discretion in defining their
members.
But the newly acquired wealth of some
tribes that own casinos has raised the
stakes for membership and given the
issue a higher profile among the broader
public.
In response, the Shakopee
Mdewakanton issued a statement that
said "the matters addressed in the
committee's inquiry... have been reviewed by numerous courts, found to
be adequate and wholly tribal matters."
The tribe has officially kept secret
details of its enrollment and profit sliming, lt won't reveal how much it distributes from Mystic l ..ike. but some
members say they now receive a
S36.000 check every two weeks. The
Shakopee also haven't disclosed the
size of their membership, but estimates
range from 250 to 300. All share in casino profits.
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. It pre\ iously required members to
have one-fourth Mdewakanton blood.
TriU. ... Siaulc) (
said that the looser admission policy is
needed because of marriages between
members and nonmembers over the
years.
But tribal member Winifred Feezor
says the adoption policy is too lenient
and results in enrolling people who
don't qualify for membership. She said
the policy solidifies political support
for the Crooks family, which includes
vice chairman Glynn Crooks.
The House committee decided to look
at Shakopee's enrollment practices because they have generated more controversy than those of other tribes and
because ofthe payments from casino
gambling. Congress gave itself ultimate authority over tribal casinos
when it passed the Indian Gaming
RegulatoryActinI988.
That law says that tribal gambling is
intended to promote "tribal economic
development, self-sufficiency, and
strong tribal government." It allows
"per capita" payments to tribal members under plans approved by the Department ofthe Interior.
"There is an intersection between the
membership issues and the Indian
Gaming Act," a congressional staff
member said last week. Committee
chairman Don Young, R-Alaska,
"wants to maintain the integrity ofthe
Indian Gaming Act to benefit who it
was designed to benefit — Native
Americans," the staff member said.
Inmate found dead in Stillwater prison cell
Cecil Bearskin
By Gary Blair
The daughter of Cecil Bearskin, who
was found dead in his cell at Stillwater
State Prison on Monday,
March 27,2000, says her
48-year-old lather's death
appears suspicious.
Rebecca Pederson said on
March 29 that her lather's
forehead has bumps on it,
and it appears to be sunken
in. She plans to have her father's cremation postponed until con-ection officials
complete the investigation into his
death.
Stillwater prison Assistant Warden
Timothy Lanz said in an interview on
March 27 that Bearskin was found
alone in his cell at 4:36 a.m.. apparently
the victim of suicide by hanging. Lanz
says a note was found nexl to his body.
Bearskin was serving an 11-year, 2-
month sentence for first-degree criminal
sexual misconduct that involved his juvenile stepdaughters. Bearskin was
committed from I lenncpin ( 'ounty on
April 28, 1997. "I can't say anymore
until our investigation is complete".
Lanz said.
Pedeison says prison officials told her
that the note found next to her lather's
body was unsigned. 1 low ever. Pederson
has since learned that two letters were
allegedly found in the cell next to her
lather's body. According to Pederson,
they were typed letters, addressed "To
Whom it May Concern," with one
signed letter to his wife.
Bearskin was celled in the prison's
general population alter be-
ing transferred back to
Stillwater from the Moose
I ake medium security prison
on March 24.
Pederson said her
father had attempted suicide
once before and had complained that other Indian inmates had
stalled assaulting him within months of
his incarceration at Stillwater after 'hey
learned he was in for sexual misconduct
with children. "They wouldn't let him
attend their s\\ eat lodges alter that," said
Pederson, "That was why he asked to
be transferred to Moose Lake over a
year ago. They shouldn't have sent him
back to Stillwater. He didn't want to go
Kick there."
"I testified on his behalf during his
trial that he hadn't touched me improperly when I was younger," said
Pederson about her lather's trial. "I
didn't go v isil him I was mad al linn for
a while after he was found guilty. Hut
then we started writing letters hack and
tinth. I le sounded depressed in his lel-
k-iv He would sax that he didn't* think
be could go on much longer." Pederson
said of her lather's recent correspondences.
BEARSKIN to pg. 6
Leech Lake, area law enforcement
agreement will likely miss target
By Devlyn Brooks
Bemidji Pioneer
lt isn't likely the leech I ake Band
of Ojibwe will stnke a law enforcement agreement w ith area law enforcement agencies by the April I target
date, tribal and county officials said
this week.
Representatives of leech Lake, the
city of Cass Lake, the Minnesota Suite
Patrol, and Cass. Itasca. I lubbard and
Beltrami counties have been negotiating for more than a j ear to dev elop a
joint powers law enforcement agreement that would explain die rcspousi-
bilities of each entity's law enl>
merit agency
talks culminated March 2 when
more than 30 officials gathered in
Walker to discuss the languishing
agreement \fteri-i 2boursofsome-
tmies heated, hut mostly respectful discussion, the officials charged the respective law enforcement heads to finalize an agreement
But ill the three weeks since that
meeting, negotiations seem to have slid
backward.
I he sheriffs from the counties involved, the t ass I ake police chief, and
the State Patrol met March 8 to develop a consensus approach, according
to Cass County Administrator Bob
Yochum \i that meeting, the law enforcement officials agreed to incorporate parts ofa law enforcement agreement between Becker ( ounty and the
W'htie Earth Band of Chippewa into
thcexisim .ike agreement
LEECH LAKE to pg. 8
White Earth casino plans $25
million expansion
l-.xcerpted from Nathan Howe
Becker Count) Rccortl
White Earth tribal officials are betting that a proposed S25 million expansion ofthe Shooting Star i lasino
and Stardust Suites will be a winning
strategy when it comes to pulling in
lucrative convention business.
If the plan wins approval of die
tribal council 1- acting as the Tribal
Gaming Commission - in just over a
year casino management will no
longer have to turn away large groups
looking for a convention site, said
Ray Brenny. general manager of the
Shooting Star Casino.
Now, indoor crowds are limited to
450 people in the Cabaret Show
Room. The expanded casino will feature a 66,000-square-foot convention
center (with a permanent stage) capable of holding 1.500 foot-stompin'
Willie Nelson fans   or fans of any
other big name performer the casino
can lure to Mahnomen.
It's also big enough for fans of farm
shows, boat shows and car shows,
Brenny noted.
And those people will have a place
to bed down for the night: the
Stardust Suites will nearly triple in
si/e. with I OS new rooms to be added
to the existing 60 rooms.
The motel will be connected to the
casino through a second-story walkway
With the expansion will come another MH) slot machines for a total of
1,300, and the casino is taking a hard
look at adding a poker room, where
players would compete against each
other.
The house typically makes 13-14
percent off a poker room, not a highly
lucrative game, Brenny said. But it
would be something different.
Brenny hopes to see construction
start on the motel and convention center expansion May 22 and be finished
in March 2001.
Extensive casino remodeling will
start April 2001 and the Grand Opening will take place on the casino's 10"'
anniversary, May 20. 2001.
The expanded convention center
WHITE EARTH to pg. 8
Senate panel delays action on nomination to oversee Indian
trust fund cleanup
By Matt Kelley
Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP)-A
Senate panel delayed action March 22
on the nomination ofa retired Arizona
banker to head efforts to clean up mismanagement of S3 billion in trust
funds for American Indian tribes and
individuals.
Tribal representatives complained
they had not been consulted before
President Clinton nominated Thomas
Slonaker as Special Trustee for
American Indians. Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman Ben
Nighthorse Campbell agreed March
22 to delay action on Slonaker's
nomination until tribes could meet
more extensively with the former First
Interstate Bancorp executive.
"I'm sure you will be confirmed,"
Campbell, R-Colo., told Slonaker.
"It's just a matter of dealing with the
tribes first."
Congress created the trustee post in
1994 as part ofa comprehensive plan
to fix problems with the trust funds,
which Interior Department officials
admit have been plagued by over a
century of poor record-keeping and lax
oversight. The department's Bureau of
Indian Affairs oversees trust accounts
worth $2.5 billion for 338 tribes and
about $500 million for roughly
300,000 individual Indians.
The individual account holders are
suing the federal government, seeking
billions of dollars to compensate for
money they lost to mismanagement.
The federal judge in that ease in December ruled he would oversee reform
efforts for the individual accounts and
ordered the department to give him status reports every three months.
The first special trustee, Paul
Homan, resigned a year ago after Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt reorganized his office to ship him of much of
his authority. Homan and Babbitt had
repeatedly clashed over Homan's criticism ofthe department's trust refonn
efforts and his calls for a completely
independent agency to safeguard Indian trust hinds.
Campbell warned March 22 that
Slonaker was stepping into "a total
morass" by agreeing to take on efforts
to reform the trust account system.
"I extend to you my condolences,"
added the panel's top Democrat, Sen.
Daniel Inouye of Hawaii.
Charles Tillman Jr., principal chief of
the Osage Tribe of Oklahoma, said
March 22 that tribes should have been
given more input in selecting Slonaker,
who said he had never heard ofthe
trustee position until he was contacted
by an executive search firm.
"I don't think Indian Country knows
a thing in the world about this man,"
said Tillman, whose tribe plans to sue
the federal government claiming more
than $2.6 billion in oil lease revenue it
believes it should have received.
Keith Harper, a Cherokee lawyer
representing individual account holders, said his clients had similar concerns.
"Whenever a high government official is appointed like that who has
great authority over our most precious
resources of Indian Country, then Indian Country should be consulted,"
said Harper, who did not attend die
hearing.
Voice
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P   I    O   I'   L   1
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 24
March 31, 2000
I     .. -     .    .
If
Laura Goodman-Brown, Crime Victims Ombudsman
David E. Larson, Ombudsman for Corrections
Crime Victim
Ombudsman for
Ombudsman's Office Corrections may be
targeted for budget cuts \ eliminated by Legislature
Report critical of Minneapolis Police
Qepartmeni nmv haw irritated legislators
Bv Julie Shortridge
*
By Julie Shortridge
\
Ihe state 11 rime Victims Ombudsman office, with
:! ot seven and an annual budget of $389,000, is
this year, lire
Mate budget of $12 billion. But to this small agency
it will likely mean cutting the stall"from seven lo six,
and to the nearly 400 crime victims served each year
by the agency, the effect may not he inconsequential.
More disturbing is the appearance that the Crime
Victim's Ombudsman office    created in 1986 to
make sure police departments and state criminal justice agencies don't violate \ renins' rights — appears
to be targeted for a funding cut because ol a critical
report issued about the Minneapolis police department.
In listening to audio-tapes of I louse Judiciary I i-
naiiee Committee hearings, chaired In Sherry
Broecker(R-White Hear Lake), it is clear that Rep.
Rich Stanek (R-Maple drove) is leading the charge
against the (rime Victims Ombudsman's office. Rep.
Stanek is a captain with the Minneapolis Police Department.
In 1999, the Crime Victims Ombudsman's office
issued a report critical of the Minneapolis Police Department for its handling ofthe sexual assault ofa
14-year-old girl by 12 men. Instead of getting the
names ofthe men. the officers allowed several men
lo leave, look down only a couple of names, and
charged the girl with a curfew violation. It wasn't
until Ihe girl's mother filed a complaint that charges
were brought against two ofthe men.
The police had gone to the scene because two of
the girl's friends, who had escaped from the apartment where the incident occurred, went to the police, saying they feared their friend would be raped.
In addition, the two responding police officers
missed numerous red flags indicating that a sexual
assault had occurred. The girl had been forced to
have oral sex numerous times with the men and had
SI semen stains on her coat.
According to Goodman-Brown, she publicized the
report because the Minneapolis police not only severely mishandled the case, mistreated the child, and
botched the investigation, but they also covered-up
CRIME VICTIMS to pg. 5
I he Ombudsman for Corrections office, which pro-
v ides arbitration and dispute resolution to inmates in
slate prisons and some county jails, faces possible
elimination from the Legislature this year. Created in
1972. the office has a stall'of six and an annual budget of $400,000. The office is for the first time headed
by an American Indian. David E. Larson (White
Earth Hand oft hinpewal whom Gov Ventura appointed lo the position in December ot last year.
Members ofthe House Judiciary Finance Commit-
lee. chaired by Sherry Broecker (R-White Bear
Lake), question whether the department is necessary,
stating that several other agencies provide similar ser-
v ices. They also question why the department has received 50% fewer cases in the past six months, while
"dramatically increasing" the amount of time it takes
to resolve each case.
In 1998 the office received nearly 6.000 contacts
from inmates or inmates" families, most of which are
requests for infonnation. "A typical call to our office
involves an inmate who feels that rules are being applied unfairly - one inmate is allowed to do something that they aren't allowed to do. After looking
into it, there's usually a valid reason forthe difference, but no one explained the reasons to them," said
Larson. "We help diffuse those situations before they
escalate into a larger conflict."
Regarding Native American inmates, Larson says
they have a lot ofthe same problems as other inmates. The only unique problem might be getting access to sage, medicine bags and other items necessary
for some religious practices, or dealing with other inmates who resent what is perceived as special rights
for Indian religions. Finding female volunteers to
conduct ceremonies and sweats with female inmates '
is an unmet need, said Larson.
The Minnesota Cliippevva Tribe's Executive Committee voted 12-0 on a resolution to support the continued existence ofthe office. Minnesota Appeals
Court judge Jim (R.A.) Randall, who works closely
as a volunteer with inmates, provided some ofthe
strongest testimony supporting the need for the office,
as did T Williams, the first Ombudsman for Corrections dating back to 1973.
Larson argues that no other agency offers the range
of intervention services as his office, nor are the other
offices independent from larger agencies. Larson argues that independence from corrections programs or
CORRECTIONS to pg. 6
Interior Department sends warning letter to Pine Ridge
Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The federal
government has ordered the suspended
president ofthe Oglala Sioux Tribe to
stop wielding power.
Tribal President I larold Salway received a letter March 23 that tells him
to quit issuing orders to tribal law enforcement and says die federal government docs not recognize the stale of
emergency he declared for the Pine
Ridge Indian Reservation.
"You have no authority whatsoever
to order any tribal employee to do or
not do anything," wrote Kevin Gover,
assistant secretary for Indian affairs at
die U.S. Department ofthe Interior.
In the letter, Gover acknowledged
that Salway is the elected president of
die tribe but that his powers had been
suspended by the tribal council. The
suspension was upheld by die tribal
supreme court, which means power to
run the tribe falls to Vice President
Wilber Between Lodges, according to
the letter, which was faxed to media
outlets.
In an interview, Salway said he is offended diat Gover was issuing him orders.
"We are a sovereign nation. How can
he tell me what to do? I'm a sovereign
leader ofa sovereign nation, why
should I listen? How can he make directives to me?"
He also disputes the notion that he is
no longer the president ofthe tribe and
that the suspension has been upheld by
the tribe's supreme court.
"I have a petition filed in tribal
court," Salway said Thursday. "The
(tribal) supreme court did not hear anything yet."
It's the latest development in an ongoing dispute between tactions in the
tribal government on the Pine Ridge
Indian Reservation.
Salway suspended die tribe's treasurer, Wesley "Chuck" Jacobs, in October claiming financial improprieties.
Jacobs was reinstated by a judge.
Then in January, a group of tribal
members took over the Oglala Sioux
headquarters in a peaceful protest over
what they called mismanagement of
funds.
That was followed by the tribal
council's suspension of Salway, who in
turn suspended all but four ofthe 17
council members.
Salway also declared a state of emergency on the reservation, which includes a restructuring of die tribe's
government and finances.