Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-04-14

              -
INDEX
News Around Indian Country
News Tidbits
Commentary/EditorialsA/oices
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events
Classifieds
Nader, LaDuke
campaign in
Minnesota
pgi
Merits of
Sacagawea
dollar coin
debated
pg4
Certified list of
candidates for Red Lake
tribal elections
pgi
American Indian
woman killed,
suspect charged in
two Minneapolis
slayings
pgi
Federal government
investigates Red Lake's
River Road Casino
pg 1
Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe candidates for
April 18th primary
By Julie Shortridge
The following is a comprehensive
list ofall 83 certified candidates for
chairman and district representative
seats up tor election this year in the
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (MCT)
bands - Bois Forte (Nett Lake),
Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Leech
Lake, Mille Lacs and White Earth.
All positions are 4-year terms,
with elections staggered every two
years. The two winners ofthe
MCT's Tuesday, April 18th Primary
Election for each category will go on
to June 13 General Election.
Red Lake, which is not part ofthe
MCT, is also having primary and
genera] elections this spring and
summer.
Fond du Lac Band
• Chairman: Kevin Dupuis, Sr., Robert Martineau, Les Northrup, Jim
Northrup, Robert "Sonny" Peacock,
Don E. Wissen
• District I. (Cloquet) Representative:
Carl "Jr." Abramowski, Ernest W.
Diver, Keith Diver Sr., Julia "Bunny"
Jankola, Albert Joe Martineau,
Cynthia (Cindy) McCloskey, Patty
Petite, Clifton A. Rabideaux, Bernard Roy
• District HI (Brookston) Representative: George Dupuis, Roger A.
Higbee, Bryan Jon Mackwaki, Dawn
LaPrairie Sutten
Grand Portage Band
• Chairman: Norman W. Deschampe,
June K. Evans
• Committee member: Darlene
LeGarde, Wallace M. Deschampe,
Lawrence T.P. Bushman, Kenneth A.
Sherer, Donna J. Anderson, Dana R.
Logan, Allan Deschampe
Leech Lake Band
' Chairman: Guy G. Cloud, Alfred
W. Fairbanks, Jr., George Goggleye.
Jr., Tony "Skin" Hare, Eli Hunt,
Bibsy Kingbird, David Chief Mor-
gag, Waltci- "Frank" Reese, Jerry
"Otto' Reyes, Martin Robinson.
Bonnie J. Rock Lenee D'. Ross
• District III Representative: Robert
J. Budreau, Sr., Emmanuel
Headbird, Fred K. Jackson. Jr.,
Delmer Jones (Junior), Arthur
"Archie" LaRose, Sally M.
Morrison, Richard Robinson, Jr.
Mille Lacs Band
• ChiefExecutive: Marjorie (Marge)
Anderson, Melanie A. Banjamin,
Clifford K. Churchill, Timothy A.
Jackson, Mushkooub, Joseph L.
Nayquonabe, Larry Nickaboine,
Herb Weyaus
• District 1 Representative: Sandra L.
Blake, Reginald Garbow, Suzanne
^Merrill, Arlene R. Weous, Kenneth
G. Weyaus Sr., Eloise B. Wind
Nett Lake (Bois Forte) Band
• Chairman: Donald Chosa, Jr., Gary
W. Donald, Mark E. Drift, Sr., Doris
Isham, Kevin Leecy
• Distinct I Representative: Shane G.
Drift, E. Curt Goodsky, Rosemary
King, Wendy Morrison, Ray E.
Villebrun, Sr.
White Earth Band
• Chairman: Albert A. Bellecourt,
John B. Buckanaga, Doyle Turner,
Darrel "Boone" Wadena, Dean "Per
Cap" Van Wert
• District III representative: Ivy J.
Ailport, Harold O. Annette, Sr., Kenneth "Gus" Bevins, Albert L.
Brunner, Ralph "Bucky" Goodman,
Edward J. Miller, Sr., Marilyn E.
Smith, Elmer "Gene" Tibbetts
Feds investigating Red Lake's River Road Casino
By Bill Lawrence
According to niunerous sources, who
prefer to remain anonymous, Press/ON
has learned that a federal investigation
into an alleged embezzlement of funds
at the Red Lake tribally-owned and operated River Road Casino is currently
underway.
Sources have told Press/ON that the
amount ofthe alleged embezzlement
could be anywhere from a few thousand
dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars. An exact amount won't be determined until an independent audit is
completed on the casino books. This
normally takes several months depending on the amount of money involved
and die condition ofthe books.
The casino, which is located about 6
miles south of Thief River Falls, Minn.
on U.S. Hwy. 59, has been the most
profitable ofthe three casinos owned
and operated by the Red Lake Band
since it was opened in Dec. 1992.
Press/ON'has received a number of
calls from River Road casino employees and Red Lake tribal members over
the past couple of months telling us of
the alleged embezzlement.
Other callers have told Pivss/ONof
the $9 million incongruence between
what the slot machines' computers report earning for the tribe, and the
amount the tribe documents having received.
Still other callers complain that the
three casinos have been mismanaged
since tire day they opened their doors.
One caller told Press/ON that a
woman employee was to be made the
scapegoat for the embezzlement, but
that she
wouldn't
down
alone.
The
management of
the casinos by
the Red
Lake
Tribal
Council
has been
RED
LAKE to
pg-6
Writer Blair
leaves Press/ON
Press/ON wishes writer
Gary Blair the best in his
pursuit of other
opportunities. Blair had
written for Press/OA/
since 1991, and left this
week. His slant on the
news in Indian Country
will no doubt be missed
by many readers.
American Indian woman killed, suspect
charged in two Minneapolis slayings
By Julie Shortridge
An American Indian woman with
roots in the Franklin Avenue area was
found dead on a curb in her fonner
neighborhood at approximately 3:30
am. April 7. Andrea Kiy Applebee, 25,
of St. Anthony was shot several times,
including in the head, with a ,22-caliber
gun and her body apparently dumped in
the 2200 block of 10"' Ave. South in
Minneapolis.
Hennepin Comity prosecutors on April
12 charged Andrew J. Krosh, 30, of Cottage Grove with two counts of intentional second-degree murder in the
slayings of Applebee and Daniel B.
Kabtyimer,23,ofSt.Paul.
Kabtiyimer, a cab driver originally
from Ethiopia, was left dead at 6:30 a.m.
April 7, approximately 1-1/2 miles from
where Applebee was found.
Police and prosecutors have shed no
Site in south Minneapolis where Andrea
Applebee's body was found
light on a motive for the slayings or how
the two killings might be linked.
Police are not saying how Applebee
may liave met her killer, but according to
news reports, police believe Krosch and
Applebee were not together long before
he killed her.
Hennepin County Attorney Amy
Klobuchar said her office will take the
APPLEBEE to pg. 6
Certified list of candidates for Red Lake tribal elections
By Bill Lawrence
The Red Lake Band of Chippewa,
which is not part of the Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe, is holding elections for
four district representative seats on Wed.,
May 17. According to Red Lake Tribal
Secretary Judy Roy, election notices and
absentee ballot request forms will be
mailed out next week
If a candidate receives a majority (over
50%) ofthe vote on May 17, they will be
declared the winner. If no one gets over
50%, the two top vote-getters will compete
in a run-off election, to be scheduled in
mid-Jury or early August, depending on if
someone contests one ofthe elections, according to Roy.
Red Lake has a total of eight district representatives —two from each ofthe four
reservation districts—serving 4-year terms
on the RedLake Tribal Council. Half die
council seats are up tor election every two
years.
The officer positions of chairman, secretary and treasurer are up for election in
2002.
Certified candidates for the Red Lake
election are:
Littlerock District Representative: Michael
F. Beaulieu; Lawrence Bedeau; Mary M.
Sumner
Ponemah DistrictRepresentative: Robert
Eari Fairbanks; Rudy W Johnson; Myron
Kingbird, Sr.; Randall "Jiggs" Kingbird;
Bruce W. Stillday; Thomas Stillday, Jr.
Redby District Representative: Preston
Graves; Robert G. Head, Sr.; Collins W.
Oakgrove; Joyce Oliver-Roy; Allen D.
Pemberton; Tliomas"Jambi"Westbrook;
Roger "Spank" White
Red Lake District Representative: Gerald
"Butch" Brun; Ronald L. Cobenais;
Fabian "Nickel" Cook
Filing deadline for Leech Lake Band school,
housing boards April 28
Excerpted from Devlyn Brooks
Bemidji Pioneer
In addition to the two tribal council positions Leech Lake members will elect
June 13, they will also be voting on three
representatives to the Leech Lake Housing Board™ one from each district, and
three members to the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-
Shig School Board - one from each district.
These positions will not appeal- on die
April 18 primary ballot, however, as
there aren't primary elections for the
posts.
Leech Lake members wanting to file
for either the housing board or school
board positions must file with the tribal
secretary-treasurer by April 28. The tribal
council will certify candidates May 1.
According to Leech Lake Public Relations Director Judy Hanks, the Leech
Lake Housing Board oversees the operations of the Leech Lake Housing Authority, an agency that currently manages
more than 400 housing units.
Flandreau Santee Sioux woman: Removal from tribe wiU steal identity
Associated Press
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. -A Flandreau
Santee Sioux woman says she will
lose a big part of who she is if an effort to end her membership in the
tribe succeeds.
The tribe notified Mona Miyasato
in November ofthe move to disenroll
her, arguing she was never approved
for membership.
Tribal officials held hearings on the
matter in January and February, but
Miyasato is still awaiting a decision.
She was born to a member ofthe
Lower Brule tribe and adopted by a
Flandreau family in 1944. A year
later, the Flandreau tribe approved an
ordinance allowing the enrollment of
children who had been adopted into
tribal families.
After the ordinance was approved,
Alex Wakeman, who had adopted
Miyasato, asked the tribe's General
Council to accept his daughter as a
member ofthe tribe.
But no one can find the minutes of
that council meeting, so the tribe says
there is no proof the council members
approved the girl for membership.
Moreover, says a trustee on the
tribe's executive committee, the girl
was enrolled as Wakeman's biological
child, not his adopted child. Ed Hansen
filed the petition against Miyasato. In
it, contends diat the council never approved the application for enrollment.
Beyond that petition, tribal leaders
have declined to comment on the case.
But their arguments don't wash with
Miyasato, 56. She cites numerous bits
of evidence to back her contention that
she was formally accepted as a tribal
member.
Among them:
♦ A 1952 Flandreau Santee Sioux
tribal census report lists Mona Marie
Wakeman as the adopted daughter of
Alex Wakeman. A 1953 census report
also lists her as a member ofthe tribe.
• Mona Wakeman's name is on a
1949 enrollment committee document
in which the tribe's executive council
says any child adopted by an enrolled
member can be placed on the official
roll of tribal members.
•A 1981 Bureau of Indian Affairs
verification ofthe tribe's membership
roll lists Miyasato.
One of her lawyers, fonner U.S. Sen.
Jim Abourezk, sees money as the motive behind the effort to remove his client. The fewer tribal members there
are, the more money the remaining
members can get from profits from the
tribe's Royal River Casino, Abourezk
said.
Adults among the roughly 200
members on tribal lands get $600 a
month in casino profits. Children get a
smaller amount in trust funds. Members who live off the reservation get
about $200 every three months.
Flandreau is not the only place
where enrollment criteria are under
scrutiny.
Congress is investigating enrollment
and profit-sharing practices ofthe
Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Tribe
in Minnesota. The stakes are higher
there, with each member eligible to get
nearly $ 1 million per year in profits
from a casino.
The effort to remove Miyasato is
ironic because she is involved in a
project to preserve the tribe's culture
and history. She oversees a computer
center that is creating a cultural and
language database for the tribe.
Voice
O   F
T   H   E
People
web page: www.press-on.net
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■vee>
Ojibwe News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2000
Founded in 1988
Volume 12 Issue 26
April 14, 2000
First woman world
champion hoop
dancer wins title at
contest in Phoenix
In front of record crowds and against fierce
competition, LisaOdjig, Odawa/Ojibwe
from Manitoulin Island in Ontario, Canada,
captured the first World Champion Hoop
Dance title ever won by a woman on Sun.,
Feb. 6 at the Heard Museum in Phoenix, AZ.
Djig had previously placed second in both
the 1998 and 1999 competitions. She took
the 2000 World Champion title, which includes a trophy and a cash award of $2,500,
with a total of 236 points.
Last year's World Champion, Vincent T.
Davis, Hopi/Choctaw/Dine, of Old Oraibi,
AZ took second place with 232 points. Third
place was awarded to four-time champion
Derrick "Suwaima" Davis, Hopi/Choctaw, of
Old Oraibi, AZ, with 227 points.
A maximum of 250 points is possible.
Contestants are judged based on an International Athletic Likert Scale that includes five
skills - precision, timing/rhythm, showmanship, creativeness and speed. 10,157 people
attended the event.
■Photo: Heard Museum. Craig Smith
Children's Initiative Conference generates solutions
By Anne M. Dunn
Brainerd, MN - Children from pre-
birth through the age of three were the
focus ofthe two-day Cass County/
Leech Lake Reservation Children's
Initiative Conference, held Friday,
March 31-Saturday, April 1.
The Saturday morning keynote was
delivered by Dr. Marvin McKinney, a
representative ofthe W.K. Kellogg
Foundation, which sponsored the
event. McKinney is also a parent with
a Ph.D. in Early Childhood Development.
Children are centerpiece of
community
According to McKinney, all children respond to kindness. They want
to love and be loved. Therefore, the
care-giver is of utmost importance.
He also said that maintaining the
single parent household is a difficult
and demanding task. These parents
need help. They are often overwhelmed by difficulties, and sometimes struggle with depression as
well. "To raise healthy children.. .the
parents must be healthy, too. But
many will not seek public or social
services because the workers make
them feel small, incompetent and unworthy," said McKinney. We have de-
monized low-income families!" he
said.
"The poorest segment of our society are children under the age of five,"
McKinney said. "It's time to make
these young children the centerpieces
of our communities."
Look to the four directions
Dr. Terry Tafoya, a traditional Native American storyteller with a Ph.D.
in Educational Psychology presented
the afternoon keynote entitled "Roots
and Wings: The Most Important Giveaway Items in Creating Families."
"Every family has strength and
power," he said. "Build on it."
According to Tafoya, Spider
Woman symbolizes the web of life
and the connectedness ofall creation.
In the dance of life everything is part
ofthe web, everything moves with the
dance, and the dance goes on and on.
"Having a problem doesn't mean
you're a problem family. We all have
periods of dysfunction," Tafoya said.
"There's always a way to deal with
it."
Concerning substance abuse,
Tafoya said projects that work increase our choices, they provide options and give empowerment. They
teach us to focus on what we want,
not on what we don't want.
He pointed to die four mountains of
life and the four directions ofthe
medicine wheel. "We are all part of
the whole. We are never lost. We are
never alone."
Focus on balance, he advised. Look
to the four directions.
East is the direction of belonging,
renewal and life. It helps us to recognize that we belong, we are part ofthe
circle, we have a purpose and a reason. It's not about what we do, but
who we are. In a society dominated
by white people it is easy for Native
peoples to feel alienated. Look to the
East.
South is the direction of mastery.
Here we learn new skills and behaviors. We also leam responsibility.
West is the place of our interdependence. This is where we put our skills
to work in our communities and share
our rich experiences. It is the place of
our adulthood.
North is the direction of generosity
and elderhood.
Tafoya said that standing on different parts ofthe mountain changes our
perspective. It doesn't mean we're
wrong, it just means we see tilings
differently.
But inappropriate conduct must be
changed. When we succeed in changing destructive patterns of behavior,
he promised, we will soar.
Public policy
Sen. Tony Kinkel (DFL-Park Rapids) was on had the following day to
present "The Importance of Public
Policy for Early Childhood."
According to Kinkel, 90% of Cass
County crime is related to chemical
dependency. "If we solve the alcohol
problem we solve the crime problem."
Welfare reform was also on his
agenda. "In this rich countiy, we still
have children living in poverty. Welfare reform forces moms to work,
when we could pay moms to stay at
CHILDREN to pg. 6
Nader, LaDuke campaign in
Minnesota
Excerpted from Rochelle Olson
Star Tribune
Green Party presidential candidate
Ralph Nader and running mate Winona
LaDuke were in Minnesota April 7,
where they delivered their message of
strengthening democracy against "the
forces of concentrated power."
At a State Capitol news conference,
Nader, who lives in California, decried
the power that corporations wield over
voters and workers.
Nader said he wants "a government of
the people, for the people and by die
people instead of government ofthe
General Motors, by the Exxons for the
DuPonts."
Nader and LaDuke, who lives on the
White Earth Indian Reservation in northern Minnesota, ran as a presidential ticket
four years ago and finished fourth with 1
percent ofthe vote.
Nader made his name as a consumer
Ralph Nader   Winona LaDuke
crusader in the 1960s with his book critical ofthe auto industry, "Unsafe at Any
Speed." In 1996, he published "No Contest: Corporate Lawyers and the Perversion of American Justice."
LaDuke also is an author. She has focused on feminist and American Indian
issues. She wants the country to find the
political will for reconciliation between
rich and poor, and to demilitarize foreign
policy.
A key proposal she discussed is a "seventh-generation" amendment to the U.S.
Constitution, which would require leaders to consider the impact of their decisions on a generation seven times from
their own. If that were in place, LaDuke
said, nuclear power wouldn't exist
Nader is among three candidates who
will seek the Green Party's nomination at
a June convention in Denver.
Navajo Council wants BIA
out of lease process
Associated Press
WINDOW ROCK Ariz. - The Navajo Nation Council has voted 61-2 to
seek removal of the U.S. Bureau oflndian Affairs from the tribe's business-
site leasing process.
Delegates said it would remove a
layer of bureaucratic red tape from the
process and spur economic development.
Council spokeswoman Carolyn
Calvin said the tribe will now seek a
congressional sponsor for a bill petitioning Congress for the enabling legislation.
The council action came two weeks
before President Clinton's scheduled
visit to Shiprock, N.M., as part ofa
presidential initiative to equalize the
benefits of technology across American
society, bridging the "digital divide."
Business leaders expressed concerns that without the BIA, the Navajo
Nation will severely limit terms of
business site leases, which average
about 25 years.