Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-05-05

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INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
News Briefs 3
Commentary/Editorials/Voices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Classifieds 6,7
Sandy Lake Band
supporters upset
about band
recognition article
pgs
Tribes not required
to report DWI
convictions to states
pg8
Correction:
Judge Blaeser did
not call Judge
Randall a racist
pg4
Mille Lacs attorney
Sandy Keith threatens
Lake Association;
attorney responds
pg4
St. Paul Como
Park Pavilion to be
run by White Earth
proprieter
P9l
St. Paul's Como Park Pavilion to be
run by White Earth proprietor
By Julie Shortridge
The St. Paul Como Park Pavilion,
which the city renovated in 1993,
will be managed by David Glass,
owner ofthe nearby Black Bear
Crossing Coffee House and Community Circle on Como Ave.
Glass won the contract after he responded to a Request for Proposals
the city issued last year, and says he
was among a few vendors whose
proposal included specific ways to
bring the community back to the pavilion.
Long a gathering spot for "hymn-
sings" and concerts, the pavilion fell
into disrepair in the 1970s and '80s.
Since renovation, the facility has
been under-utilized. The food service
was limited to popcorn, hot dogs and
the like, and was open only in the
summer.
Now, as Black Bear Crossings on
the Lake, the Como Park Pavilion
will be open year-round, and will offer hot entrees three meals a day prepared by Chris Yaghoe, as well as
Pam Glass' fere available at Black
Bear Crossings
Coffee Shop, including homemade pastries,
soups, salads,
sandwiches, as
well as Indian
tacos and fry
bread.
The second and
third floors ofthe
pavilion, as well as a portion ofthe
lower level walk-out to the lake, will
be slightly renovated to be more conducive for meetings and conferences,
as well as remaining available for
wedding receptions and family reunions. Rental fees will be kept at a
minimum. Glass will also manage
the Pavilion's paddle boat and bike
rentals.
Glass took out S200,000 in loans
for equipment and rehab capital from
the North End Area Revitalization
Program and from Western Bank,
plus he'll be putting some ofhis own
equity into the project. His contract
with the city is for two years, with an
option for three, and a mutual option
(top) Black Bear
Crossings on the
Lake, (right) new
owner David
Glass
for five more.
Artist Karen
Anderson ofthe
St. Croix Band
of Chippewa, owner of Graffiti Sign
and Design, will paint Ojibwe floral
images around the windows, and art
by local Natives will featured on the
walls. A pow-wow will be held this
summer and Grand Opening will be
in June.
Reservation boundary confusion slows Census-taking
in Northland
Excerpted from Lee Bloomquist
Duluth News Tribune
Janice Evensen realizes her rural
Effie, Minnesota home is somewhat removed from the big city. But not far
enough to be completely missed by the
2000 Census.
"We are remote," said Evensen, 77,
one of about 130 residents in this rural
area of northern Minnesota who haven't
received Census forms in the mail. "But
I'm not that far from a paved highway."
Evensen lives in South Busti, an unorganized township about 5 miles from
Effie and 8 miles from Bigfork. She's
lived at the same address for 49 years.
But Evensen remains one of thousands of northern Minnesota residents   .
not yet contacted — or counted — in
the Census due to a combination of addressing errors and a mix-up that has
Census officials thinking the town is on
an Indian reservation. For the record,
those who live there say it isn't.
Though unusual, such sporadic addressing problems aren't limited to
Minnesota. Nationwide, some smalltown post offices that have yet to con
vert to the new 911 addressing system
are unable or unwilling to deliver Census forms, which are addressed using
the new system. Ultimately, residents in
those towns will have to be counted by
Census enumerators going door-to-
door, a more expensive and labor-intensive process.
While they wait, Evensen and some
of her neighbors are scratching their
heads.
Census officials say the unorganized
township of South Busti and neighboring North Busti township are part of
Deer Creek Reservation, an Indian reservation.
Residents agree the area was at one
time an Indian reservation, but they say
that was decades ago.
'This is no resen'ation," said Bill
Anderson, a local resident who has
studied the history ofthe area's Indian
community.
The two townships were named after
Chief Busticcogin. a Bois Forte
Chippewa chief who owned land in the
area until he died in about 1910, Anderson said.
Census officials usually count resi
dents on Indian reservations by going
door-to-door or by mail. That may explain why the 130 residents ofthe two
townships have not received their forms
in the mail.
"It becomes a topic of discussion every once in a while," said Kathryn
Perron, owner ofThe Effie Cafe. "One
guy who's been dead for five years has
a Census form hanging from the gate
on his fence. Others are just wondering
why they're not being counted. Some
say that we're too far north and just not
being counted."
Ceasus officials say folks in the two
townships will be counted.
But the 911 addressing snafu may
prove to be an even larger problem for
Census officials. The confusion has left
thousands without fonns because some
rural post offices are not equipped to
handle the new addressing system.
Although some post offices distributed the Census fbnns regardless ofthe
address on the forms, other post offices
returned the fonns to Census offices,
said Linda Kaiser, local Census manager in Duluth.
Civil Rights Commission calls on
federal government to address
abuses in Indian Country
By Jeff Armstrong
A U.S. Civil Rights Commission advisory body investigating the sources
of recent conflict between Natives in South Dakota and state and federal law
enforcement has released a report detailing widespread perceptions of discrimination and indifference toward the Lakota.
The South Dakota Advisory Committee to the Commission based much of
its report on the testimony of Natives at a Dec. 6 public forum in Rapid City,
commenced by the federal government in the wake of civil unrest which at
one point last summer erupted into a riot with law enforcement officers in
White Clay, Nebraska. Peaceful protests led by a group known as Camp Justice have continued in White Clay,since then, with activists demanding civil
rights investigations and enforcement and the closure ofa liquor store believed to supply the reservation with nearly S3 million of alcohol annually.
"Consistent information presented at the forum suggests a widespread perception ofa dual system of justice, where Native Americans are treated in a
disparate and discriminatory manner by the Federal, State and Local criminal justice system. So pervasive is this belief that the Advisory Committee
believes that much oflndian Country has lost confidence in our democratic
institutions," the civil rights committee wrote in its March 2000 report.
Longstanding historical tensions between tribal members and state police
flared into open confrontation last year after the badly beaten bodies of Wilson Black Elk, Jr. and Ronald Hard Heart were found near White Clay June
8, 1999. An estimated 2,000 Pine Ridge residents marched on the town of
White Clay, demanding a federal investigation into those deaths and several
others viewed with suspicion by the Lakota.
Subsequent protests have focused on the deaths of six Native men reported
to have drowned in a shallow Rapid City creek since May of 1998 and a
June 30, 1999 incident in Mobridge in which the corpse of Robert Many
Horses was discovered stuffed headfirst into a garbage can. In the latter
death, charges against four white youths were dropped when an autopsy reported Many Horses died of alcohol poisoning.
The Dec. 6 public forum, which included the participation of Civil Rights
Commission Chair Mary Frances Berry and Elsie Meeks, the first indig-
COMMISSION to pg. 6
Man arrested for molesting children in three states
Excerpted from Amy Mayron
Sr. Paul Pioneer Press
Robert John McClelland's peers in
St. Cloud thought he was a well-
educated, articulate man who joined
the American Indian community
center and worked to help families
mend their troubles.
But there was something about
him that center director Debra
Johnson-Fuller didn't trust. She
would never leave him alone with
her 13-year-old daughter, she said,
even though he lived with her fam-
ily.
"He knew too much about her mu
sic," said
Johnson-
Fuller, who
runs the St.
Cloud Area
American Indian Center.
"He was always asking
about her. He
wanted to
know too
much about
her."
On the afternoon of April 27, officers with the
MCCLELLAND to pg. 6
Robert McClelland
Pine Ridge occupation
reaches 100th day
Associated Press
April 24 marked the 100th day of
occupation of Pine Ridge Indian Reservation tribal headquarters by the
Oglala Grass Roots organization.
About 100 protesters filed into the Red
Cloud building on Jan. 16, demanding
the removal of Wesley "Chuck" Jacobs
as tribal treasurer. The protesters have
accused Jacobs of mishandling funds.
The FBI was called in to seize financial records, which then were given to
the Bureau oflndian Affairs for auditing.
Since then, the occupiers have seen
supporter Harold Salway, the tribal
president, suspended by the tribal
council and have declined arbitrators
from the American Indian Movement.
Last week, they declared themselves a
sovereign nation, citing the 1868 Fort
Laramie Treaty as their legal basis.
Dale Looks Twice, Oglala Grass Roots
spokesman, said the occupation has
lasted longer than anticipated. But until
Jacobs is removed, the group will remain inside the building. Looks Twice
said.
Morale remains strong, and a federal
auditor soon will relieve some ofthe
treasurer's duties, he said.
Urban Indians seek equal
footing with those on
reservations
Excerpted from Mary Pierpoint
Knight Ridder Newspapers
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The fact
that 63 percent of Native Americans live
in urban areas but more than 99 percent
oflndian Health Service funds go to
tribes on reservations is frightening to
some urban leaders.
Dean Bridges of the American Indian
Chamber of Commerce of Texas is one
ofa growing number of urban Indians
throughout the nation calling for their
share of treaty rights, health care and
sovereignty.
"What we need to do is combine the
efforts ofthe 63 percent and the 37 per-
RESERVATIONS to pg. 6
Voice     of
he     People
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Press
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A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2000
Founded in 1988
Volume 12 Issue 29
May 5, 2000
RIGH
TUR
Civil Rights
Coalition
protests
abuses at
Mystic Lake
Casino
By Bill Lawrence
Approximately 30 people lined
County Road 83 in front of Mystic
Lake Casino the afternoon of April 29,
protesting alleged civil rights abuses
by the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota Community in their operation of
the casino.
The protestors were from a group
Civil Rights Coalition members picket outside Mystic Lake Casino April 29
calling themselves the Civil Rights
Coalition (CRC) made up of whites,
Native Americans and other people of
color. The states theme of their protest
was "American Civil Liberties are not
protected here."
According to CRC founder and
spokesperson David Price, the group
is protesting the denial ofthe civil
rights ofall people. Native and non-
Native, at Minnesota's Tribally-owned
casinos. CRC was founded early this
year with the goal of bringing civil
rights protections to Indian reservations.
"It's amazing the number of calls
I've had about civil rights abuses at
tribal casinos since our initial demonstration at Grand Casino Mille Lacs
last February 12," Price told this reporter in a roadside interview at the
PROTEST to pg. 8
Tribal members protest sovereignty, abuse of power
Associated Press
MESCALERO, N.M. - Dissident
Mescalero Apaches complained April
28 about the administration of tribal
president Sarah Misquez, alleging
"blatant abuse of power, violations of
civil and human rights" and other alleged wrongdoing.
The dissidents held a conference to
detail their allegations against the administration, including "obstruction
of justice, fraud, malfeasance, dereliction of duty, etc., on the part ofthe
tribal leadership and its political machine," according to the news release
announcing the event.
Several said afterward that the
Mescalero government was non-
democratic and that the administration was hiding behind claims of
tribal sovereignty in committing
abuses. Concepts of sovereignty
should be changed, they said, to save
tribal democracy.
"It's going to have to change," said
former Mescalero president Paul
Ortega, who attended the conference.
"It's not only us. I think other tribes
have been violated - San Carlos,
White River, Jicarilla, the council
making decisions they shouldn't be,
all over the country. Something's got
to be done."
Ortega and then-Vice President
Oliver Enjady were ousted last May
by the tribal council, which seated
Misquez as preside.it. She was formally elected last November.
But on Friday, the dissidents asked
that Misquez and Treasurer Arthur
Blazer step down.
Misquez said through a spokeswoman that she would have no comment.
About 50 tribal members attended
I
the event, moderated by dissident
Rufina Laws. Participants in a panel
discussion included Ortega, Enjady,
tribal councilor Harlyn Geronimo and
tribal members Carleton Palmer,
Dorene Fernando, Betty Smith, Christopher LaPaz and Mark Hicks.
In October, the tribal council refused to hold a hearing to discuss removing Misquez from office, based
on a petition by Laws, who has tried
for years to obtain tribal housing.
Laws said she still is excluded from
the Mescalero housing program.
But Laws said Friday she believes
it's possible to salvage some tribal
sovereignty in the process of democratizing Mescalero government.
"I think we can say we are sovereign in our culture, our language, our
history, our spiritual life, but when it
gets beyond that and a certain group
ofpeople - related to each other - take
control and do all kinds of violations
to the rest ofthe community in the
name of sovereignty, then that's
where it stops," she said.
For example: "When tribal governments use sovereign status as a means
to cover up alleged violations of mismanagement, corruption, obstruction
of justice, theft, fraud, malfeasance ...
and will not come clean with the
wrongs," she said.
"This is something that happens in
countries that are not democratic, like
communist countries, like Cuba," she
said. "But for it to be happening here
in the United States on a reservation is
very hard to accept, because I guess
ever since we were young we have
been taught about democracy. We're
always encouraged to be democratic
in all that we do."
Ortega tried to implement democratic reforms before he was removed,
she said.
What precipitated Friday's event
was what the dissidents said was the
firing of two Mescalero casino employees _ LaPaz and Hicks _ who had
tried to report casino irregularities.
There had been thousands of dollars
worth of thefts, among other things,
they said.
There also were irregularities in the
tribal housing administration, said
Palmer, the one-time federal grant
writer for the tribe. He alleged kickback arrangements with a local mobile home supplier and other violations of U.S. Department of Housing
and Urban Development regulations.
"The sovereign status oflndian
tribes is one ofthe things that is causing this," Palmer said. "We can't reach
outside (for help), and the outside
can't reach us."
He suggested the 4,000-member
tribe form a grievance committee
get the attention ofthe
Interior Department's inspector
general's office. A petition will
be circulated and presented to the inspector general, she said.
"We want to have a general (tribal)
meeting and see what the tribe wants
to do. We want the tribe to have input
on the future ofthe Mescalero Apache
Tribe," Palmer said.
Even Wendell Chino, the Mescalero
patriarch who died in November 1998
after 34 years at the helm ofthe
southern New Mexico tribe, was more
democratic. Palmer said.
"I think Chino had a little more
consideration for the homeless, the
people who were elderly, people who
were handicapped. He cared for
them," Palmer said. "Sarah's gone
way beyond that, like the way she accused Mr. Ortega when she directed
hisoustine."