Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-06-02

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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
U.S. Supreme Court to
decide whetherYankton
Sioux Reservation still
exists
pgi
State-Tribal dispute
over water regulations
expected to go to
federal court
pgi
Mille Lacs Band's
Solicitor General
Altman resigns under
scrutiny
pg3
Commentary
White Earth, Red Lake's
massive casino
expansions too ambitious
pg4
Leech Lake
chairman
candidate Ross
allegedly misused
tribal credit cards
pgi
Leech Lake
chairman
candidate
Ross allegedly
misused tribal
credit cards
By Diane White
Sources from the Leech Lake Tribe
have released accounting records that
allege Lenee Ross misused the tribal
credit card issued to him while he was
employed as the Tribe's Executive Director from 1997-98.
A separate source confirmed that
Ross was not fired, but had resigned
after he was confronted on the allega
tions of
credit
card mis-
j|    use. The
source
also indicated
Ross had
paid back
the alleged
misused
portion of
the credit
card bill.
The accounting records are from
1997 and 1998 with a complete
March and April 1998 credit card usage bill. Most ofthe credit card transactions are for food and beverages in
Bemidji and Duluth restaurants.
Tlie allegations are that Ross misused the tribal credit card by charging
airfare to Las Vegas for "M. Ross"
and for airfare to Washington, D.C.
for family members. The D.C. trip
used three tickets—one for "M.
Ross," one for "L. Ross," and another
ticket for "L. Ross." The tickets are
Lenee D. Ross
for the same date and show three
separate ticket numbers indicating
there are two L. Rosses traveling to
D.C. Although the tickets do not show
tlie dates of departure and arrival to/
from D.C, the monthly charge bill
indicates when items were charged in
Washington D.C, indicating one trip
occurred.
The accounting records indicate
Ross was provided a travel check in
the amount of SI,394 for 4-24-98. In
addition, he charged S2,126.31 to the
credit card for the Washington, D.C.
trip.
The credit card also shows gift purchases in Washington D.C, and in
Tower, MN at the Forttuie Bay Casino.
Over the two years that Ross was
tlie tribe's Executive Director, Ross
traveled throughout the U.S. including Connecticut, Sante Fe, NM,
Green Bay, WI, Las Vegas, NV, New
Mexico, Juneau, Alaska, and throughout Minnesota to Hinckley,
Mahnomen, Cloquet, Minneapolis,
St. Paul, Mille Lacs, and Duluth.
To page 8 for listing of credit card
expenditures
White Earth signs policing pact with
surrounding counties
Exceipted from Nathan Bowe
Bemidji Pioneer
Detmit Lakes, Minn- In what was
billed as the first of its kind in the nation for a "checkerboard" reservation,
the White Earth Band of Chippewa last
week signed joint policing agreements
with the surrounding counties of
Becker, Mahnomen and Clearwater.
In Becker County, the agreement
aoes into effect Junel. The agreement
will allow the White Earth Tribal Police Department to enforce criminal
laws on the reservation - arresting suspects and testifying in district court,
just like city police officers in Detroit
Lakes or Frazee, Minn.
County deputies sill won't be able to
enforce regulatory offenses. Tribal
members charged with the more serious criminal offenses will be tried in
district court.
"One thing people shouldn't be confused about," said Becker County attorney Joe Evans, "if people arc ar
rested by a tribal police officer it
doesn't mean they'll appear in tribal
court."
Tlie joint agreement has been in the
works for more than a year. It was approved by Becker County Feb. 8, contingent on the tribe meeting insurance
requirements.
"It's a historic day because of this
tri-county agreement to launch a document that we cooperate in law enforcement and public safety," said Tribal
Chainnan John Buckanaga.
Tlie White Earth Police Department
was launched more than a year ago
with the help ofa SI million federal
Community Oriented Policing Services grant.
For more than a year, tribal officers
have been enforcing criminal laws in
Mahnomen County - which lies entirely within the reservation - through
a unique agreement in which tlie tribal
officers were deputized by the sheriff's
department.
The policing agreement is the first in
the nation that deals with a "checkerboard" reservation such as White Earth
that is heavily populated by both Indians and non-Indians, said tribal attorney Zenas Baer.
Becker County Sheriff Tom Hunt,
Mahnomen County Sheriff Richard
Rooney and Tribal Director of Public
Safety Ken Badboy vowed to work together to iron out problems as they
arise.
On June 1 the original Mahnomen
County agreement will be replaced
with a new agreement similar to
Becker County's.
The Clearwater County Board has
agreed to approve a similar agreement,
said Clearwater County Attorney Kip
Fontaine.
The Minnesota Supreme Court ailing that barred deputies from enforcing regulatory laws on reservations
"could have created chaos on the reservation. To your credit you took what
could have been chaos and fonned a
cooperative agreement," Fontaine said.
Red Lake walleye fishery
recovery begins
Excerpted from Chris Niskanen
St Paul Pioneer Press
Last year's stocking of millions of fry walleye in Red
Lake apparently has raised hopes of restoring that once-famous walleye fishery.
Minnesota Department of Natural Resources biologists
said they surveyed enough young walleye in the lake this
spring to detenninc that the stocking effort is helping the
fishery.
"Most of tlie yearling walleye that we collected were 6 to
7 inches long," said Gary Barnard, a DNR fisheries biologist. "We're still many years away from a stable, sustainable
walleye fishery on Red Lake, but it's encouraging to see
that we're off to a good start."
The Tamarac River, a tributary to Red Lake, was known
historically for huge runs of spawning walleye during the
heyday ofthe Red Lake fishery. However, the population
collapsed when spawning-size walleye were depleted to a
point where they were no longer able to sustain themselves
through natural reproduction.
The low point in this decline occum;d in 1997, when a
spawning run assessment collected only four fish. Similar
sampling this spring turned up about 300 walleye.
Both the Tamarac spawning run and stocking efforts con-
finned that the Red Lake recovery is under way. Walleye
fishing by sport anglers and members of tlie Red Lake
Band is illegal to help facilitate the recovery.
"This is still a very low abundance for a spring spawning
concentration, but it does indicate that the walleye population is increasing," Barnard said. "We expect the rebuilding
ofthe spawning population to be slow, because it takes five
to six years for female walleye to mature."
This spring's survey work also confirmed that last year's
stocking was a success.
Red Lake focuses on
accurate census count
Excerpted from Devlyn Brooks
Bemidji Pioneer
The Red Lake Band of Chippewa will
use what it calls "emergency tactics" to
ensure that residents living on the reservation are accurately counted for the
2000 census,.tribal officials announced
May 17.
In addition to having Census Bureau
representatives - called enumerators -
visit each household on the reservation
tlie Red Lake Tribal Council approved
holding a county day in each ofthe
reservation's communities.
Red Lake Tribal Chairman Bobby
Whitefeather said reservation officials
discovered about 10 days ago that Red
Lake members who had returned census forms were lost in the Census
Bureau's computer system, essentially
meaning they wouldn't be counted in
the final tally.
To combat the problem. Red Lake
tribal officials designed the plan of having enumerators deliver census infonnation door to door on the reservation. After tlie enumerators visit the individual
households, the Red Lake residents are
then asked to visit their local community center to fill out a census form or, if
they've already submitted a form, to review their information to ensure they
have been counted in the census.
Tom Beaver, census partnership coordinator at the Census Bureau's regional
office in Kansa City, said he wouldn't
call the situation in Red Lake a crisis
because they count there is almost complete, and the Census Bureau had
planned for two years to visit Red Lake
households door to door anyway. That
process is called "update enumerate," he
said and involves a Census Bureau representatives visiting every household in
the community.
He added that the same update enumerate process is being used on the
White Earth and Leech Lake reservations, as well.
Gary Padita, a spokesman for the
White Earth Band of Chippewa, said he
isn't aware of any problems with gathering census data there. And Leech
Lake Reservation officials were unavailable for comment May 17.
Anglers at Mille Lacs may face
tighter rules due to treaty harvest
Excerpted from Chris Niskanen
St. Paul Pioneer Press
If there was any doubt Lake Mille Lacs walleye anglers
are feeling the pinch ofthe results 1837 treaty dispute with
the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. consider this:
During the opening weekend ofthe 2000 fishing season,
Mille Lacs anglers caught and kept about 10,800 walleyes
that weighed 17,100 pounds, according to Department of
Natural Resources estimates.
But they also threw back a lot of walleyes — roughly
30,000 pounds worth — that didn't fit within state regulation.
"We saw about 50 percent ofthe walleyes were being
thrown back," said Rick Bmesewitz, the DNR's treaty biologist for Lake Mille Lacs, the state's No. 1 walleye fishery.
The high return rate was due to tlie state's new stringent
"slot limit" that allows anglers to keep only those fish between 14 and 18 inches (roughly between 1 and 2 1/2
pounds), with one trophy fish allowed over 28 inches
(about 8 pounds). Anglers can keep a six-fish limit, but
only within the slot size.
The slot limit, carefully crafted earlier this spring with
the help of area resorters and anglers, is the primary tool
the DNR is using to keep sport anglers under a 300,000-
pound quota this year.
The allocation is part ofthe Mille Lacs fisheries management program that spun out ofthe lawsuit won by the
Mille Lacs band and other Chippewa bands allowing band
members to harvest walleyes with spears and gillnets outside of state regulation.
The Mille Lacs treaty issue remains an extremely sensitive topic among area business owners and anglers, espe-
MILLE LACS to pg. 8
Treasure Island
owners sue their Las
Vegas namesakes
Excerpted from Mike Meyers
Star Trilmne
The people who own Minnesota's
Treasure Island Casino think they
know the answer to the old question,
"What's in a name?"
They argue it's $250 million.
But the operators of Mirage Resorts
in Las Vegas think otherwise.
In a legal action, the Prairie Island Indian Community claims that Mirage
has violated trademark law by using
the name Treasure Island for one of its
casinos. Tlie tribe is asking damages
that it says could reach a quarter ofa
billion dollars.
Mirage says the tribe has contributed
to any customer confusion sunound-
ing the Treasure Island name and asserts that the tribe has no claim to the
trademark or to damages.
Prairie Island lawyers say tlie tribe is
worried that the Minnesota casino
NAMESAKE to pg. 6
Voice     of     t he     People
web page: www.press-on.net
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Volume 12 Issue 33
June 2, 2000
St. Paul Indian
community
holds second
meeting with
Mayor
Coleman
By Julie Shortridge
Members ofthe St. Paul Indian community held their second official meeting with St. Paul Mayor Nonn
Coleman May 31, approximately one
year after the first meeting.
The meeting was coordinated by
David Glass, enrolled member ofthe
White Earth Band of Chippewa and
owner of Black Bear Crossings Coffee
Shop on Como Avenue in St. Paul,
where the group met. Glass also selves
on tlie Urban Indian Affairs Council,
and recently won a City contract to run
the Como Park Pavilion and open a
second restaurant there - Black Bear
Crossings on the Lake. Tlie meeting
Top photo: (l-r) Loretta Gagnon, Mayor Norm Coleman, David Glass, John
Poupart, and Kent Fordyce. Bottom photo: (l-r) Mayor Norm Coleman,
Kent Fordyce, John Poupart, and David Glass
was intended to maintain a dialogue
with tlie Mayor and make him aware
of concerns in the Indian community.
Six representatives from the Indian
community were in attendance: Glass;
Kent Fordyce, assistant director of Juel
Fairbanks Chemical Dependency Services in St. Paul; Loretta Gagnon. head
oflndian Education in St. Paul; Bill
Lawrence, publisher ofthe Native
American Press/Ojibwe News headquartered in St. Paul; Yvonne Novak,
head oflndian Education for the state
ofMinnesota who lives in downtown
St. Paul; Gabrielle Strong, executive
director of Ain Dah Yung (Our Home)
Center in St. Paul, and John Poupart,
executive director of tlie American Indian Research and Policy Institute
headquartered in St. Paul. Also in attendance were Anne Briseno ofthe
Mayor's office, and this writer, who is
also a St. Paul native and resident.
Glass and others brought three issues
to tlie Mayor's attention: Housing
needs and improved communication
with city housing authorities; the ap-
COLEMAN to pg. 6
State-Tribal dispute over water
regulations expected to go to federal court
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Maine - A dispute between Maine officials and a federal
agency over the regulation of water
quality in Indian territories will likely
be resolved in federal court, according
to authorities on both sides ofthe issue.
The Department ofthe Interior recently issued an opinion that said
Maine cannot regulate water quality
in the territories ofthe Penobscot Nation and the Passamaquoddy Tribe.
State and local officials and industry
representatives, however, argue that
tribal lands are subject to state laws.
More than 50 towns and companies,
such as paper mills, may be affected
by the outcome. They fear that there
may be different wastewater licensing
requirements in different parts ofthe
state and that pennits may have to be
obtained through the tribes.
Officials representing the Indians
argue that water quality regulation is
part of self-governance. They also argue that the state has not done a good
job of protecting water quality _ a
claim that state officials deny.
The Maine Department of Environmental Protection wants approval
from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to license wastewater dischargers. Approval of Maine's application would mean that wastewater
dischargers would need only one permit, rather than one each from the
state and federal governments.
A decision on Maine's application
is expected by September, according
to Stephen J. Silva, EPA director of
the Maine State Program. A proposal
will likely be issued next month and
tlie EPA will reopen the record and
MAINE to pg. 5
U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether
Yankton Sioux Reservation still exist
\ Associated Press
PIERRE, S.D. - The U.S. Supreme
■ Court is being asked to decide once
and for all whether any parts ofthe
Yankton Sioux Indian Reservation
: still exist.
State and federal courts are divided
on the issue, and the nation's highest
court should step in, according to
State Attorney General Mark Barnett.
j His office is asking the U.S. Supreme
Court to determine if an 1894 federal
I law wiped out the reservation in
i Charles Mix County.
An 1858 treaty established the
430,405-acre reservation, which once
encompassed about 60 percent ofthe
county. The tribe gave up 11 million
acres in exchange for the reservation
and cash.
Pressure from westward-bound
homesteaders and the belief that Indians would benefit from private property ownership caused Congress to
pass a law in 1887 that gave 160 acres
to each member of the Yankton Tribe.
By 1891, about 262,325 acres had
been allotted to tribal members. That
left 168,080 acres ofthe reservation
outside of individual ownership.
Congress next passed a law allow-
DIMINISHMENT to pg. 5
Bureau oflndian
Affairs getting out
of tribal recognition
By Caren Benjamin
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - In a surprise announcement, the head ofthe Bureau
oflndian Affairs said it no longer
wants to be the entity that grants federal recognition to Indian tribes.
"I have reluctantly reached the conclusion that 1 will not be successful in
reforming this program. The more
contentious and nasty things become,
the less we feel we are able to do it,"
Kevin Gover told the Senate'Committee on Indian Affairs on May 24.
Federal recognition makes tribes
eligible for several federal assistance
programs and classifies them as sovereign nations. More than 550 tribes
are federally recognized and about
200 cases are pending.
Many more tribes have sought recognition since the U.S. Supreme
Court ruled in 1987 that tribes may
open casinos on their land.
The BIA requires reams of historical documentation from tribes, and
sometimes takes as long as 12 years
to make a decision on a request for
recognition. Critics pressing for
change say that's too long.
The committee is considering legislation by Sen. Ben Nighthorse
Campbell that would create a three-
person commission appointed by the
president to decide which tribes are
recognized.
Supporters say such a move would
streamline the process.
Gover said he would support legislation removing recognition responsibility from the BIA, though not necessarily Campbell's bill.