Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-06-09

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INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
News Briefs 3
Commentary/Editorials/Voices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Article about Lenee Ross'
use of credit card triggers
Leech Lake internal memo
pg4
Why should tribal officials
get so much, when tribal
members get so little?
pg4
Writers debate White Earth
candidacy of Doyle Turner
pg4
Commentary
Moe, Oberstar should stay
out of Mille Lacs Tribal
elections
pg4
Classifieds
8,9
R E M E M B E R TOVOTE • M CT B A N D ELECT I ON S • TUESDAY,JUNE 13
Leech Lake Band
owes candidate
Ross money, not
other way around
pg4
Ross claimed Leech Lake policies weren't
followed, requested exorbitant employment terms
By Diane White
Cass Lake, MN - On January 9,
1998, Lenee D.Ross, who was then
Executive Director ofthe Leech Lake
Reservation Tribal Council (RTC) at
the time, proposed a new six month
employment contract for himself to
the RTC. Ross is now a candidate for
Leech Lake chainnan.
Ross explained in his 1998 cover
memo why he felt he needed an employment contract: "Due to the current political nature ofthe decision
making process, I am submitting this
Employment Agreement as a survival
mechanism, and as a model for other
top administrators. The Personnel
Policies state that only Division Directors have the authority to terminate
staff and outlines an appeals process.
These policies have not been followed
for years; thus the need for employ-
Bands ofthe
Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe hold general
election June 13
By Julie Shortridge
Thefollowing candidates will face-off in the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe's June 13 general election:
FOND DU LAC BAND
Chairman
Robert "Sonny" Peacock • Kevin Dupuis,Sr.
District 1, (Cloquet) Rep.
Clifton A. Rabideaux • CarTJr."Abramowski
District ill (Brookston) Rep.
George Dupuis • Bryan Jon Mackwaki
GRAND PORTAGE BAND
Chairman
NormanW.Deschampe 'June K. Evans
(Because there wereonlytwocandidates,no primary
was held. Both will proceed to the general election)
Committee member
Kenneth Aiherer "Wallace M.Desehampe
LEECH LAKE BAND
Chairman
Eli Hunt-LeneeD.Ross
District III Representative
Richard Robin5on,Jr.-Arthur"Archie"LaRose
Housing Board District I
Mike Brown • Linda Wilson -Wanda Young Running
Crane (Gotchie)
Housing Board District II
Terrence Roy White, Sr.
Housing Board District 111
Jean Howard • Kenn Mitchell • Harold J.Monroe • Sally
Morrison • Jennie (Wind) Reyes • Carol Roy • Oras M.
Smith • Donald Staples • Eugene D.Whitebird
School Board District I
Marilyn Bowstring* Aurelia S.Goggleye- Samuel
Johnsonjr.
School Board District II
HartleyWhite,Sr.- Melody Joy White
School Board District 111
Harold J. Monroe • Rocky Papasodora • Angela
Denise Reyes
MILLE LAG BAND
ChiefExecutive
Melanie A. Benjamin • Marge Anderson
District! Representative
Sandra LBlake • Suzanne Merrill
NETT LAKE (BOIS FORTE) BAND
Chairman
Doris Isham-Gary W.Donald
District I Representative
RayE.Vlllebrun,Sr.- Rosemary King
WHITE EARTH BAND
Chairman
DoyleTurner • John B. Buckanaga
District III Representative
Ralph"Bucky"Goodman • Kenneth"Gus"Bevins
The Red Lake Band of Chippewa, which is not part
oftheMCT,held primary elections forfour district
representative seats on Wed., May 17.0nly Lawrence
Bedeau ofthe Little Rock district received more than
50% ofthe vote,and therefore won the election and
does not have to go on to a run-off elecrJoaThe top
two winners of the other three districts - Red Lake,
Redby and Ponemah -all face a run-off vote, to be
scheduled sometimeinJulyorAugust
ment contracts. The short term nature
ofthe proposal is only to get us
through the current situation, and we
would renegotiate at its end. We need
to be able to conduct our daily business, without fear of reprisal. Thank
you for your consideration of this req
uest."
Most disturbing in Ross' proposed
contract was the high salary and other
reimbursements he requested, including: a $7,500 per month salary with
fringe benefits including a $500 housing allowance, a S500 car allowance
plus mileage and insurance premium
payments, deferred retirement compensation of 10% or $9,000 non-taxable dollars, full family health and
dental insurance, and personal leave
in the amount of 30 days immediate
credit, plus 10 hours per pay period
personal leave time, amounting to 145
personal leave hours, which is over
three weeks of personal time in a six
month contract. Ross also requested
an education benefit of leave-without-
pay to pursue educational advancement, and, if the education is desired
by the RTC, then he wanted the
Leech Lake Tribe to pay him a salary
plus his educational expenses for going to school.
Ross also requested to be held
"harmless against any claims of any
nature whatsoever which may be
brought against Ross for actions arising out ofthe course ofhis employment under this Agreement." This
contract wording would have cleared
Ross of any responsibility forthe decisions he would make on behalf of
the Tribe.
The employment contract was denied. In the end, Ross' salary was reported to be $60,000, with additional
benefits unknown.
Proposed settlement on federal Red
Lake timber case
Excerpted from Devlyn Brooks
Bemidji Pioneer
Red Lake, Minnestoa - If invested
correctly, a $53.5 million offer by the
federal government to settle the Red
Lake Reservation's 50-year-old timber
mismanagement claims could mean
no band member would ever be poor
again, officials said May 5.
Red Lake Tribal Chainnan Bobby
Whitefeather and attorney Alan
Taradash told about 100 Red Lake
members who attended a community
meeting at the Humanities Center in
the village of Red Lake that the offer
was a "once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
The meeting, which lasted about 3.5
hours, was held so that tribal leaders
could seek band members' advice on
whether to accept the federal
government's multi-million dollar
settlement even though the suspected
damage to the reservation's timber industry totaled at least $400 million according to timber experts.
Tlie settlement would end eight
claims filed by the reservation in the
1950s over mismanagement ofthe
Red Lake Indian Forest and other
tribal timber resources, mismanage
ment ofthe band's saw mill and the
financial mismanagement accompanied with all of it.
The claims were filed in the U.S.
Federal Court of Claims, an extension
of tlie federal executive branch of
government. Five other claims filed
by Red Lake with the same court
w4ere settled in 1997 for $27 million.
The claims essentially blame the Bureau of Indian Affairs - a department
in die U.S. Department of Interior -
for not managing the timber ofthe
Red Lake Indian Forest so that it
would provide a sustainable economic resource for the band even
though it was required by Congress.
Whitefeather said although he
knows the settlement isn't near what
the damage done to the reservation is
worth, the future ofthe Band is worth
too much to gamble on taking the
claims to court.
"I didn't know if ($53.5 million)
was good enough. I had to search my
soul for days," he told a crowd, which
mostly agreed with accepting the
settlement. "Before you is a proposal
that is the best that I'm able to
do.. .That is the best anyone could do.
SETTLEMENT to pg. 6
Reservation hunting, fishing
regulations causing concern
By Nathan Bowe
DetroitLakes Tribune
The White Earth Reservation is in
the process of amending its hunting
and fishing regulations, including the
use of gillnets, and the possible
changes have some Becker County
residents fearfitl of overfishing on
reservation lakes.
Tribal Judge Anita Fineday, who is
co-chair ofa 12-membger committee
that is working on amending the
tribal hunting and fishing code, says
the changes are long overdue and are
needed to protect resources important
to Ojibwe culture.
"Our code is really outdated, it
doesn't cover everything it needs to
cover," she said. "There's nothing that
talks about protecting maple syaip
camps from logging or places that
people have traditionally used to
gather birch bark or medicinal herbs
and plants. That's one area we really
need to protect."
The committee was appointed by
the Tribal Council in October and has
been meeting regularly since then,
most recently at Rice Lake, she said.
"Our meetings have been open and
have covered a wide variety of issues,
from pesticides and herbicides to
stocking oflakes to the status ofthe
deer population to snowmobiles, she
said.
But the hot issue is gillnetting.
Tlie committee has decided to
tackle one section ofthe game and
fish code at a time, and will make
proposed revisions to each section
and take it before the Tribal Council
for approval.
Work is now under way on the first
section, which governs fishing, including the traditional methods of
gillnetting, by tribal members.
"We've been talking about the size
ofthe net, the length ofthe net,
whether there can be changes in how
long the net is," Fineday said.
"Some people want to use longer
REGULATIONS to pg. 6
Sign-stealing
reports continue as
White Earth Tribal
election nears
Excerpted from Nathan Bowe
Detroit Lakes Tribune
The classified ad in June 4,h Tribune is an eye-catcher.
"Warning," it says. "Bear
traps.. .Location, Highway 34 East
and Martha's Road, near Doyle
Turner for White Earth Chairman
sign."
But don't worry about losing a leg
to a real bear trap. The ad was placed
a bit out of frustration, and a bit for
fun.
The advertisement is just a humorous way for Betty Avery to express
herself in light ofthe difficulties associated with the repeated vandalism of j
her campaign sign.
"I've been putting up signs for
SIGN STEALING to pg. 6\
Circle ofLife School discrimination case
raises more jurisdictional confusion
By Jeff Armstrong
A White Earth couple who allege
that their disabled daughter was mistreated by a tribal cop at the Circle of
Life School have called on the U.S.
Justice Department to intervene
against county-reservation law enforcement agreements due to be
implemented this week.
Leonard Roy and his spouse Laura
Guthrie filed complaints March 1
with die federal Education Department Office for Civil Rights (OCR)
and the state human rights department, alleging that White Earth/
Mahnomen County officer Tim Hoag
used unnecessary force against their
daughter Gina, a seventh grade student who suffers from the rare disease
Goldenhar. Hoag is funded under the
U.S. Justice Department's COPS program and its Cops in Schools program, which has made a quarter ofa
billion dollars available to police
schools.
However, the family's complaints
revealed yet another jurisdictional
void for civil rights enforcement on
reservations, as the OCR in a March
28 letter "determined that the Circle
ofLife School is operated under the
auspices and funding of die United
States Department of Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). We have
also determined that the BIA has jurisdiction over complaints against
tribal schools. Accordingly, OCR is
closing diis case as ofthe date of this
letter and referring the matter to the
BIA."
The state human rights department
initially declined jurisdiction as
well    until Laura pointed out that she
is non-Native. The complaint is currently under investigation for discrimination on the basis of disability.
Mahnomen Sheriff Richard Rooney
wrote Guthrie on May 9, stating: "After investigation; it was determined
that your accusation of White Earth
Tribal Officer Tim Hoag assaulting a
student (Gina Roy) on October 6,
1999, at the Circle ofLife School was
unfounded."
Frustrated with the lack of response, Leonard and Laura faxed a
CIRCLE OF LIFE to pg. 6
Voice     of     t he     People
web page: www.press-on.net
Native
American
Press
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Ojibwa News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2000
Founded in 1988
Volume 12 Issue 34
June 9, 2000
Ain Dah
Yung Center
serves needs
of American
Indian youth,
families
By Julie Shortridge
Ain Dah Yung (Our Home) Center
and Emergency Shelter at Portland
and Lexington avenues in St. Paul,
Minnesota, has been a safe haven for
hundreds of American Indian youth
in its 17 years of existence. Licensed
to serve children ages 5-17, the Center receives its approximately
5170,000 annual budget from the
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Ramsey and Hennepin
counties, the Minnesota Department
of Children, Families & Learning, the
Minnesota Department ofHuman
Services, the City of St. Paid, several
corporate foundation, and most recently, the Shakopee Mdewakanton
Sioux Community, which helped
make up the difference from a reduction in federal funding.
The big, mansion-style, stone
house offers a welcoming, home-
style environment and has accommodations to provide shelter for five
boys and five girls at any one time.
Children who come to the Center on
their own or through a school or family referral generally stay 15 days.
Those who come through a county
child protection or correcrional program stay 30-45 days. Most ofthe
kids are ages 11-16. Nearly 150 children are served by the Center each
year. The Street Outreach program
provides an additional 50-75 youth
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with case management, drop-in services and health education.
The Center's focus in on providing a
safe, structured, loving environment
for children in crisis so they can get
back on their feet. Family violence,
alcoholism mid drug abuse,
homelessness and criminal activity are
not unusual for diose children who
find dieir way to the Center. The
Center's services include emergency
and short-term shelter, group home
living, crisis intervention, advocacy,
infomiation and referral, access to
medical/dental care, counseling, and
education/employment services.
About 30 staffmembers work at the
Center and its several programs.
Shana
Thirteen-year-old Shana from St.
Paul is a current resident ofthe shelter.
Outgoing and approachable, Shana
Several of the staff of Ain Dah Yung
services were on hand at the Open
House for Ain Dah Yung Center
Emergency Shelter Wed., May 31.
Top photo: Front row, l-r. Chris
Erickson, Barb Dudley. Second row, I-
r. Alicia Garcia, Doreen Percell, Chloe
Thompson, Greg Barrett. Third row, l-r:
Sarah Schultz, Mr. David Goodman.
Fourth row, l-r: Laura Harper, John
Williamson. Fifth row, l-r: Yvonne
Barrett, Jason Wright, Sue Peterson,
Julie Pendleton, Jennifer martini. Back:
Buck Jones. Bottom photo: Shana.
grew up in South Dakota, and currently attends school at a metro area
Learning Center. This is her second
time living at Ain Dah Yung.
"I like it," said Shana in an interview
last week. "It feels like I'm at home
here. I'm more comfortable."
Shana says she has anger problems
that she's working on. She is currently
homeless, but plans to move in with
her sister in a suburb. Her parents both
live in die metro area and Shana sees
them most weekends. After she moves
out of Ain Dah Yung, Shana will still
participate in after care programs at
the Center.
She says she doesn't like all the
rules at Ain Dah Yung, especially the
"no smoking" rule, but likes the male
staff. "I think one ofthe staff here is
cute, but I don't like him because he's
strict."
AIN DAH YUNG to pg. 8
Northern Lights Casino employees
discuss complaints
By Diane White
Walker, MN — The employees ofthe Northern Lights Casino met with Leech
Lake Reservation Tribal Council (RTC) District II Representative Lyman "DeDe"
Losh at die Shingobee Inn from 10 a.m. - 12 noon on Friday, April 21 to air complaints front line staff have with management of tlie casino.
Rodney White, a Leech Lake enrollee and current Northern Lights Casino man-
: ager, began his duties one year ago. Prior to his appointment, Ed Hanson, a White
Earth enrollee, was assigned to be tlie interim casino manager at Northern Lights.
Following the Shingobee meeting, a second employee meeting was in the works,
but ended up being a small meeting between Losh and a handful of employees. A 3rd
meeting is panned, to be held at the Onigum Center. The employees encourage tribal
members to attend diis meeting so diey can hear what tlie issues are. A date has yet to
be announced.
Tlie employees have published die following complaints and demands against the
Leech Lake Tribal Government:
1. Violation of constitutional rights as Leech Lake Band members.
2. Policy and procedure violations of in-house policy at management's discretion.
Only certain people are favored. No resolution to any issues brought to management.
3. To emphasize the personnel policy of Leech Lake Band members as Department
Head hires which can be trained to funcrion in frill capacity.
4. Work under duress widi attitudes of management and fellow co-workers, i.e.,
threats and negative respoases for jobs not done to management's demands.
5. Reinstate all employee restaurant privileges.
6. Reinstate 5% payroll/job performance evaluations, increase.
7. Severe lack of communication of upper management to Department Heads on to
front line employees.
The employees are asking for the help of other tribal members to improve the
working conditions ofthe casino, many of whom have been working at the casino
since it opened in 1990.
The Tribe is actively working to sort out the issues by initiating a Human Resources audit of die complaints.
Tlie employees who were willing to discuss the issues believed that White is directly responsible for much ofthe animosity between upper management and line
staff. They reported White never speaks to line staff employees and that morale lias
declined over die year to an all-time low. These employees state that White has decreased the amount of percentage increase they can achieve annually on their performance evaluations from 5% to 3%. They indicate there is no chance to appeal when
"written-up" for infractions ofthe personnel policy. Some employees have been writ-
\ ten-up for not performing duties within their job description all of which includes the
: catch phrase, "All duties as assigned" This catch phrase has been used to degrade and
^ punish employees by making them perform duties that are clearly not in the scope of
: their job description. An example would be a waiter being forced to wash dishes.
Veiy few Leech Lake Indians are being sent to training to improve dieir chances of
! being promoted at the casino. Instead, the non-Indian employees are afforded die
chance to go to training.
Details of policing
agreement between
White Earth,
counties
By Nathan Bowe
Becker County Record
The policing agreement signed by
tribal and county officials May 22
was inspired by a new state law. Under the Becker County-White Earth
agreement:
• The tribe agrees to waive its sovereign immunity in legal cases involving the tribal police department.
• The tribe agrees to file certificates of insurance with the Minnesota Board of Peace Officer Standards and Training.
• The tribe agrees to follow all
state data privacy laws pertaining to
law enforcement.
• All tribal officers must be
POST-certified - the same state certification required for county deputies and city police officers.
• The sheriff's office will retain
control over crime scenes and tribal
officers will cooperate with the
county officer in charge.
• People arrested by tribal officers
will be turned over to the sheriffs
office for incarceration.
• People who are given criminal
citations by tribal police will be
prosecuted by the Becker County
Attorney's Office in district court.
• Members ofthe White Earth
Band charged with breaking tribal
regulatory laws will be prosecuted
in tribal court. Non-tribal members
will always appear in district court.
• The agreement also calls for the
exchange of information and com-
WHITE EARTH to pg. 8