Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-06-30

              INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
News Briefs 3
Commentary/Editorials/Voices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Classifieds 6,7
Commentary
Reports of Red Lake
prosperity overlooks
reality
pg4
Commentary
White Earth lacks
accountability,
process, procedures
pg4
Leech Lake candidate Ross'
employment activity worse
than first reported
pg4
Former Mille Lacs consultant
Maddox lambasts publisher
Lawrence on airwaves
pg5
HAPPY FOURTH
OF JULY
.«.,«■
Native American Press/Ojibwe News
WILL NOT PUBLISH
a July 7th edition.
Buckanaga forced out, Turner to take office early
White Earth Council denies rumors of mass employee firings
By Julie Shortridge
According to a White Earth Tribal
Council press release. Doyle Turner
will be sworn in as White Earth Reservation Tribal Chairman June 30 at 11
am. in the Cabaret Room at the Shooting Star Casino in Mahnomen, Minn.
Kenneth "Gus" Bevins will also be
sworn in as Dist. Ill Representative.
The event is open to the public.
Turner defeated incumbent John B.
Buckanaga and Bevins edged out incumbent Ralph "Bucky" Goodman
during the general election June 13.
Tlie Minnesota Chippewa Tribe constitution calls for newly elected officials to take office July 11, but three
members ofthe White Earth Tribal
Council - Erma Vizenor, Irene
Auginaush-Tumey and Terry Burnette
passed a resolution June 23 to remove Buckanaga earlier than usual. It
is unclear whether Buckanaga and
bevins will receive pay though July 11.
No reason was given for the action,
but Tribal Council members were upset by Buckanaga's effort on June 15
to get a White Earth check for over
$45,000 in severance pay. A check for
Goodman for S16,000 was also issued
June 15 by tribal financial officer John
Meissinger. The effort was thwarted by
Council members Auginaush-Turney
mid tribal judge Anita Fineday when
they blocked payment on the checks
[reported in June 23 edition or Press/
ON]. Vizenor fired Meissinger June
15, upon learning ofthe checks being
issued. Chairman-elect Turner requested in a June 16 letter to the White
Earth Tribal Council diat he be sworn
in early.
A joke on the reservation is that
White Earth currently has four Chairmen: John B., Auginaush-Tumey,
Enna and Anita Fine Day.
Rumors of mass employee
firings denied
A list ofpeople that tlie current
Tribal Council allegedly has slated to
be fired June 30 has circulated the reservation and made its way to the Press/
ON office. The list includes: Bill Harness in personnel; Bill Eck in utilities;
Head Start director Sue Stock; executive director Sam Rock, historian Andy
Favorite; plant superintendent Wayne
Voice     of     t he     People
web page: www.press-on.net
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Ojibwe News
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BUCKANAGA to pg. 8        Founded m 1988
Volume 12 Issue 37
June 30,2000
LaRose loses tribal
election protest
By Diane White
Cass Lake, MN — On Thursday, June 21, Arthur
"Archie" LaRose pleaded his case
in front of Tribal Appeals Election
Judge Anita Fineday, claiming improprieties in the handling of ballots in the Leech Lake Band of
Chippewa elections. LaRose had
eyewitness statements and a statistical analysis in an effort to prove
that irregularities influenced the
outcome ofthe District III General
Election race.
At the court hearing, prior to
his case being heard, LaRose received a "Response to Protest of
June 13, 2000 Election," which addressed his written
complaints filed earlier. He was then allowed 10 minutes
to read the court's response before being asked to explain
his complaints.
The "Leech Lake Reservation General Election Board
Response to Protest" reads as follows: 1) The Leech Lake
General Election Board, to be referred to as General Election Board, agrees that Elain Brown (Tibbetts) is not an
LAROSE to pg. 8
"Archie" LaRose
Leech Lake election
results challenged
Excerpted from Devlyn Brooks
Bemidji Pioneer
CASS LAKE, MINN. - It was a scene straight out ofa
Perry Mason or Matlock television show.
A small courtroom crowded with a cantankerous throng,
expert witnesses and intense testimony.
Leech Lake Reservation election losers Arthur "Archie"
LaRose and Lenee Ross tried to convince an appointed appeals judge m ( ass Lake on June 22 that someone ...
somehow. ... tampered with tlie June 13 Leech Lake general election, resulting in losses for both of them.
Incumbent Leech Lake Tribal Chainnan Eli Hunt defeated Ross 1,019 votes to 969 and incumbent District III
Representative Richard Robinson Jr. edged LaRose 739 to
646.
Although Ross and LaRose each contested the election
results because ofa variety of reasons, they both focused
their attention on a sequence of events surrounding tlie handling, delivery and counting ofthe Cass Lake precinct ballots the night ofthe election.
Although both said Ihe) don't have concrete proof that
v oimg fraud ux»k place, they offered about two hours of
testimony that focused on tons of suspect bets.
Like the pieces ofa jigsaw pu//lc thev argued, each of
the inconsequential details alone doesn't prove anything.
But when taken as a whole, those pieces show a clear pic-
LEECHLAKE topg. 5
Red Lake sees big economic strides
Study by two BSU economists points to positive changes
' ■
1
White Earth
students learn
goose trapping
atUofM
fisheries
About 20 students from the
White Earth Indian Reservation
learned the art of goose trapping
from University ofMinnesota fisheries and wildlife professor Jim
Cooper Tuesday, June 27, at Lake
ofthe Isles in Minneapolis. The students are participating in this year's
Science and Math Summer Research Program, a partnership
launched in 1999 between the
White Earth Reservation and the U
to enhance math and science skills
for American Indian students
grades 7 to 12. U faculty and
graduate students work with White
Earth elders and scientists to teach
the practical application of science
and math through hands-on learning experiences and field trips.
By Brad Swenson
Bemidji Pioneer
RED LAKE, MINN. - Employment increases on the Red Lake Reservation outstripped Beltrami County
more than 3-to-1 the past five years,
evidence that the Red Lake Bank of
Chippewa's economic engine is turning over.
And average wages increased 42
percent on the reservation, compared
to only 16 percent for the same period
in Beltrami County, a preliminary
study by two Bemidji State University
economists shows.
At the first Economic Development
Summit in 1995, BSU economics
Professors Pat Welle and Robert Ley
released a study showing that the Red
Lake Nation had a large chunk ofthe
regional economy but that most of it
involved government dollars. In fact,
the study showed only a 6 percent private sector economy on the reservation.
"The Tribal Council is paying more
attention to developing a private sec-
Robert Ley
tor on the reservation," Whitefeather
said. "We have a workforce that is
largely under-employed."
But in updating their 1995 study,
Welle and Ley said the reservation has
made great strides, mostly because of
casino gaming.
"What we see is potential here." Welle
said. "Now that you have profits, you  !
can invest them in other things, or
you can be even more productive it
you build new buildings, new production lines, other kinds of thing
The study ongoing with a final report
due this fall, Ley provided the raw
figures so far found to update the now
5-year-old study.
Employment in reservation enterprises grew 15 percent from 1995 to
2000, from 1,391 workers to 1,598.
which includes reassignment of 351
jobs in 1995 which were part ofthe
commercial fisheries operation no
longer at work.
Payroll moved from S8.9 million in
1995 and an average wage of
$5,432.50 annually to $14.59 million
in 2000, and an average annual wage
of $9,131.37. Payroll increased 63.1
percent in that time, and average
earnings 42 percent, Ley said.
"A goal was adopted to create more
full-time jobs," Ley said. "A 15 percent increase in jobs is very rcspect-
RED LAKE to pg. 6
EPA attorney pleads guilty to contempt of
court charges in Wisconsin cases
\saodoted Press
Mil VvM Kit .Wise.     An attorney
with the I nv ironmental Protection
Agency accused o\' falsifying documents during federal civil proceedings
in Wisconsin pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge ot contempt of court.
Department of Justice officials said June
27.
Marc M. Radell. 41. could lace up to
six months in prison and up to S5.000 in
lines when he is sentenced in September
Radell and another EPA employee,
(laudia Johnson, w ho has since died,
were indicted bv a federal grand jury in
August 1999 on charges of obstruction
of justice, conspiracy to obstruct justice
and perjury.
Tlie two falsified and backdated documents to back up EPA decisions in 1996
granting authority to three Wisconsin
Indian tribes to regulate tlie quality of
surface water on their reservations, Department of Justice officials said
Tlie state of Wisconsin sued the EPA
in federal court, challenging its power to
let tribes regulate water standards.
According to the indictment against
them. Radell, who worked in tlie EPA
Office of Regional Counsel in Philadelphia, and Jolinson, an employee at the
EPA Water Division in Chicago, testified
during legal proceedings with the state
of Wisconsin that the raise documents
existed prior to the decision concerning
the tribes.
Tlie EPA withdrew its agreements
with the Lac du Flambeau Chippewa
band and the Oneida tribe in May 1996
after state attorneys said there was evidence the decision was based on
fraudulent documents. The Menominee
tribe had earlier withdrawn its agreement with the EPA.
The federal case was dismissed and
the EPA was ordered to pay Wisconsin
and other parties about $369,000 in legal costs.
Feds investigate Kiowa Tribe over missing casino money
Ho Chunk CEO: Separate tribal businesses from tribal government
Excerpted from Brad Swenson
Bemidji Pioneer
RED LAKE, Minn. - Tribal businesses must be separate from tribal government to flourish, says the chief executive officer of Ho Chunk Inc., tlie
Winnebago Tribe's development corporation.
"We've been able to do a lot of tilings
in a short period of time because of how
we are structured,", says Lance Morgan.
"There are things a tribal corporation
can do if it's separate from the political
entity."
Morgan was the keynote speaker
June 23 at the Red Lake Band of
Chippewa's fifth annual Economic Development Summit.
The Winnebago Tribe of Nebraska
created Ho Chunk Inc. 5Vi years ago,
aside from tribal government influence,
ft appointed a board of directors, with
two tribal council members to provide a
crossover. It meets with the tribal council once a year, providing an annual report with audited financial results.
Ho Chunk Inc. recently won a business award from Harvard University,
Morgan said. "There's nothing special
about what we do as a business. We run
simple businesses. So why are we getting some award from a place like
Harvard? That tells you how hard it
must be, if an Indian tribe doing the
most simplest business functions gets
some award. It must be almost an impossible task."
Basic economic development on Indian reservations is a difficult task because tribes can't support themselves
through taxation.
"We're silting here trying to run our
government operations with no tax dol-
Lance Morgan
lars, so we're forced to go into business
- business that we really have no business running," said Morgan, an attorney.
He called gaming a "godsend," as it
started progress across the country for
Indian tribes when before there were
only a handful of successes.
"We're trying to set up a government-
led economy, and looking at Russia,
Cuba, Eastern Europe or China, it
doesn't work that well, Morgan said.
"But we have the federal government
and several state agencies spending billions of dollars to help us do just that."
But to succeed, tribal businesses need
to be separate of tribal government, he
said.
Among the tribal government weaknesses, he said, is that they are slow to
react, they arc politically influenced and
generally are very cautious. But their
strengths include sovereign immunity,
federal tax immunity, civil regulatory
authority and tlie ability to tap into federal goveniment programs.
The Winnebago Tribe started reaping
big profits from its casinos, and tribal
government decided to set aside money
for a few years under a long-range plan
to create a separate development corporation.
"The government took 20 percent of
gaming profits for two years and put it
into an account for Ho Chunk Inc. That
was the money that was used to start tlie
company," Morgan said.
The long-term plan, created Ho Chunk
Inc., and its board of directors, and a
separation from tribal government.
"They had to get out ofthe business of
ninning businesses," Morgan said.
Ho Chunk Inc. sends 10 percent of its
profits each year back to tlie tribe as
"dividends." The rest ofthe profits is reinvested back into the company.
The key to such an operation is flexibility to react, Morgan said.
"You have a lot of companies, but
each company is doing its own tiling,"
Morgan said in an observation ofthe
Red Lake Nation's operations. "There is
no coordinated, overall approach ...
There is probably not one person who
is directly responsible, who is on the
line, for all these companies. For the
Winnebago, I'm on the line."
Morgan said it's his job "to sweat the
details, to grab an opportunity." As a result, he doesn't have to go to the tribal
council, doesn't have to get financing or
make sure it makes sense politically.
"We can expand into a different business area almost within a week or two."
The result: In 5lA years, Ho Chunk
Inc. has 150 employees now but will
have 275 by year's end. It did $400,000
in revenues the first year, $1.8 million
the second year, $3.9 million tlie third
$8.1 million the fourth, $18 million the
fifth, and expect $50 million in revenues this year.
HO CHUNK to pg. 5
. \ssociated Press
CARNECilE, Okla. - A federal audit
ofa casino run by the Kiowa Tribe
showed thai halfofits 1999 financial
records were missing and more than $2
million in proceeds were unaccounted
lor.
On top of that arc allegations from the
manager ofthe Kiowa Grand Center
that thousands of gaming profits - meant
partly for education programs and economic development - were given to select tribal members for things such as
car repairs and even a homecoming
gown.
"It just looks like it was a free-for-all,"
casino manager Shan Gachot told The
Oklahoman in a copyright story in June
25 editions.
Tribal receipts show that most ofthe
cash was given to tribal members as
"emergency assistance" and that some
receipts weren't even signed by tribal
officials.
Former Kiowa Grand Center manager
Tammy Reeves said she counted
$40,000 in receipts tor petty cash withdrawals from the casino during her yearlong stint as manager. Reeves, who is
not American Indian, quit in October.
"There were people (tribal members)
sleeping in their cars" and they got no assistance," Reeves said. "But other tribal
members could get money for prom
dresses and tuxedos."
Alter Gachot replaced Reeves as manager, he said he walked into tlie casino's
back office and found about $4,000 in
cash in a bowl at the bottom ofa locker.
Another $6,000 was in a desk safe with
the key sitting on top, he said.
"That's when I stopped letting cash go
out the door," Gachot said.
The audit by accountant Eldridge.
Gordon Jr. showed tlie casino grossed
$2.3 million for January through October 1999, though half the financial
records were unaccounted for.
Gachot therefore estimates the casino
grossed about $5 million for the year.
There were no audits in 1997 or 1998.
After Gachot met with Gordon about
the audit, he turned over 15 boxes of
records to the FBI office in Oklahoma
City.
FBI spokesman Gary Johnson con-
finned tlie bureau is working with the
U.S. Interior Department's Office of Inspector General on the case.
The spotty records and cash-grabbing
allegations are only the most recent in a
series of troubles for the Kiowa Tribe,
which was called a "high-risk" governing body three years ago by the Bureau
oflndian Affairs due to spending abuse
allegations.
The BIA even threatened to take control of tlie tribe's S1.24 million in federal contracts.
"There has been so much coiruption
for so long it has to end," said Brenda
Myers, the tribe's vice chairwoman.
The Kiowa Grand Center closed June
27 on orders from the National Indian
Gaming Commission, which said the
tribe is operating illegal machines.
Those allegations have been leveled at
the casino several times in the past tew
years, and Gachot said he plans to appeal the close order.
Justices reject appeals over Yankton Sioux reservation
By Richard Care 11 i
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Supreme
Court turned away a dispute over
what, if anything, remains ofthe
Yankton Sioux Tribe's reservation in
South Dakota.
Acting without comment June 26,
the court rejected competing appeals
filed by state officials and the tribe.
At issue is whether state officials
have legal and regulatory authority on
certain property that once fell within
the reservation's boundaries.
The Clinton administration, which
sided with the tribe in lower courts,
urged the justices to reject both appeals.
The Yankton Sioux reservation was
created in an 1858 treaty with the
U.S. goveniment, under which the
tribe exchanged 11 million acres for
cash and 430,000 acres in southeast-
em South Dakota.
Under an 1894 federal law, the government paid the tribe $600,000 for
168,000 ofthe 430,000 acres. That
land was sold to non-Indian settlers,
and much ofthe rest of reservation
lands was allotted to individual tribal
members.
The Supreme Court ruled in 1998
that the 168,000 acres sold over 100
years before can no longer be considered Indian country, or part ofthe reservation.
But the court specifically left unanswered whether Congress had intended in 1894 to terminate the reservation altogether. The justices also did
not resolve whether land allotted to
the tribe's members ceased to be part
ofthe reservation when later sold to
non-Indians.
The case then returned to lower
federal courts, and the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a ruling
last Aug. 31 that upset both South
Dakota officials and the Yankton
Sioux.
The appeals court ruled that the
reservation still exists, but does not
include land once owned by individual tribe members but now owned
by non-Indians.
South Dakota officials appealed
from the first part of that ruling; the
Yankton Sioux from the second part.
Justice Department lawyers, noting
that the appeals court did not precisely determine which lands remain
YANKTON topg. 6