Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-07-21

              INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
News Briefs 3
Commentary/EditorialsA/oices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Classifieds 6,7
1CRHP
\m
Commentary
Camp Justice
v.White Clay:
Alcohol, death
at Pine Ridge
pgs
Commentary
Congressman Oberstar
bristles at editorial
pg4
Continued:
Former AIM
activist reveals
details on
Aquash murder
pg5
Prairie Island Dakota sue
Dept. of Interior over
Hudson casino plans
pgi
REMEMBER TO VOTE
Red Lake Tribal Elections
MonJuly 24 • Mpls Indian Center
Wed, July 26 • Red Lake Reservation
Hunt lists Leech Lake Band's priorities
Voice     o
he     People
By Robby Robinson
Cass Lake Times
Re-aquiring its land is a priority of
Chairman Eli Hunt and the Leech
Lake Band of Chippewa, Hunt said
July 7 in his acceptance speech, both
for economic development and for living space.
Hunt gave his remarks following a
swearing-in ceremony held as part of
the reservation quarterly meeting at tlie
Palace Casino. Also sworn in was
Distrcit III Representative Richard
Robinson Jr.
Robinson and Hunt won their respective positions as incumbents in the
June 13 election.
Tlie official total gave Chainnan Eli
Hunt a 1,019-969 win over challenger
Lenee Ross and, in District III, Richard
Robinson Jr. defeated Archie LaRose
by a 739-646 margin. Both LaRose
and Ross protested their election
losses.
The protests were heard June 22 at a
hearing facilitated by election board
judge Anita Fineday.
Both protests were based on what
they conceived as "strange irregularities" but neither offered solid proof of
election fraud, as Fineday pointed out.
Hie elections were confirmed last
week.
Acting deputy director Robert
Whipple served as host and the flags
were posted by the Leech Lake Honor
Guard. The traditional pipe ceremony
was performed by spiritual advisor
George Whipple. Sr. and the opening
prayer offered by Rev. George Ross.
Hunt and Robinson also received a
plaque of recognition for a delegation
from the White Earth Reservation led
by Secretary-Treasurer lima Vizenor.
She was accompanied by council
members Irene Auginaush-Tumey,
Terry Burnette and interim director
Frank Annette.
Leech Lake Chairman Eli Hunt was sworn in July 7, with Council
Member Pete White holding the microphone.
As Hunt was about to give his address, tlie power went out at the Palace
tor about 10 minutes, due to a storm.
Hunt commented that is was a strange
coincidence, as the same thing happened four years ago when 1 hint was
giving his acceptance speech.
Hunt said that the ultimate goal of
the Leech Lake Band is to be self-sufficient and independent ami to reach thai
goal, tlie council needs to develop clear
and specific objectives with planned
time lines.
"In order for us to further develop
and prosper, we must expand our land
base to assure that more land vv ith in
our exterior boundaries is in our ownership and control," he stated
Presently less than four percent of
the Leech Lake Reservation is under
the ownership ofthe band he noted,
and in order for the band to develop
economically and create non-gaming
jobs -jobs that pay what is considered
a livable wage - the band needs land
for the creation of profitable busi
nesses.
I ic also noted that affordable housing is a great need, especially with the
expansion ofthe Northern Lights Casino and the creation ofthe White Oak
Casino at Deer River. And again, that
need can only lie met with more land
on which to build.
Another priority is education, he
added, beginning with the Hcadstart
program for preschoolers and up to
college and vocational education.
finally. Hunt pledged to continue the
light lor the protection of tribal sovereignty, calling it a right that existed
long before the U.S. Constitution.
I le said that Leech Lake is "a nation
among nations" and in dealing with
the U.S. government they would continue to demand that they be treated as
such, despite the elements in Congress
who would like to have it otherwise.
"I will work hard at the federal, state
ami count) level to ensure tliat the sovereignty ofthe Leech Lake nation is
never compromised." he concluded.
American Indian judge heads Hennepin
Juvenile Court
Excerpted from Margaret Zack
Star Trilmne
Hennepin County District Judge Robert Blaeser had been on the bench about
a year and a half when he decided he
wanted to serve in Juvenile Court,
where he'd have a greater opportunity
to make a difference in children's lives.
"I thought about, 'What arc the tilings
I can do?' I wanted to work with children. It's important to have tlie ability to
make changes with a child and a family
rather than with an adult offender."
Blaeser said in an interview.
He volunteered for a one-year stint in
juvenile.
Now, three years later. Blaeser. the
first American Indian judge in
Hennepin County and the third in Minnesota, is chief judge ofthe court.
Reid Raymond, president ofthe Minnesota American Indian Bar Association,
which has about 50 members, said
Blaeser is proud ofhis Ojibwe heritage
and respected for his accomplishments.
"For him to rise to be chief in Juvenile Court shows us, as American Indian
attorneys, that it can be done," said
Raymond, an assistant Hennepin
County attorney who said he was
speaking personally about Blaeser.
Strengths Blaeser brings as chief judge
include a reputation as a consensus   .
builder, an expert on the Indian Child
Welfare Act (ICWA) and an innovator
who has sought to give extended families
a role in determining who will care for
children removed from their homes.
ICWA, which spells out how cases involving Indian children are to be
handled, was passed in 1978 after Congress heard that Indian children were removed from their homes seven to eight
times more often than white children.
County Chief Judge Kevin Burke said
Blaeser can help allay the skepticism
Photo credit: Mik« Imiby  Star Thbunt
Robert Blaeser
that communities of color have about
the justice system.
American Indians appear m
I lennepin County Juvenile Court in disproportionate numbers to their population, Burke said
Blaeser, 46, had expected to begin his
two-year term as chief on Jan. I. 2001.
but assumed the post May 23, the day
after Chief Judge Pamela Alexander resigned.
Members ofthe black community
rallied around Alexander, who is black,
and called on Burke to appoint
Alexander as chief for another two-year
term. Blaeser's appointment already had
been announced.
The policy has been lor the Juvenile
Court chief to serve a two-year term,
Burke said.
Alexander's term would have been
over at the end of this year, but she decided to transfer to adult court beginning Sept. 5.
Blaeser said he and Alexander arc
friends. "It's been difficult," he said.
"It's not the way I wanted it to be."
Before being appointed to the
Hennepin bench in 1996, Blaeser, a
1979 graduate ofthe I niversity ofMinnesota I aw School, had his own law
firm I le focused on personal injury and
product liability cases.
Vbout half ofhis cases were in
I lennepin County and half in northern
Minnesota
I le s.nd ,i case from the early 1990s
in Becker Count) was among ihe tin'st
interesting he has handled.
A man died alter being overcome by
fumes Bom contact cement that he used
to install carpel in a boat
Blaeser argued that the warning label,
which said the pnxluct should be used
in sufficient ventilation, was inadequate.
The company settled alter the trial
judge said punitive damages could be
sought, Blaeser said The formula in the
contact cement is no longer used, he
added.
'"Sou can help someone and make an
impact on a product,'' Blaeser ..aid.
I le is a member ofthe White Earth
Rami of (hippewa and was a founding
member ofthe Minnesota American
Indian Bar Association. I le also served
on the Minnesota Supreme ( ourt racial
bias task force, which issued a report in
1993 that said people of color arc affected by bias at every level ofthe
slate's legal system.
Becoming an attorney wasn't something Blaeser thought about while
growing up on the reservation, where
his 88-year-old lather still lives.
"I didn't know any attorneys," he
said.
II wasn't until he was in college in the
1970s that hie thought of law as a career.
At that time, there were a number of
high-profile attorneys, including some
in the antiwar movement and the
Wounded Knee case such as William
Kunstler, who seemed larger than life to
Blaeser.
Crime rate for
American
Indian youth
rises
By Matt Kelley
Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Rising rates   I
of crime among young American lndi-   I
ans are driven by a depressing combination of drinking and despair, a government advisory panel said in a report
released July 13.
The Coalition for Juvenile Justice
said 3 percent of juveniles arrested for
liquor law violations are Indians, who
account for just I percent of U.S. boys
and girls ages 10 to 17. The coalition, a
nonprofit group of state advisory
boards created under a federal juvenile
justice law, recommends expanding
programs to fight Indian alcoholism,
depression and gangs.
As crime rates fall nationwide, they
arc rising in American Indian communities, especially among the 43 percent   I
CRIME RATES to pg. 8
Teen charged in Woodbury
woman's slaying
By Joy Powell and David Chanen
Star Tribune
An 18-year-old Woodbury
woman was sexually attacked
and stabbed repeatedly, apparently with a screwdriver, according to murder charges
filed July 13 against an acquaintance.
Tony Roman Nose, 17, was
charged with two counts of
first-degree murder in the
slaying of Jolene Rae
Stuedemann in her family's
home early July 11. Bail was
set at $500,000 July 13, and he remained in the Washington County jail.
Roman Nose was missing from a
group home in Woodbury when
Stuedemann was slain. Police later
seized bloody clothes that he allegedly
wore on the day ofthe slaying, court pa
pers allege.
The teen admitted to police that after
the attack, he had stood over
Tony
Stuedemann, the screwdriver in his
hand, as she lay bleeding
and moaning, according to
a complaint filed in Washington County District
Court.
"This was a brutal,
brutal, brutal crime," said
Jay Brunner, first assistant
county attorney.
Stuedemann died ofa
beating and loss of blood
from puncture and stab
wounds, the Ramsey
County medical examiner
Roman Nose        -,,-',   . .
said July 14.
Tlie body had more than 20 stab and
puncture wounds, and newspapers and
stuffing from a dog's toy had been
stuffed into Stucdcmann's mouth. Authorities also found signs of sexual assault.
Stuedemann's parents, James and
Jean, were at a cabin when the slaying
occurred. Their eldest daughter, Jessica,
ROMAN NOSE to pg. 8
Native
American
Press
web page: www.press-on.net
f,
■vce>
Ojibwe News
Pholo credit: Cass Lake Times
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2000
Founded in 1988
Volume 12 Issue 39
July 21, 2000
Powwow season
Photo credit: Robby Robinson, Cass Lake Times
(left) Getting it on all right for the final Grand Entry at the Leech Lake Reservation Fourth of July Powwow were
"there two young dancers. The powwow escr.pod the threatened rain and thousands enjoyed a good encampment, (right) Prince and Junior Prince for the Leech Lake Reservation are Royal Rock and B.J. Gotchie, who
took part in the Fourth of July Powwow at the Veterans Powwow Grounds.
Metropolitan Airports Commission to buy Camp
Coldwater Spring
By Cheryl Fields
I he Metropolitan Airport Commission (MAC) is expected to consent
this week to the acquisition ofthe
U.S. Bureau of Mines property -
which includes Camp Coldwater
Spring, sacred to the Dakota - from
the Bureau of Land Management, for
an agreed upon sum of $6,000,000.
According to Nigel Finney, MAC
Deputy lixecutive Director for Planning and Environment, "the underlying purpose" for the purchase "is to
protect the approach to the crosswinds
runway'' at the Minneapolis/St. Paul
International Airport. "This will ensure the property is not
developed...and preclude future development in the area."
MAC. however, "reserves the future
ability to develop parking" in the area
which according to Finney "would be
in the extreme north end of the site"
where the land has already been disturbed by previous constniction. The
current structures on the property will
be demolished in the next three to five
years for the proposed 850-employee
blacktop parking lot from which the
Spring would be "screened off' in
some manner.
The Coalition to Preserve Camp
( oldwater and the Mendota
Mdewakanton Dakota Community
(MMDC) have concerns about salt
and other chemical runoff from the
proposed car lot and Hwy. 55 which
has been rerouted within feet ofthe
Spring. There are also serious concerns regarding the impact on the
flow of Coldwater Spring by MAC'S
proposed tunnel constniction at the
airport and devvatering plan that could
lower area lakes by more than four
feet and which has been met with
much citizen opposition.
Prior to the MAC's bid for Camp
Coldwater Spring, the Iowa Tribe of
Oklahoma had petitioned the federal
government in January 1999 for the
area as "traditional cultural property"
on behalf of the MMDC whose "federal tribal recognition" is still pending. While this petition for the property still has not been responded to,
according to Linda Brown ofthe
MMDC, with the sale of this property
to MAC. the National Park Service
will be required to conduct a traditional cultural property study, bringing about what the MMDC has bejen
asking for all along.
Recently a request by the MMDC
for a temporary injunction to halt tlie
construction of Hwy. 55 until more
archeological field work could be
done in the Camp Coldwater Spring
area was denied by Hennpein County
District Judge Peter H. Albrecht. Although Albrecht said at the time of
the April 21 hearing that he would
rule on the matter quickly, possibly
within the week, he did not file his
ruling until June 30.
A federal judge rejected similar traditional cultural property claims last
March. The Minnesota Department of
Transportation destroyed four oaks at
the sacred site just prior to that hearing, then argued in court that the trees
were now "a moot point".
According to MMDC's Brown, a
representative from the Federal Highway Administration (FHA) will be
here next month to investigate civil
rights violations. The FHA which has
provided federal funding for the
Highway 55/Hiawatha Corridor/Light
Rail Transit project.
The FBI is also currently investigating the Minneapolis Police Department for civil rights violations, police
abuse and intimidation tactics used
during the past 18 months in their
handling of those opposing the road
construction through Native American sacred sites.
Prairie Island Dakota sue Department
of Interior over Hudson casino plan
| Excerpted from Pat Doyle
| Star Tribune
Saying the federal government hasn't
; consulted them or local communities,
I tlie Prairie Island Dakota have sued tlie
I U.S. Department of the Interior to stop it
from approving a proposal by three
I Wisconsin tribes to build a casino in
Hudson, Wis.
The Prairie Island community says
S the department is ignoring federal law
by not consulting with tribes and com-
I munities opposed to the casino.
The suit was filed late July 14 in U.S.
j District Court in Minneapolis.
As the owners of Treasure Island Casino in Red Wing, Minn., 40 miles from
\ Hudson, the Prairie Island Dakota
1 would face competition from the new
[ casino for Twin Cities gamblers.
i Its suit says a Hudson casino would "in-
I flict great and immediate economic injury" on Treasure Island.
Although not part ofthe suit. Hudson
I City Council members have said the ca-
I sino would hurt their community by in
creasing traffic and noise. The environmental impact will be the subject ofa
public hearing Monday, July 24 in
Hudson.
The Prairie Island suit challenges a
process the Interior Department adopted
last year to settle a suit by tlie Lac
Courte Oreilles, Red Cliff and Mole
Lake bands of Wisconsin Chippewa.
They are partners with Florida gambling
developer Fred Havenick in a six-year
battle to convert 55 acres ofhis financially ailing St. Croix Meadows dog
track to an Indian reservation tor a tribal
casino.
When Interior rejected their proposal in
1995, the three Wisconsin tribes sued
the department.
In settling tlie suit last December, tlie
department agreed to reconsider tlie proposal by consulting with tlie three Wisconsin tribes on anything that could result in another rejection. The department
has been conesponding with tlie tribes
to revise their environmental impact re-
PRAIRIE ISLAND to pg. 8
Remains of Dakota
warrior leader come
home, with honors
Associated Press
Morton, Minnesota - Almost 138
years after his execution, the remains
of Dakota Indian warrior leader
Marpiya Okinajin, or He Who Stands
in the Clouds, liave been buried with
all the honors due a chief.
Perhaps better known as Cut Nose,
he was one of 38 Indians hanged in
Mankato on Dec. 26,1862, following
the Dakota Conflict.
Jim Jones, a member ofthe Leech
Lake Band of Chippewa and cultural
resource specialist for the Minnesota
Indian Affairs Council, brought the remains home from Michigan for a recent private burial near this western
Minnesota town. Several Indian nations sent representatives.
As head ofthe Dakota warrior society at tlie time ofthe 1862 uprising,
REMAINS to pg. 8