Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-08-11

              INDEX                                                                 ^MaW
Commentary
Campus Report                jjfai
Passion drives             Jr
%     Commentary
Red Lake Secretary asks
News Around Indian Country           2       Jfl
White Earth's Buckanaga
Kick-off of new
White Earth's                 (* %     1862: "At whose
about tribal expenditures
News Briefs                                     3
says he's never been to
column by American
Winona LaDuke
■Jbj door is the blood
in internal memo
Commentary/Editorials/Voices        4
Hawaii, grandson drives
Indian students
w of these innocent
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events   5
"clunkers"
OW   M
victims?"
Classifieds                                    6,7 j
pg4
pgs
pgi
pg4
pgi,4
First powwow
in more than
100 years held
in Mendota
by Cheryl Lewis Fields
For the first time in more than one
hundred years the Mendota
Mdewakanton Dakota people
(MMDC) held their powwow in
'Mendota' (where the waters meet),
at the convergence ofthe Mississippi
and Minnesota rivers and from
where they take their name.
The Mendota Mdewakanton, seeking to regain federal recognition,
celebrate in Mendota with a powwow near the site where an 1851
Treaty between the Dakota and the
federal government was signed.
Claiming the grounds as part of
their ancestral homeland, the
Mendota camped for 17 months to
protest a proposed construction
project on Minnesota 55 that they
said threatened an underground
spring and ended with the razing of
an ancient stand of oak at the abandoned Minnesota Bureau of Mines
site.
Now, as part of its ongoing
struggle, the group has turned its energies to regaining federal recognition for its 280 adult members. The
Mendota Mdewakanton obtained a
$52,000 federal Administration for
Native Americans grant last year to
open the Mendota Mdewakanton
Dakota Cultural office in the town of
Mendota.
One federal requirement is that a
native group petitioning for federal
recognition maintain and comprise a
distinct community from historical
times to the present. In that vein, the
Mendota Mdewakanton celebrated
their existence in Mendota with a
Welcome Home Traditional Powwow August 5 and 6 at St. Peter's
Church.
Sharing sacred ground with St.
Peter's Church, more than half a
dozen colorful teepees dotted the
riverfront bluff across the river from
Fort Snelling and Pike Island and
just below Pilot Knob, the site ofthe
signing of the 1851 treaty. Two
MENDOTA to pg. 6
Red Lake Secretary asks about
tribal expenditures in internal memo
The following internal Red Lake
memorandum was sent to Press/ON
anonymously, with a statement that
copies had been "floating around"
the Red Lake Tribal offices.
MEMORANDUM
To: Chairman Whitefeather
From: Judy Roy, Tribal Secretary
Re: Council/Boards Decision Making
1 was presented with several sets
of documents which required my
signature recently. 1 was told they
were to finalize the $2 million line
of credit for the Gaming expansion
bills. The accompanying memo from
Treasure King pointed out that
$800,000 and $400,000 ofthe $2
million was already owed. Since you
and Treasure King had signed the
agreements, I also signed them. I
was dismayed to find later that our
Tribal attorney had never seen the
documents or been asked to review
them. Does this mean that someone
else is performing the legal due diligence for this transaction? Who is
authorizing contracts with other attorneys?
Today (July 18th) I received a
copy ofa May 31st memo from Red
Lake Industries which spells out all
the expenses incurred on the Casino
expansion, along with your notation
about losing $30,000 in discounts
for not paying the bills on time.
With regard to Custom Homes,
what is the governance of that corporation? There have been no board
meeting for months that I've been
aware of. Is this operating as Red
Lake Industries under the Holding
Company authorization? The letterhead and the Board members listed
on the May 31 st memo would make
that seem so. How much overtime
has the Manager paid himself? How
many vehicles has the Band bought
for him? Has the interest on the $4
million been paid each month in a
timely manner? Are we prepared to
begin paying the $ 190,000+ each
month on the principal beginning in
August? Where are the balance
sheets for this corporation? How
much has been drawn down on their
line of credit? Since financing for
the plant was collateralized with the
Band's future state tax refunds, I
think we all deserve answers to
these questions.
You mention that the cash flow
RED LAKE MEMO to pg. 6
Voice     of     the     People
web page: www.press-on.net
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Volume 12 Issue 42
August 11, 2000
Missing Red Lake ballot box did
not change outcome
Excerpted from Brad Swenson
Bemidji Pioneer
Red Lake tribal election authonties
readjusted vote tallies July 28 after finding a box of uncounted ballots in Tribal
Council voting, but two Ponemah District candidates tied after the initial
count - remained tied.
After the July 26 election, incumbent
Ponemah District Councilor Bruce
Stillday Sr. and challenger Rudy W
Johnson were tied each with 214 votes.
After the July 28 changes, they were
still tied - each with 217 votes.
The Red Lake General Election
Board amended its certification ofthe
run-off election involving three district
seats after finding a box of uncounted
ballots. And while the Ponemah race
remained tied, winners didn't change in
the other two races, with Fabian
"Nickel" Cook and Allen D. Pemberton
still winning.
"The metal box containing the absentee votes collected in Minneapolis on
July 24 was inad\ei1entl\ left in the
vault when ballot counting took place
on July 27," the General Election Board
said in its amended certification.
There were 65 ballots involving the
three districts tliat liadn't been counted
the board said.
In tlie Red Lake District. Cook increased his margin by six votes, with
508 votes, compared to 474 voles for
challenger Gerald "Butch" Brun.
former Red Lake tribal chairman.
And Pemberton increased his margiJ
in the Redby race b> five votes, vs uh a
new tally of 2lJ4 for Preston (iraves, a
former Redby District representative.
Program helps grandparents teach needy kids
Pow-wow season draws crowds statewide
Photo Credit: 77m Rett Lake Nations f
Dancers at this year's Red Lake pow-wow
Excerpted from Molly Miron
Bemidji Pioneer
PONEMAH, Minn. —A grandmother or grandfather can be the most
influential person in a child' s life.
Patient listeners always ready with a
hug, children mast them with their
hopes, fears and secrets, and they form
strong bonds across the generations.
The Foster Grandparent Program
seeks to develop similar warm relationships between children and elders 60
and older. But there are not enough volunteers to meet children' s needs.
"Kids today don't have enough
adults in their lives. I'm always looking
for volunteers," said Bernadette Henry,
supervisor for the Foster Grandparent
and Senior Companion Programs in
Beltrami, Clearwater, Mahnomen and
Koochiching counties and Leech Lake,
Red Lake, White Earth and Bois Fort
reservations.
The Foster Grandparent Program
originated during Lyndon Johnson's
presidential administration to give
people 60 and older the opportunity to
mentor, tutor and become friends with
children with special needs.
The volunteers receive training, a tax-
free stipend of $2.55 per hour, transportation and a meal each day. They volunteer for 12 to 20 hours per week. The
volunteers also receive an annual physical exam and liability insurance.
Program funding comes from the
Corporation for National Service, the
Minnesota Board on Aging, United
Way and contributions from the 42 sites
in Henry's district.
Henry said 73 men and women volunteered as foster grandparents in her
district.
" Minnesota has more foster grandparents and senior companions than any
state in the nation," she said.
Even so, there are not enough volunteers to go around, especially on the reservations, Henry said. Elders are inter
ested, she said. Ixtt because of health
problems, many arc not able.
She said John Pribyl, Lutheran Social
Service Foster Grandparent and Senior
Companion project director, was working to reduce the age requirement to 55
and open the program to more people.
The Foster Grandparent Program
started on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in 1997, Henry said. With the assistance ofthe volunteers, the Ponemah
Elementary School has been able lo offer a summer reading and math program for children in need of extra help.
"The whole school sees them as their
grandma or grandpa." I lenry said.
"Just having the grandparent sit by
them helps them stay focused. ()ften the
kids will tell grandma (something)
when they won't tell anyone else because grandma is not seen as an authority figure."
"I like to work with those little ones,"
GRANDPARENTS to pg. 6
Tribe to build largest indoor water park
Passion drives White Earth's LaDuke
By Lu Ann Hurd-Lof
Bemidji Pioneer
Park Rapids, Minn. - Winona La
Duke's passion is speaking about political issues, globally, nationally and
locally.
Her vision for what could be has
pressed her into joining Ralph Nader
for a second time as he seeks the
nation's highest office. Endorsed re-
; cently in Colorado as the Green Party's
■ candidates for president and vice presi-
I dent, Nader and LaDuke are on the
\ ballot in 46 states, 24 more than in
j 1996.
With less than 50 percent ofthe eli-
| gible voters turning out at the polls na-
| tionwide in the last presidential elec-
| tion, LaDuke believes their campaign
I can engage enough interest so more
\ people will exercise their right to vote.
Like Nader, LaDuke, a member of
\ the White Earth Bank of Chippewa,
believes underdogs can overcome the
; odds ifthey can get their message out
\ that participation in debates is vital in
J leveling the playing field.
"Rather than voting for the lesser of
: two evils, we should have people we
feel passionate about. We should have
a right to be part ofthe debate and part
\ of an electoral process that allows it"
\ said LaDuke.
"I don't believe two parties can re-
| fleet tlie diversity of this county." She
| questions whether millionaires can
make good public policy, connected as
: they are to corporate wealth.
At the same time she finds it disheartening that people are discouraged
Photo credit: Park Rapids Enterprise
Winona LaDuke is campaigning
with son Gwekaanimad (Ojibwe
for "when the wind shifts")
from miming for public office. "It
should be an honorable profession of
providing a public service," she believes.
"This is a country of immense potential, but it's always just that, potential,
absent leadership."
Within the Green Party, LaDuke is
best known for her advocacy ofa "Seventh Generation Amendment" to the
U.S. Constitution.
The teaching comes from tlie Six Na
tion Iroquois Confederacy, she explains. "1 each deliberation let us consider the impact seven generations into
the future."
Laws protecting private property
without corresponding laws to protect
common property are archaic, she said.
These are the laws which protect tlie
big fishing industry, caused the collapse
of stocks offish in public waters and
drove small fishing families out of business, she said.
"The public waters within the 200-
mile limits offshore belong to all of us,"
said LaDuke. The loss of cod, Pollock
and other species is not because of
some invisible liand of global warming,
she said, but is the consequence of factory trawlers.
Her sense of loss applies equally to
the 250 million acres in Western states
rented to ranches for grazing to the detriment ofthe land's wildlife carrying
capacity.
Closer to home she opposes clear-
cutting, contour cutting or stripping
trees from the land for fiber. She sees
waste in the volume of production in
the pulp and paper industry and opposes the expansion of Potlatch's mill
near Bemidji. Tlie larger mill will require increases in the amount of timber
being cut can in air emission, she said.
LaDuke cites the Minnesota Fish
Consumption Advisory, produced each
year by the Minnesota Department of
Health. If there is a limit on the amount
offish one can consume from Lake
Itasca, she asks what that sys about the
LADUKE topg. 6
i By Brad Swenson
Bemidji Pioneer
Hoping to compete directly with the
White Earth Band of Chippewa for
casino rights in northwestern Minne-
'• sota, the Red Lake Band of
. Chippewa plans what it calls the
I world's largest indoor water park.
Miller & Schroeder Financial Inc.
J of Minneapolis last week announced
') it would provide about $8 million in
financing to the Red Lake Nation to
I expand its River Road Casino in
j Thief River falls to include the water park.
"It's the biggest thing we've ever
; done," Red Lake Tribal Treasurer
jj Dan King said last week in an inter-
i view. "We've partnered up with
| some good people."
The water park will connect to the
band's casino, with construction on
the park already started last month.
A grand opening is set for May 1.
The move is only the latest in a series of investments in the Thief River
: Falls casino, which includes $22
million in expansion work. Also
planned is a hotel with at least 150
! suites with a northwoods look, with
suite interiors resembling log cabins
and constructed with real logs.
A year ago, the Red Lake Band
added a 200-seaat restaurant and 250
additional gaming machines to the
River Road Casino.
The Red Lake Band's casino is
only 60 miles from a premier gaming facility operated by the White
Earth Band, Shooting Star Casino in
Mahnomen. Officials there are adding $32 million in expansions for a
bigger hotel, more slot machines and
poker tables, which they believe will
be allowed under gaming compacts
with the state since state-approved
poker tables are now at Canterbury
Park.
King said the Red Lake tribe plans
other partnerships in Thief River
Falls, such as with Arctic Cat in offering snowmobile rentals at tlie casino, and the tribe developing trails
in the immediate area.
"We're planning an expanded hotel, and we've hired Jeff Jasperson,
the hotel general manager at Shooting Star," King said. "We stole him."
At stake is a gaming market to the
north - Winnipeg - and Thief River
Falls is closer to the border than
Mahnomen is.
"We've hired an ad agency, Southwest Media, and we're readying a
polished, professional marketing
program," King said.
"Our commitment bespeaks our
enthusiasm for this project," Steven
Erickson, managing director of
Miller & Schroeder Financial Inc.,
said in a statement about the water
park financing. "The indoor water
park will be a major attraction to the
area and will greatly benefit the
band, which has demonstrated that
they have tlie talent, experience and
expertise to operate attractions such
as these."
The firm's financing is the second
on behalf of the Red Lake Nation,
and Erickson said additional financing to expand and enhance the casino property are also anticipated.
The first project, in 1998, saw the
Red Lake Band secure $4 million in
tax-exempt bonds - the first time an
Indian nation sold bonds based on
full faith and credit ofthe reservation. Most ofthe bonds, with the
sale handled by Miller & Schroeder,
was used to construct the band's
custom home plant at Redby.
And the tribe is now considering
expanding that plant, King said.
The water park is a 40,000 square
foot facility which features four 50-
foot tall water slides that empty into
an indoor "lazy river," and are insulated for four-season use. A beachlike zero-entry swimming pool with
small toddler and children's areas
and small slides are also featured.
"We looked at the best designs of
water parks, and we feel we have
the best," King said. "It will have a
105-feet skylight ceiling. ...And,
like the custom home plant, it will
be with private funding. We're real
excited."
Miller & Schroeder specializes in
financing American Indian-owned
casino properties and adjacent venues, it said. It ahs worked with more
than 50 tribal governments and has
been responsible for more than $1
billion in financing Indian-owned
casinos and related amenities.
State, Indian tribes agree to fishing rights policy
Associated Press
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - The U.S.
Department ofthe Interior and five
Indian tribes reached a 20-year
agreement Monday on the tribes'
right to conduct commercial fishing
in the Great Lakes.
The Interior Department and the
groups: Bay Mills Indian Community, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of
Chippewa Indians, Grand Traverse
Band of Ottawa/Chippewa Indians,
Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa
Indians and the Little River Band of
Indians were fighting over the policy
that had been in effect since 1985.
That was the same year U.S. District Judge Richard Enslen in
Kalamazoo approved a consent decree that temporarily settled a lawsuit filed 12 years earlier. But, the
decree expired this spring.
The agreement will mandate allocation, management and regulation
of state and tribal fisheries in the
1836 treaty waters ofthe Great
Lakes.
The state and the tribes were trying
to resolve issues ranging from the
size oflndian fishing waters to how
long tlie new agreement should last.
One issue of contention was the
use of gill nets, which the tribes said
was their right based on an 1836
treaty with the federal government.
Recreational fishermen said the nets
harmed their fisheries.
The agreement calls for the removal of more than 14 million feet
of annual large-mesh tribal gill net.
Many of the largest tribal gill net
fishing operations will be converted
to trap net operations.
Also, the agreement dictates that
the tribes will be able to harvest
whitefish and other species. Meanwhile, sport fishers will harvest recreational species. Lake trout will be
harvested by both groups.
Michigan Gov. John Engler commended the settlement of the dispute, saying that it gives "a framework - based on professional fisheries management - that will determine safe harvest levels of important sport and commercial fish species in the 1836 treaty waters."
Deputy Secretary ofthe Interior
David J. Hayes said the agreement is
a result of intense negotiations from
all parties involved.
"I commend the<parties in their
cooperative efforts in forging an
agreement that provides fishing opportunities to all parties, protects the
rights ofthe tribes and conserves
and protects the fishery resources of
the Great Lakes," Hayes said.
i