Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-09-08

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■
INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
News Briefs 3
Commentary/Editorials/Voices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Commentary
Ho-Chunk Tribe opposes
Perrier bottled water
plant
Classifieds
6,7     pg 4
Fond du Lac woman
victim of violent murder
pg3
The "Village of
Remembering"
people
pgi
Commentary.
How can the pursuit
of civil rights be
considered racist?
pg4
White Earth
Episcopal priest
named Saint
pg3
Most Indians haven't benefited from 1990s casino boom
By David Pace
AssociatedPress
An Associated Press computer analysis of federal unemployment, poverty
and public assistance records indicates
that tlie vast majority of American Indians have not realized the early "high
hopes" ofthe casino boom.
Two-thirds ofthe American Indian
population belong to poverty-stricken
tribes that still don't have Las Vegas-style
casinos. Some, like the Navajo, culturally oppose gambling, while others, like
the Hualapai, are too far away from major population centers to benefit.
Among the 130 tribes with Las Vegas-
style casinos, those near major cities
have thrived, while most others have
little left after paying the bills, the AP
analysis found.
Despite new gambling jobs, unemployment on reservations with established casinos held steady around 54 per-
centbetween 1991 and 1997, according
to data the tribes reported to the Bureau
oflndian Affairs. Many ofthe casino
jobs were filled with non-Indians.
"Everybody thinks that tribes are getting rich from gaming and very few of
them are," Benson said.
Ofthe 500,000 Indians whose tribes
operate casinos, only about 80,000 belong to tribes with gambling operations
that generate more than $100 million a
year.
Some ofthe 23 tribes with the most
successful casinos like the Shakopee
Mdewakanton Dakota Tribe in Minnesota pay each member hundreds of thousands of dollars a year.
In Scott County, which includes the
Shakopee reservation south of Minneapolis, tlie poverty rate declined from 4.1
percent in 1989 to 3.5 percent six years
later. The reservation's unemployment
rate also plummeted from 70 percent in
1991 to just 4 percent in 1997.
Such success stories belong mostly to
tribes with casinos near major population
centers.
Tlie tiny Mashantucket Pequot tribe of
Connecticut reported more than $300
million in revenue in the first five months
of this year from its Foxwoods Casino,
located between New York and Boston.
And tlie Seminole Tribe's Hollywood
Gaming Center on Miami's Gold Coast
generates more tiian $100 million a year
with pull-tab slot machines. The unem
ployment rate on that reservation, however, still was 45 percent in 1997, and the
average poverty rate in the two counties
it touches rose from 10.4 percent in 1989
to 12.1 percent in 1995.
For many tribes with Las Vegas-style
casinos, like the San Carlos Apaches in
eastern Arizona, gambling revenues pay
for casino operatioas and debt service,
with little left to upgrade the quality of
life.
In counties that include reservations
with casinos, the average poverty rate
declined only slightly between 1989 and
1995, from 17.7 percent to 15.5 patent,
tlie AP analysis founds. Counties that include reservations without casinos saw
their poverty rate remain steady at
slightly more than 18 percent.
Nationally, the poverty rate hovered
around 13 percent during the period.
In California, the Tachi Yokut Tribe in
the San Joaquin Valley brags on its Web
site that its F^lace Gaming Center has
provided employment for tribal members, helped raise education levels and
upgraded housing.
But the poverty rate in Kings County,
BENEFIT to pg. 5
Voice     of     t he     People
web page: www.press-on.net
%
^&C^
Native
American
■ I ubu /Ojibwe News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2000
Founded in 1988
Volume 12 Issue 46
September 8, 2000
World War II vets honored by
Red Lake tribal community
By Dorreen Yellow Bird
Grand Forks Hemld
RED LAKE, Minn. - Age and expenV
ence on dieir feces, World War II veterans
some in wheelchairs with oxygen tanks at
their elbows were called before the Red
Lake tribal community recently. They
were honored for service to their country
and community more than 50 years ago.
"Honor to the World War II veterans is
long overdue, and sometimes we wait until our people have passed before we
honor therh," said Bobby White Feather,
Red Lake Nation tribal chairman.
The tribe is developing plans for a new
tribal governmental center that will include
a memorial for the World War II veterans.
Li the next few years, they will also honor
veterans from the Korean and Vietnam
wars and Desert Stonn, White Feather
said.
Some ofthe 41 veterans talked of their
experiences in World War II. Here is some
of what they said-
He was Jittle more than i 8 when tlie
government came to the White Earth reservation and drafted all eligible men, said
78-year-old Elmer Thompson.
"Even today," he said, "there are harsh
feelings against the federal government
because they didn't treat our people right."
Thompson was in the Battle ofthe
Bulge, one ofthe deciding battles of
World War If. He remembers the sounds
ofpeople dying.
"I wake up with nightmares sweating
and shaking still today," he said. Ofthe
157 men in his group, only seven were
left.
He said lie started drinking after the war
and drank for two years trying to forget.
At 15, Wallace Brown lied about his
age and enlisted.
It wasn 't until he was crossing tlie Atlantic Ocean that his mother sent word to
the military that her son was too young,
his sister Vivian Lawrence said.
He was captured during the Battle of
die Bulge and held in an underground
prison. German soldiers interrogated the
prisoners one by one and then shot them,
he told her.
When it was his turn, the first question
they asked him was his race.
He said, "Indian."
They asked him why he fought for a
countiy that had treated him so badly. It
was for diat reason lie was allowed to live,
his sister said.
He was liberated by Russian soldiers
six months later. Brown died in 1998 ofa
stroke.
For Byron Graves, 74, his college experience helped him get into a good unit, he
VETS to pg. 5
Appellate court
reverses fees
award against
tribe
Associated Press
OKLAHOMA CITY, Okl. -A court
order instructing die Cherokee Nation
to pay a law finn's fees has been reversed by the Oklahoma Court of Civil
Appeals.
Tlie appellate court handed down the
decision on Friday, ruling that the
Cherokee Nation's sovereign immunity
protects it from the state court's exercise
of powers.
Pezold Richey Caruso & Barker sued
in Tidsa County District Court for fees
arising from its representation ofthe
Oklahoma tribe in commercial matters.
District Judge Gregory Frizzell
awarded the law firm $32,688 in fees
and costs.
In reversing the ruling, the appellate   '
court cited a 1998 U.S. Supreme Court
ruling in a lawsuit involving die Kiowa
Tribe of Oklahoma The high court said
Indian tribes enjoy immunity from suit
on contracts, whether die contracts involve governmental or commercial activities and whether diey were made on
or off a reservation.
Honoring Tradition with unique blanket
White House ordered Babbitt to apologize for
misleading letter to McCain, report says
By Matt Kelley
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt, at the urging of
the White House chief of staff,
apologized in 1997 for misleading
Sen. John McCain, a special
prosecutor's report says.
A 1996 letter from Babbitt to
McCain misled the Arizona Republican senator about Babbitt's contacts with backers of a proposed
American Indian casino in Wisconsin.
The day after the publication of an
Associated Press story describing
the misleading letter, then-White
House Chief of Staff Erskine
Bowles summoned Babbitt to the
White House to discuss the matter,
according to the report from special
Interior Secretary
Bruce Babbitt
Sen. John McCain
prosecutor Carol Elder Bruce. The
600-page report, released last week,
says Bruce did not find enough evidence to prove Babbitt either denied
the casino application because of political donations or knowingly lied to
Congress about the matter.
During the Columbus Day 1997
meeting, "Bowles told Babbitt that
lying to a United States senator was
unacceptable and serious business,"
the report said. "Bowles also told
Babbitt that he should
call Sen. McCain to
make amends."
Babbitt did.
McCain later told investigators that Babbitt said, "Johfy I
misled you and owe
you an apology."
Bruce's report
notes that Babbitt did not admit he
intended to mislead McCain but did
not deny intentionally misleading
the senator, either.
Interior Department spokesmen
did not return telephone messages
seeking comment Sept. 1. McCain
was vacationing and recovering
from skin cancer surgery Sept. I and
was unavailable for comment.
BABBITT to pg. 6
The "Village of Remembering" people
By Mel Rasmussen
Finally, on the evening ofthe 25"'
of August the walkers from "The
Walk to Remember" arrived at their
final campsite before entering the
last leg of their journey of some
1,400 miles. Their collective
thoughts were focused on the
completion ofthe walk and its impact upon their world.
A final talking circle ofthe walkers brought to light their feelings,
emotions, thoughts, and fears for the
groups being and ethos. One ofthe
walkers talked of this feat and in
one short sentence stated the wholeness ofthe walk and the people. She
talked of their feats and its effect
upon the many people ofthe Lake
Superior region who were impacted
by the mission ofthe walk. She
called them, "The village of remembering people."
As the walkers reflected upon
their feat they came to the understanding of these few words. Their
endeavor of bringing awareness to'
the future ofthe Lake Superior
bioregion for all communities was
the reflection ofall ofthe people of
the lake. All ofthe people, who
Walk to Remember participants
shared their fears with the walkers
about their communities, families,
children, and homes, were concerned
about the damage that is occurring to
the Lake. This was their community
and environment and the fears of one
were the fears ofall. This concept
was echoed by the many individuals
and people who heard their reasons
for the walk.
The talking circle on the final
evening reflected the future and the
outcome of the journey. It was apparent by the input of many that
joined the walk at its later stages that 1
the message of protecting the waters I
had been heard. The future now was j
beginning for the Lake which had
no way to talk of her damage and
injuries. This, "Village ofthe Re-
WALK topg. 6   I
Photo credit: Monte Draper, Bemidji Pioneer
Bemidji Woolen Mills hosted the unveiling of "The Canoe Blanket" Aug. 30 at Ruttger's Birchmont Lodge.
Bemidji artist Michael DeWitt (left) and canoe builder Earl Nyholm (center), who collaborated to design and
create the blanket, discuss the blanket's symbolism with Bill Batchelder, Bemidji Woolen Mills co-owner.
Excerpted from Brad Swenson
Bemidji Pioneer
Preserving one's culture for eternity is a pretty humbling concept.
So, it took a quiet, self-effacing
man to do that in Earl Nyholm, master canoe builder and retired professor of Ojibwe language at Bemidji
State University.
Nyholm was commissioned in
1997 to build a traditional birch-bark
canoe to celebrate Wisconsin's Ses-
quicentennial - the state's 150th anniversary in 1998 - on Madeline Island, the traditional homeland ofthe
Ojibwe on Lake Superior.
The process drew tlie attention of
the Smithsonian Institution, which
filmed a documentary ofthe canoe
building, which first aired on Wisconsin Public Television. The film
depicted it all - from selecting the
right birch to applying spruce gum
pitch to seal the canoe.
Now, the event of building the 14-
foot traditional Ojibwe birch-bark
canoe has been captured on a blanket
in a collaboration between Nyholm,
Bemidji artist Michael DeWitt and
Bemidji Woolen Mills.
In addition to unveiling the blanket
- which carries the Bemidji Woolen
Mills label - the Smithsonian
Institution's Thomas Vennum Jr.
presented Nyholm with the American Film Society's Golden Eagle
Award for the 27-minute film which
Vennum produced. "Earl's Canoe"
will represent the society at international film events, he said.
While Nyholm is a member ofa
Michigan Ojibwe band, the
Wisconsin's Sesquicentennial Commission realized the importance of
birchbark canoes to its history,
BLANKET topg. 6
Indian trust account lawsuit still
a big headache for feds
By Matt Kelley
AssociatedPress
WASHINGTON - A multibillion-dol-
lar lawsuit over mismanagement of
American Indian trust accounts continues to be a headache for the federal government more than a year and a half after
a judge held two Cabinet secretaries in
contempt of court.
Since the February 1999 contempt ruling, Interior and Treasury department
officials have admitted diey improperly
destroyed thousands of records ofthe
$500 million account system.
An estimated 1.000 ofthe individual
trust accounts, worth about $11 million,
belong to Alaska Natives.
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth
temporarily halted die cross-country
move ofa Bureau of Indiai Affairs computer center, scolding the Interior Department for poor security safeguards. And a
court-appointed investigator whose bills
the government is paying to the tune of
about $14,000 a month said government
lawyers should be sanctioned for making
frivolous legal arguments.
With arguments in a crucial government appeal scheduled for Sept. 12, lawyers for the Indians now are asking
Lamberth for another contempt citation
against officials including Interior Secre
tary Bruce Babbitt and Assistant Interior
Secretary Kevin Gover. Lamberth's earlier contempt rating cited Babbitt, Gover
and then-Treasury Secretary Robert
Rubin for improperly witiiholding and
destroying records.
The Indians' lawyers claim Interior officials retaliated against Mona Infield, a
BIA computer center supervisor who ,
signed an affidavit objecting to the
center's move to suburban Washington.
Beginning just after Lamberth halted the
move, Infield said, her supervisors rescinded a job offer diat would have kept
her in Albuquerque, N.M., posted armed
guards at her workplace and eventually
told her to stay at home in an assignment
widi a paycheck but no duties.
"It's repugnant for a secretary and assistant secretary to engage in diis kind of
conduct, where they punish an Indian
employee for doing her job," said Dennis
Gingold, a lawyer for the Indians.
"The department did not retaliate
against Mona Infield," Interior Department spokeswoman Stephanie Hanna
said. Hanna said Infield rejected a chance
to move with the computer center or take
another job in Albuquerque.
The retaliation charge is the latest in a
legal exchange that has become increas-
LAWSUIT to pg. 5
Meetings to
outline 1854
treaty dispute
By Rob Drieslein, Editor
Outdoor News
St Paul - Tlie DNR plans to conduct
several public meetings this fall to update
citizeas on the status of negotiations over
resource management in the 1854 Ceded
Territory.
In March 1996, the Fond du Lac Band
of Ojibwe won its lawsuit in U.S. District
Court challenging state regulation offish
and game harvest with the 1854 area,
which encompasses Minnesota's Arrowhead region. The court postponed the
second phase ofthe suite - how to implement the rights and the band's take - until the courts resolved the 1837 Treaty
case.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court Ruling
on the 1837 Lawsuit early in 1999, the
State Attorney General's office has had
two or diree correspondences with the
Band, according to Michelle Beeman,
DNR legislative director.
The state would like to accelerate the
process this fell by meeting directly with
band representatives to discuss specific
issues such as moose and fish harvest,
she said. Face-to-face meetings likely
DISPUTE to pg. 5