Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-09-15

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INDEX
News Around Indian Country
News Briefs
Commentary/EditorialsA/oices
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events
Classifieds
Commentary
Foley's position on
tribal sovereignty
out of place for
district, party
pg4
MAPP endorses Gibbs
for Secretary/
Treasurer
at Mille Lacs
pg4
VP candidate
LaDuke urges
voters to get
involved
pg5
Foley issues
position in
support of tribal
sovereignty
pg4
MILLE LACS PRIMARY
ELECTION FOR
SECRETARY/
TREASURER, SCHOOL
BOARD SEPTEMBER 18
Oklahoma Indian leaders applaud BIA apology
Voiceof     the     People
Associated Press
TULSA, Okla. - Several Oklahoma Indian leaders applauded a
speech by the head ofthe Bureau of
Indian Affairs that included an apology for the agency's "legacy of racism and inhumanity" toward American Indian tribes.
BIA director Kevin Gover, himself
a Pawnee Indian from Oklahoma,
said that the inhumanity included
massacres, forced relocations of
tribes and attempts to wipe out Indian languages and cultures.
"By accepting this legacy, we accept also the moral responsibility of
putting things right," Gover said in
an emotional speech on Friday
marking the agency's 175th anniversary.
The apology was on behalf of the
BIA, not the whole federal government, Gover said. He is the highest-
ranking U.S. official ever to make
such a statement regarding the treatment of American Indians, and the
White House was made aware ofhis
speech in advance.
An audience of about 300 tribal
leaders, BIA employees and federal
officials stood and cheered as a
teary-eyed Gover finished the
speech.
"The first step of healing is the acknowledgment ofthe truth," said
Chad Smith, chief of the Cherokee
Nation, which with more than
210,000 members is America's second largest Indian tribe behind the
Navajo Nation.
Like other tribes in Oklahoma, the
Cherokees' state roots were founded
after an 1830s forced march from
the southeastern United States in a
journey known as "The Trail of
Tears."
Smith said the "second step of
healing is to provide the dignity and
respect that all classes and races deserve."
In saying that he applauds the
secretary's comments, Smith said
the Cherokee Nation has "always
kept the door open with mutual respect to building healthy partnerships" with the BIA.
"I'm glad this is the end of more
than 100 years of ethnicidal policies," Smith said.
Greg Pyle, chief of the Choctaw
Nation, said he too, was glad the
BIA to pg. 6
Wisconsin voters
back one casino
plan, reject
another
Pat Doyle
Star Tribune
In two showdowns over expanding
tribal gambling, one Wisconsin community on Sept. 12 opposed turning
some of its land into a miniature Indian
reservation for a major casino, while
another community opened its doors
for one.
Voters in north-central Plover rejected
by 2 to 1 a $50 million to S100 million
hotel-casino complex planned for 20
acres near Interstate Hwy. 39 by the
Lac du Flambeau Chippewa.
But voters in east-central Kaukauna
voted by nearly 2 to 1 to welcome a
similar gambling reservation in their
city. That vote allows city officials to
continue negotiating with the Lac du
Flambeau for a casino-complex at the
former Fox Valley Greyhound Park in
Kaukauna, about 30 miles from Green
Bay.
The tribe's Kaukauna proposal includes a $20 million casino, a $30 million hotel and convention center and a
$5 million indoor water park.
Moreover, tlie tribe offered up to
$92.5 million to be split between the
city and surrounding Outagamie
County over 20 years, plus an estimated
$35 million from the convention center.
Shopping for better locations tor casinos is the latest gambling trend in Wisconsin, and the Lac du Flambeau have
been more active than other tribes. The
tribe's existing casino is on a remote
reservation in northern Wisconsin.
The tribe also has won support in
Lafayette County, near the Illinois border, for another casino after promising
jobs and money to the community.
Local sentiment is advisory. Tlie U.S.
Department of Interior must approve
new mini-reservations for gambling,
and governors have veto power.
Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson has
said that he wants local support before
signing off on such arrangements.
Dayton to battle Grams
Gibson, Swan will represent third parties in Senate fight
Excerpted from Patricia Lopez
Baden and Dane Smith
Star Tribune
After nearly disappearing from
public life, former State Auditor and
department store heir Mark Dayton
staged an impressive political comeback Sept. 12 night, racking up huge
numbers over his three rivals to become the DFL nominee for U.S.
Senate.
Dayton swept almost every region
and county ofthe state, winning by
a nearly 2-1 ratio.
He now advances to the November ballot against Republican Sen.
Rod Grams, as well as Independence Party nominee James Gibson
and Constitution Party nominee
David Swan.
Even as his DFL opponents were
conceding, Dayton remained subdued.
"I'm old-fashioned, I guess," he
said. "I keep wanting to wait until
all the votes are tallied."
Having felt the sting of defeat
himself in the past, Dayton bent
over backwards not to gloat.
"It's not something to celebrate —
it's no fun to run against your fellow
Democrats," he said. "I know this is
a tough night for three ofthe four of
us."
With that in mind, Dayton eschewed the traditional victory party
in favor ofa quiet, alcohol-free
gathering at his Eagan campaign
headquarters that featured cold cuts,
pretzels, soda and water. A few
dozen supporters and volunteers
showed up.
He deflected questions about his
strategy against Grams, saying he
would begin talking about his differences with the incumbent at a news
conference at 11 a.m. today. "There
Jim Gibson
David Swan
Oneidas building cashless slot machines, out to alter gambling
By William Kates
Associated Press
VERNON, N.Y - The Oneida Indian Nation is changing the way
people gamble with a cashless, computerized system that allows patrons
to make dinner reservations, go
shopping or set a golf tee-off time as
they play for the big jackpot.
The system, developed by the
Oneidas as a way to get around a
New York state law outlawing coin-
operated slots, reduces costs associated with handling money and is
useful in monitoring the behavior
patterns of customers so that casino
operators can better cater to them.
"What we are trying to do is bring
the entire resort to the person in the
most convenient way," said Frank
Riolo, president of Standing Stone
Gaming, the Oneida enterprise
whose gaming system is featured at
the Turning Stone casino and resort
in Vernon, N. Y. "In the process, we
get to know our customers."
Standing Stone, which has sold 45
machines to a casino in Washington
state and is in talks with representatives throughout the gaming industry, envisions its gambling machines
one day to replace the traditional
coin-operated machines found in Las
Vegas and Atlantic City. At a minimum, Standing Stone expects to put
its machines in Native American
gambling halls nationwide, especially in other states that outlaw conventional slot machines.
The Oneida machines are connected to a central network that
records a player's credits and debits
as they play keno, lotto, draw poker
and dozens of other games. Instead
of pumping nickels or quarters into
slots, gamblers are issued identification cards to access the machines.
With the Oneida system, a patron
theoretically never has to handle
Fallen warrior rides again
Gulf War Veteran Kevin Shores
By Cheryl Lewis Fields
Gulf War Veteran Kevin Shores is
again attempting to ride in his motorized wheelchair from his home in
Moorhead, Minn., to the Capitol in
St. Paul to draw attention to Gulf War
Illness. Shores' first attempted ride in
May was postponed when during a
trial run he was struck in a crosswalk
by a truck suffering multiple fractures
and will need hip replacement surgery following this ride.
Shores, who left Moorhead on Sept.
9 following a pipe ceremony, says he
feels healthy enough now to make the
250 mile ride which will take 10
days. He is scheduled to arrive at the
Capitol in St. Paul on Tuesday, Sept.
Native
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Volume 12 Issue 47
September 15, 2000
are very clear differences between
Senator Grams and myself on the
issues. I'm going to call him tomorrow and suggest that we run a campaign on the issues."
A prominent player and deep
pocket in DFL politics since the
early 1980s, Dayton periodically at- ^
tempted to take center stage" himself.
His most recent try was in 1998,
when he suffered a humbling defeat
in the DFL gubernatorial primary.
After that loss — his second in 16
years, compared with one win —
many DFLers thought Dayton had
written his political epitaph. But the
millionaire surprised activists in
April when he launched a late bid in
an already crowded field of candidates, some of whom had been in
the race for more than a year. At that
time, he was least favored to win.
But by midsummer, Dayton had
overtaken his competitors, in large
part because ofa sharply crafted
barrage of ads. The first ads re-intro-
DAYTON to pg. 6
Fox Creek residents show support
Photo credit: Anthony Gray, Bemidji Pioneer
George Partridge-Gotchie of Walker looks back to his family before joining the other dancers during
Saturday's Leech Lake Powwow at the Veterans Memorial Powwow Grounds west of Cass Lake.
their money. They can use their personalized card to play a machine
and then use their card to pay for
dinner at a casino restaurant or a
souvenir at one its shops.
"Operations and player tracking
systems have been around for a
while. What you are hearing from
the Oneidas is that they are trying to
marry the whole package. I think
there will be more of that," said Ed
Rogich, vice president of marketing
for International Game Technology,
one ofthe leading makers of slot
machines. "It is just an evolution of
all these systems. Believe me, everyone, every casino wants one system
to do everything."
The Oneidas have already struck a
deal to furnish 45 machines for the
Swinomish Indians' casino in Washington state. More orders could
come from Washington's Lummi Indians, who have reached a tentative
ONEIDA topg. 6
19 at 2:30 p.m. His journey will take
him through Wadena, Staples, Little
Falls, Elk River, Coon Rapids and
other small towns along the route.
Shores, who is from the Ojibwe
community, says he served in the
Navy from 1985-88, spending his
last six months of service in the Persian Gulf where his unit was called in
to relieve the USS Stark which had
been hit by a missile. Within five
years ofhis honorable military discharge. Shores began suffering various symptoms similar to those of
other Veterans who served in the Persian Gulf. Within three years Shores
was in a wheelchair. Shores believes
SHORES to pg. 6
Ethnic Fest 2000 features music from Ecuador
ByAnneM.Dunn
Walker, MN—-The streets of Walker
were transformed by colorfully garbed
representatives of many cultures during
Ethnic Fest 2000 last week. Peoples of
many nations demonstrated their traditional music, song and dance. Artists
displayed their unique crafts, and an array of ethnic foods was available to
tempt the palate.
Among the performers was Ingapirca,
a five-piece musical ensemble from
Quito, Ecuador. The group was featured
in the Friday night concert (Sept. 8)
which kicked off another world-class
street party. The ensemble was formed
in 1990 and plays Andean folk music
from many Latin/South American countries. They have perfonned throughout
South America; the United States and
Europe.
Three members of Igapirca performed Saturday, Sept. 9: Marcelo
Sanchez (guitar, bass, violin and vocals); Diego Chiriboga (flutes, pipes and
saxophone); and Eduardo Velastegui
(first voice, charango and drums).
Between performances. Marcelo dis
cussed the instruments and the history
ofthe music.
"The music we play expresses the
original feelings ofthe music of indigenous people," Eduardo said. "The arrival ofthe Europeans changed the music. For example we used bamboo
flutes. The Spanish brought the guitar.
The charango began as an imitation of
the guitar."
"Now it is the most traditional instrument in South America!" Marcello said.
"It originated in Bolivia. At that time it
was made from Armadillo shell."
Clearly Ingapirca has an interest in
preserving the ancient rhythms of Latin
America while educating the public to
the diversity and beauty ofthe music.
They use tradition instruments such as
flutes, pipes, drums and the charango.
But they use contemporary instalments
and synthesizers as well.
They are committed to preserving the
old songs, but their most recent release
entitled, "Pan Pipe Flute From The
Andes," features eight originals songs.
Traditional Andean rhythms are performed with pan pipes, flutes, drums,
saxaphone and electronic effects in an
exciting mix ofthe past, present and future.
Eduardo said, "I can't take another
job because I am inspired by my love
for this music. But I try to improve my
style and presentation."
He began singing professionally at
age 15 and performs in many styles,
including cumbia, salsa, Ecuador Cre- .
ole, son and quecas.
"The music is a communication
among the instruments," he said.
In some countries citizens are not allowed to discuss the failures of their
governments. Therefore, the instruments became communicators and the
music carried messages ofthe discontent and frustration experienced by
those living under an oppressive regime.
"The music carries the sorrows ofthe
people," Eduardo said.
Ingapirca travels to many places with
.the music that they love.
For more infonnation concerning
their schedule and the availability of
their recordings contact: Jorge Panchi at
612-782-8963 or voicemail at 612-882-
6822.
Arizona reportedly wants share oflndian casino profits
Associated Press
PHOENIX - Arizona wants 7 percent of Arizona Indian casino profits
in exchange for giving tribes exclusive
rights to video lottery machines, The
Arizona Republic reported Sept. 12.
The Republic said the proposal was
contained in documents that Gov. Jane
Hull's office gave to western
Arizona's Colorado River Indian
Tribes.
At present, the Arizona Lottery has
the rights to the video lottery machines but has not installed them.
Tlie tribe objects not only to the
revenue-sharing proposal but to the
state's position that all 15 gaming
tribes will be bound by the same casino-operating agreement, tribal
Chairman Daniel Eddy Jr., told the
Republic.
"Every tribe has different needs,"
Eddy argued, calling the revenue-
sharing plan illegal taxation of one
government by another
The money would be administered
by state and tribal representatives. It
would be used in Arizona's mental
health system and to improve educa
tion, Indian health care, emergency
response time and tourism. How
much it might total hasn't been determined, since the tribes don't report
how much money their gaming operations produce.
State negotiators have been meeting
periodically with the tribes since January. Tribes agreed to negotiate as a
group, instead of individually, to renew compacts that begin expiring in
2001. They also agreed to keep details
of tlie talks confidential.
Eddy said his tribe has been ex-
PROFITS to pg. 6