Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-09-22

              INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
News Briefs 3
Commentary/Editorials/Voices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Classifieds 6,7
Mille Lacs treaty issue
inspires ongoing
discussion,
disagreement
pg4
Wild rice harvest
low in Minnesota
pgs
Minnesota Ojibwe
artist Joe Geshick
featured in U.S.
Art magazine
pgs
Detox center cited for
violations, fined and
put on probation
pg3
Leech Lake Band can
claim membership "by
descent" according to
state appeals court
pgi
Leech Lake Band can claim membership
"by descent" according to state appeals court
By Bill Lawrence
The Minnesota Court of Appeals affirmed Sept. 1 a lower court order in an
Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) case.
In short, the state Court of Appeals
ruled that the Leech Lake Band can
claim jurisdiction under ICWA for children who do not qualify for enrollment,
meaning children who are less than %
Chippewa. The court recognized the
Band's authority to detemiine eligibility for enrollment, without looking into
the internal tribal rules for enrollment
under the MCT Constitution. Presiding
in the case were judges Bruce D. Willis,
R.A. (Jim) Randall and Edward Parker.
The case rose out of an assertion by
the Leech Lake Band's Director of
Family Services, Lillian Reese, that a
child was eligible for membership in
the Band despite not possessing the 1/4
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (MCT)
blood quantum necessary for enrollment. The Band made a distinction between being "eligible for membership"
and being enrollable. The Band has
been extending eligibility, in conflict
with the MCT Constitution, to any
child who is a descendent of an en
rolled member.
The case was the result ofa petition
for adoption filed in March 1999 by
Carole Freeman of Minneapolis. Freeman had been the child's foster mother
for most ofthe time since the child's
birth in 1993. The child's mother, who
had been an enrolled member of the
Leech Lake Band, died in 1997. In August 1997, the child's father's parental
rights were terminated, and the state
Commissioner ofHuman Services became her guardian and legal custodian.
Hennepin County Department of Children and Family Services opposed
Freeman's adoption ofthe child.
According to the MCT Constitution
all children bom to an MCT member after July 3,1961, must be 'A degree MCT
Indian blood to be enrolled, provided
that an application for enrollment is
filed with the Secretary ofthe Band or
the Tribal Executive Committee (TEC)
within one year ofthe child's birth.
Based on court records, neither of these
two conditions for enrollment were met
in this case.
In June 1999, Reese notified
Hennepin County that the Leech Lake
Band recognized the child and her sib-
"Full Faith and Credit" for tribal courts
discussed at quarterly meeting
By Julie Shortridge
The Tribal Court/State Court Forum
had their quarterly meeting at the Red
Lake Family and Children Services Center Sept. 15. The three hour meeting was
dedicated to discussing the means and
methods for instituting "Full Faith and
Credit" for tribal courts in Minnesota.
Approximately 20 people, primarily
tribal and state judges and attorneys, attended the meeting.
Guest speakers were Professor Stacy
Leeds ofthe University of North Dakota,
and Richard Monette ofthe University
of Wisconsin. Leeds suggested the North
Dakota model for implementing Full
Faith and Credit, in part because it was
implemented through rules in that state's
Supreme Court, rather than as law
passed by the state Legislature. Going
through the Legislaurre is considered
more time-consuming and politically difficult, as it requires a more extensive public hearing process.
Leeds also prefers the North Dakota
system because it presumes a tribal court
judgment is valid, although there is room
for a person to make an objection. The
North Dakota policy states: "Tlie judicial
orders and judgments of tribal courts
within the state ofNorth Dakota, unless
objected to, are recognized and have the
same effect and are subject to the same
procedures, defenses, and proceedings as
judgments of any court of record in this
state." In Wisconsin and South Dakota,
by contrast, the tribal court has to prove it
should receive Full Faith and Credit in
each instance. Leeds said her only com-
Minnesota second
in nation's census
participation
Reservation numbers low
Associated Press
Minnesota tied for second among the
50 states in response rate to the 2000 U.S.
Census.
Wisconsin, Nebraska and Minnesota,
each with 75 percent of residents returning census forms, came in second to
Iowa, with 76 percent.
Nationally, the respoase rate was 67
percent, said Commerce Secretary
Norman Mineta. That was two points better than 1990' s response rate of 65 percent, but six percentage points higher
than the 61 percent rate the Census Bureau had predicted for this year.
CENSUS topg. 5
Wisconsin communities consider
nine casino proposals
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Indian tribes are tempting communities
strapped for cash with nine proposals
for casinos off reservation lands.
The state already has one casino off
tribal land in Milwaukee, where the
Potawatomi tribe operates a gaming facility.
That was the only off-site casino in
the nation until last year when the
Kalispel tribe in Washington won approval to operate a casino in a Spokane
suburb.
Now, with nine casino projects under
consideration, many state lawmakers are
worried about the proliferation of gaming facilities.
"We' re ready to take a huge step,
enormous expansion of gambling, and
one that I don't see that there' s going to
Investigators say Interior improving Indian accounting
By Matt Kelley
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The Interior Department has improved its problem-
plagued development of a computer
system to better manage more than $3
billion in American Indian trust funds,
congressional investigators said.
But the $40 million software project
remains behind schedule and threatened by continuing management flaws,
the General Accounting Office reported.
Still, the GAO report is the first in
more than a year to offer any significant
praise to the department's efforts to
clean up more than a century of mismanagement of trust funds for tribes
and individual Indians. A federal judge
in December called the handling of individual accounts "government irresponsibility in its purest form" and ruled he
would oversee reform efforts. An appeal
of that decision is pending.
In the department's formal comments
on the report, Assistant Interior Secretary John Berry wrote that "We are
pleased by your recognition of our
progress" with the computer system.
The department's critics were unimpressed.
"Ifthey are making progress, if there
is evidence of that, we would celebrate
that fact. But we don't see the evidence
yet," Native American Rights Fund lawyer Keith Harper said Sept. 18. Harper
is one ofthe lawyers representing the
500,000 individual Indian account holders suing the government.
Senate Indian Affairs Committee
Buffalo return to Minnesota prairie lands
By Craig McEwen
Fargo Forum
Odessa, Minn. - Bison haven't grazed
Minnesota River bottom prairie lands here
since the mid-1800s.
They're back
A herd of 30 privately-owned buffalo
spent this summer roaming 130 acres of
restored prairie at the 12,000-acre Big
Stone National Wildlife Refuge.
Their purpose for being here is two-fold:
to attract visitors to the refuge and show
how critical Great Plains buffalo once were
to maintaining native tall-grass prairie.
"The prairie and the bison evolved together over tens of thousands of years," said
refuge manager Ron Cole. "It was a mutually beneficial relationship. Most prairie
plants actually benefit from the bison's
grazing habits and the bison thrive on the
rich, nutritious forage. Putting these animals back on our restored prairie areas is
actually one ofthe most natural things we
can do."
The prairie, meandering river,
outcroppings of granite stone, cotton-
wood, maple and ash forests provide a
perfect setting for this cooperative venture between the refuge and J&L Ranch
of Willmar, Minn.
Bison-owners John and Leila Amdt
agreed to place the buffalo - 27 cows
and 3 bulls - here through September
and plan to bring them back next
spring.
"We want to make them as available
to the public as we can," said assistant
refuge manager Rich Papasso.
Photo credit: State of Minnesota        A five-mile auto tourroute passes
within feet ofthe fenced buffalo, enabling
tourists to exit vehicles and observe the
large beasts, some weighing more than
1,500 pounds.
"I think the people have been extremely
cooperative and certainly enthusiastic
about the whole project," Papasso said.
The herd stands motionless on this
cool September day. "When they start to
gallop it's just a totally different animal,"
Papasso said. "They can cover a lot of
ground in a hurry. It's pretty impressive
when they start running."
After releasing tlie bison in June, refuge
traffic jumped to 100 to 200 vehicles per
day, Papasso said "Our visitation has
probably increased 50 to 100 percent
This has become an added attraction to
viewing deer and waterfowl."
Prior to building the refuge paralleling.
Minnesota Highway 7 between Odessa
and Oitonville in 1975, much ofthe land
was grazed by domestic livestock on farms
purchased by the federal government
During the past 25 years, large tracts
have been seeded back to native warm-sea-
BUFFALO topg. 5
Voice     of     t he     People
web page: www.press-on.net
lings "as members ofthe Leech Lake
Reservation," despite the fact they
could not be enrolled. As a result of this
notification, Hennepin County asked
the juvenile court to determine that
ICWA was applicable to the adoption,
meaning the Leech Lake Band would
have say in who adopted the child. As
such, in July 1999 the Band intervened
in the juvenile court proceedings. In addition, the foster parents ofthe child's
siblings also intervened in the proceedings, seeking to adopt the child themselves.
The juvenile court heard the motions
on August 6, 1999 and granted the
Band's motion to intervene, scheduled a
hearing on the issue of whether the
child is in fact an "Indian child" within
the meaning ofthe ICWA, and postponed consideration ofthe other motions. Following a Sept. 3,1999, hearing, tlie court issued an order determining that all further adoption proceedings for the child were, in fact, subject
to ICWA and granting the band's motion to intervene in the case.
In December 1999, Hennepin County
moved for summary judgment, seeking
ICWA to pg. 5
Native
American
Press
#5
-tee-
Ojibwe Nbws
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2000
Founded in 1988
Volume 12 Issue 48
September 22, 2000
plaint is that that it extends Full Faith
and Credit only to tribal courts within
North Dakota, but not tribes in other
states.
Separation of Powers, apartheid,
and logistics
Doubters to the concept of extending
Full Faith and Credit to tribal courts ask
why tribal court actions should be considered valid when there is no guaranteed separation of powers in tribal governments. Separation of powers means
that the executive, legislative and judicial
branches of government are kept separate - a condition considered necessary
for a fair hearing.
Another concern is tliat tribal governments are an apartheid system of govern-
TRIBAL COURT to pg. 5
be an easy way to stop," Attorney General James Doyle told the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel newspaper.
He said if Gov. Tommy Thompson
approves one proposal, he can't deny
others.
Last week, voters in Plover opposed a
casino proposed by the Lac du Flambeau Chippewa band, but Kaukauna
voters overwhelmingly approved the
tribe's plan to turn a former dog track
into a gaming complex.
"Everyone' s chasing fool's gold,"
said Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, R-
Town of Brookfield, who wants the
Legislature to have a say in casino proposals.
'They' re all hoping for easy money.
And even though the public in Wisconsin is overwhelmingly against the expansion of gambling, the potential pay-
CASINOS to pg. 5
Chainnan Ben Nighthorse Campbell
believes that outside pressure is the reason that the Interior Department is making progress, spokesman Chris
Changery said.
Campbell, a Northern Cheyenne who
is die only Indian in the Senate, has
been a harsh critic ofthe trust funds'
mismanagement.
The GAO report focused on the Trust
Asset Accounting and Management
System, a computer program that will
replace and update a web of old computer and paper record-keeping systems
for the trust accounts. Original plans
had called for the system to be nearly
complete by now, but problems in developing it have meant that only a part
of it is running in a regional office in
REPORT to pg. 5
Photo credit: Brian Basham, Detroit Lakes Tribune
Robert and Danielle Goodman looked over a dream catcher in the Anishinaabe Center gallery.
Cultural center, gallery is adream come true
Excerpted from Brian Basham
DetroitLakes Tribune
Ge-Waydin-O-Ginew (meaning North-
em Eagle), a member ofthe Red Lake Nation, spoke ofthe hoop of life before performing a traditional hoop dance during the
Anishinaabe Cultural Center and Gallery's
grand opening in Detroit Lakes, Minn.
We are bom of mother earth, live our
lives, die and return back to another earth.
Full circle, like the hoop in his dance.
And much like life, the Anishinaabe
Center has come full circle since its humble
beginnings in a small comer rental space
on Washington Avenue.
On Sept. 6, a dream was realized as a
grand opening and open house was held to
celebrate the coriipletion of the
Anishinaabe Center's new location at 921
8th St SE in Detroit Lakes' Industrial Park.
Carol Guinn, spiritual facilitator to the
Anishinaabe Center, believes the center's
opening has a deep spiritual meaning.
Guinn made a point that the center
wasn't built for the elders; it was built for
the youth.
"We see the peer pressure of gangs, of
dmgs," she said. "So this [center] is an offset because we believe that there are young
people out there who don't have any place
else to turn so they're in a position where
they're forced to rum to gangs and drags.
So we are Hying to give them an option."
The building itself will provide a place
where young people can leam about their
heritage and the traditional values of respect, generosity, honor and sharing.
The gallery will showcase works by
Anishinaabe artists as well as artists from
oilier tribal cultures. More than 50 artists'
paintings, carvings beadwork, leatherwork
and basketry are on display and for sale in
the gallery. The gallery buys 90 percent
ofthe inventory from local artists.
The new building houses the center's
business offices and a full commercial
kitchen and dining room. Efforts are now
being made for the Anishinaabe Center to
serve a meal a day to the hungry and
homeless in Becker County.
"No one should have to go hungry
when this program gets underway," said
Anishinaabe Center director Marvin
Manypenny during the grand opening
ceremony.
Healing circles, or circles of support,
will be held Tuesdays at 7 p.m. and are
open to the public. These circles will
provide a positive environment or people
to receive strength or to help others.
Language classes will be every
Wednesday 4-7 p.m. and drum and dance
classes are on Tuesday 4-7 pm
Another theft from Education Department
raises lawmakers' concern
By Anjetta McQueen
AssociatedPress
WASHINGTON - House lawmakers
are demanding that Education Department officials explain how $ 1.9 million
meant for children who live on American Indian reservations and military
bases apparently was diverted to buy a
Maryland house, a Cadillac and other
items.
It's the second time this year that department officials have had to contend
with large-scale fraud allegations.
"It just makes you furious," said Rep.
Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., a longtime
critic of department bookkeeping who's
seeking to legislate a congressional audit. 'This is just one more time that
shows the need for somebody to get serious about cleaning up Department of
Education finances."
In a civil action filed in July, the Justice Department alleges that $1.9 million intended for two school districts in
South Dakota was diverted on March 31
into two bank accounts in Upper
Marlboro, Md.
The Justice Department filing says
the money placed into those two ac
counts was used to draw cashier's checks
to pay $46,900 for a Cadillac Escalade,
more than $50,000 for a Lincoln Navigator and $ 135,000 for a house in Maryland. The document says the rest was diverted into other bank accounts.
Education Department officials said
Monday they could not comment on ongoing cases, but department investigators
were expected to testify Sept. 19 before
the House Education and Workforce
Committee about auditing problems at
the department.
Impact Aid is a $906 million department-ran program meant to help school
districts educate children living on Indian
reservations or military installations. Such
places are federal lands that don't generate the local property taxes that usually
fund local school programs. In Bennett
County schools, Anderson says, the
money helps pay for special programs
such as universal preschool and alternative classrooms for children with behavior
problems.
The Justice Department did not specify
criminal charges in its civil complaint,
and Justice officials reached Sept 18
could not immediately confirm whether
criminal actions had been initiated. The
civil complaint filed in U.S. District
Court in Washington also did not allege
that Education Department employees
were involved in the theft.
In May, federal officials discovered an
employee theft ring that bilked the department of more than $ 1 million in stolen equipment and falsely reported overtime. Some employees have pleaded
guilty in the case; officials say other
charges are pending.
"We have been cooperating with Justice
officials," said Roberta Heine, Education
Secretary Richard Riley's spokeswoman.
In June, House lawmakers approved a
bill directing the General Accounting Office, Congress' auditing arm, to study department accounts particularly prone to
abuse. A Senate committee will consider a
similar move Sept 20.
Aides for the Senate sponsor ofthe bill,
Tim Hutchinson, R-Ark., say Senate leaders back the bill. It's not clear whether
President Clinton would sign it
The bill would be the only main education legislation to reach Clinton's desk this
year. The renewal of $15 billion in Education Department programs, including Impact Aid, is caught in an election-year
deadlock.