Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-10-13

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INDEX
News Around Indian Country
News Briefs
Commentary/Editorials/Voices
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events
Classifieds
/ffl     ^§jjk   Shakopee                   ■■
2 ^B |®F Mdewakanton            flj
3 ^TSf    Sioux community    JB
4 |\is|pF$ gives $300,000         HI
5 ^^^a    for services
6,7      *|||'      P9 3
u     A&E Special
S|    "American Justice:
ItSflL. Murder on a
| Reservation"
pgs
Commentarv
ABC's "20/20" and the
rest of the story
pg4
Reservation boundary
issue among topics at
Mille Lacs area
political forum
pgi
Two men freed
after questioning
in St. Paul
slaying
pgi
Court to clarify
state immunity
in tribal courts
By Laurie Asseo
Associated Press
WASHINGTON —The Supreme
Court agreed Oct. 10 to clarify
whether state officials can be sued in
Indian tribal court over actions taken
on an Indian reservation.
The court said it will hear four Nevada
wildlife officials' argument that they
are immune from being sued in tribal
court over the seizure of bighorn
sheep head trophies from a man's
home on a reservation.
Floyd Hicks is a member ofthe
Fallon Paiute-Shoshone Tribe and
lives on its reservation near Reno in
western Nevada.
In August 1990, a Nevada game
warden got a warrant from state and
tribal courts to search Hicks' property
for evidence ofthe killing of California bighorn sheep. Killing the sheep is
a misdemeanor under state law.
A tribal judge limited tlie search to
"exterior premises and any vehicles."
The game warden and a tribal police
officer took a mounted sheep's head
trophy from Hicks' home. Officials
later returned it because it was ofa
different species than the California
bighorn.
In June 1991, the warden conducted
another search with state and tribal
court approval, and took at least one
sheep's head trophy from Hicks'
home. Again it was detennined that
the trophies were not evidence ofa
crime and they were returned to him.
Hicks sued four Nevada wildlife officials in tribal court, alleging violations of tribal law and his federal civil
rights. He sued them as individuals,
not in their official capacities.
The wildlife officials asked a federal
court to rule they were protected from
being sued in tribal court by Nevada's
sovereign immunity and by qualified
immunity. Qualified immunity protects government officials from being
sued over their official acts so long as
they did not violate someone's clearly
established rights.
A federal judge upheld the tribal
court' s authority to hear the case, and
COURTS to pg. 6
Midwest Tribes to meet at
Treasure Island Casino
SAGINAW, Mich- The Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes (MAST)
held its annual Fall Quarterly Meeting
Oct. 11-12 at Treasure Island Resort
and Casino, Welch, Minn. More than
35 Indian tribes are expected to send
representatives. Delegates will select
Executive Officers to oversee MAST
programs for the next year, including
an extensive, coordinated effort by
tribes to increase Native American
participation in the 2000 elections.
Frank Cloutier, director of public
relations for the Saginaw Chippewa
Indian Tribe of Michigan, said the upcoming MAST meeting is even more
significant than the recent Impact
Week sponsored by MAST in Wash
ington, D.C.
"MAST is quickly becoming a driving force on Native American issues,
not only regionally but nationally as
well," Cloutier said. 'This meeting
will focus on Presidential, Congressional and state issues, as well as
strategies to get out the vote on reservations throughout Indian country.
Our goal is to make sure that the
voice of Native Americans is heard
loud and clear in the November elections."
Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura
has been invited to address the gathering at 3:00 p.m. Oct. 11, although his
attendance was not confirmed.
Reservation boundary issue
among topics at Mille Lacs area
political forum
Excerpted from Eric Freeman
Mille Lacs County Times
The Mille Lacs Lake Association,
an organization made up of residents
and property owners from the Mille
Lacs Lake area sponsored The Mille
Lacs County Town Meeting the
evening of Sept. 28, at the Milaca
Secondary School. Approximately
150 residents were present from
across the county.
The moderators for the event, John
Godfrey of KJ3EK radio in Mora and
Jim Erickson of WQPM radio station
in Princeton asked the candidates a
series of questions on issues including
education, the environment and issues
between the county and the Mille
Lacs Band of Ojibwe.
Three candidates for county commissioner were present, they were:
Roger Neske, District 1, Bob Hoefert,
District 5 (Isle), and Gerald
Schroeder, District 2.
State representative candidates included Arlo Christianson (Ind), incumbent Sondra Erickson (R) and the
DFL-endorsed candidate Scott
Coffman.
Candidates for the state senate seat
were Bruno Gad (Ind), Gail Kulick-
Jackson (DFL) and the incumbent
senator Dan Stevens (R).
.. .The candidates were asked what
they thought they could do to resolve
the boundary dispute between the
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and the
county.
Christianson's response to the
boundary issue question was echoed
by each of the other candidates.
"I can't do anything about the
boundary issue without the help ofall
the people ofthe county," he said.
'This is a big problem for some
people and not a problem at all for
some others, but it's going to take all
of us working together to fix it."
"We really do rely on you and others in the county to let us know what
needs to be done with this very important issue," said Erickson. "I do
feel it's my responsibility and I take
very seriously the attempt to educate
my colleagues on this issue. I believe
we must deal with it as a civil rights
and equal rights issue for all the residents ofthe county. The landowners
must let the legislators know that
there is no reservation. We have the
facts, if the facts won't stand then we
BOUNDARY to pg. 6
Yakama Indians cast out liquor
By Linda Ashton
Associated Press
TOPPENISH, Wash. — The
Yakama Nation was hoping to temper
the ravages of aleohol abuse when it
banned alcohol sales on its sprawling
reservation in south-central Washington.
But most tavern owners — who are
not tribal members — have kept the liquor flowing since the ban was enacted three weeks ago, and they are
looking to the state that issues their liquor licenses for protection.
The state attorney general has sued
tribal officials contending that, despite
Yakama Nation sovereignty, it cannot
legally impose its regulations on the
20,000 non-tribal members living on
the reservation.
Yakama leaders in rum have asked
U.S. Attorney Jim Shively in Spokane
to enforce an 1830's federal law that
prohibits intoxicants on Indian land.
"As some kind of tribal ordinance,
we don't have the resources to enforce it," said Tribal Councilman Jack
Fiander, a lawyer.
Tribal leaders are not interested in
prosecuting alcohol possession for
personal use; instead they are targeting
sales.
Alcohol is frequently cited as a
problem for some ofthe 2.4 million
Indians in 558 tribes in the United
States. Leaders on reservations across
the country have taken various steps to
deal with it.
On the Yakama reservation, home to 5,
000 tribal members, empty liquor
bottles are found at nearly every crime
scene. There are 13 unsolved homicides involving young Indian women,
most of whom were last seen in a local
tavern.
Alcohol has long been banned from
the parts ofthe reservation open to
tribal members only, as well as at its
casino and convenience store.
"The Lower Yakima Valley is a
fairly small, mostly rural area. To have
50-plus commercial establishments
selling alcohol, that' s too big a part of
the economy," Fiander said.
He told ofa grocery store owner
complaining the ban would kill her
business, which earns 78 percent of its
profits from beer and wine sales.
"That was sort of our point— if 80
percent of your profits were from selling alcohol, that' s not a grocery store.
It's a liquor store."
Earlier this year, the state closed its
two liquor stores on the reservation,
but the owners of 47 other businesses
that sell alcohol could lose their livelihoods and their investments to the
ban.
State Attorney General Christine
Gregoire has asked the U.S. District
Court in Spokane to find that the li
quor resolution does not apply to
people who are not tribal members or
on property owned by nonmembers.
The state filed the lawsuit reluctantly and has no quarrel with the
tribe's efforts to regulate its own
members, said Gary Larson, a spokesman for Gregoire's office.
The suit, he said, was intended to
clarify whether the tribe could impose
restrictions on non-tribal members
who didn't have a vote in the decision
to implement this ban.
Yakama leaders started talking about
the restrictions in 1993 after studying
fetal alcohol syndrome, which can afflict children bom to mothers who
consumed excessive amounts of alcohol during pregnancy.
The rate of children bom with the
birth defects is about 500 percent
higher on the Yakama reservation than
in society at large, Fiander said.
The rate of traffic deaths also is
higher, said Gary Carter, an environmental health officer for the tribe.
From 1993 to 1996, 78 percent ofall
motor vehicle deaths on the reservation were alcohol-related, compared
with 39 percent for the state of Washington and 48 percent for the nation.
For the last two years, the Blackfeet
Tribal Council in Montana has banned
alcohol sales during certain celebra-
YAKAMA to pg. 6
T\yo men freed
after questioning
in St. Paul slaying
By Heron Marquez Estrada
Star Tribune
Two men arrested in connection
with the shooting death ofa 19-year-
old St. Paul man were released from
custody the night of
Oct. 5 pending further
investigation, St. Paul
police said.
Benjamin Bennett,
the son of Audrey
Kohnen of Lakeville,
president ofthe Prairie
Island Mdewakanton
Dakota Tribal Council,
was shot to death the
night of Oct. 3 in front of an apartment building on St. Paul's East Side.
Police arrested two men Oct. 4 who
they believe were riding in the car
with the gunman. No charges were
filed, and the gunman is being sought.
Investigators believe the shooting
stemmed from a feud between
Bennett and the gunman. The victim
SLAYING topg. 8
Benjamin
Bennett
Tribe Accused of Drug
Program Abuse
By Mike Mclntire
AssociatedPress
MASHANTUCKET, Conn. — A
wealthy Indian tribe that runs the
world's largest casino abused a government health program intended for
American Indians by dispensing S5.8
million in discounted prescription
drugs to its non-Indian casino employees, a federal audit says.
In response, the federal Indian
Health Service said it will review all
prescription drug contracts with tribes
across the country.
The audit found that 82 percent of
the drugs dispensed under the program by the Mashantucket Pequot's
pharmacy in 1998 and 1999 went to
ineligible patients. The service said it
will instruct the Mashantuckets to
stop the practice.
Tribal spokesman Arthur Henick
said Oct. 9 that the Mashantuckets
disagree with the audit' s conclusions
and may appeal to top health officials
in Washington. He said there are no
immediate plans to scale back the
drug program, which he said allows
the tribe to provide prescription medicine at no cost to its employees.
The Mashantuckets run Foxwoods
Resort Casino, which takes in upwards of $1 million a day in gambling
revenue. There is no suggestion the
tribe profits directly from the sale of
the drugs. However, on its Web site,
Foxwoods touts its " no-cost prescription program with onsite delivery" as
a job benefit.
Health officials expressed concern
that including non-Indians who work
in tribal businesses could jeopardize
the future ofthe drug discount, which
some poorer tribes count on for affordable prescription medicines.
"Evidence of program abuse could
prompt Congress to reconsider the future of discounted drug programs,
which would ultimately affect the millions of federal beneficiaries who now
depend upon them for their health
care," June Gibbs Brown, the U.S.
Health and Human Services Department' s inspector general, wrote in an
Aug. 17 memo to the head ofthe Indian Health Service. Brown's office
ABUSE to pg. 8
Voice     of     the     People
web page: www.press-on.net
Native
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A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2000
Founded in 1988
Volume 12 Issue 51
October 13, 2000
Juel
Fairbanks: A
culturally-
specific
chemical
dependency
program
By Judy Archibald
Due to cultural insensitivity, most
mainstream chemical dependency
programs are not meeting the needs
of Native American Indians.
"Because of no smoking rules it
can be a fight just to have a pipe ceremony," said Audrey Fuller, a Dakota
from tlie Upper Sioux Community
who is Executive Director of Juel
Fairbanks Services in St. Paul, MN.
"Those kinds of policies make Native
Americans feel as ifthey don't belong just because they want to carry
out their traditional practices."
From art work on the walls showing warriors on horseback to the
eagle staff in the conference room it
is obvious the minute one enters the
administrative offices of Juel
Fairbanks that the agency celebrates
NativeAmerican heritage. Smudging,
sweat lodges, and pipe ceremonies
are an integral part ofthe program.
(Clockwise, top) Juel Fairbanks teepee adjacent to administrative offices,
Betty Bissonette, drop-in center, Audrey Fuller, Executive Director.
which serves mainly Ojibwe, Dakota/
Lakota and Ho-Chunk tribes. This emphasis on re-enforcing traditional Indian culture and self pride is so important that it can be the detennining factor in whether or not a chemical dependency program is successful for
American Indians.
The Juel Fairbanks Program seems
to be working - while 85% ofthe clients who enter tt-eatment are unemployed with two-thirds also homeless,
by the time they leave the program,
60% are employed and living in stable
homes. In addition, more than half remain sober six months after treatment
Though not fonnally affiliated with
Alcoholics Anonymous, Juel Fairbanks
makes use of their well known twelve-
step program which each client is expected to attend twice a week. "AA is
a beautiful thing," said Audrey. "At the
national AA conference held in Minneapolis during 2000, members of tlie
Native American Indian community
led the procession. Indians helping Indians is a very powerful message."
Audrey, who has a B.S. in Business
as well as a law degree and ten years of
experience working in the chemical
dependency profession is very aware
ofthe multitude of programs in the
midwest that are staffed by white
people serving Indians. "Mostly a lot
of white faces, not brown," she said.
"Many Native Americans have been
conditioned that only white people can
help Indians. This is just not true.
There are many Indian people recovering and sober who understand how to
be Indian and recovering."
Cunent board members, Sally
Hunter, Jeanette Loud, Lee Parks,
Loretta Gagnon, David Glass, and
Darrell Cloud represent several different tribes and tlie staff is seventy-five
percent Indian. When the agency was
formed in 1973 by two Native American men in recovery, Juel Fairbanks Sr.
and Edward P. Lafromboise the focus
was to serve Native American Indian
men. However, the program soon
JUEL FAIRBANKS to pg. 6
Get-out-the-vote efforts focus on Indians
Associated Press
GREAT FALLS, Montana - Political party representatives and nonpartisan, get-out-the-vote activists
are trying to increase voter turnout
among American Indians, as the
Nov. 7 election draws near.
Efforts to encourage Indian voting include headline events, such as
a recent Montana tour by singers
Indigo Girls, Bonnie Raitt and Joan
Baez, and behind-the-scenes action,
such as the Montana Democratic
Party's assignment ofa full-time
voter registration liaison to Indian
communities.
"We just feel that it's important
for Native Americans to vote and
we feel that our voice could be
heard if we band together," said
Christine Running Fisher, an independent activist who encourages
!
voting by people on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation.
"We're getting the message out to
younger people so they can hopefully
turn around and tell their friends and
family and get them registered to
vote, too."
Economic development is a theme
attracting attention among Indians.
Reservations are burdened with
high unemployment, and tribal leaders are interested in electing people
who can help bring jobs and financial
stability to Indian communities.
Indians comprise 5.9 percent of
Montana's population, according to
the 1990 Census.
Many Indians are keenly interested
in tribal politics, but often feel disconnected from what they see as the
"white man's government," said Gary
VOTING to pg. 8
Hunters warned
not to trespass on
Red Lake Tribal
Lands
Minnesota Department of Natural
Resources
Tribal game wardens from the Red
Lake Indian Reservation have been
ticketing hunters this fall for trespassing on tribal ceded lands within the
Beltrami Island State Forest in north-
central Minnesota, according to Capt.
Craig Backer, regional enforcement
supervisor for the Minnesota
Deptartment of Natural Resources
(DNR) at Grand Rapids.
Reservation ceded lands are par-
HUNTERS to pg. 8