Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2000-12-08

              INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
News Briefs 3
Commentary/EditorialsA/oices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Classifieds 7
Mother writes about
living with AIDS,
statistics grim
pg4
FBI urges Clinton
not to free Leonard
Peltier
pg5
White Earth
Tribal Council
holds open
house
discussion
pgi
Ojibwe Indians honor
400 victims of Sandy
Lake Tragedy
pgi
Red Lake's
multi-million
dollar business
enterprises look
questionable
pgi
Red Lake's multi-million dollar business
enterprises look questionable
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By Bill Lawrence
Despite entering the bottled water
business nearly a year ago, and claims
that its products would be in Bemidji
area stores by last March, the Red
Lake Nation's bottled water business
still hasn't made it off the reservation.
According to sources close to the
situation, one ofthe reasons is that the
bottled water business's marketing
partnership with Coca-Cola of
Bemidji fell apart because ofthe Red
Lake Tribal Council's failure to honor
Coke's on-going distributing contract
at the Red Lake casino. The source
also told Press/ON that Coca-Cola is
now only interested in marketing the
bottled water business's "empty"
RED LAKE to pg. 6
Native
American
web page: www.press-on.net
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Ojibwe News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2000
Photo by Bill Lawerence
The Red Lake bottle water factory looks desolate Dec. 4 with no apparent activity taking place.
Founded in 1988
Volume 13 Issue 4
December 8, 2000
People's Church permit renewed
Mediation between Native congregation and neighborhood bring solution to impasse
By Molly Miron
Bemidji Pioneer
The People's Church operates under a special use permit and must go
before the Bemidji Planning Commission annually to stay in business.
The Planning Commission Nov.
27 approved the church's permit and
set the next review for Aug. 2001.
Although the Nov. 27 action was
brief and seemingly routine, the
People's Church permit renewal followed half a year of controversy.
The decision followed mediation
sessions with the Upper Mississippi
Mental Health Center and eventual
agreement between church members
and the residents in the neighborhood ofthe church at 824 America
Ave. N.W.
Before the mediation process began, neighbors said they applauded
the church's mission to help the
poor, but they brought forward a list
of complaints they believed violated
the Bemidji special use permit. They
circulated a petition in May asking
the city to withhold the church's permit and several meetings saw angry
accusations that the church allowed
minors to smoke, let garbage pile
up, caused noise pollution, operated
an overnight shelter and was the
headquarters ofthe pastor's roofing
business.
The Rev. Bob Kelly started the
People's Church as an outreach of
the Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America. When he received the special permit Aug. 4, 1997, the Planning Commission set three conditions: a maximum seating capacity
of 100, a requirement for annual review, and a limit of occupancy to
Sunday morning and evening and
Wednesday evening. Since then, the
last condition expanded in 1998 to
being open four days a week ad then
seven days.
Church leadership and the neigh-
CHURCH to pg. 5
Menominee
Indian Tribe to
receive certificate
Associated Press
KESHENA, Wis. — The Menominee
Indian Tribe lias earned a certificate of
self-regulation, one of only two tribes in
the nation to receive such an honor.
The Confederated Tribes ofthe
Grand Ronde Community of Oregon
also received a certificate from the National Indian Gaming Commission in
Washington, D.C.
The self-regulation program allows
tribal gaming commissions greater
regulatory responsibility over Class II
activities, which include bingo and pull
tabs.
The certification means fewer visits
by investigators or auditors and a reduction in the Class II license fee.
"It's a stamp of approval from the
federal agency that regulates Indian
gaming that says, 'yes, the tribe is doing
a good job of regulating itself,'" said
NIGC Commissioner Teresa E. Poust.
These approvals are the first certificates issued by the NIGC's Office of
Self-Regulation under its two-year old
program to reward tribes that have
worked to establish strong, independent
tribal regulatory bodies.
The investigators and auditors conducting the certification review looked
at the tribe's entire gaming operation,
Poust said.
The certificates of self-regulation take
eifect Jan. 1.
Utah Indian tribe to store nuclear
waste, including from Minnesota
By Hannah Wolfson
AssociatedPress
SKULL VALLEY INDIAN RESERVATION, Utah — Leon Bear knows
tlie boundaries ofhis tribe's land by
heart.
From the reservoir tliat provides water to his tiny village, Bear sweeps his
arm across the parched valley, pointing
out fences and smokestacks that ring
the last remnant ofhis tribe's traditional
lands.
To the north, a magnesium plant sits
on tlie shore ofthe Great Salt Lake; to
tlie south, tlie Army tests equipment for
exposure to nerve gas on a stretch of
desert as large as Rhode Island. A
bombing range and hazardous waste incinerator lie over the Cedar Mountains
to the west; a stockpile of chemical
weapons and the incinerator diat destroys them sit to the east.
Now the tiny Skull Valley Band of
Goshutes has agreed to rum its reservation into one ofthe country's largest
nuclear waste dumps.
Opponents, including other tribe
members, say the plan could endanger
people, the wildlife of tlie West Desert
and tlie region's economy.
But that hasn't stopped Bear from
pressing forward with the project, which
he says could be the only salvation for
his dying tribe.
If Bear gets his way, about one square
mile of tlie reservation will be fenced off
for nuclear waste, and 450 acres will be
covered with concrete pads. On top will
sit 16-foot-tall concrete-and-steel casks
filled with radioactive rods—as many as
4,000 of them holding 40,000 metric
tons of used-up nuclear reactor fuel.
The fuel will come from Private Fuel
Storage, a consortium of eight power
companies from California, New York,
Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Florida and Alabama,
including Xcel Energy of Minneapolis.
Neither the consortium or the Goshutes
will say what tlie deal costs.
Tlie consortium has promised to build a
cultural center on the reservation to revive the tribe's fading language and
crafts, Bear says, and has pledged to give
Goshutes and other tribes the first shot at
about 40 jobs at the site.
The money is sorely needed. Most of
the estimated 150 Goshutes have fled the
17,000-acre reservation. Fewer than 30
remain, most living in a tiny cluster of
run-down trailers. Jobs are virtually nonexistent
Some Goshutes say the plan is tearing
tlie tribe apart.
Gov. Mike Leavitt is trying to block
tlie project, saying transporting die waste
on Utah's rail lines could lead to a catastrophe.
Environmentalists say that the spent
fuel should be left at nuclear plants and
they should be shut when they run out of
storage space.
Despite the protests, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has already approved
safety measures forthe project, and Bear
says it's time for outsiders to admit they
can't stop it.
White Earth Tribal Council holds
open house discussion in St. Paul
By Julie Shortridge
As part of its effort to get out to the communities and interact more with
tribal members, the White Earth Tribal Council held an open house, dinner
and discussion Dec. 1 at Black Bear Crossings Como Park Pavilion in St.
Paul. They've held similar meetings in Cass Lake, the Iron Range, White
Earth, Ponsford, Rice Lake and Naytahwaush. The council plans to hold additional meetings in other reservation communities.
"It's a great way for us to find out what's on the minds of community
members and for
them to meet us
and see who we
are." said Vizenor.
"It's all part ofthe
process of having
conversation, asking questions, getting answers, making suggestions
and conveying infonnation so that
we can better meet
the needs ofthe
community."
"A lot of people
have thing they'd
like to talk to us
about, but don't really feel a need or
have an opportunity to make an appointment. This
makes it easier to
WHITE EARTH
to pg. 6
Photo by Julie Shortndge
(k) Whte Earth tribal counci members Gus Goodman. Erma Vfcenor, Doyte
Turner. Irene Aughaush-Turer. Terry Burnett. The blanket backdrop is a fcnted
edta! Pendeton designed by Earl Nyhold. a long tine Opue language teacher
at Bemidji State University. Only 1,000 of his canoe design bbnket were made.
Ojibwe Indians
honor 400 victims
of Sandy Lake
Tragedy
Associated Press
McGREGOR, Minn. - Some 4,000
Ojibwe Indians trekked to Sandy
Lake in northern Minnesota 150 years
ago expecting to collect the money
and supplies the federal government
had promised them by treaty.
But when the tribal members from
Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan
arrived in early October, tired and
hungry, they found no one there to
distribute the supplies. Waiting for
two months with no shelter and little
food. 170 died of disease, exposure,
starvation and other causes.
After finally receiving partial payments on Dec. 2. 1850, many headed
home. But with low temperatures, frozen waterways and a foot of snow on
the ground. 230 died en route.
On Saturday. 12 Ojibwe bands from
the three states will dedicate a memorial to the 400 dead and hold a 150-
mile run in remembrance ofthe 1850
Sandy Lake Tragedy.
"In terms of tribal people, this is an
event that was almost, lost to history,"
said Jim Schlender, executive administrator ofthe Great Lakes Indian Fish
and Wildlife Commission in Odanah,
Wis.
SANDY LAKE to pg. 5
Photo by Judy Archibald
Volunteers at the Department of Indian Works in Minneapolis help prepare grocery bags of food for
distribution to those in need. Services to low income families increase during holiday season.
Cross-Cultural Catholic community
encourages Native traditions
By Judy Archibald
The Catholic religion is filled with
rituals and traditions - usually its own.
But at the Blessed Kateri Community
in Minneapolis, Native American
spiritual traditions are an integral part
ofall Catholic ceremonies.
"Some Catholic churches on reservations are not as open to Indian tradition as our inner city church," said
Deacon Joseph McPherson. "It is left
up to the local bishop, and our bishop
is very high on Native American tradition."
Though the Blessed Kateri Community uses the same books and readings for weekly Mass as any Catholic
Church, since 1975 Eucharist has included Native American religious
songs and medicines. Participants sit
in a circle for Mass which begins with
the burning of sage. Before Deacon
McPherson reads the gospel, he
anoints the book with cedar and sweet
grass. There is drumming with traditional directional song and hymns
sung in Lakota and Ojibwe. An elder
offers first tobacco in place of prayers
of petition, then an elder woman does
the blessing of water before Father
James Notebaart says the Eucharist
prayer in Lakota and Ojibwe. On special occasions when a pipe carrier is
present, pipe ceremonies are conducted.
The artifacts ofthe altar which include deer antlers, eagle feathers,
sage, cedar, sweet grass, drums, and
two sacred pipes on a buffalo hide are
all prominently displayed before a
painting of Jesus and the Virgin Mary.
An eagle staff stands against a sweat
lodge made of willow adorned with
tobacco ties. Inside is sweet grass, a
Blessed Kateri statue, deer antlers,
drums and animal skins. "In the
middle ofthe lodge beneath the animal skins is the tabernacle," said Deacon McPherson, "which symbolizes
Christ as the center of community"
The Holy Thursday before Easter
every year, the willow lodge is cut up
and burned in the church yard as a
symbol ofthe death of Christ. On
Holy Saturday, the community builds
a new lodge which will remain inside
the chapel for the next year.
When a baby is baptized, the Kateri
Community adds a bundle of sage,
sweet grass, tobacco and cedar to the
Catholic rituals. "As a reminder to use
medicine in the right way," said Deacon McPherson, "And to walk the
right road."
The Community is named after
Kateri Tekakwitha, a young Iroquois
and Mohawk woman who devoted
her life to teaching prayers to children
and helping the sick and aged. The
daughter ofa Christian Algonquin
mother and a non-Christian Mohawk
Chief when Kateri was four years old.
a smallpox epidemic claimed the lives
of her parents and baby brother.
Though she survived smallpox, Kater
was left with a badly scarred face.
Within 15 minutes of her death in
1680, two Jesuit priests and numerous Native Americans witnessed the
scars on her face disappear. Kateri,
who was beatified by Pope John II in
1980, is expected to be named a Saint
next year.
It is ironic that during Kateri's life
time, Catholic priests condemned Native American Indians, taking away
their clothes, language, spiritual values, rituals, music, even their children
- dispatching them to boarding
schools where they were forced to
TRADITIONS to pg. 5
State-tribal talks
break down
ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Talks
broke down between delegates from
Alaska's tribes and the state of
Alaska on an agreement to work together as one government to another.
The agreement was supposed to
be finalized Dec. 2 but was broken
off after some tribal delegates
wouldn't go along with language
recognizing the state's sovereignty.
Attorney General Bruce Botelho,
who heads the state's team at the
talks, said the agreement must contain mutual recognition of state and
ALASKA to pg. 5
Tribal leaders won't give documents
to paper companies
PRESQUE ISLE. Maine -
Penobscot and Pasamaquoddy leaders
promised to continue to fight efforts to
make them turn over water quality
documents in a legal dispute with three
paper companies.
"We're trying to protect our people
and protect our waters," said Rick
Doyle, governor ofthe
Passamaquoddy Tribe at Pleasant
Point.
The governors met with other tribal
leaders and Maine officials on Dec. 1
at an assembly organized by the Maine
Indian Tribal-State Commission.
Three tribal governors - Doyle. Richard Stevens, governor ofthe
Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Town
ship and Barry Dana, governor ofthe
Penobscot Nation - were found to be in
contempt by a judge. The men avoided
jail time by filing appeals with the
Maine Supreme Judicial Court last
month.
Doyle's comments followed a four-
hour assembly that included a private
meeting between five tribal leaders and
Maine Gov. Angus King. Some ofthe
participants said part ofthe private
meeting dealt with the controversy
over who has authority of water quality
regulation near the tribes' lands.
More than 50 communities and
companies that discharge wastewater
DISPUTE to pg. 5