Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2001-01-12

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INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
News Briefs 3
Commentary/EditorialsA/oices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Classifieds 7
Commentary
17th Annual Mille
Lacs State of the
Band different
than others
pg4
Eleanor Favell,
women's shelter
director, dies at 45
pg3
Red Lake
moves forward
with expansion,
new casino
plans
pgi
Benjamin
delivers tough
message to
Mille Lacs tribe
pgi
Canadian tribes face
similar problems as
American tribes, for
same reasons
pgi,4
Developers strike
compromise over
burial grounds
Associated Press
WHITE BEAR LAKE, Minn. - A
luxury townhouse developer and area
residents determined to protect an
American Indian burial site in this St.
Paul suburb have agreed to a compromise that pleases all sides.
A vacant, century-old house is to be
moved this month to make room for
eight townhouses. That new development, designed for people 55 and
older, will bracket a wooded mound
believed to contain tlie remains of
people who lived along the lake 700
years ago- if not centuries earlier.
State archaeologist Mark Dudzik
said there's a "high likelihood" that
the gentle rise of land - 54 feet in diameter and dotted with pine trees - is
the last unspoiled mound in a series
of burial sites along White Bear Lake.
Insurance maps from the 1880s
identify 10 such sites. The rest of
them were dug up in 1889 or in the
1930s when Highway 61 was widened.
In the corner ofthe Union Cemetery about a half-mile west ofthe
site, a flat headstone placed in 1989
reads: "Here lies the remains removed
during the destruction of tlie Indian
Burial Mound at Lake Avenue and
Shady Lane in April 1889."
BURIAL GROUNDS to pg. 8
Canada's tribal women fight
(mostly male) graft
By James Brooke
New York Times
DAKOTA PLAINS, Manitoba —
Against a winter prairie backdrop of
bare trees, honking Caiada geese, and
four-wire fences, Leona Freed stands
out larger than life. Eyes blazing and firing verbal buckshot, she is a new kind
oflndian radical.
Her primary targets are not white
people, but rather Canada's tribal chiefs,
whom she accuses of "rigging elections,
stealing government money, and going
on fancy gambling vacations in the
States, while their people live in third
world poverty."
"If the non-natives operated their
businesses like the chiefs, they would be
in jail," said Mrs. Freed, who is 48 years
old and pays household bills by bagging onions at $5.20 an hour. Her husband, Glen Freed, has had a towing
business.
Mrs. Freed one parent was Sioux
and the other Ojibway is part ofa
loosely organized new movement
largely made up oflndian women who
are taking on Canada's native establishment and are determined particularly
after embarrassing and well-publicized
corruption scandals to make clear how
the equivalent of $4 billion American is
spent on Canada's one million indigenous people, including Inuit and others.
Unchecked corruption and nepotism
pushed these women to violate a central
tenet of minority group politics: break
ing ranks when dealing with the white
majority.
Mrs. Freed is president ofthe
Manitoba chapter of tlie First Nations
Accountability Coalition. In
Saskatchewan tlie anti-corruption
group's chapter is led by Rita Galloway.
Farther west, in Alberta, the clean government fight is led by Yolanda Redcalf,
a 33-year-old Cree woman who has
gone on hunger strikes outside tribal offices to demand accountability. And in
British Columbia, it is Meaghan
Walker-Williams, a 28-year-old woman
who formed the Somena Governance
Society to prod tribal leaders on
Vancouver Island to open up closely
guarded tribal accounts for public scrutiny.
This noisy clean government movement is propelled by quiet changes in
Indian society.
Over the last 30 years, the number of
Canadian Indians with college degrees
has grown to about 150,000 today. Increasingly business oriented, Canadian
Indians under age 30 are more likely to
start their own businesses than their
counterparts in other ethnic groups.
These better- educated tribal members
are demanding modem accounting of
tribal budgets and a stop to patriarchal
ways.
"Who are we going up against?
Mostly males," said Mrs. Freed, who
added that tribal chiefs often have tlie
power to withhold welfare and college
CANADA to pg. 8
Benjamin delivers tough message to Mille Lacs tribe
Associated Press reducing unemployment from about 50
percent to around 20 percent.
ONAMIA, Minn. — Melanie Ben- While Anderson's projects won
jarmn, ui her first State ofthe Band ad-     praise fmm ^und ^ ^^ ^ fa.
dress since being elected
Mille Lacs Band of
Chippewa tribal chief
executive last June, delivered a tough message
urging members to take
more responsibility for
their lives and for their
tribe.
She said the band
must overcome problems with drugs and violence on the reservation
and do a better job of
spreading tlie economic
benefits of casino gambling.
"Somehow, too many band members
have missed out on the explosion of our
tribal economy," she said
Benjamin unseated Marge Anderson,
who had overseen the growth of Grand
Casinos at Mille Lacs and Hinckley, the
establishment of small businesses and
the development of schools and medical
facilities on the reservation.
Anderson's administration reported
Melanie Benjamin
sighted, some members of her band
complained that she
didn't share enough
casino profits with
individuals.
Benjamin's
speech Jan. 9 to 600
tribal members and
non-Indians at the
conference center of
the Mille Lacs casino, about two
hours north ofthe
Twin Cities, acknowledged
progress made under the previous administration. But it painted a less-than-
rosy portrait ofthe reservation's casino-
driven economy.
"My administration has inherited an
economy that is the strongest in the history ofthe band, but is weakened by
business failures...increasing inequality
between the haves and the have-nots
and deep divisions among our people,"
she said
"Our new tribal economy has already
enriched the lives of many band members who are able to compete and win
in it," she said. But she added tliat "most
people are working harder for
less...some expect to be given more for
less...(and) others cannot work at all."
While Benjamin challenged tribal
members to have "the courage to chart a
new direction," she offered few specifics
and didn't mention increasing the annual casino profit-sharing bonuses.
During the election campaign, some
band members said they supported
Benjamin because they saw her as more
likely thin Anderson to consider raising
the annual bonuses that total S1,500 per
member.
Benjamin did not endorse an increase
in profit-sharing during aign,
but called for fuller disclosure of casino
profits and spending as a first step in deciding wliat to do about payments to
members.
Benjamin on Jan. 9 reminded members that she has held three public meetings on tlie payments since taking office
and said there will be many more. I
need your input. Be brave enough to
participate. Be bold enough to risk that
others may not like your idea."
Nature Conservancy buys "Everglades"
on Bad River Reservation
By Steve Kuchera
Duluth News Tribune
In a move to help protect the "Everglades ofthe North," the Wisconsin
Chapter ofThe Nature Conservancy
has purchased 2,346 acres on the Bad
River Reservation east of Ashland.
The property — in 35 parcels of 20
to 300 acres — includes more than
four miles of frontage on the Bad and
White rivers and smaller streams, as
well as 825 feet of Lake Superior
shoreline.
The property is forested with hardwoods and conifers, and it includes
some wetlands.
Proper management ofthe land will
help prevent soil erosion and protect
water quality in the rivers and the
Kakagon-Bad River Sloughs —
16,000 acres of wetlands that have
been called the Everglades ofthe
North. The wetland complex, Lake
Superior's largest estuary, is a federally designated National Natural
Landmark.
The purchase — the largest in the
chapter's 40 years — was jointly announced Jan. 5 by The Nature Conservancy and Stora Enso North
America.
The Nature Conservancy bought the
property from Stora Enso North
America for less than $200 an acre,
said Matt Dallman, TNC's
Chequamegon Bay Watershed Project
director.
The Nature Conservancy plans to
eventually turn the property over to
the Bad River Band of Lake Superior
Chippewa Indians.
"The tribe will be empowered to
manage the lands for the protection of
natural resources and for tribal members,' said Tom Doolittle, a wildlife biologist with the band.
Only about 53 percent ofthe reservation is under tribal control.
'Tribal sovereignty is something that
BAD RIVER to pg. 4
Growing school
population causes
crunch at Red
Lake
By Brad Swenson
Bemidji Pioneer
RED LAKE, Minn. - Schools here
are bursting at the seams, causing Red
Lake School District officials to again
ask the Minnesota Legislature for more
building funds.
"Most rural areas are losing people,
losing students," Red Lake schools Superintendent Stuart Desjarlait said Jan. 7
during a town meeting hosted by Senate
Majority Leader Roger Moe and Rep.
Rod Skoe. "Red Lake is growing."
The district won $11.2 million from
the Legislature last year for elementary
school expansion projects at Red Lake
and Ponemah, but Desjarlait said the
district will be back again in 2002 to ask
SCHOOL to pg. 8
Win-E-Mac School
Win-E-Mac report on alleged racism could end investigation
Associated Press
BEMIDJI, Minn. - Tlie Win-E-Mac
School District has filed a report with the
U.S. Department of Education that will
likely end an investigation into alleged
racism at a pep rally.
The department will review the report,
filed last week, to guarantee that the district has completed five courses of action
outlined in a resolution agreement The
review could take up to a month.
"Generally, when they get down to that
last reporting period, we find that they've
adhered to all the elements of that agreement," said Roger Murphy, a spokesman
for the Education Department's Office
for Civil Rights.
"And then we close the case out and
it's all wrapped up."
Deanne Fox, who is American Indian,
filed a civil rights complaint in April saying that her two sons, who were enrolled
in the district, were assaulted by other
students after the rally.
The rally was held at the high school
in Erskine to get saidents excited for a
sectional basketball game against the
Red Lake Warriors, a team from the Red
Lake Indian Reservation.
During the rally, several teachers
dressed as stereotypical American Indians and danced to a "tom-tom" beat.
Dressed as a cowboy, another teacher put
his hands on holstered toy pistols and told
the Indians to "get back to the reservation."
Win-E-Mac is a consolidated school
district that includes Winger, Erskine and
Mcintosh, about 50 miles west of
Bemidji. The rally took place at the
district's high school in Erskine.
The agreement between the district and
the Education Department -through five
courses of action - essentially required
the school district to provide cultural
awareness training for its staff and students.
Superintendent Gail Sells said in December tliat much of what the school had
to do to satisfy the resolution agreement
already had been planned as part ofthe
district's cultural awareness curriculum.
At that time, the district also released a
statement depicting a cultural awareness
session it sponsored for students and
staff, one ofthe agreement's requirements.
"The presentation was designed to increase the students' understanding of persons from diverse cultural backgrounds,
generally, and Native Americans, specifically," Sells said.
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Volume 13 Issue 8
January 12, 2001
\RedLake officials say purchase of Warroad Cherney
property may prompt wide-ranging development
Photo credit: Develyn Brooks, Bemidji Pioneer
Looking west from near the southern edge of Cherney property, you see the mouth of the Warroad River,
which opens into Lake of the Woods. The Red Lake Band of Chippewa recently purchased this land in
hopes of building a destination resort to add to the casino, restaurant and hotel they own in Warroad.
By Devlyn Brooks
Bemidji Pioneer
Warroad, Minn. - Electricity is in
", •v. an as a small group of Red !
Band of Chippewa officials size up
the landscape.
One points to tlie north where he
knows lies the southern shore of Lake
ofthe Woods, but it remains unseen.
Another chit-chats about the proximity ofthe Warroad River, a scant hundred yards to the west. Still another
marvels at the stately bam farmed by
various pine trees to either side, a
scene seemingly stolen from the front
ofa Christmas card.
All say they feel it.... Tliat something big is going to happen here.
"We're thinking of putting in
townhouses there, a marina over
there, possibly an indoor water park,
maybe a snowmobile track," said
Tribal Treasurer Dan King. "There's
just all kinds of potential."
King is standing on 160 acres of
land recently purchased by the Red
Lake Band of Chippewa, a chunk of
undeveloped land the band hopes will
lure people to the northern tip of
Minnesota.
King and Tribal Chairman Bobby
Whitefeather say the land is a crucial
piece ofthe plan to expand the band's
economic opportunities in this resort
town that is underdeveloped.
"This could surpass Thief River
upon how Warroad
grows as a destination point.
Whitefeather said, referring to the
band's flagship casino-hotel operations
in northwestern Minnesota.
The land
Kinsi said the band plunked down
5590,000 last July for the land, a local
hallmark.
Sitting simultaneously on the eastern
edge of where foe Warroad River enters Lake ofthe Woods, the land offers
several hundred feet of prime
lakeshore. A stately, large four-bedroom home sits at the southern end of
tlie property and a massive bam sits at
tlie other end.^ A paved driveway leads
past the house to the bam and farther.
Antique-looking street lamps follow
tlie driveway all the way to the bam.
Known as the Cherney property, it
used to belong to the family of the
same name, a once-prominent
Warroad family. But decades ago the
family moved away and they recently
have been using the place only as a
summer retreat three to four weeks a
year.
A prime piece of land, people tried
bidding for the property over the
years, according to Warroad Mayor
Bob Marvin. But before the band
pur-chased the property last year, the
locals were told the laid wasn't for
sale.
The grand plan
Red Lake recently completed about
a $1 million temporary expansion of
its casino here in Warroad, purchased
a 41-room Super 8 Motel and built an
up-scale restaurant that sits on the
picturesque southern shore of Lake of
the Woods two years ago.
Tribal officials say the purchase of
the Chemey property, which could be
home to a resort, marina and water
park, is a natural expansion of their
business presence in Warroad, a place
locals call the best kept vacation secret in Minnesota.
Red Lake is betting on it.
By the time the band finishes its
face lift ofthe older casino this
spring, the band will have spent about
$5 million here in the last couple of
years.
That leaves them with the casino, a
restaurant and motel. Now they want
RED LAKE to pg. 8
Red Lake
announces
new casino
By Devlyn Brooks
Bemidji Pioneer
The Red Lake Band of Chippewa
announced Jan. 10 it will build a new
60,000-squarae-foot casino and hotel
at the southern edge ofthe Red Lake
Reservation, east ofMinnesota State
Highway 89.
Tribal Chairman, Bobby
Whitefeather said the Red Lake
Tribal Council voted unanimously to
approve the plan, which includes a
target opening date of Dec. 31.
"It's been said for some time that
we should have a nice casino on Red
Lake, something people will be
proud of," Whitefeather said. "But
we will be watching it carefully because it has to be profitable. It will
be a modest beginning to what could
be a gaming complex."
The $6 million to $8 million facility will include 10,000 square feet of
gaming space to accommodate 400
Las Vegas-style slot machines and
four blackjack tables, said Marvin
Hanson, Red Lake's top gaming official. In addition, plans call for a new
bingo hall, buffet restaurant, 40-unit
hotel and a small-scale indoor water
park.
The new casino will replace the
existing Seven Clans-Red Lake Casino in the village of Red Lake. That
casino, located in the Red Lake Hu-
Photo credit: Develyn Brooks, Bemidji Pioneer
Red Lake Band of Chippewa officials pose for photographs at the recent grand opening of the new addition at the band's Seven Clans Ca-
sino-Warroad. Standing (l-r, front row) Marv Hanson, Tribal Chairman
Bobby Whitefeather, Tribal Treasurer Dan King and Tribal Council Representative Harlan Beaulieu.
manities Building, was built in 1993
to accommodate tribal members'
wishes to build a casino on the reservation. Tlie band built its first two casinos in Warroad and Thief River
Falls. Upon completion ofthe new casino the Humanities Building will be
returned for use to the community of
Red Lake, Whitefeather said.
Tribal Treasurer Dan King said the
band currently is selecting a company
to help finance the project and band
officials also are selecting architectural and construction firms. He
added tliat constructions could begin
as soon as June.
King said the results of an independent marketing survey conclude that a
facility of up to $12 million could
prosper in the new location. But the
Tribal Council decided to build conservatively, spending only one-half to
to-thirds that much. If the first phase
ofthe venture is successful, he said it
will be easy to expand the casino as
the band has at its Thief River Falls
and Wanoad facilities.
NEW CASINO to pg. 8