Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2001-02-09

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INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
Commentary/Editorials/Voices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Classifieds 6-7
Minnesota tribes take
week at Capitol
pg3
Commentary
Modular home
plant suspending
operations
pg4
Shakopee area officials plead
with BIA in Washington
pg 1
Proposal links stadium and
casino
pgi
Commentary
Tribal campaign contributions
influence casino-baseball
stadium issue?
pgs
Youth empowerment
workshop offers useful advice
by Anne Dunn
Eagle Butte, SD — Jim Picotte, Director ofthe HVJ
Lakota Cultural Center on the Cheyenne River Reservation, hosted a multi-generational workshop, Jan. 27. "I
wanted to bring the young and older people together, f
wanted our youdi to see what other native people are doing
in their communities and lives. 1 wanted our youth to be
encouraged to dream their dreams and become what they
want to be."
Youth Counselor, Wakiyan Peta, warned parents that
youth often get into trouble because they are seeking attention. He told the youth that many parents are poorly prepared for parenthood.
"They were removed from their homes and sent into
boarding schools or foster homes."
Peta was separated from his family at an early age.
"When 1 returned 1 felt shamed by the whites because I
couldn't speak English well. I was shamed by my people,
because 1 couldn't speak Lakota. Now 1 am learning our
language and our culture."
He said he always felt a need to prove himself. "I would
WORKSHOP to pg. 6
Proposal links stadium
and casino
Excerpted from Pat Doyle
Star Tribune
A former race-car driver and rare-coin dealer with a
contentious career as a gambling developer is the latest
person to pitch a private casino for the Twin Cities, touting it as the best way to pay for a new stadium.
James Belisle of Edina, the principal of Multi Gaming Management tne.,. has hired a lobbyist for horse-
racing interests as a consultant and plans to meet with
the governor's staff and leading legislators. He wants to
amend the state Constitution to authorize a casino and a
stadium that would be privately owned.
Nevada casino owner Don Laughlin and Los Angeles
billionaire Marvin Davis also have inquired about developing a Twin Cities casino. But in an industry synonymous with risk-taking, smaller developers can take
some of tlie biggest long-shot gambles. Belisle is that
kind of developer.
He has been working on the deal for a year, encouraged by Gov. Jesse Ventura's refusal to rule out the idea
ofa privately owned casino. The governor reiterated
STADIUM to pg. 6
Voice     of
he     People
Red Lake casinos,
Arctic Cat sign
agreement
By Devlyn Brooks
Bemidji Pioneer
THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. -
Snowmobile and all-terrain vehicle
MDrrSffAT nialv0r Arctic Cat, Inc.
l*L£
and the casino division
ofthe Red Lake Band
of Chippewa announced Feb. 6 a business partnership that
could outfit each of
Red Lake's casino
properties with snow mobile rental machines and other benefits.
In a ceremony the night of January
30th, company and band officials
agreed to a deal that will supply Red
Lake's Seven Clans Casino-Thief River
Falls with 20 to 30 rental snowmobiles
for winter use and ATVs for year-round
use. Other highlights ofthe deal, include
Arctic Cat helping Red Lake to design
and build a world-class snowmobile
racing facility at its Thief River Falls casino complex, Red Lake sponsoring an
Arctic Cat Rider in the major leagues of
snowmobile racing, and both entities
possibly helping to promote snowmobile racing events here.
Officials said that in the future the
machine rental program may be expanded to the casino in Warroad and tlie
soon-to-be-constructed casino on the
Red lake Reservation. Arctic Cat and
band officials also said the will work together to expand snowmobile train systems in northwestern and north-central
Minnesota, possibly connecting all the
casinos in the future.
Red Lake Tribal Treasurer Dan King
and the rental snowmobiles and future
amenities will fit nicely into the destination resort theme at the band's Thief
River Falls casino. In addition to a 151-
room hotel, the casino is attached to the
largest indoor water park in Minnesota,
which includes five slides, a children's
pool and a 400-person lazy river. The
water park sill is under construction and
is slated to open about June 1. The hotel
construction and the remodeling ofthe
current casino are expected to be completed by mid-May.
In the future, other casino attractions
could include a golf course and horse-
riding operation, King said
The casino and hotel construction,
about a $22 million project, was started
in spring 2000 and is part of Red Lake's
effort to turn its current casinos into destination attractions. Red Lake casino official shave said tliat dieir goal is to take
the average gambler and entice them to
stay for longer periods of time. One
way to do so is to provide entertainment
options for entire families.
Marv Hanson, the head of Red lake
Gaming Enterprise, said the Arctic Cat
deal isn't fully complete and that final
details still need to be negotiated. But
being Arctic Cat has a varied product
line and Red Lake has several casino  '
properties, he said the deal could grow
to encompass many aspects.
Joel Hallstrom, the Arctic Cat official
charged with working with Red Lake
Gaming Enterprises, said his company
also will benefit from the business deal
through increased sales and exposure,
but from the casino and hotel as well.
Hallstrom said that the machine rental
agreement is great for business, but the
proposed snowmobile racing track at
the Thief River Falls casino is an even
more attractive feature for the company.
He said if Red Lake and Arctic Cat can
partner to host one of snowmobile
racing's biggest races, the event could
draw about 10,000 people to northwest-
em Minnesota.
He added the new hotel space will
benefit his company because prospective clients and Arctic Cat customers
face a lack of hotel rooms in Thief River
Falls. Last year, Arctic hosted an event
in which they invited 400 of its best customers to Thief River Falls to tour the
plant and they had to place people at
hotels many miles away in Crookston,
Minn., and Grad Forks, N.D.
In addition, he said the opportunity
for the two entities to promote tourism
AGREEMENT to pg. 6
Ventura meets with tribal leaders,
repeats opposition to state-run casino
Associated Press
RED WING, Minn.-
Back from his weekend trip
to the nation's gambling
capital, Gov. Jesse Ventura
offered to promote tourism
on the state's American Indian reservations, including
casinos, as he met with tribal
leaders today.
Ventura said he has asked
his tourism director to help
tribes showcase cultural crafts and historical re-enactments in casinos because
they drive economic development
After a closed-door meeting with representatives ofthe state's 11 tribal governments, Ventura reiterated his opposition to a state-operated casino.
"The state should not be in the casino
business," he told reporters. "We have
enough to do.'"
But he stopped short of taking a stance
on a private casino and made no commitments to tribal leaders on specific legislation.
" He's looking at things objectively
and pragmatically," said Audrey
Kohnen, president ofthe Prairie Island
Tribal Council. " It's a good stand that
he's sticking to the agreement that the
tribes made with the state back when the
state authorized the tribes to sign the
compact to operate casinos in Minne-
Gov. Jesse
Ventura
sota"
Melanie Benjamin, chief executive ofthe Mille Lacs Band
of Ojibwe, said," When we
think about tribal gaming in the
state ofMinnesota, if it's not
broken, let's not fix it"
One proponent ofa state-run
casino, Sen. Dick Day, said it"
surely isn' t encouraging that the
governor would come out this
early" in opposition.
But Day, R-Owatorma, said he hopes
Ventura would reconsider his stance if
public sentiment favors a state casino.
"He's going to get a rude awakening
of how many people think that we
should have a casino," Day said.
Stanley Crooks, chairman ofthe
Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, said "1 don't understand why legislators would support competition to tribal
goveniment"
Under compacts between the state and
tribes, Indians have an exclusive franchise for slots and most other gambling.
In public remarks before the closed
session, Ventura also touched on health
care and education in tlie Indian community. He said he is willing to work with
tribes to better deliver services. I le mentioned several grant programs included in
his budget that allow tribes to get money
VENTURA to pg. 6
Shakopee area officials plead
with BIA in Washington
By John Mueller
Shakopee Valley News
Representatives of Shakopee, Prior
Lake and Scott County returned from
Washington, D.C. Tuesday, confident
they had made their best pitch on why
the Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota
Community's land-trust applicant
should be rejected. Whether the Bureau oflndian Affairs (BIA) is convinced is yet to be determined.
"We did everything we could,
stressed every point that was valid,"
said County Commissioner Barbara
Marschall of Prior Lake. "1 think between the three entities, we covered
every point."
"I think we helped better inform the
BIA on this matter," said Shakopee
City Attorney James Thomson.
The contingent from the cities and
county made the trip to Washington
because BIA staff were unwilling to
come here to discuss the tribe's trust
application. The community is asking
the BIA to place 776 acres the tribe
owns - 660 in Shakopee, the rest in
Prior Lake - into permanent trust, removing it from tax rolls and zoning
and environmental controls.
The application has been sent to the
BIA's national office. The Cities and
county had asked that the regional office be allowed to decide the issue. In
1998, Larry Motrin, the regional director ofthe BIA's Minneapolis office, rejected the tribe's application to
place 597 acres in Shakopee into
trust William Hardacker, the tribe's
staff legal counsel, said the tribal government believes Morrin erred in his
interpretation ofthe 1934 Indian Reorganization Act, which allows for
land to be placed into trust for Indian
tribes.
Shakopee City Councilor Gary
Morke, along with Michael Leek,
Shakopee's community development
director, and Thomson joined County
Commissioner Art Bannerman of
Shakopee and Marschall, and County
SHAKOPEE to pg. 6
South Dakota governor says he
persuaded Clinton not to pardon Peltier
By Chet Brokaw
Associated Press
PIERRE, S.D. - Gov. Bill Janklow
said he urged former President
Clinton not to pardon
American Indian activist
Leonard Peltier before leav
ing office last month.
"I am probably the one
who's responsible for
Leonard Peltier not getting
out," Janklow said Feb. 2.
Janklow said he flew to
Washington in early December and had a long
meeting with Clinton at the
White House. He told Clinton that
Peltier should never get out of prison
because he is dangerous.
"Leonard Peltier is not innocent.
He is a cold-blooded murderer,"
Janklow said.
Peltier is serving two consecutive
life sentences in federal prison in
Leavenworth, Kan., for the June
1975 killing of two FBI agents on
the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.
American Indian Movement
leader Vernon Bellecourt said Feb. 2
he would have expected Janklow to
oppose a pardon for Peltier. Janklow
was involved as state attorney general back in the 1970s when the FBI
Gov. Bill Janklow
and South Dakota law enforcement
agencies created an atmosphere of
terror that led to the deaths of the
two agents and an Indian man, he
said.
"We're not surprised that Wild Bill
Janklow who we refer to
not so fondly would
make that kind of statement and of course take
that kind of position opposing executive clemency for Leonard Peltier,"
Bellecourt said.
Bellecourt noted
that Senate Minority
Leader Tom Daschle, D-S.D., also
asked Clinton not to pardon Peltier.
When Daschle seeks re-election in
2004 and if Janklow ever runs for
office again, Indians will work to defeat them, he said.
According to the FBI, Ron Williams and Jack Coler were killed as
they searched on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for robbery suspects. Both were shot in the head at
point-blank range after they were injured in a shootout. Their bodies
were left on a dirt road.
During the next year, four men
JANKLOW to pg. 6
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A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2001
Founded in 1988
Volume 13 Issue 12
February 9, 2001
Bird count tops 38 species, includes rare
migration of owls
Excerpted from Chris Niskanen,
Pioneer Press and Molly Miron.
Bemidji Pioneer
Biologists say an unusually high
number of northern-breeding owls
have migrated into the state from
Canada, an ecological phenomenon
known as an irruption. The appearance of relatively rare great gray,
hawk and snowy owls has made
northern Minnesota a hot destination
for birdwatchers and photographers
hoping for a pee,k at the birds.
Great gray owls are being seen
frequently along highways in northern Minnesota, especially on routs
heading north to Warroad, Intemational Falls, Ely and around Aitkin
Large numbers of great grays have
been seen in the Red Lake Indian
Reservations.
"The last time this happened was
during the winter of 1991-92," said
Katie Haws, a nongame biologist for
the DNR in Bemidji. who says the
migration of owls from Canada is
presumably due to food shortages in
Photo by Monte Draper. Bemidji Pioneer
Photo by Monte Draper, Bemidji Pioneer
(top) A snowy owl perches on
a power pole in Bemidji. The
Bemidji area is experiencing a
major owl migration with several species not normally seen
being present. The owl has
been seen in various locations
in the area recently, (left) A
pine grossbeak pauses while
feeding on fermented berries.
The grossbeak was one of the
species spotted during the
2000 Audobon Bird Count in
the Bemidji area.
their usual areas.
Other findings from the 2000
Christmas Audubon Bird Count of
Dec. 16, 2000 in the Bemidji area included some unusual and not-so-unusual findings.
Eight bird watchers turned out on a
cold, windy day to cruise a seven mile
radius circle and count birds. The census counted 1,102 individual birds of
36 species. In 1999, an abnormally
mild December, 43 species were
sighted on count day.
Besides the unusual sighting ofa
great gray owl, birdwatchers also
spotted an American robin.
"Missing this year were the Bohemian waxwings and there were very
few evening grosbeaks sighted,"
Haws said. "The number of goldfinches was high."
Bemidj i's count has been going on
since 1978. Haws said the average
number of species sighted on count
day is 30. The low was 23 species in
1985 and the high was I999's 43,
Four nonvoting
legislative seats
proposed for
Wisconsin
native leaders
Associated Prvss
- MADISON, Wis. -Wisconsin's Indian tribes could bring a new perspective to the state Legislature if they had
four nonvoting seats, Senate Majority
Leader Chuck Chvala, D-Madison,
said.
"If s a great opportunity for us to enhance the level of debate in the Senate
and Assembly," Chvala said at the
opening session ofa conference on improving state-tribal relations.
Under Chvala's proposal, the tribes
would have three delegates to the 99-
member Assembly and one to the 33-
member Senate. Wisconsin's 11 tribes
could rotate representatives each session.
Oneida Tribal Chainnan Gerald
Danforth said he wanted to see more
details about tlie plan, but agreed Native Americans need legislative representation.
Chvala said tribal delegates could
participate in legislative committees
and Senate and Assembly debate.
Tribal leaders said the relationship
between tlie tribes and the state is tense.
Robert Chicks, president of the
Stockbridge-Munsee band of Mohican
NONVOTING to pg. 6
Gov. Scott
McCallum
Wisconsin Governor McCallum:
Off-reservation casino plans doomed
AssociatedPress
MILWAUKEE - The plans of Wisconsin Indian tribes tliat want to open casinos
off their reservations are doomed, new Gov. Scott McCallum says.
"I've said there will be no expansion of gambling in Wiscoasin, off-reservation
gambling," McCallum said in an interview Feb. 1 with the Milwaukee Journal
Sentinel before being sworn in as the state's chief executive.
"There are four areas that have been in the works: Beloit,
Lafayette County, Hudson and Kenosha," McCallum said. "They
can save their money as of noon on Thursday. If contracts
haven't been committed to, if they're not signed they're done."
The Menominee tribe has proposed buying the Dairyland
Greyhound Park at Kenosha and putting a $275 million casino
complex there.
Joseph Madrigrano, a Kenosha lawyer and investor in the
project there, said it was time to accept the inevitable.
"He's the governor now," Madrigrano said of McCallum. "I
guess it's over."
Kenosha Mayor John Antaramian expressed a similar view.
"It's over! It's done! Put a stake in it," he said.
Antaramian said it was time for Kenosha to move on and pursue alternative developments to bolster the local economy.
Tlie U.S. Bureau oflndian Affairs has not yet ruled on bids for casinos in
Kenosha or Hudson, but even if the agency approved the deals, tlie governor has
the power to kill them.
George Lightbourn, state secretary of administration for former Gov. Tommy
Thompson and now for McCallum, said Thompson made no commitments to the
deal Thursday and there were no more discussions about the casino before Thompson formally resigned as governor.
Roy Berger, Dairyland's executive vice president, held out hope that McCallum
might be persuaded to change his mind, if the project wins federal approval.
"The big obstacle we have is getting the project out ofthe Bureau oflndian Affairs in Washington." Berger said. "Once we do that, I think then you can sit down
and. hopefully, the governor will be receptive."
Mark Goff, a spokesman forthe proposed Chippewa Meadows casino in
Hudson, declined to comment on McCallum's remarks.
The Hudson casino is backed by tlie Sokaogon, Red Cliff and Lac Courte
Oreilles Chippewa bands and the owner ofthe St. Croix Meadows dog track.
MCCALLUM to pg. 6