Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2001-02-16

              INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
Commentary/Editorials/Voices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Classifieds 6-7
Fed-up and
disgusted with
Red Lake Tribal
Council
pg4
Ideas for improved
education, success of
Native American children
pgi
Tribes, counties
meet at historic
summit in Mille
Lacs
pgl
Bemidji likely to
get MIAC
advisory status
pgi
Commentary
MIAC badly in
need of reform
pg4
Ideas for improved
education, success
of Native
American children
By Anne Dunn
Mayetta, KS—Tlie Prairie Band
Potawatomi (PBP) Nation Human Services Coalition sponsored a Community
Conversation and Dinner at their Bingo
Hall, Feb.4, to discuss the importance of
education.
According to JOM Coordinator,
Juanita Jessepe, the community is concerned with low numbers of Native
American graduates, and poor standards
of education, particularly for young readers.
She said the high dropout rate is not
the student's personal failure. Her research indicates that many students have
poor attendance and are not completing
assignments.
Jessepe said, "Relatives must assume
responsibility to assist students. Helping
others is the Indian way."
She hopes to mobilize tribal programs,
and empower the community through
the Shisha & Zuck-wees Society, a natural helpers mentoring project, and die
homework lab project, which partners
the family and tlie school.
The answers may be found in: 1) Ac-
CHILDREN to pg. 5
Shooting Star Casino closes Great
Northern Restaurant in Fargo
But building lease continues through March 2004
Voice     of     the     People
web page: www.press-on.net
c*jw» * wnx.
By Jonathan Knutson and Gerry
Gilmour
The Fargo Forum
Shooting Star Casino officials Feb. 8
corrfirmed they are closing the Great
fcjw   Northern Restaurant
^v^   and Brewery in downtown Fargo.
But the casino will
maintain its presence in the Fargo-
Moorhead market through a new partnership with Sunmart stores. Shooting
Star kiosks will open in the four Fargo-
Moorhead Sunmart supennarkets, as
well as the Sunmart store in Fergus Falls,
Minn.
The kiosks will sell tickets for casino
events and offer shuttle service to the casino. There won't be any gambling in the
kiosks themselves.
"We've been happy to be able to provide transportation (from the Great
Northern to the casino) to our many patrons from the Fargo-Moorhead area and
we will be continuing this service"
through the kiosks, said David Bren, the
casino's marketing director.
Great Northern's 53 employees will
get first crack at staffing the kiosks and
also will be offered jobs at the casino, he
said.
News ofthe Great Northern's demise
was reported in The Fargo forum Feb. 7.
A representative ofthe group that owns
the Great Northern building said he'd
been told that the restaurant would close
Feb. 26. Casino officials declined comment until Feb. 8, when the company
said in a press release that the restaurant
will close at midnight Feb. 24.
Tlie restaurant is in the historic Great
Northern Depot building at 425 Broadway. The building was renovated in 1994
and opened as a restaurant/microbrewery
in 1995. The original establishment
closed in 1997. JJ's Bistro and Brewery
opened in the building in January 1998,
but closed six months later.
The White Earth Band of Chippewa
Indians reopened the Great Northern in
April 1999, hoping to parlay food and
beverage business there into visitors to
the Shooting Star Casino, Hotel and
Event Center at Mahnomen, MN.
"We knew Fargo-Moorhead was our
major market," Bren said. "We saw this
as a way to go into our major market and
see what kind of exposure we could get
there." •
The gamble paid off, but not as well as
casino and tribal officials had hoped.
SHOOTING STAR to pg. 5
Waubun-Ogema-White Earth alternative education
program reports higher than planned enrollment
By Ben Lathrop
Becker County Record
In an 864-square-foot "portable
classroom" behind the school in
Waubun, a handful of students sit
quietly at desks, studying.
A radio - one ofthe students' -
plays popular music at a level that is
neither overbearing nor inaudible.
Occasionally, the students talk to
one another. Mostly, they work; they
seem at ease here, content to proceed at their own pace.
John Clark, the director of this Alternative Learning Program, surveys
the students with a mixture of pride
and wonder. Some of these very students, he says, gave him hell last
year when he supervised the
school's disciplinary program. Not
anymore. "There are just no behav
ior problems," he said. "It's unbelievable."
Clark, a short, burly man with silver hair and a kind face, is a football
and basketball coach; he has also
become something of an advocate of
non-traditional education - at least
for students who don't thrive in traditional classroom environments.
The Waubun/Ogema/White Earth
Community Schools, one of the
poorest districts in Minnesota according to census data', began offering alternative education in September in response to rising concern
about dropout rates.
School officials estimated eight to
nine students would take advantage
ofthe program; to their astonishment, 30 have enrolled, including
one 35-year-old woman who
dropped out of high school and now
wants to get her diploma and pursue
post-secondary education.
So far, the results have been very
good. No one has dropped out or
been expelled; 15 ofthe 16 seniors
are on track for graduation. Students
say they're planning to go to college
or the military; approximately 13 of
them also say they would have
dropped out of high school if the
school hadn't offered the ALP.
Boyd Bradbury, who became superintendent ofthe schools in May
says the program is meeting a real
need. "We want to serve the needs
of learners who otherwise would not
be served," he says.
The program, of course, is not
unique. Districts across the state -
including Detroit Lakes - have alter-
SCHOOL to pg. 5..
Study proves tribe's economic
impact to Shakopee, Prior Lake area
By John Mueller
Shakopee Valley News
Shakopee Mdewakanton Dakota
Community Tribal Administrator Bill
Rudnicki says his message to the
Scott County Board is "undebatable."
County commissioners disagree.
On Feb. 6"', Rudnicki presented a
section ofa study prepared by the
finn Arthur Andersen that chronicled
the vast economic contributions the
tribe and its for-profit enterprises
have brought to the county, and region. He asked for nothing from the
board, a departure from the previous
evening's presentation when he asked
the Prior Lake City Council for its
support in opposition to a proposal
for a state-run casino.
The Arthur Andersen study indicates the community and its enterprises annually contribute S66 million
to the gross regional product.
Rudnicki said that study shows that
the tribe's employees account for 29
percent ofthe county's employment
growth between 1990 and 1999. The
community employs 4,700 people
full- and part-time and accounts for 9
percent ofthe county's total wages,
the study says.
The Andersen study says the
community's building activities during the 1990s have contributed to a
positive economic picture in the
county. The tribe spent S225 million
on the construction ofa community
center, water distribution system and
its for-profit enterprises like
Playworks and Dakotah Sports & Fitness. The community spent S135 million constructing its casino and S48
million on construction and expansion
of its hotel.
The study suggests that the number
of food and beverage establishments
in Scott County has increased over the
past several years, in part because of
the casino and other tribal enterprises.
Retail sales in Scott County jumped
157 percent between 1990 and 1998, "
the study says.
Court rules
Indian woman
must pay state
taxes
Associated Press
MADISON, Wis. - A woman who was
a member ofthe Menominee Tribe but
who worked for the Oneida Tribe must
pay state income taxes despite her status
as an Indian, the Wisconsin Supreme
Court ruled Feb. 13.
The state Supreme Court said a 1973
U.S. Supreme Court decision only ex-,
empts Indians from state income taxes if
their reside and work on their own tribe's
land.
Joan LaRock must pay income taxes
because she worked and lived with a tribe
other than tlie one to which she belonged,
despite her argument that she was "an Indian" living in "Indian country," tlie court
ruled.
LaRock was notified in 19% by the
state Department of Revenue that she
TAXES to pg. 5
s,v.vs,, v WHUV o Hyjw. SHAKOPEE to pg. 5 TAXES fo pg. o
Tribes pressing land claims as casino interest grows
Bv John Kellv lawsuit for a gaming license, and has     ervation.so it can open a casino.
By John Kelly
Associated Press
LUDLOW, 111. - The Miami Indians
hunted and fished this vast expanse of
farm fields and fonner prairie in the
Wabash River valley until white settlers pressed them west in the 19th
century. Their descendants, now living on a reservation in Oklahoma,
want their homelands back.
But people like John Stevenson, a
farmer who toiled for decades to
make his own home here in what is
now called Ford County see it differently.
So the tribe sued Stevenson and 14
other private property owners, claiming the land on which they live and
farm is part of 2.6 million acres of
eastern Illinois that the Miami people
were promised forever in treaties
signed almost 200 years ago.
"The roles have been reversed," said
George Tiger, a tribal spokesman who
expresses sympathy for the current
land owners. "The Miami people
were in the same situation in the 19th
century. So, yes, we can relate."
But this battle, like a spate of claims
across the United States, appears to be
more about getting approval for a
land-based casino than about recovering long-lost homeland.
Tribal leaders now play down any
interest in gambling. But their chief
has said he might settle the federal
lawsuit for a gaming license, and has
been working in Illinois with a developer who consults with several tribes
seeking to build casinos around the
country.
Gov. George Ryan contends that
tribal leaders have offered to settle
their claims for 5,000 acres and the
go-ahead for a casino. Ryan, who has
presided over the expansion of
riverboat gambling in Illinois, says
the state won't settle. The state isn't
named as a defendant, but is trying to
intervene to get the lawsuit dismissed.
Opponents say the Miami are
among a growing number of American Indian tribes using the threat of
long legal tussles in attempts to force
politicians to settle- for cash, for
land and sometimes for the right to
build new casinos.
"They held hostage thousands of
innocent property owners in the misguided belief that property owners
would besiege elected officials to surrender and give the Indians whatever
they wanted," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal,
who has battled casino-related claims
by the Golden Hill Paugussetts.
In Connecticut and New York, more
than a dozen tribes have sued for land
or bought it and then asked the federal government to recognize it as Indian ground so they could build casinos. In Kansas, the Wyandotte Tribe
wants two acres next to City Hall in
downtown Kansas City deemed a res
ervations it can open a casino.
In California, Wisconsin, Michigan
and Alabama, variations of such
claims for land, federal recognition or
both are ongoing with tribes seeking
to build casinos.
Experts said tribal claims are big
business, attracting wealthy investors
who pay legal and research bills in exchange for a share ofthe $10 billion-
a-year Indian casino business. In
2000, 195 tribes ran 309 gaming operations in 28 states, according to the
National Indian Gaming Commission.
One such investor, Thomas C.
Wilmot Sr. of Rochester, N.Y., said he
is paying for the Miami claim in Illinois and the Paugussetts' effort in
Connecticut.
Wilmot, chairman of shopping mall
developer Wilmorite Inc., told The
Associated Press he is building a new
company on investing in Indian
claims that could yield lucrative casino contracts.
His job as consultant also includes
lobbying Congress and federal bureaucrats who might make critical decisions about his tribes' claims. Federal records show Wilmot has also become an avid campaign donor.
Concerns that such claims could become epidemic prompted Sen. Peter
Fitzgerald, R-Ill., to propose a bill to
clear up a discrepancy in the law created by a 1985 U.S. Supreme Court
LAND CLAIMS to pg. 5
Native
American
Press
$
t&e>
Ojibwe News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2001
Founded in 1988
Volume 13 Issue 13
February 16,2001
Photo by Bill Lawrence, Native American Press/Ojibwe News
(right) Lorena Cook, member of Race Relations Task Force of Bemidji appears before MIAC in support
of Bemidji area's proposed addition to the urban advisory board. Also pictured (left to right) Joe Day,
Executive Director of MIAC, David Glass, current member of Urban Advisory Board.
Bemidji likely to get IVIIAC advisory status
By Devlyn Brooks
Bemidji Pioneer
MILLE LACS RESERVATION -
The Minnesota Indian Affairs Council unanimously approved adding
Bemidji to its list of cities that constitute its urban advisory council at a
quarterly meeting here Feb. 14.
The action means Bemidji joins
only Duluth, St. Paul and Minneapolis as cities that are recognized as being a home to a significant population of American Indian people, entitling those communities to have representatives on the Urban Indian Affairs Council. Indian leaders said the
new status will give Indians living in
Bemidji direct access to the MIAC,
which includes tribal leaders from
Minnesota's federally recognized
tribes, and ultimately the state Legislature and governor.
"We have a large population of our
relatives that live off the reservation
in Bemidji," said the urban advisory
council's chainnan David Glass, who
also is a Minneapolis representative
to the council. "We've been advocating for several years that Bemidji be
included on the council. We felt it
was a no-brainer. This will give
people a voice at the political and legislative level, which is important."
The urban advisory council is essentially a sub-component ofthe
MIAC, but Glass said the UTAC's importance cannot be understated. Being
recognized as an urban center means
the Indian population in Bemidji may
qualify for new sources of funding,
including funding to address urban
housing issues that the UIAC directly
oversees, and the attention alone will
focus a brighter spotlight on the needs
of Indians living in Bemidji.
In addition, Glass said Indians often
times are discriminated against when
trying to access federal or state programs that already exist to help eliminate needs in urban areas. So, with the
UIAC designation, the community
may qualify for new sources of help.
Minnesota Indian Affairs Council .
Executive Director Joe Day, who lives
in Bemidji, said the proposal that
came before the MIAC Feb. 14 was
the result of work performed by the
Bemidji Area Race Relations
Taskforce, which also advocated for
the change. In addition to the
taskforce's earlier success of getting
the Minnesota Housing Finance
Agency to recognize Bemidji as an
urban area, meaning more housing
dollars for the Bemidji community,
Day said the taskforce helped make it
an easy decision for the MIAC.
Red Lake Tribal Chairman Bobby
Whitefeather, who attended the
MIAC meeting, said the new urban
designation is an exciting development. As an Indian leader who is in
tune with the lack of resources available to urban Indian people, he said
the new designation may help Indians who have moved off reservations
Whitefeather said during the MIAC
meeting that what has happened to
Indians in urban centers is "shameless," adding that many ofthe homeless in the Twin Cities and even
Bemidji are Indians. He even admits
ted that until recently when a tribal
member educated the Red Lake
Tribal Council as to the number of
Red Lake band members who use the
services of Bemidji's House of Hospitality homeless shelter, he didn't
know how large ofa problem
homelessness is for Indians. In addition, he said he can't imagine what
the true measure ofthe problem is in
Bemidji because the Leech Lake and
MIAC to pg. 6
Tribes,
counties
meet at
historic
summit
By Devlyn Brooks
Bemidji Pioneer
MILLE LACS RESERVATION - Spirits were high early the afternoon of Feb. 14 among
county and tribal officials gathered at a historic summit here as they began to leam that the
most important issues facing their respective governments are very similar.
More than 100 elected and non-elected county and tribal leaders turned out for the morning
session ofthe first-ever Minnesota Tribal and County Government Summit being held at the
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe's Grand Casino on the Mille Lacs Reservation. The attendance figure not only pleased officials who designed and coordinated the summit, but led them to speculate that tribal-county partnerships on some issues may come to fruition in the near future.
"This is so exciting to see this room filled," said Carolyn Engebretson, a Becker County commissioner and a main designer ofthe summit. "This is a wonderful time to share with each
other issues that we can begin to build partnerships on."
The summit is being co-hosted by the Association ofMinnesota Counties and the Minnesota
SUMMIT to pg. 6
Congressman will ask Ashcroft to back away
from Indian land claims
Associated Press
BUFFALO, N.Y. -Awestern New
York congressman will ask new U.S.
Attorney General John Ashcroft to
adopt new policy and withdraw the federal government from land claim lawsuits involving American Indians.
In a letter released Feb. 10, U.S. Rep.
Thomas Reynolds asks the newly confirmed attorney general not to prosecute
a land claim lawsuit brought by the
Seneca Indian nation over 100,000
acres in Erie, Genesee, Livingston and
Allegany counties.
Under former Attorney General Janet
Reno, the Department of Justice has intervened on behalf of American Indian
nations in several such lawsuits. The Indian nations seek compensation for - or
the return of- land they say was ille
gally purchased by the state in the 18th
and early 19th centuries.
The land buys, the Indians say, violated U.S. treaties.
"The land claim suits prosecuted by
the (justice department) against New
York state have caused divisiveness,
anxiety and outright anger," Reynolds
wrote. He urged Ashcroft "in the strongest possible terms not to prosecute this
latest suit."
Justice Department spokesman
Charles Miller said there has been no discussion oflndian land claims yet in the
Ashcroft administration The department
had not yet received the letter as ofthe
afternoon of Feb. 10.
"I believe this would be the first instance," Miller said of Reynolds' letter.
Representatives of several Indian na
tions could not immediately be reached
for comment.
Federal courts already have ruled in
existing Oneida and Cayuga Indian land
claims that the state alone - and not
homeowners - should compensate the
tribes for their lost lands. The Justice Department in January agreed to exclude
individual property owners as parties in
New York land claims.
The Mohawk Nation has a claim to
15^287 acres in northern New York
The Onondaga Indian Nation has not
yet filed a land claim, but leaders have
said they plan to sue for the return of 100
square miles, including all of Syracuse.
Reynolds also will ask Ashcroft to take
the Justice Department out ofthe existing
land claims.