Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2001-02-23

              INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
Commentary/Editorials/Voices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events    5
Classifieds 6-7
Commentary
Red Lake's excessive
spending, debt
must stop
pgi
Wokiksuya
Remembrance at
Coldwater Creek
pgi
Bemidji added to
MIAC's urban
advisory council
pgi
Commentary
Red Lake businesses
failing, tribal finances
kept secret
pg4
•Commentary
Merits of state-owned
casino proposal debated
pg4
Wokiksuya Remembrance at Coldwater Creek
By Cheryl Lewis Fields
More than 50 people gathered last
week in double-digit subzero temperatures to honor ancestors who suffered
and died at Fort Snelling's concentration camp. Seventeen hundred Dakota
people were held captive there following the Dakota Conflict of tlie late summer 1862; 1300 were exiled in the
spring.
This was the first commemoration in
recent times to remember all those who
were imprisoned at Fort Snelling. While
there have been remembrances ofthe
Dakota 38, "We need to remember all
our hunkapi who spent that terrible winter here," affirms Bob Brown, Chair of
the Mendota Mdewakanton Dakota
Community (MMDC).
The commemoration was held at Fort
Snelling State Park at the site where the
stockade with its multitude of teepees
had once stood below tlie fort at the
confluence ofthe Mississippi and Minnesota rivers, the Mendota. Looking out
over the frozen landscape, Brown wondered if tlie ancestors had fires to warm
by and if the military even supplied
them with firewood. While many saplings today grow in the area, 150 years
ago this area was largely grassland devoid of burnable deadwood.
"Seventeen hundred of our people
were here, 1300 left. We know some of
our people... so-called 'Sibley's
ffiendlies'... remained here, but what
about the rest?" Brown challenges.
Voice     of     the     People
web page: www.press-on.net
Photo credit: Minnesota Historical Society
Historic photo of Fort Snelling concentration camp 1862-63 where 1700 Dakota people were imprisoned; 1300 were exiled in the spring.
Native
American
Press
f-
-tee'
Ojibwe News
"The military kept very good records.
We know there are mass graves here.
Somewhere here they were buried."
Brown felt it very important for the
Mendota Mdewakanton oyate to begin
the process of remembrance ofthe winter the ancestors spent at Fort Snelling
and to honor the memory of those who
died here. "This is the Mendota. We are
the Mendota."
The Dakota Conflict and tlie resultant
imprisonment and forced relocation to
distant reservations in the spring of
1863 marked a definitive turning point
in the history ofthe Dakota people and
way of life. Feb. 2 was selected as the
date of commemoration being right in
the middle ofthe winter season. Today
bundled in thinsulate and wool, shivering for an hour or two in windchills of
20 something below, one could hardly
fathom how bitter that winter of 1862-
63 must have been.
Mendota Mdwakanton Dakota Community Cultural Chair and Historian
Jim Anderson explains that many older
relatives, 75+ years of age, don't know
what happened here, adding to the difficulty of piecing together the past. He
expressed tlie hope that someday perhaps the names of those who spent that
winter here will be known.
A pipe quarried from Pipestoneand
artfully fashioned with the carvings of
COLDWATER to pg. 6
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright,.Native American Press, 2001
Founded in 1988
Volume 13 Issue 14
February 23, 2001
MN Indian
Affairs Council
adds Bemijdi to
urban advisory
council
By Devlyn Brooks
Bemidji Pioneer
The Minnesota Indian Affairs
Council (MIAC) unanimously approved adding Bemidji to its list of
cities that constitute its urban advisory
council at a quarterly meeting on the
Mille Lacs Reservation on 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 (UIAC). 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 to pg. 6
Racial profiling a problem
throughout Minnesota
Options discussed at Legislature
Excerpted from Christopher Sprung
The Fargo Forum
ST. PAUL, MN -The law enforcement
practice of racial profiling extends well
beyond the Twin
Cities urban core
and reaches deep
into the heart of
rural Minnesota,
advocates said
Feb. 12.
Recent debate
in the legislative
arena has largely
centered on pro-
tiling as an urban
problem predominantly affecting
blacks. But Hispanics, Indians and
other minorities scattered throughout
greater Minnesota also endure undue
scrutiny from police, advocates said.
Hispanics
"It's not just a metro issue, and it's
not just a black and white issue," said
Ytmar Santiago, executive director of
the state Chicano Latino Affairs Council.
"It happens all over the state, and it's
more real than people want to admit."
The term racial profiling refers to a
Ptwlo by Andtew Von Bnk
Laura Waterman
Woodstock
law enforcement tactic whereby police
focus their attention on motorists whose
race or ethnicity - taken alone or as part
ofa broader set of characteristics - may
fit a criminal profile.
Police are said to make pretext stops
for small offenses they normally overlook in other people - things like failing
to signal a turn or lane change - in order
to detain minority motorists.
Officers may then use the opportunity
to question and frisk drivers, run criminal background checks or search vehicles for drags, weapons or other signs
of criminal activity.
The only real offense, critics charge,
is that motorists just happen to be
ing while black." Santiago would add
"driving while Hispanic" to the list as
well.
In outstate cities like Moorhead,
Willmar, Pelican Rapids, Marshall and
Mankato, Hispanic motorists complain
they often find themselves stopped for
no good reason, she said
Indians
Joe Day knows the feeling.
Not so long ago, Day, executive director ofthe state Indian Affairs Council
and an enrolled member ofthe Leech
PROFILING to pg. 2
Indian reaction to
"Fighting Sioux"
nickname varied
AssociatedPress
GRAND FORKS, N.D. - While
_ ■«.-►»     some supporters of
UND     the University of
North Dakota's
Fighting Sioux moniker say the name is
an honor to American Indians, the
CHANGE    president of the Na-
TtW MftMC   tional Indian Education Association disagrees.
"They say we really honor you,"
Carole Anne Heart said at a meeting
here. "But as an Indian person, I don't
think anyone is honored by the name
Fighting Sioux."
On Feb. 17, more than 100 people
filled a room at the International Center on the UND campus where Heart
described the session as one of "enlightenment" regarding tensions over the
university's nickname.
As of last week. North Dakota's
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe began refusing to provide money to tribal members
who want to attend UND. Meanwhile,
some state colleges have offered American Indian students an instant transfer if
they want to leave.
But not all American Indian students
feel the name should be dropped. Eric
Enno has tried to support university diversity efforts, much to the criticism of
his peers, he told the group.
Enno and David Demontigny questioned why opponents of UND's Fighting Sioux nickname use Sitting Bull's
image in literature they publish about
the issue.
"People of non-Sioux origin taking
the image of Sitting Bull I think is very
disrespectful," said Enno, who says he's
both Chippewa and Sioux. "I wonder if
anyone called Sitting Bull's relatives to
ask if it was all right."
Instead of coming to UND to seek
changing the name, Heart said she came
to educate people about racial tensions.
Human-rights complaint filed over
Fighting Sioux nickname
Associated Press
GRAND FORKS, N.D. —A human-rights complaint has been filed
in connection with the University of
North Dakota's Fighting Sioux nickname, according to a newspaper
story.
The Grand Forks Herald reported
Feb. 13 that the complaint was received Feb. 2 by the U.S. Department
of Education's Office for Civil Rights
in Kansas City. The Herald quoted
Rodger Murphy, a spokesman for the
office, as saying the complainants'
names are being withheld because of
the Federal Privacy Act.
The newspaper said it had not received a copy ofthe complaint, but it
learned through a source it did not
identify that the complaint alleges a
hostile learning environment for
American Indian students at the
school. The newspaper's report did
not give specifics.
Murphy told die Herald that the Office of Civil Rights was considering
whether the alleged discrimination
violates the civil-rights laws it is required to enforce.
Psardon of dresamcatcher maker shows
game laws aren't taken seriously
Harvey Ghost
Dream of becoming an
Olympic champion
Photo by Mike Krieter
This story is about a Native American who has a dream of becoming an
Olympic Champion and a hero to the
Native Youth and Native Communities in the U.S.A. An interview with
speed skater Harvey Ghost.
Q: Where are you from?
A: I am from a little town in South
Dakota called Manderson. I also lived
in a place called Hot Springs, S.D.
But now living in Minneapolis, Mn
Q: What was life growing up like?
A: I remember as a kid I always
wanted to be a part of something
good and something that was going
to change my life... But growing up
on a reservation wasn't all-good. I
saw many of my friend's die and go
to jail due to drinking and doing
drugs. I used to dream that I was a
world champion runner like Billy
Mills and Jim Thorpe and I would
rim everyday to school or for the bus,
But it took alot for me to dream big
because ofthe life down there was
hard and other kids picked on me and
called me names because I was a
little different from them. I guess you
can say that I had a dream and was
going to chase itv
Q: What made you become a speed
skater on ice?
A: Back in the winter of 19881 was
sitting on the couch watching TV
and the Winter Olympics were on
and they showed speed skating, I
called my mom and told her to
watch and I was excited about it and
when it was over I told her that I
was going to do that someday and
be part of TEAM USA and race for
our people and make my family
proud and my friends, She told me
that if I wanted that to be my dream
she was going to stand beside me
and help me get there. She also told
me that I should never listen to what
other people say and that 1 should
make it happen and it was all up to
me!
Q: Where do you train and what
events are you in?
A: Well I am more of a sprinter and
I do my best times in short races, So
you can say 1 like the 500M and the
1000M and maybe the 1500M. 1
train mostly during the day and I ran
back and fourth to Colorado
Springs, CO and the Powerhorn ice
rink. I like skating by myself and
keep training hard until the time
trails this year and hopefully 1 can
make the best time I can. But over
all I diink I can do it! I'm also a
Professional In-line speed skater
and I have been for 6yrs now and
hope that I can keep racing until I
grow old or just to coach other kids
as well.
Q: Do you see yourself as a role
model?
A: Most of my friends will say that
I am a very humble guy and can
take jokes, but on the other hand... I
remember that one summer I went
home and I was in a parade and I
passed out candy and my post cards
to the kids that were down there
and when we stopped there was
about 50 kids that run towards me
and I was scared because 1 never
had alot of kids running towards me
and asking for my autograph, But I
GHOST to pg. 8
Excerpted from Dennis Anderson
Star Tribune
Of tlie 140 pardons issued by Bill
Clinton in the last hours ofhis presidency, two were to people convicted of
violating federal wildlife laws.
A Texas mai who in the late 1980s was
part ofa scheme to import pangolin
skins for use. in manufacturing cowboy
boots was pardoned. (Pangolins are
scaly, nocturnal anteaters that live in
Asia, among other places.)
Also pardoned was an Illinois woman
convicted of using feathers from protected birds, including an eagle, to make
"dreamcatchers."
The Illinois case is the more interesting, in part because one ofthe woman's
dreamcatchers was made at the behest
of an Illinois Democratic Party official
as a gift for Hillary Rodham Clinton
when she visited central Illinois in 1994.
Clinton ultimately surrendered her
dreamcatcher — which contained feathers ofa bald eagle, a goshawk, a barred
owl and a snowy owl — to U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service (USFWS) agents.
The case against Peg Bargon of rural
Monticello, 111., who was 39 in 1995
when she pled guilty in federal court to
misdemeanor violations ofthe Lacey
Act and the Bald Eagle Protection Act
has been a bit ofa public relations fiasco for the USFWS.
Bargon's lawyer, among others in Illi-.
nois, has characterized the service as
heavyhanded and overzealous.
Many USFWS law enforcement
agents disagree and privately fume that
the case illustrates anew that wildlife
laws ace held in low regard by many
Americans. The agents also say the media have inaccurately portrayed Bargon
as an innocent, herb-growing country
woman who innocently ran afoul of an
obscure wildlife law.
The case began June 30, 1994, when
USFWS special agent Tim Santel, acting on a tip from U.S. Attorney Frances
Hulin, saw sLx dreamcatchers for sale at
a mall in Monticello, 111. The
dreamcatchers, one of which was offered for $60, were labeled as "First
Lady Dreamcatchers," after a similar
dreamcatcher Bargon made for Hillary
Rodham Clinton.
Bargon has made no claim to American Indian ancestry.
According to court records, Santel believed some ofthe six dreamcatchers at
the mall contained feathers from migra-
PARDON to pg. 6
BIA approves Indian casino in Hudson, Wise.
New governor still opposes plan
Associated Press
HUDSON, Wis. — After years of trying, three Chippewa Indian bands won
federal approval Feb. 20 to open a casino with about 1,500 slot machines at
the financially troubled St Croix Meadows greyhound racing track.
The deal would still require approval
of Gov. Scott McCallum, who has opposed expansion of gambling operations in the state.
The U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs
agreed to place into federal trust 55
acres of land at the dog track for a casino, ruling the change would be in the
best interests ofthe tribes without harming the surrounding community, Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs James
McDivitt said
The decision reverses a 1995 ruling
by the agency that led to a lawsuit and
an eventual agreement by the BIA to review the tribes' application.
"We are pleased and thrilled," said
Gaiashkibos, chairman ofthe Lac
Courte Oreilles band of Lake Superior
Chippewa, one ofthe bands that would
develop the casino.
"We are the three most economically
depressed tribes in northern Wisconsin
with 10,000 members," he said. "This a
great opportunity."
In 1994, the Lac Courte Oreilles, Red
Cliff and Mole Lake bands ofthe Lake
Superior Chippewa proposed developing the casino in a joint partnership with
the Florida owners of tlie dog track.
The dog track is just minutes away from
the Twin Cities.
The bands operate casinos on their
reservations but they are in rural areas,
tar from a major population center.
Federal approval was needed for the
Hudson casino because it would be outside any ofthe tribes' reservations.
BIA spokeswoman Nedra Darling said
the decision to approve the project was
based on new infomiation provided by
the tribes, including a more thorough
assessment of projected benefits, incomes and employment from the casino
as well as the projected impact on
neighboring tribes.
One key to the new ruling is the city
of Hudson no longer opposed the casino as it did in 1995, she said.
Tlie project still must be approved by
McCallum to go forward McCallum
has vowed he won't support any casino
expansion, unless fonner Gov. Tommy
Thompson had made previous agreements.
State Administration Secretary
George Lightbourn said Tuesday night
that McCallum isn' t likely to change
his mind, especially for the Hudson proposal, which is opposed by St. Croix
County officials.
The Chippewa bands offered to make
between $72 million and $80 million in
payments over eight years to local governments, including the City of Hudson,
St Croix County and surrounding
towns and villages, for their support of
the project Gaiashkibos said.
Mark Goff, a spokesman for the casino partnership, said the dog track
would be partially remodeled into a casino with about 1,500 slot machines
and about 25 blackjack tables.
"Dog races would continue," he said
"This certainly would reverse die losses
ofthe dog track."
Gaiashkibos said the bands would
have to invest $15 million to $20 million at tlie dog track to provide casino
gambling.
"We would like to get this up and running by late summer," he said.