Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2001-03-09

              INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
Commentary/EditorialsA/oices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Classifieds 6-7
Commentary
Tribal members
should let voices
be heard at June 1
MCT convention
pg4
Native American
websites have more
traffic after merger
pg3
Commentary
Hats off to Red Lake
Tribal members who
are speaking out
pg4
jm~ *~,f Russ Archambault
a rebuilds life after U
| of MN basketball
2 scandal
I pgi
Court says tribal
documents not exempt
from Freedom of
Information Act
pgi
Gina Lemon - using knowledge to work for change
By Anne M.Dunn
Walker, MN — When Gina
Lemon was ten years old her
father told her something that
became the foundation upon
which she has built a life.
John Lemon Sr., an
Anishinabe Ojibwe, was born
at Onigum on the Leech Lake
Reservation. He was a
thoughtful, educated man who
gave his young daughter this
advice: "They can take away
our hair. They can take away
our clothing. They can take
away our language. They can
take away our natural resources. But they can't take
away our knowledge and it is
our knowledge that will bring
it all back."
He believed that education
was vital to the Native American community. From an early
age Gina was encouraged to
get the best education she could, then
use her knowledge to make changes
that would lead to a better life for
all."When we become educated," she
said, "we will do what we must do.
We will use our knowledge to get
back to who we were."
Her mother, Delores Lemon,
Oneida, worked as a nurse's aide in
Minneapolis where she still lives. She
is well read and knowledgeable. Because of her profession, she worked
out ofthe home for many years and
had high expectations for her only
daughter. Gina has five older brothers.
Although Delores encouraged Gina to
be independent, she also required her
to dress like a girl.
"When I was eight years old, 1
Gina Lemon
begged her for a
pair of jeans!"
Gina said." She
got me the pants.
But she didn't
want me to get
dirty. Sol
begged her to let
me play in the
mud, and she
did. I went out
and made a big
mud pie. I was
dripping with
dirty water!"
Gina
gives her parents
credit for starting
her down the
road she has
taken. "Make
sure you do your
best and work
for positive
change," they
said.
John Lemon told his daughter that
just because someone has a degree,
that doesn't mean they're educated.
According to Gina, education is not
about degrees and credentials. It's
about using what you know to bring
positive change to your community.
When she realized that natural resources were being depleted on the
Leech Lake Reservation she chose her
path.
Gina has worked as an Assistant
Environmental Specialist, and a Soil
Conservationist. Today she is a Cultural Resource Technician for the U.S.
Forest Service/Chippewa National
Forest/Traditional Resources Program
(TRP). Her immediate supervisor is
Mitch Bouchonville, Traditional Re
source Program Coordinator. Mitch is
from Mole Lake, WI.
The primary focus ofthe program
is to work with tribal members ofthe
Minnesota Bands of Ojibwe to identify and inventory traditional resource
use areas within the boundaries ofthe
Chippewa National Forest. The
boundaries ofthe Leech Lake Reservation fall within the boundaries of
the forest, and this is the only TRP in
the United States.
The Chippewa was the first national
forest established east ofthe Mississippi River. Created by an Act of Congress in 1908, it was initially known
as the Minnesota National Forest. The
name was changed in 1928.
Under section 106 ofthe National
Historic Preservation Act (NHPA),
enacted in 1966 and amended several
times, the effects ofthe activities of
the Chippewa National Forest on cultural resources must be given due
consideration. Federal agencies must
meet statutory responsibilities at the
early stages of project planning. Although it is only one ofa number of
federal laws and executive orders
dealing with cultural resources, it is
the one that with its implementing
regulations give very firm direction to
federal agencies.
The program was designed to
gather information about particular
classes of cultural resources. The recent concentrated efforts have been
placed upon religious practices, spiritual places, traditional gathering, and
values ofthe living community.
The Leech Lake Reservation assumed the responsibility ofa Tribal
Historic Preservation Office in 1996.
LEMON to pg. 6
Review: "Niwiijiwaagun, One Who Walks With
Me" poignant and humorous
Play written by Leech Lake Tribal College, performed at the Paul Bunyan Playhouse
By Jeff Armstrong
Written and performed by students
and faculty ofthe Leech Lake Tribal
College, the Bemidji Paul Bunyan
Playhouse production of
"Niwiijiwaagun, One Who Walks
WitJi Me," examines endemic reservation social problems such as alcoholism, despair and dependency
with poignancy and abundant humor.
Set on Leech Lake Reservation,
apparently some time in the future
(featuring as a backdrop an
Anishinabe astronaut and an indigenous television network broadcaster), the play focuses on the characters' struggles to find meaning,
love and community in their lives.
Niwiijiwaagun opens with two
bible-wielding sisters praising the
Lord for, among other things, the incarceration of their sister lone, on
whom the play centers. lone is seeking to return to her cultural traditions with the same fervor as her sisters cling to Christianity and is often
referred to as a preacher by other
characters for her critique of alcohol
and a government commodity-rich
diet. On the latter point at least she
finds ready agreement. As one character puts it, "Even my dog knows
enough not the eat the commods I
feed him."
At the Comer Bar, the audience is
introduced to lone's cousin, Punkin,
Mike Dahl, playing Punkin, practices
a few dance steps at rehearsal.
who steals the show with his alcohol-laced humor but later emerges as
the most sensible (but still funny)
character in the play after discovering sobriety. We also meet Gorgy
Beaulieu, lone's future co-conspirator who adds humor and also considerable musical talent with her under
stated background music which adds
to many scenes.
lone meets Babe, an employee at
the Commod Hut, who teaches her
how to net fish. The two fall in love,
only to be separated when the FBI
(perhaps anticipating an end to state
law enforcement jurisdiction) arrests
lone, Gorgy and a third character for
an ill-fated protest against the U.S.
commodity distribution system.
Babe is fired from his job as a result,
inducing bitterness and suspicion
that he was being used to further
lone's scheme.
Similarly, lone's fellow defendants
accuse her of trying to make a deal
with the prosecution, but it turns out
that she is taking the rap for the two
women she convinced to join her.
Alone, lone expresses regret for the
pain she has caused others due to the
narrowness of her thinking and
prays to Gitchii Manido.
A sober Punkin prevails upon
Babe to accept and act upon his love
for lone. Babe organizes a defense
committee and, thanks to his grandmother, hires an attorney to appeal
lone's conviction. Over time, lone
becomes a folk hero on the reservation and prevails on appeal after
spending four years in prison.
Even lone's moralistic sisters acknowledge her status while still reserving scorn for her actions. She is
REVIEW to pg. 3
Gambling profits
significant part of
Iowa's income
AssociatedPress
DES MOINES, Iowa - Gambling
profits have become a significant source
of income for state government inthe
10 years that riverboat gambling has
been legal in Iowa.
Ten years ago, the state collected
$46.2 million in gambling profits. For
the current fiscal year, diat is expected
to grow to $228.8 million.
"I don't think that anybody in the past
thought that this would amount to this
much money and that it would be this
significant," said WR. "Bill" Hansen of
Urbandale, chairman ofthe Iowa Racing and Gaming Commission.
The total 10 years ago included $38
million from the Iowa lottery and $8.2
million from racetracks and floating casinos. This year, the state lottery is expected to furnish $34.5 million to the
state while three tracks and 10 casino
boats are expected to generate $ 194.3
million in state taxes.
Hansen, a former state senator, said
gambling revenue has become the fifth-
largest source of money for the state
treasury.
He discussed a report on the growth
of Iowa's gambling industry at the
commission's monthly meeting in
Clive.
"We are a viable part of Iowa's
economy, and we are proud of that,"
said Wes Ehrecke, the executive director
ofthe Iowa Gaming Association, a ca-
IOWA to pg. 3
Lawmaker says no vote on
state-run casinos in Minnesota
Sen. Dick Day
dissociated Press
ST. PAUL - A state lawmaker says
he wants to hear
public opinion on
state-run casinos at
hearings this summer, effectively
killing proposed
legislation for this
session.
Rep. Jim
Rhodes said no
bills authorizing ca-1
sino-style gamblingl
off of Indian reservations will be
voted on in his Governmental Operations and Veterans Affairs Policy
Committee, which oversees gambling
issues.
'This isn't dodging the issue," said
Rhodes, R-St. Louis Park. "I want the
public to be aware of what we're doing and get out and talk about it."
The decision didn't sit well with
Rep. Tom Hackbarth, R-Cedar, and
Sen. Dick Day, R-Owatonna, chief
sponsors of identical casino bills.
"I think we need to sell it to the
Senate and the House of Representatives," Hackbarth said ofhis and
Day's bills. "I think it's already sold
to the people, and they're going to
vote it in."
The Hackbarth-Day measures, as
introduced last month, authorize the
Minnesota State Lottery to operate a
casino. But both sponsors plan a complete overhaul of their bills, changing
them to a proposed constitutional
amendment that would allow the state
to enter tlie casino business.
If voters approved such an amendment in November 2002, the details
ofthe state's involvement would be
worked out later. Hackbarth said the
legislative session next year will be
short. He wants to move the bill
through the House this year so that
proponents can concentrate on getting
it through the Senate next year.
"Since when can chairmen not hear
bills that mean millions and millions
of dollars for the state?''asked Day,
the Republican minority leader. "If
(Rhodes) doesn't like it, vote it
down."
Day hasn't received a hearing on
his casino bill. Sen. Jim Vickerman,
DFL-Tracy, chairman ofthe Senate
State and Local Government Operations Committee, has said he opposes
a state-run casino but hasn't denied
Day a hearing on his bill.
Not every legislator with a casino
bill opposes waiting until next year.
"I think that's a good plan," Rep.
David Bishop, R-Rochester, said of
holding summer hearings. "That's
what is necessary to develop public
support."
Legislators are skittish over the
prospect of voting on a casino bill
now, he said. With enough time, public support will develop and legislative support will follow, he said.
Bishop's bill authorizes a casino
that would be operated under the auspices ofthe State Lottery.
Voice      of      the      People
web page: www.press-on.net
Native
American
Free
iibwe News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2001
Founded in 1988
Volume 13 Issue 16
March 9, 2001
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Alyce Blue's rendition of Chief Joseph ofthe Nez Perce Tribe atthe scene ofhis surrenderto the U.S. Army
in 1877, with the sunset reflecting on the his face, the soldiers, and the sky behind.
Alyce Blue's
paintings
inspire hope,
W1I        sV
r
By Julie Shortridge
Alyce Blue paints from the heart.
"I like to do pictures ofpeople who
believe in humanity, who have
faith," said Blue during an interview
at her home in St. Paul. Her most recent painting of Chief Joseph - himself a man of great faith - was commissioned as a fund-raiser for the
Citizens Equal Rights Foundation.
Blue, a blonde-haired, blue-eyed
Caucasian, grew up near Grand
Forks, ND with an extended family
that included whites and Native
Americans. She married Jerry Blue
ALYCE BLUE to pg. 3
The excerpt from Chief Joseph's speech
two years later in Washington, D.C. to the
president and other national leaders reads:
"Treat all men alike.. .then we shall have no
more wars.We shall be all alike.. .with the
sky above us and one country around us,
and one govemmentfor allfhen the Great
Spirit Chief who rules above will smile upon
this land,and send rain to wash out the
bloody spots made by brothers' hands upon
the face ofthe earth..."
Artist proofs of the painting can be purchased for $75 by calling Alyce Blue at (651)
489-1775. Each is signed and numbered
and can be personalized upon request.
Russ Archambault rebuilds life
after U ofMN basketball scandal
A feature article about basketball star Russ Archambault
ofthe Standing Rock Sioux
Reservation appeared in the
Minneapolis Star Tribune
March 4. Archambault played
under former University of
Minnesota basketball coach
Clem Haskins, who recruited
him in 1996.
Archambault was a freshman
on the team that went to the Final Four in 1997. But Haskins
cut him early in 1998 when he
and Eric Harris, a senior co-
captain, left the team's hotel after curfew before a game at Illinois. Harris was benched for
the first four minutes ofthe Illinois game, according to the
Star Tribune article.
Archambault got caught up
in the rampant and systemic
academic cheating and cash
payments to players at the U's
basketball program, a scandal
that gained national attention,
and NCAA investigation, and
eventually cost Haskins his job.
Archambault has since
pieced his life, and basketball career, back together. Here's and excerpt from the
Star Tribune article by Chuck Haga:
ARCHAMBAULT to pg. 7
A poster announcing an upcoming game
features Archambault as star player.
Court says tribal
documents not
exempt from
Freedom of
Information Act
By Anne Gearan
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Indian tribes
cannot claim that correspondence
with the federal government is exempt from the federal Freedom of
Information Act, the Supreme Court
ruled Monday.
The tribes and the federal government had argued that seven documents involving a water dispute in
Oregon were protected under an exemption to the sunshine law.
The unanimous ruling is a blow to
tribes that hoped to stop opponents
in a water rights dispute from seeing
records passed between the tribes
and the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Four tribes claimed that because of
the special advocacy and caretaker
relationship between Indian tribes
and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the
records were protected in much the
FOIA to pg. 3