Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2001-03-16

              INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
Commentary/Editorials/Voices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Classifieds 6-7
Commentary
State needs to
develop clear policy
for review of tribal
court decisions
pg4
Commentary
Newspaper
plays an
important role
pg4
Commentary
Newspaper irresponsible
to publish letters without
a name
pg4
Tribal casino interests
contributed over $40
million
pgi
Illegal process, Red Lake
tribal courts: State legal
system fails mother and
daughter
pgi
Illegal process. Bed Lake tribal courts
STATE LEGAL SYSTEM FAILS A YOUNG MOTHER AND DAUGHTER
Voice     of     the     People
web page: www.press-on.net
By Bill Lawrence and Clara NiiSka
Press/ON has learned from court
documents that a Minnesota State
court in Beltrami County took away a
Leech Lake tribal member's legal custody of her daughter—by rubber-
stamping an ex parte Red Lake tribal
court decision. The Red Lake custody
hearing was held on behalf of the fa-'
ther, a Red Lake tribal member. The
mother was not properly notified of
the Red Lake hearing, and she thus
was not present or represented. The
State's reversal of State-awarded custody was also done ex parte. Black's
Law Dictionary defines ex parte as,
"on one side only; by or for one party;
done for, in behalf of, or on the application of, one party only ..."
The District Court in Beltrami
County did not inform the mother that
custody of her daughter was being reconsidered in Beltrami County. Instead, Beltrami County's reversal of
custody was based on the father's
"Application for Ex-Parte Relief and
affidavit—and a May 22,2000 Red
Lake tribal court "judgement order of
custody." Even though the State of
Minnesota had granted physical custody to the mother, the Beltrami
County judge, in his July 19,2000 Order, wrote that the Red Lake tribal
court order, "is recognized as principles of commity and shall be enforced by this court.... law enforcement ... is ordered to take physical
custody ofthe child and return the
child to the jurisdiction ofthe Red
Lake Nation."
The mother, a Cass County resident,
was not infonned that her legal rights
to her daughter had been terminated
ex parte in Beltrami County. Instead,
the mother was apprehended at the
University ofMinnesota Hospital in
Minneapolis, where she had accompanied a family member undergoing
medical treatment there. The little girl
was taken away by deputies ofthe
Hennepin County Sheriffs Department. A witness recalls her crying out,
"Gramma, how come I have to go
with the cops'? What did 1 do
wrong?"
The mother is currently being prosecuted on felony charges in Beltrami
County for "depriving] another of
custodial or parental rights." The
Beltrami County criminal complaint
rests on the Red Lake tribal court decision and the Minnesota State court's
ex parte order to enforce the tribal
court custody order.
Background
Meghan Agnes Brun was born in
FebruaryJ997, to Red Lake enrollee
Donald James Brun, Jr., and Leech
Lake enrollee Jawnie Kaye Brun, nee
Hough. Meghan is "enrollable" both
at Leech Lake and Red Lake. She
was reportedly enrolled as a Red Lake
member at her father's request.
Donald Brun, Jr.'s father is Donald
"Dutch" Bran, and his mother is
Geraldine "Joy" Brun, nee Johns, who
works for the tribal council. The
former chairman ofthe Red Lake
Band of Chippewa is Dutch's brother,
Gerald "Butch" Brun. Francis
"Chunky" Brun, Dutch Bran's first
cousin, is tribal self-governance administrator. Chunky Brun controls all
annually funded BIA self-governance
The mother was not
properly notified ofthe
Red Lake hearing,and
she thus was not
present or represented.
contracts at Red Lake, which includes
the tribal courts. His authority over
the tribal courts is extensive—he is
the individual who supervises the
tribal court budgets. The Minnesota
appellate case Commissioner of Taxation \ Brun, 174N.W.2d 120, establishing that enrolled members ofthe
Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians
who live and work on Red Lake Reservation are exempt from State income tax, was litigated by Red Lake
tribal attorneys on behalf of Chunky
Bran and his wife.
Commissioner v Brun is also the legal precedent establishing that "process cannot be served on an enrolled
member ofthe Red Lake Band residing within tlie boundaries of Red Lake
Reservation, nor can a judgment
against the member be enforced."
Thus, the Bruns can file legal action
against Jawnie Hough in Minnesota
District Court. Jawnie, however, has
had difficulty filing reciprocal legal
action against the Brans, who are
presently residents of Red Lake reservation. The Beltrami County court
files include legal action filed by
Jawnie and her mother, which was
RED LAKE to pg. 3
Native
American
%
■ve&
Ojibwa News
We Support Equaf Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2001
Founded in 1988
Volume 13 Issue 17
March 16, 2001
Rep. Kahn plans
to introduce
airport-gambling
bill
Excerpted from Robert Whereatt
Star Tribune
State Rep. Phyllis Kahn, who earlier this year proposed legislation
thai would legalize betting on professional sports in Minnesota,
planned to introduce a bill
March 12 to
build a casino at
the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
Only travelers would be allowed to
gamble, according to the legislation. They would have to produce
airplane tickets that are valid within
12 hours on either end ofthe flight
to gain admission to a casino. "I
think it's a great source of money,
and a great source of money from
non-Minnesotans," Kahn, DFL-Min-
neapolis, said March 8. She said
many ofthe travelers would be non-
Minnesotans.       The money would
go to the state's general fund and to
the Environmental Trust Fund, where
Lottery proceeds now go.
AIRPORT to pg. 5
Rep. Phyllis Kahn
Sports betting, gambling bill
progress in committees
Excerpted from Robert Whereatt
Star Tribune
A House subcommittee
approved a bill March 13 authorizing betting on professional sports, and a Senate
committee heard testimony
on a constitutional amendment for a state-owned casino.
The House bill, sponsored
by Rep. Phyllis Kahn, DFL-
Minneapolis, would put the
Minnesota State Lottery into
the business of accepting
bets on professional sports
games...:
Profits from the sports betting would
go into a "Minnesota active recreation
fund," which would provide money for
children's sports programs, amateur
sports facilities, and hiking and bicycle
trails.
The bill was sent to the full Governmental Operatioas and Veterans Affairs
Policy Committee, chaired by Rep. Jim
Rhodes, R-St. Louis Park. Rhodes said
he intends to hold committee hearings
around the state this summer on Kahn's
bill and other gambling measures. That
would appear to preclude decisive votes
on any major gambling bills by the
House this session.
hi tlie Senate, tlie State and Local
Government Operations Committee
considered a proposed constitutional
amendment that would ask voters
whether they want the state to build a
casino. No action was taken on the bill.
Its sponsor, Sen. Dick Day, R-
Owatonna, said a state
casino would provide
... [S]0ITie legislators may   competition for Indian-
be protecting the Indian-   owned casinos. "Com-
casino monopoly because
of campaign contributions they received from
some tribes.... [Sen.] Day
said/These people are
just buying everybody."
petition is good for
people. Why should a
group ofpeople have a
S3 [billion] or $4 billion industry and no
competition?" Day
asked.
Audrey Kohnen,
president ofthe Prairie
Island Tribal Council
in Red Wing, said Indian casinos already face competition with'"each other
and other Minnesota gaming options, including the State Lottery, pulltabs and
horse and card betting at Canterbury
Park."
Joe Marble, a founder of Citizens
United for Baseball in Minnesota, an organization seeking the means to build a
stadium to keep the Twins in Minnesota,
spoke in favor of Day's bill.
He suggested that some legislators
may be protecting the Indian-casino monopoly because of campaign contributions they received from some tribes.
Committee members didn't respond
to the suggestion, but Day said later that
the contributions do affect legislators'
positions on gambling issues. "These
people are just buying everybody," he
said ofthe contributions.
With an emphasis on the role the Nez Perce Tribe in Idaho are
playing in reintroducing wolves into the American northwest, the Omnitheater's 50 minute production of "Wolves" offers a unique panoramic movie experience. Showing 3-9 times daily at the Science
Museum of Minnesota (120 W. Kellogg Blvd. In St. Paul), Wolves plays through June 13,2001. $7 for
Adults, $5 for Children and Seniors. Call (651) 221 -9444 for more information and show times.
Native American inducted to Northwest
Minnesota Women's Hall of Fame
Bemidji Middle School accused of jeopardizing
student's health
By JeffArmstrong
A Bemidji woman has charged the
city's middle school staff with discriminatory disregard for her daughter's
health and education, alleging tliat
school officials have consistently ignored medical advice relating to the 13-
year-old's severe allergic condition.
Sharon Smith, a White Earth enrollee
from tlie Ponsford area, said a school
gym teacher ordered her daughter Alicia
to swim in a chlorinated pool March 2,
in defiance ofa medical recommendation submitted to the school Feb. 21.
The statement from Cass Lake PHS
clinic had advised school officials that
the girl "should be excused from Phys.
Ed from 2-21 -01 to 2-9-01" due to acute
chlorine allergies. In fact, Alicia had
been advised to abstain from gym class
altogether due to osteoarthritis in her
foot, but her mother opted for what was
to have been a modified physical program rather than accepting the school's
alternative of placing her in an EBD
(emotionally or behaviorally disabled)
class.
"On the last day of swimming, they
went and got her a bathing suit and told
her to get in the pool," said Smith.
"When Ally came home from school
that day, her skin was red all over and
covered with rashes."
Pleas from the girl, who never learned
to swim because of her condition, apparently fell on deaf ears. "I told them I
couldn't swim because the chlorine
bothers me," Alicia said.
Tlie seventh-grade student said tlie experience in her first period class caused
Alicia Smith at school
her to spend the entire school day in
great physical discomfort. Subsequent
medical records from March 5 report
Alicia as suffering from fever, chills and
flaky, dry skin on her face and arms.
Smith said school officials refused to
discuss her concerns.
"When I was finally able to meet with
an assistant principal on March 5, he
kind of gave me tlie bum's rush," said
Smith. "He told me he had other parents
to talk to and I had to go. When I left I
only saw one.other person waiting."
Smith said her concerns for Alicia's
health are heightened by the fact tliat her
daughter is also allergic to several treatments commonly used to alleviate serious reactions.
"If she gets a secondary reaction from
a skin infection caused by an allergic reaction, she can't be treated with penicillin," said Smith. "It's very difficult to
treat because ofthe limited antibiotics
she can be treated with."
Even more worrisome to Smith is the
possibility that Alicia could have an attack of anaphylaxis, an allergic reaction
which induces shock and, if untreated
immediately, can cause breathing to
stop.
Smith said Alicia had such a reaction
previously as a student in Cass Lake,
narrowly averting disaster.
"We barely made it to the hospital in
time. If it had been much longer, she
would have gone into respiratory distress," said Smith.
After the incident, Cass Lake school
officials removed from the building animals believed to have triggered the reaction, Smith said.
However, Smith charged, Bemidji
middle school staff have refused to
make reasonable accommodations for
her daughter's well-documented allergy
to rodents. She said school staff seemed
more concerned with the welfare of two
caged rats in the classroom than with
tliat of her daughter.
"Instead of taking the rats out the
classroom, they offered to take Ally out
of science class and put her into an EBD
class," Smith said. "They say 'why
make the other students suffer because
Ally has an allergy to rats?'"
"That would surprise me if that statement was made," said Middle School
principal Jim Wheeler, who otherwise
declined comment but pledged to review
the situation.
"I feel like they're not treating us right
just because we're Native Americans,"
said Smith, adding that she intends to file
a complaint with the U.S. Department of
Education's Office of Civil Rights.
By Anne Dunn
Bemidji, MN - Women's History
Month 2001 has been a celebration
ofthe triumphs and trials of women.
To kick-off the annual event, two
women were inducted into the
Northwest Minnesota Women's Hall
of Fame, Margaret Marvin and
Esther Burnette Home (posthumously honored).
Margaret Marvin began teaching
in Warroad after in graduating from
Macalester College in 1939. She
also served as the librarian. Her
work on behalf of the library and
bringing library services, including
bookmobiles, to rural people ofall
ages has impacted her community,
the region and the state. She has received numerous awards for her library advocacy including the
American Library Association's
honor as one ofthe extraordinary
advocates ofthe 20lh century and tlie
Minnesota Library Association Certificate of Merit.
Esther Home, the second
NMWHF inductee of 2001, was a
member ofthe' Wind River Shoshone
nation and spent the last 25 years of
her productive life on the White
Earth Reservation. She passed away
in 1999, at 90 years of age. Her
long- time friend Doyle Turner,
chairman ofthe White Earth Reservation Tribal Council, accepted the
award in her behalf.
According to Doyle, Esther made
a lasting impression on all who knew
her. "She had the ability to say the
right thing at the right time," he said.
"She was our good will ambassador.
"It was not unusual to find a foreign visitor at her home," he continued. "A man came from Sweden just
to talk with her. She was a bridge-
builder and she taught us to build,
too. She was a seeker of peace,
reaching across the ocean in friendship, she shared her vision of hope
for humanity."
Esther graduated from Haskell Institute in 1929 and took classes in
numerous colleges in the US. She
taught in the BIA educational sys-
Book cover of "The Life and
Legacy of Esther Home"
tern, in boarding schools in Oklahoma and the Wahpeton Indian
HALL OF FAME to pg. 6
Tribal casino interests contributed
over $40 million
Feds never fully audit tribal casinos
AssociatedPress
BOSTON - American Indian tribes
that operate casinos have contributed
nearly $40 million to
Washington politicians
and lobbyists over the
past five years, The
Boston Globe reported
March 12.
Meanwhile, lobbyists for the tribes have
mounted an all-out effort to minimize federal oversight, and the
budget ofthe commission overseeing Indian
casinos has remained
well below that of
comparable state gambling regulatory agen-
.cies, the newspaper
said.
As a result, officials
acknowledge that the
federal government has
never conducted a fiill audit of any casino, and that it doesn't have the tools to
"This is an industry that
does not want to be
regulated, so it gives
large amounts of
money to Congress,"
said Larry Noble,
executive director of
the Center for
Responsive Politics, a
nonpartisan group that
compiled the numbers.
investigate dealings between tribes and
their non-Indian backers.
"This is an industry that does not want
to be regulated, so it gives large amounts
of money to Congress,"
said Larry Noble, executive director of tlie Center
for Responsive Politics, a
nonpartisan group that
compiled the numbers.
Barry Brandon, formerly tlie government's
chief regulator at the National Indian Gaming
Commission and now a
lobbyist, urged Indian casino executives and lawyers at a conference last
month to keep Congress
from reopening legislation that first established
the commission's budget,
the Globe reported.
"Your best strategy is
to keep the commission at
its current size," said Brandon, a mem-
CASINO to pg. 6
Man wants Cass
County court to
dismiss tribal land
condemnation
lawsuit
By Steven P. Wagner
Fargo Forum
A man being sued by the Cass
County Joint Water Resource Board
wants the court to dismiss a lawsuit
against him.
In a response to the civil complaint
filed in Cass County District Court
Roger Shea, of Enderlin, N.D., said
the lawsuit should be dismissed.
The water board wants a judge to
condemn a 1.43-acre parcel of property owned by the Turtle Mountain
Band of Chippewa Indians. Shea
traded the land to the tribe last year.
Both parties oppose construction of
a dam on the Maple River.
Condemnation is a process that allows private property to be taken for
CASS COUNTY to pg. 6
2000 Census:
The numbers
are in
By Genaro C. Armas
Associated Press
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Curtis
Zunigha applauds those Americans
who, for the first time, officially acknowledged their diverse racial backgrounds on their census forms.
But don't count him as one ofthe 6.8
million people tliat did just that, even
though Zunigha considers himself
half-white and half-American Indian.
He feared that marking two or more
categories could undermine the popu
lation total and federal funding for his
tribe.
While many civil rights groups
praise the new era of race categorizations ushered in with the 2000 census,
some members of minority groups are
grappling with just how beneficial the
multi-race classification system may
be to their communities.
CENSUS to pg. 6