Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2001-05-25

              INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
Commentary/EditorialsA/oices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Classifieds 7
Red Lake sixth
graders pass state
high school writing
test
pg4
Leech Lake primary
election District I
Committeeman
results are in
pg5
Let's get back to
governing with
respect, dignity,
truth and honesty
pg3
Indian education in
■~- Minnesota-a
success story
pgi,3
Commentary
Press/ON
celebrates 13th
anniversary
pg4
Partisan
division stalls
state tribal police
aid legislation
By JeffArmstrong
State legislation to provide funding for tribal law enforcement agencies appears to have cleared bom
houses by a circuitous route, but a
dispute between the two major parties over state spending levels may
yet derail the police aid provisions
if Rep. Sandra Erickson has her
way.
Erickson, a second term Republican from Princeton who prides herself on diligently tracking proposed
bills, said she first learned ofthe
legislation by reading an article on
the subject in last week's Press/ON.
"It's really devastating to me as a
state legislator to hear this is going
on and not even to know about it,"
said Erickson.
According to the state representative, the tribal police-funding proposal was amended into an unrelated omnibus pension bill in an attempt to conceal its provisions.
"How in the world does that fall
into pensions?" she asked "Both
Senator Stevens and I questioned
that in committee."
An aide to Rep. Harry Mares,
who co-sponsored the original
tribal police legislation, said the bill
was defeated in committee but resurrected as an amendment to the
300-page government finance bill
which appropriates funds for various state expenditures.
POLICE to pg. 3
Indian education in
Minnesota—a success story
Voice
o  F
THE
People
web page: www.press-on.net
by Clara NiiSka
On the evening of
May 18,2001, Richard Fairbanks graduated from St. Paul
Technical College.
He was honored with
the Outstanding Student ofthe Year
award, and earned
straight-A grades in
his coursework, focusing on auto body
repair, at the technical
college. He is the
first in his family to
earn a postsecondary
degree; only one of
his extended family
has graduated from
high school. Rick is
also the first ofhis
peer-group to have
graduated.
Rick Fairbanks, 30,
is reportedly the only American
Indian to graduate from St. Paul
Technical College this year. He
describes himself as an "urban Indian"—his father is from Red
Lake and his mother from White
Earth—who grew up at the Little
Earth housing projects in south
Minneapolis. He dropped out of
high school in the eleventh grade,
and although he earned his GED,
worked at "dead-end jobs."
Then, as Rick told Press/ON, "I
had a very good friend of mine
die about a year ago—tragically, a
heroin overdose." His friend's
Native *
American
Press
Ojibwe News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2001
"Outstanding Student of the Year"
and straight-A student Richard
Fairbanks with auto body instructor
Doug DeRosier at St. Paul Technical
College graduation, May 18, 2001.
Submitted photo
death was a wake-up call, and
Rick realized that, "my life was
going nowhere. I decided that I
needed a change, a different path
to follow."
Rick decided to go back to
school. He had heard about St.
Paul Technical College, and with
the help financial aid staff Nonna
Renville, he found the scholarships, including Indian scholarship funding from Red Lake,
which he would need to pay the
$10,000 in tuition, fees, tools and
Founded in 1988
Volume 13 Issue 27
May 25,2001
SUCCESS to pg. 3
Wisconsin Governor blocks Hudson gambling
State wins in gambling dispute
By JeanPagano
The proposal to turn the St. Croix
Meadows dog track in Hudson into
a tribal gambling casino was rejected by Wisconsin Governor
Scott McCallum on Monday.
McCallum claimed that the casino
was "not in the best interests of local communities or the state citizens". The Governor's comments
coincided with the response sent to
James McDivitt, deputy assistant of
Indian Affairs for the Department
ofthe Interior. McCallum told the
Bureau oflndian Affairs (BIA) that
he would not agree with its decision
to place 56 acres ofthe track into
federal trust for a casino.
Only a successfiil court challenge
by the Northern Ojibwe bands supporting the casino could salvage me
nine-year effort to bring gambling
to Hudson. The Lac Courte
Oreilles, Red Cliff, and Sokaogon
bands ofthe Lake Superior Ojibwe
originally filed their application in
1992, a mere one year after the $40
million St.Croix Meadows dog
track opened. The 120-acre site began losing money almost immediately because of poor attendance
and lack of betting. The three Wisconsin tribes sought to partner with
Fred Havenick, the Miami owner
of St. Croix Meadows. Havenick
had hoped that the addition of
1,500 slot machines would help
rescue his money-losing track. The
bands have relatively small casinos
on their reservations today. Yet, to
open a reservation on distant lands,
under the 1988 Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act, both the approval
ofthe federal government along
with the nod ofthe governor are
needed.
The three tribes filed suit in
Washington on Thursday to keep
the casino alive. The lawsuit claims
that it is unconstitutional for Congress and the federal government to
delegate veto authority over gam-
bl ing matters to the states under the
federal Indian Gaming Regulatory
Act. It is not clear what the outcome will be for the casino.
Stephanie Hanna, a spokesperson
for the Department of Interior in
Washington stated that the agency
considers the Hudson casino application "finished and closed". Barring an adverse decision in the three
bands' lawsuit, the lengthy application process would have to start
from scratch to open the casino.
Hanna said that similar issues were
raised in an Oregon lawsuit and the
government prevailed in that case.
The three Ojibwe bands claim that
the issues in their lawsuit are new,
especially the contention that the
federal government has neglected
its trust obligations to Indian nations by delegating the final authority to governors in gambling applications. In addition, the bands said
that Governor McCallum ignored
the more tliat $80 million in direct
tax relief that the tribes had committed to Sf Croix County communities.
The issue of casinos on Indian
reservations is a classic issue of
state's rights versus the presence of
the federal government. The Interior Department ruled against the
proposed casino in 1995, but was
subsequently sued by the bands.
The proponents claimed that political interference, fueled by
$400,000 worth of contributions by
opposing tribes to the national
Democratic Party and then-President Clinton, guided the rejection.
In 1999, the BIA agreed to reconsider its proposal in return for dropping the lawsuit. On the state's side,
McCallum, a long-time opponent
of gambling, cited an amendment
to (he Wisconsin Constitution that
prohibits the state from authorizing
an expansion of gambling. Voters in
that state approved ofthe amendment by a 2-1 margin in 1993.
By approving the casino, the state
"would set a precedent sanctioning
the notion that tribal governments
could behave as ifthey were simply
individual gaming firms," wrote
McCallum in his response.
Whereas the three bands criticized
the decision, many local residents
of Hudson were pleased at the outcome.
Now, the fate ofthe Hudson casino rests with the courts. If the
courts nile against the bands, there
only choice would be to begin the
application process again, most
likely when McCallum leaves office.
Wisconsin
bands file intent
to sue county
over casino
opposition
Three northern Wisconsin
Ojibwe bands have filed notice of
their intent to sue St. Croix County
alleging the county violated a contractual agreement not to oppose a
struggling St. Croix Meadows
Greyhound Racing Park in
Hudson.
Mark Goff, a spokesman for the
casino partnership said the
Sokaogon (Mole Lake) Red Cliff
and Lac Courte Oreilles bands of
Lake Superior Ojibwe have not
decided whether to file a lawsuit
but wanted to preserve that option.
To do so, they had to file their no-
;ice of claim within 120 days of
lie County Board's action.
At issue is a resolution the
;ounty Board of Supervisors
massed Jan. 23 and forwarded to
he governor's office. In the reso-
ution, the county stated that it was
lot in favor ofthe band acquiring
he dog track site and establishing
i casino. The bands maintain tliat
he county was obligated not to
>ppose the casino under a 1994
igreement with the bands. Under
CASINO to pg. 3
Shakopee Mayor says compromise
on land-trust possible
By John Mueller
Shakopee Valley News
Shakopee Mayor Jon Brekke
announced Tuesday night that he
and the leadership ofthe Shakopee
Mdewakanton Dakota Community
have reached a preliminary compromise on the controversial attempt by the tribe to place 593
acres of land it owns in the city
into trust status. Under tlie plan,
the city would drop its objection to
the tribe's trust application in exchange for concessions by the
tribe.
The tribe has applied to the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs to
place the land in Shakopee, and
183 acres it owns in Prior Lake, in
trust status, which means the land
would not be taxable nor would
the cities have any say in how it is
utilized The action has been
strongly opposed by the cities of
Shakopee and Prior Lake and
Scott County.
Under the plan:
* The tribe must commit in writing to utilize the 593 acres for residential and institutional purposes.
The two sides will also have to
agree on an exact definition of institutional purposes.
* The tribe would have to agree
to a phased approach to the development ofthe 593 acres. For example, Brekke proposed a formula
in which the community would de
velop 2/2 percent ofthe land per
year over a 40-year period. Brekke
said this point is an attempt at addressing the objections raised in
the current trust application that
tlie tribe doesn't need 776 acres in
Shakopee and Prior Lake placed
into pennanent trust at this time.
* The tribe and the city would
agree to the community selling the
needed right of way for expansion
of County Road 16 east of County
Road 83.
* Tlie city and tlie tribe would
agree in infrastructure issues related to the 593 acres, specifically
storm water drainage, sanitary
sewer easements, and police and
fire services.
* The tribe would agree to a
schedule of payments in lieu of
property taxes on the land. Brekke
said the exact schedule and the
classification ofthe taxes still need
greater definition.
* Tlie tribe would also agree to
not make any additional trust applications for land in Shakopee for
a period of 20 years.
* If the two sides are able to formally agree on these issues and
sign a pact that would be enforceable through federal courts, then
the city would drop its objection to
tlie tribe's application to have tlie
593 acres in Shakopee placed into
permanent trust status. If the two
LAND TRUST to pg. 3
Red Lake's Seven Clans-Thief River Falls Casino, Hotel and Water Park stands
against the backdrop ofthe western Minnesota prairie. The hotel, which opens to the
public May 25, will be 95 to 98 percent complete for the grand opening.
Red Lake unveils its new casino
$24 million facility has an indoor water park
Excerpted from Devlyn Brooks,
Bemidji Pioneer
THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minnesota^—Scurrying from one end of
their new hotel-casino to the other,
Iked ! ake gambling industry officials almost tripped over each
other trying to accommodate tlie
more than eighty media guests
touring the facility on May 17.
Red Lake Gaming had invited
the media to tour the new $24 million hotel, casino and indoor water
park, giving them a preview of
what tlie general public will see at
the grand opening on May 25.
The hotel and water park is unique
enough that television stations as
far away as Fargo, N.D., Duluth
and Winnipeg, Manitoba visited
the casino during Thursday's "media day." Radio station news
people came from even farther
away, and the even attracted newspaper writers from tlie Twin Cities,
Fargo, and Grand Forks, N.D. ■
Red Lake tribal treasurer Dan
King said he thinks the media's reaction is just a microcosm of
what's to come. "We thought St.
Cloud and Minneapolis were out
of our market," said King, who
oversaw construction ofthe project.
"But this is so unique that there's
just nothing like it in the area.
We're now expanding our idea of
what our market could be."
King said they had counted on attracting tlie media from Grand
Forks and Winnipeg, two markets
the casino is heavily targeting with
advertising, but the coverage from
the other large markets in Minnesota was pleasantly surprising. "It
definitely surprised us," he said
'This was much bigger than the
media day we held in January ...
maybe it's just really spreading by
word of mouth."
Audra Lesosky, of McKim Communication of Winnipeg, an agency
assisting the casino with its Canadian advertising, said the story is
just too good to pass up. "It is the
world's biggest indoor water park
attached to an Indian-owned casino," she said. "Now that's a feelgood story. That's news ... don't
you think?"
When the 275,000 square foot
Seven Clans Casino - Thief River
Falls complex opens Friday to the
public, King said it will be 95 to 98
percent complete. Guests will enter through the hotel lobby, which
is decorated with more than
$50,000 in furnishings and a massive floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace. The hotel also includes a
200-seat buffet dining room, and
15i hotel rooms occupying four
stories.
The casino's northern end is anchored by tlie massive water park,
featuring waterslides, a children's
pool, and other water-oriented activities. Inthe future, King said other casino attractions could include a golf
course and horse-riding operation.
The casino is located at the junction
ofMinnesota Highway 59 and
Pennington County Road 3, about
eight miles south ofThiefRiver Falls.
Editor's note: More than $100
million has been spent on the casinos at Red Lake, Thief River Falls,
Warroad, and the White Oaks casino at White Earth—and the tribal
members have never seen an audit.
How careful was the accounting,
and how much of that money could
actually be audited? Is there a paper trail?
Introduction to Department
of Justice 2000 funding
By JeanPagano
,  The Department of Justice,
through a collection of agencies including the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the Office of Juvenile Justice
and Delinquency Prevention, and
the Violence Against Women Office distributes a variety of grants
and awards to Tribal Courts.
Through a Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) request, details of three
of these funding initiatives have
come to light.
The first project began originally
in 1997 as OnTrack: Tribal Criminal Tracking System. The idea behind OnTrack was to develop an
automated criminal tracking and
management system for the Tribal
Court that would electronically
connect data from the crime incident, arrest, adjudication, and sentencing into one database that
would be accessible by criminal
justice agencies. The OnTrack system was to be a prototype system,
which once developed would be
made available to all tribes for their
adoption. In 1997, $60,000 was allocated, through competitive bidding, for this grant The grant recipient, in this case the Mille Lacs
Band was to complete the development, testing, and implementation ofthe OnTrack system. In
2000, an additional $10,000 was
allocated again through competitive bidding, towards the same end
The idea ofthe OnTrack system,
and its gathering of resources into
one central place for easy access to
law enforcement agencies, is an attractive goal. However, the status of
the OnTrack system in terms of development and prototyping is unknown.
The next project was the result of
the Omnibus Consolidated and
Emergency Supplemental Appropriation Act of 1999. This Act appropriated $ 10 million for the Office
of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention to support and enhance
tribal efforts for comprehensive delinquency prevention and control
and for juvenile justice system improvement by Native American
youth. The problem of juvenile
crime would be addressed by undertaking one or more ofthe following
tasks:
• Reduce, control, and prevent
crime and delinquency involving or
aimed at tribal youth
• Provide interventions for tribal
youth involved with the courts
• Improve the juvenile justice
systems in the tribal courts
• Provide drug and alcohol prevention programs focusing on tribal
youth
The initial grant, via competitive
bid allocated to the Mille Lacs
Band was for $100,000. There is
currently no breakdown ofhow the
$100,000 was allocated across the
one or more tasks listed above.
The final project was also a result ofthe FY 1999 Tribal Court
Program and also administered by
BIA. This was also to implement an
automated criminal and civil case
FUNDING topg. 3
Judge asked to
hold Norton in
contempt in
trust lawsuit
By Robert Gehrke
Associated Press
WASHJNGTON - American Indians who claim they were bilked
of $ 10 billion in trust funds have
asked a judge to stop the government from shredding documents
and to find Interior Secretary Gale
Norton in contempt of court.
The Indians want the records to
reconstruct how much money is
missing from trust fund accounts,
which were created to manage royalties paid for tlie use oflndian
lands.
If the judge grants the motion,
filed Thursday, it would be the second time Cabinet officials have
been held in contempt in the class-
action lawsuit. The 300,000 plaintiffs want the government to pay the
money back.
Dennis Gingold a lawyer representing the Indians, said the Bureau
of Indian Affairs and its contractors
have been destroying trust documents daily in violation of court orders.
Earlier this year, a court-appointed investigator made a surprise visit to a BIA document warehouse and found a trust fund document in a shredder. BIA officials
told him similar documents were
shredded every day.
The BIA is part ofthe Department ofthe Interior. Interior
BIA to pg. 3