Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2001-08-24

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'
INDEX
News Around Indian Country
Commentary/Editorials/Voices
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events
Classifieds
6th Annual Walk
for Justice set for
September 16 at
Boom Island
pg3
Casino Royale:
The Foxwoods
story
pg4
Pine Ridge President
vows occupation will
lead to lasting change
pg 1
Hudson Casino
debate reopens
pgi
Commentary
Closing the books on
people's rightto know
pg4
Hudson Casino
debate reopens
By Jean Pagano
The website for St Croix Meadows states "Closing August 10,
2001. No Racing or simulcasting
until further notice". So begins the
battle for St. Croix Meadows once
again. At issue is the desire to open
a casino at Hudson by the Lac
Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewas, the Red Cliff
Band of Lake Superior Chippewas,
and the Mole Lake Band of Lake
Superior Chippewas (the Bands).
Their foil is Wisconsin Governor
Scott McCallum. Governor
McCallum has vowed to prevent
tlie casino from opening in Hudson,
even though the federal government
gave its go-ahead to the Bands.
The Indian Gaming Regulatory
Act (IGRA) of 1988 gives governors the authority to override approval by federal authorities. Governor McCallum, in May of this
year, turned down the request by
the Bands to operate a casino at the
St. Croix Meadows racetrack. This
effectively ends the discussion concerning gambling in Hudson. As
long as the governor does not concur, the casino will not happen, under powers granted to the governor
under the IGRA.
In response to Governor
McCallum's rejection and with the
closing of St Croix Meadows, the
Bands have filed suit in the United
States District Court for the District
of Columbia challenging the IGRA.
In a suit filed against the United
States of America, the Department
ofthe Interior, and Secretary Gale
Norton ofthe Department ofthe In-
HUDSON to pg. 3
Pine Ridge President vows
occupation will lead to lasting
change
Voice     of     t he     People
web page: www.press-on.net
By JeffArmstrong
The 19-month takeover ofa Pine
Ridge Reservation tribal administration building quietly came to an
end last weekend when the Oglala
Sioux Tribal Executive Committee
reclaimed tribal offices after the last
ofthe Grass Roots Oyate protest
group apparently vacated the building. Demanding the removal ofthe
tribal council, a full public audit of
OST income and a return to traditional democratic government,
many ofthe demonstrators, led by
Chief Oliver Red Cloud, had ended
the demonstration with claims of
success on the one-year anniversary
of the occupation Jan. 16.
While the movement succeeded
in bringing about the arrest and indictment of 9 OST officials, including three tribal council members—
one of whom recently pleaded
guilty to charges of bank fraud and
conspiracy to commit larceny—
several Oyate members stuck to
their original demands for die abolition ofthe Indian Reorganization
Act council and a return to treaty
relations with the U.S.
In an early outline of its objectives, the Grass Roots Oyate vowed
to "establish a mutual defense pact
to defend the aboriginal and treaty
rights ofthe indigenous nations." It
stated that, "Our sovereignty is under siege by federal and statejurisdiction and we believe this may be
our last stand to abolish the oppressive IRA fonn of government and
restore the treaty as our true governance system."
However, the movement also issued concrete demands forthe enforcement and reform ofthe tribal
constitution, such as provisions for
the recall of district representatives,
creation ofa General Council of elders and direct election of tlie secretary, the treasurer and judges.
Based on its dialogue with the
people, the Grass Roots Oyate also
proposed a "Guarantee of Inherent
Rights."
"Many ofthe worst abuses on the
reservation stem from a lack of recognition ofthe most basic rights
guaranteed in most modem constitutions and also recognized traditionally by the Lakota Oyate. For
example, losing your job with the
tribe for questioning or disagreeing
with a council member's views is
contrary to the right of free speech
that has always been a Lakota tradition. Similarly, having secret or
closed meetings, or having secret
financial dealings with tribal funds
is contrary to the Lakota value of
openness, as well as the right to
freedom of infomiation. Although
the basic rights of speech, press,
etc. are theoretically guaranteed all
Indian peoples under the federal Indian Civil Rights Act, they are not
respected and are not even recognized in the IRA coastitution," the
group stated in a coastitutional restructuring program distributed as a
survey to tribal members.
Negotiations with recently-
elected President John Yellowbird
Steele persuaded many ofthe
PINE RIDGE topg. 3
Native  *~
American
Press
Ojibwe News
We Support Equal Opportunity For All People
A weekly publication.   Copyright, Native American Press, 2001
Founded in 1988
Volume 13 Issue
•2*"bt]
August 24, 2001
Study finds evidence of discrimination
in Minnesota criminal justice system
By JeffArmstrong
It has always been readily apparent, at least to anyone willing to examine state corrections statistics,
that Natives in Minnesota are arrested and incarcerated at a rate
many times their percentage ofthe
population. When questioned, however, law enforcement officials assert, perhaps not entirely without
justification, that indigenous people
are also more likely to violate the
law.
But a study by fae Native American Press/Ojibwe News of corrections statistics for 1999 reveals that
both on a statewide basis and in
counties bordering reservatioas,
Natives are jailed far out of proportion to the incidence at which they
are arrested. In just one of 19 counties examined was there not a significant discrepancy between jail
and arrest rates ofNative people.
What this means is that all tilings
being equal—in other words putting aside racial profiling, targeting
vehicles with tribal plates, warrantless searches and other discriminatory police practices—indigenous
individuals still face institutional
discrimination in the jails and
courts ofthe state. Only in Cass
County, where Natives make up a
majority of the jail population while
accounting for just 11.7% ofthe
population, was there a balance between tlie jail and arrest percentages.
In Hubbard County, on the other
hand, arrested Natives are nearly
300% more likely to be jailed. Remarkably, the county's 1.9% indig-
enoas population makes up nearly
17% of its inmates. Not far behind
was Becker County, whose 42.5%
Native jail population is drawn
from a 16.4% arrest rate and a
7.2% census estimate.
Statewide, with the exception of
two ofthe state's largest counties,
Hennepin and Ramsey (which do
not submit voluntary race data to
tlie Corrections Department), Natives are booked in 4.3% of arrests
yet make up 6.4% of jail inmates—
a 32.8% higher rate. In 12 of tlie 19
reservation counties reviewed, the
racial discrepancy was higher than
the state average.
The size ofthe Native population
does not seem to be a major factor,
with tlie 10 most unbalanced counties ranging from .3% Native to
7.7%. However, the three counties
with more than 10% indigenous
residents were all among the bottom seven ofthe list.
Under international law, racial
differentials in legal, social and economic statistics serve as evidence
of bias which governments are
bound to remedy. The U.S., however, maintains that it is necessary
to prove intent to discriminate in its
courts. As a result, the government
was criticized by tlie United Nations Committee to Eliminate Racial Discrimination in an Aug. 14
report for failing to fully comply
widi a treaty it ratified in 1994.
"The Committee draws the attention ofthe State party to its obligations under the Convention, and in
particular to article 1, paragraph 1,
and General Recommendation No.
XIV, to undertake to prohibit and to
eliminate racial discrimination in all
its fonns, including practices and
legislation that may not be discriminatory in purpose, but in effect Tlie
Committee recommends the State
party to take all appropriate measures to review existing legislation
and federal, state and local policies
STUDY topg. 3
Photo credit: Minnesota Historical Society
Frances D.Millet oil painting "Treaty of Traverse des Sioux"
The Treaty of Traverse des Sioux, 1904 - A painting capturing the Treaty of Traverse de Sioux (1851) in which the
Sisseton and Wahpeton Bands ceded all their lands in the State of Iowa and most in the Territory of Minnesota. The
were ceded to the United States Government at ten cents per acre, roughly the amount of $1,665,000 of which
| iul ,360,000 was to be put in trust for 50 years at 5% interest
Metis Graveyard: Patient the Spirits
A Conversation with Senator Dennis Bercier
By Jean Pagano
The desire to learn more about
the situation at Pembina
prompted me to contact one of
Senate Bill 2420's sponsors,
Senator Dennis Bercier of
Belcourt, North Dakota. Tlie following is excerpted from a conversation on 16 August
Senator Dennis Bercier is a
Democratic Senator from North
Dakota. In a truly bipartisan display of unity, he and three other
Republicans, Senators Trenbeath,
Holmberg, and Traynor, sponsored Senate Bill 2420, a bill that
provides for the Metis Graveyard
in Pembina. Senator Bercier
stated that the issue with the
graveyard is really a matter of
"doing the right thing". The issue
ofthe graveyard in Pembina has
been an unfinished affair for over
100 years. In the latter part ofthe
19"' century, the North Dakota
legislature voted to buy the Metis
Graveyard (also known as the
Selkirk cemetery and the
Dumoulin Mission cemetery), yet
did not appropriate the funds. In
2001, this group of Senators,
along with Representatives
Monson and Tieman, did the
right thing by finally promoting
S.B. 2420 and getting to the Governor for his signature. The spirit
of completing the work of that
long-ago Legislature was positive
that the Bill passed the Senate
chamber with no dissentions on a
vote of 86-0. "The Creator
brought the right formula of
people together without a lot of
trouble" said Senator Bercier.
The appropriation of funds, in
the amount of $15,000, was to reimburse the county of Pembina
for the work that has gone into
surveying, preserving, and acquiring the land under which the spirits ofthe departed wait patiently.
As recently as this July, crops
were still planted atop the ancestors of Metis, French, and Turtle
Mountain peoples. The intent was
to pay offthe debts ofthe county
vis-a-vis the investigation and acquisition ofthe land.
The county of Pembina had undertaken some advanced satellite
imaging to determine the size of
the graveyard. Original imaging
had suggested an area of approximately 10 acres. The North Dakota State Archaeologist had disputed this size and die site was reduced to 3.7 acres. The imaging
suggested two areas of high concentrations that could have possibly been human remains. Bone
fragments had been found on the
surface during those investigations.
Senator Bercier stated that he
had received some correspondence from people concerning the
graveyard. Most people were supportive ofthe idea, yet there were
a few who said that the government should "mind their own
business". At issue are not only
different peoples but different belief systems as well. The people
buried at Pembina were most
likely a mix ofNative beliefs, Roman Catholic faith, and perhaps a
blending ofthe two.
Senator Bercier explained that
one ofthe real issues involved at
Pembina was to allow the spirits
that remain there to be put to rest.
He stated that the issue of boundaries, especially in a legal sense,
was something foreign to the
Turtle Mountain people. Deeds
were not a part ofthe culture, but
the respect of boundaries was
something very much understood.
The Turtle Mountain Band of
Chippewa has offered to be stewards for the Metis Graveyard.
Senator Bercier has stated that the
Band will respectfully care for the
land and that the land will remain
as it is and not become the home
to "an amusement park".
In mid-October, a ceremony is
planned for the spirits of Metis
Graveyard. The notion ofthe ceremony is to bring the spirits, long
restless, long waiting, to rest. As
the Senator explained, October is
in the autumn ofthe year, where
the pace of life slows down in anticipation of winter. Animals are
slowly getting ready for winter
and the rest that the season will
bring. And so it is for the Turtle
Mountain people buried at
Pembina. The ceremony, which
will be open to people ofall backgrounds and beliefs, will be a
chance to remember the people of
Pembina. Bercier stated that the
spirits ofthe Turtle Mountain
people who are buried there are
restless and long lo be reunited
with their own place. The ceremony will take the spirits of
METIS to pg. 3
State agency says casino audits should not
be released to public
AssociatedPress
MINNEAPOLIS - A state agency
has ordered tlie audits of American
Indian casinos be temporarily classified as nonpublic to give the Legislature a chance to decide whether the
records can be sealed permanently.
Tlie order by the state Department
of Administration comes after tlie
tribes threatened to stop sending die
audits to tlie Public Safety Department ifthey were made public.
The tribes are required under
gambling compacts with the state to
submit the audit figures upon request. Aldiough tribal governments
are exempt from Minnesota's public-records law, audits collected by
state agencies are open to the public.
The Administration Department
issued an advisory opinion June 6
saying Red Lake Chippewa casino
audits collected by the Public Safety
Department are public.
Minnesota tribes and the Pub! ic
Safety Department objected, saying
the compacts made the audits
nonpublic "to the extent possible under state law."
But tlie Administration Department said that language didn't override the Minnesota Data Practices
Act the law governing public
records, which says most data collected by a state agency is public.
Public Safety Commissioner
Charlie Weaver on June 27 asked
the Administration Department to
temporarily classify tlie casino audits as nonpublic to give the Legislature a chance to change the law
and pennanently seal the records.
Attorney General Mike Hatch has
power to approve or disapprove tlie
temporary classification. Hatch
spokeswoman Leslie Sandberg said
the attorney general's office had not
received the order as ofTuesday but
would review it when it arrived. If
Hatch approves tlie order, and it's
not rejected by courts, the Legislature has until the end of its 2003
session to act.
Weaver sought the temporary
nonpublic status on grounds tliat
"release ofthe data to the public
would have a detrimental effect
on each tribe's willingness to provide audit information under the
... compacts. As a result, Public
Safety's ability to ensure the integrity of (casino) gaming iri
Minnesota would be threatened."
Bill Lawrence, a Red Lake
tribal member, frequent critic of.
tribal government and publisher
ofNative American Press/Ojibwe
News, had asked to see the Red
Lake audits. He disputed the contention that releasing them to the
public would jeopardize the Pub
lic Safety Department's oversight
role.
"They said (releasing the audits) would make it more difficult
to monitor the casinos,"
Lawrence said Monday, "I'm
amazed by that, because I don't
think there's much monitoring
going on."
Lawrence and the Star Tribune
also have asked separately for casino audits of Minnesota's 10
other tribes.
Don Gemberling, director of
the Administration Department's
information policy analysis division, said Monday that some
tribes apparently sent audits to
the Public Safety Department
with the caveat that they not be
made public.
"We believe this material to be
open," said Star Tribune editor
Tim J. McGuire. "We will be
looking at all possible appeals."
The Public Safety Department
doesn't collect annual audits
from every tribe. Frank Ball,
head ofthe gambling and alcohol
enforcement division of Public
Safety, said the most recent audit
collected from Red Lake is for
1996-97, which doesn't reflect a
major expansion of that tribe's
casino. Ball said collecting audits
hasn't been a high priority.
Time to look at realities oflndian casinos
By Bob Robb
Arizona Republic
Judge Robert Broomfield's order
last week provides an opportunity
for a debate on Indian casino gambling that never took place in Arizona.
Broomfield not only said 1hat
Gov. Jane Hull couldn't enter into
any new or expanded compacts, he
ordered her to provide notice of
non-renewal on existing compacts
by next June 1.
That means there would be no
legal Indian casinos after the existing compacts expire, mostly in
2003.
Hull has vowed to appeal the decision. Which means that she no
longer only accepts the reality of
Indian gambling and wants to manage it wisely, as she has claimed in
the past. Broomfield's ruling
changed that reality. By appealing,
Hull will become a full-fledged advocate oflndian gambling as a
good thing for Arizona
Arizona never had an opportunity to debate that fundamental issue: Is Indian gambling a good or a
bad thing? Fife Symington agreed
to the first gambling compacts under the belief that federal law gave
the state no choice. After the understanding of federal law changed
and Symington refused to enter into
additional compacts, voters were
asked to approve a ballot proposition extending compacts to excluded tribes as a matter of fairness.
Now; there is no doubt tliat public opinion currently favors giving
the tribes limited gambling rights
not allowed offthe reservation,
probably particularly if the state
shares in the revenue. And
Broomfield has ruled that the state
can do that, but only as a conscious
decision ofthe Legislature or the
people through an initiative or referendum. It cannot simply be the
end product of compacts negotiated
by die governor.
But a public debate isn't to measure existing public sentiment; polls
do that. It is to see where public
sentiment settles after a thorough
vetting ofthe issue.
Many people want to skip the
debate over whether to permit Indiai gambling and get right to fixing the problems in the law that
jeopardize it.
That would be a mistake. Because the case for Indian gambling
is far from clear.
Previously, much ofthe case for
Indian gambling was its inevitability. Aid indeed that remains much
ofthe case even today, as diough
there-were some sort of time lag in
understanding the significance of
Broomfield's ruling and order. He
has said, in effect, Indian gambling
in Arizona is not inevitable. It's our
choice.
So, should we choose to permit it?
The libertarian argument in favor
ofthe right ofpeople to gamble if
they want is powerful. But people
should also have the right, ifthey
CASINOS topg. 3