Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2001-10-05

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INDEX
News Around Indian Country 2
Commentary/Editorials/Voices 4
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events 5
Classifieds 7
MCT rejects
TEC amendment
proposals
pgi
Hanson out as Red
Lake gambling chief
pg 1
Meet Kennewick
Man, our
long-lost
relative?
pg2
Prairie Island's, Mille
Lac's casino audit
lawsuit hearing
scheduled in Ramsey
County
pgi
Commentary
King-Whitefeather
leadership creates
financial disaster
for Red Lakers
pg4
Prairie Island's, Mille Lac's casino audit
lawsuit hearing scheduled in Ramsey County
By Clara NiiSka
Lawsuits filed by the Prairie Island Indian community and the
Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa,
seeking to prevent the Minnesota
Department of Public Safety from
releasing casino audits held by the
state under the State-Tribal gambling compacts have both been
scheduled for hearing in Ramsey
County District Court on November 16.
On Thursday, September 20, attorneys for the Prairie Island Indian community filed a lawsuit in
Ramsey County district court,
seeking a Temporary Restraining
Order (TRO) barring DPS from
releasing "any tribal audit information" submitted to DPS by
Prairie Island pending a ruling by
the court on the issues posed by
Prairie Island in its Complaint.
Prairie Island attorneys named
"DPS acting through its duly ap
pointed Commissioner" as the
other party to the lawsuit. Prairie
Island's motion for a TRO barring
the release of audits submitted to
the state by Prairie Island was
heard by Ramsey County District
Judge Louise Dovre Bjorkman on
tlie same day as tlie lawsuit and
motion were filed. The TRO was
granted on September 20, with
me provision that a hearing be
held within two weeks. The state,
through the Attorney General's
office, did not oppose the request
for a TRO.
On Friday, September 20, attorneys for the Mille Lacs Band also
filed a lawsuit in Ramsey County
District Court, similarly seeking a
TRO barring the State from releasing Mille Lacs casino audits
held by die State.
On October 3, Ramsey County
District Court Judge Louise
Bjorkman filed an order that Prai
rie Island's lawsuit, Civil file No.
01-1737, will be heard on November '16th. A November 16
hearing date has also been set for
Mille Lacs's lawsuit, Civil file
No. C3-01-8782. These hearings
are to determine whetherthe
TRO's will be made into permanent injunctions barring the release of casino audits pending the
outcome of litigation. Both cases
are currently scheduled to be
heard before Judge Louise
Bjorkman at the Ramsey County
Courthouse at 1:30 pm., in room
1260. Press/ON asked Judge
Bjorkman's clerk if the two Data
Practices Act lawsuits had been
combined, and if not, how the
Judge could hear two cases at exactly the same time. He explained that the cases had not
been combined into one case, and
AUDIT to page 5
MCT
rejects TEC
amendment
proposals
MCT demands
genuine constitutional
convention
By JeffArmstrong
A Sept. 29-30 conference of
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe members in Mille Lacs unanimously rejected proposed amendments to the
tribal constitution, calling instead
for meetings on all six reservations
to prepare for a genuine constitutional convention. While the resolution is not binding upon the governing Tribal Executive Committee, it
does signal the almost certain de-
teat of any effort to place the
amendments before the tribal electorate through a BIA-administered
secretarial election.
A sense that tlie tribe was at a historic juncture ran dirough the proceedings, which for some were
reminiscent of a 1987 MCT meeting in Leech Lake at which tribal
members stopped the TEC in its
tracks on a motion for a secretarial
election to authorize tribal courts.
That event is often viewed as the
starting point ofa grassroots movement for coastitutional democracy
which had been dormant in recent
months as the TEC resumed its
MCT to page 3
Hanson out as Red Lake
gambling chief
by Bill Lawrence
According to sources who
wish to remain anonymous,
Marv Hanson was forced lo resign under pressure from his position as Red Lake gambling enterprise director, at a Red Lake
gambling board meeting on
Tuesday, October 2nd. Sources
informed Press/ON on Monday
that Hanson and Red Lake tribal
treasurer Dan King had got into
a dispute over financial problems at the new thirty million
dollar River Road casino expansion, which as opened last May.
According to one source, there
is a nearly seven million dollar
shortfall or overrun in the casino
expansion financing, and that a
lot of subcontractors in the
northwestern part ofMinnesota
and eastern North Dakota
haven't been paid and are demanding their money.
Another source told Press/ON
that bidding on the casino construction contracts was suspiciously handled. Stevens Construction Company of Madison,
Wisconsin was reportedly selected as the general contractor
even though their bid was
brought in late: the source said
that Dan King walked out ofthe
room after the other bids had
been opened, returning with the
Wisconsin contractor's "late
bid." Architectural Design Consultants, Inc., with principal offices in Lake Delton, Wisconsin,
was the architectural firm that
designed the multimillion dollar
project. Phone Calls to Glen
Hofer, Construction Manager of
the River Road Expansion
Project for Stevens Construction
Company, had not been returned
by press time.
Miller and Schroeder Investment Corporation financed the
Red Lake casino projects in several stages; at this point Red
Lake band's gambling enterprise
debt load is reported to exceed
$30 million.
There are also allegations that
there were kickbacks, as well as
abuse and misuse of funds,
which led to the dispute between
Hanson and King.
The River Road Casino held
its grand opening last May 25lh
in spite ofthe fact that construction had not yet been completed.
Media reports ofthe "unveiling"
ofthe new casino complex
quoted tribal treasurer Dan
King, who oversaw construction
of die project, extolling the feasibility ofthe multimillion dollar
project: "... diis is so unique
that there's just nothing like it in
the area. We're now expanding
HANSON to page 5
Nominations solicited for
Bemidji advisory
representive to MIAC
By JeffArmstrong
Applications are now being
sought to fill the new Bemidji
position on the Urban Advisory
Council (UAC) ofthe Minnesota
Indian Affairs Council (MIAC).
The state last year passed a law
expanding urban membership to
six to include one representative
from the northern Minnesota
town situated between three reservations. At present, the five-
member UAC consists of residents of Minneapolis, St. Paul
and Duluth.
Included among legislation the
MIAC helped enact this year
was a bill to make tribal police
departments "exercising state arrest powers" eligible for state
police aid, amounting to state reimbursement of about $6,000
per officer.
The UAC met at the Bemidji
public library Oct. 3 with members ofthe city's Race Relations
Council (RRC) to work out a
plan to select a Bemidji representative. Although the MIAC
board—made up ofthe chairs of
the 11     reservations in Minnesota and two at-large members—
officially appoints an individual
to fill the slot, MIAC staff assistant Sharon Romano said the urban council's recommendation
carries much weight.
"It will be up to this committee (UAC)how to choose these
people."
Tlie UAC and the RRC agreed
diat the Bemidji member should
be chosen based on a public
hearing in the city identifying
the needs ofthe Native community and the qualifications ofthe
candidates.
"We want this done as democratically as possible," said RRC
member Lorena Cook.
However, Vince Beyl, also a
member ofthe Race Relations
Council, said Bemidji's lack of
a central location such as an Indian center complicated the effort.
"We don't have a process to
organize the community like
that," said Beyl.
■v Beyl said Bemidji Natives are
only dimly aware ofthe role of
the MIAC and must be informed as to why their participation is needed.
MIAC to page 5
meeting
Minnesota Indian
Affairs Council
quarterly meeting
postponed
The quarterly meeting ofthe
Minnesota Indian Affairs
council that was scheduled for
Thursday, October 18, 2001 has
been postponed due to
conflicting meetings and the
State Workers' strike. We will
let you know when this meeting
will be rescheduled.
No tolerance for
incompetence
Canadian
national post
For decades, Canadian economists and politicians have treated
aboriginals as though they constituted an "economically disadvantaged" monolith. But a new study
titled Aboriginal People and Social
Classes in Manitoba, challenges
this dogma. Its author, Jeremy Hull,
CANADA to page 5
Goodman
given a
blended
sentence
By Jean Pagano
Beltrami District Judge Terrance
Holter handed down to Sierra
Goodman, age 17, a blended juvenile and adult sentence on September 25lh. As previously reported in
Press/ON, Goodman was present
on May 28"' when her 14-year-old
boyfriend allegedly stabbed both
Gene and Carol Campbell, wounding tiiem both severely enough to
"cause death ifthey had not received medical help" according to
staff writer Molly Miron of the
Bemidji Pioneer. Carol Campbell
is currently paralyzed from the
waist down as a result ofthe injuries received in the attack.
The judge sentenced Goodman
on four felony counts: 2 counts of
aiding first-degree assault and two
counts of aiding an offender. The
sentence for the charge of aiding
first-degree assault, the Judge
Holter sentenced Goodman to two
consecutive 86-month prison terms.
These tenns were stayed on a number of conditions. She was also order to undergo treatment at the
Woodland Hills center near Duluth.
Additionally, she was placed on extended juvenile supervision until
her 21st birthday.
For the convictions for aiding an
offender, Goodman received two
coasecutive 43-month sentences,
which are also coasecutive to the
sentences for the aiding first-degree
assault. Tlie 43-mondi sentences
were also stayed for a period of up
to 20 years.
The stayed sentences carried a
number of conditions with them,
namely that Goodman have no contact with Darryl Headbird, Jr. or his
family, and the Campbells and their
family. The Campbells have been
authorized contact with Goodman.
Not only must she undergo treatment at the Woodland Hills center,
but she must also complete the
treatment without any disciplinary
GOODMAN to page 6
Voice     of     t he      People
web page: www.press-on.net
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 45
October 5, 2001
Photo by M. Barrett
Happier Days: Red Lake casino dignitaries pose in celebration of casino expansion on December 26,2000. From left to right: Greeting
Spears, hereditary chief; Marv Hanson, Red Lake gaming manager; Allen Pemberton, Redby district representative; Bobby
Whitefeather, Red Lake tribal council chairman; Rudy Johnson, Ponemah district representative; Dan King, Red Lake tribal treasurer;
'"lifted Hardy, Ponemah district representative; and Harlan Beaulieu, Little Rock district representative.
State should consider taxing
Choctaw casino, senator says
By John Porretto
Associated Press
JACKSON, Miss. - Striking a
new deal with the Mississippi Band
of Choctaw Indians that could provide tax money from the tribe's
bustling Philadelphia casino is being consider by state lawmakers.
During a budget hearing Thursday forthe Mississippi Gaming
Commission, Sen. Jack Gordoa D-
Okolona, said he had had inquiries
about why the Choctaws pay no
state taxes on die Silver Star Resort
& Casino, the state's highest-grossing and only land-based gambling
establishment.
Gordon, chainnan ofthe Senate
Appropriations Committee, asked
Gaming Commission Executive Director Chuck Patton if there was
anything the Legislature could do to
get a piece ofthe Choctaws' take.
"That would solve a good bit of
our budget problem right now if we
could assess them at the same rate
as odier casinos," said Gordon, referring to die state's current financial crisis.
The Legislature, however, has no
authority to tax a Native American
casino, and Patton pointed that out.
The federal Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act of 1988 requires
states to negotiate agreements, or
compacts, widi tribes to set rules
and limits on gambling.
hi Mississippi, casino revenue is
taxed up to 12 percent, a rate that
has been in die law since legislators
legalized gambling boats in 1992.
The state levies 8 percent and local
governments up to 4 percent.
For fiscal year 2001, total tax
CHOCTAW to page 5
BIA files to block tribe's
speedup bid
Associated Press
NEW HAVEN, Conn. - The
Bureau of Indian Affairs has
asked a federal judge to block a
Bridgeport tribe's request to
speed up its federal recognition
bid.
The BIA filed a motion Friday
in U.S. District Court urging
Judge Janet Bond Arterton to
throw out the Golden Hill
Paugussetts' legal bid to speedup
the tribe's 19-year-old push for
federal recognition.
The BIA claims that if the
Paugussett request is approved,
even-older petitions by other
tribes would be delayed and the
amount of time the bureau could
devote to the Bridgeport tribe's
request would be affected.
The tribe had asked Arterton to
order the BIA to consider its case
before any others, to assign a
team including a historian, an anthropologist and a genealogist to
review its petition and to set a
firm deadline for a decision.
The Paugussetts, recognized as
BIA to page 6
Investigator recommends
Norton be held in
contempt of court
By Robert Gehrke
Associated Press
WASHINGTON- Interior Secretary Gale Norton should be held
in contempt for not complying
with a court order meant to protect whistle-blowers, an investigator says.
In February, court-appointed investigator Alan Balaran ordered
the Interior Department to notify
employees that they could contact
him directly and anonymously
with concerns about government
efforts to fix a trust fund that
squandered royalties from American Indian lands.
But Interior was slow to notify
employees they would be protected from reprisal and issued
memos undermining the open dialogue, Balaran said.
"Senior management neglected
to marshal its resources, impose its
authority and demand the results
needed" to comply with the order,
Balaran wrote in his opinion, submitted to U.S. District Judge
Royce Lamberth late Friday.
A class-action lawsuit filed in
1996 on behalf of 300,000 American Indians claims the government
NORTON to page 3
Judge grants
request for
injunction in
gaming case
Associated Press
EL PASO, Texas - A far West
Texas Indian tribe said it will appeal a ruling by a federal judge that
says its casino gambling operation
is illegal under state law.
Visiting U.S. District Judge
Gamett Thomas Eisele on Thursday granted die state's request for a
pemianent injunction banning illegal casino gambling at the Tigua's
Speaking Rock Casino.
Eisele ruled the tribe must bring
itself into compliance with the law
by Nov. 30.
"We were not expecting something like this," Albert Alvidrez,
governor of the 1,200-member
tribe, said.
Alvidrez said the tribe will ask
for a stay so it can operate die casino while the case is under appeal.
Texas Attorney General John
Cornyn has contended all forms of
casino gambling are illegal in
Texas, including the Tigua's operation.
"Tlie law is simple. My responsibility as attorney general is to enforce the laws ofthe state," Cornyn
said. "I am pleased that the court
agreed with our position that casino
gambling is illegal in Texas."
Tribe spokesman Marc Schwartz
said the judge did not address the
core issue - that the tribe has die
right to manage its affairs on a federally recognized reservation.
"Tlie state is attempting to narrow the focus on die penal code,"
Schwartz said.
Eisele wrote in his summary that
if the Tiguas qualify for gambling
activities allowed under Texas law,
such as charitable raffling or bingo
operations, then it can pursue those
activities.
Tigua supporters, including Rep.
Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, say restricting the tribe to nonprofit gaming would hurt the tribe and El
Paso. Reyes is concerned because
the ruling will impact El Paso's
economy, said his spokesman, Peter
Brock.
A lawyer for the tribe argued last
month before Eisele that gambling
is big business in Texas and the
tribe has a right to cash in.
However, lawyers for die state attorney said the Tiguas agreed not to
gamble if the federal government
would recognize them as a tribe.
Lawyers for the state are trying to
GAMING to page 3