Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2001-11-23

              INDEX
Fourth Thursday
Don't forget about
Counties surprise many
News Around Indian Country
2    of November is
Leech Lake
with decision to pull plug
Commentary/Editorials/Voices
4    here again
on White Earth tribal
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events
5
police agreements
Classifieds
7
pg1,6
P94
pg 1
Did the BIA misplace your
money? Maybe you'll find it
with whereabouts website
P9 1
Commentary
Objection to
proposed plan for
use, distribution
of Red Lake funds
pg4
Did the BIA misplace your money?
Maybe you'll find it with whereabouts website
by Clara NiiSka
The Office ofthe Special
Trustee for American Indians
(OST), Office of Tmst Funds
Management (OTFM) recently
. posted a website, hoping to find
current addresses forthe account
holders of record in the Individual
Indian Monies (UM) system. The
names ofthe account holders are
accessible by first letter ofthe last
name at the following website:
http://www.ost.doi.gov/
whereabouts.html The lists
posted by the OFTM include
about 61,034 people, from A-nau-
des-bah to Steven L. Zyltra.
OST's use ofthe internet and its
whereabouts website is among the
efforts which the office has made
to try to resolve some ofthe BIA
money mismanagement problems.
The Special Trustee's office was
established under the American
Indian Tmst Fund Management
Reform Act of 1994 (Public Law
103-412). More than 340 employees in three offices—Tmst
Risk Management, Tmst Funds
Management, and Tmst Fund
Records—work for OST, headquartered in Albuquerque, New
Mexico, trying to resolve some of
the BIA money mismanagement
problems.
According to other information
posted on its website - the OST
had not returned Press/OWs telephone calls by press time - the
OST is headed by Special Trustee
Thomas N. Slonaker, a Clinton
appointee and former banker. In a
March 2000 speech before the
Senate Committee hearing his
confirmation, Slonaker described
the Special Trustee's position as a
"very unique leadership and
managerial challenge." He also
said that he saw the massive job of
straightening out the BIA's tmst
management problems as, "net
unlike that which is required to deliver services to clients in a large
bank tmst department having numerous branch locations often in
different states."
$450 billion dollars
The OST's recently-posted
whereabouts website is a part of a
broader- court-ordered and court-
supervised- effort to resolve
problems with approximately
$450 billion dollars in IIM ac
counts, which are held in "tmst"
by the United States on behalf of
individual Indians. The money in
those accounts originates from
various sources, much of it from
income generated by the lease of
grazing, farming, timber and mineral rights on Indian allotments.
Alleging "breach of tmst," the
Washington DC law firm Aukamp
& Gingold and attorneys for the
Native American Rights Fund
sued the US government on behalf
of IIM account holders. On February 4,1997, Elouise Pepion
Cobell, Earl Old Person, Mildred
Cleghorn, Thomas Maulson,
James Louis Larose were certified
as representatives of a class consisting ofall present and former
beneficiaries ofthe IIM accounts—about 300,000 Indian individuals.
In a decision in the case Cobell,
et al. v. Babbitt 91 F. Supp. 2d 1
handed down in December 1999,
the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia found that the
U.S. had breached—and was continuing to breach—its tmst re-
WEBSITE to page 6
Counties surprise many with decision to
pull plug on tribal police agreements
By JeffArmstrong
A state-tribal law enforcement
system once held up as a national
model foundered last week when
two ofthe three comities which
signed agreements with White
Earth pulled out ofthe pact.
Citing various concerns with the
performance oftribal officers and
the legal framework under which
they operated, the sheriffs departments of Mahnomen and
Clearwater counties persuaded their
respective county commissions to
unanimously terminate the agreements effective immediately at Nov.
13 meetings.
Clearwater County Attorney Kip
Fontaine said the county's action
took even him by surprise, but lie
expressed hope tliat the dispute
could be resolved.
"I knew the issue was on the
commission's agenda. I didn't know
there would be action taken," said
Fontaine. "Hopefully, this is just a
bump on the road in the relationship
between the two agencies."
Fontaine said the agreement's
lack of an adequate "enforcement
mechanism" and a perceived imbalance in the relative authorities of
state and tribal police prompted the
county's action.
"The Sheriff's department's position was tliat the law enforcement
agreement was not accomplishing
what it was intended to do," said
Fontaine. "Whereas tribal members
could ticket non-tribal members on
the reservation, county deputies
could not ticket tribal members on
the reservation."
White Earth police chief Bill
Brunelle asserted that Mahnomen
County Sheriff Richard Rooney
spearheaded the effort to scrap the
agreement for fear the reservation
intended to seek "retrocession" from
state criminal jurisdiction.
"They thought it was maybe a turf
war," said Brunelle. 'They were under the impression that we were
moving toward retrocession, which
is at least 10-15 years down the
road, and that non-Natives would be
subjectto the exclusive jurisdiction
ofthe tn'bal court. But even if we
did retrocede, we would never liave
jurisdiction over non-Natives."
Brunelle said tribal police will
continue to enforce traffic and other
civil regulatory laws throughout the
reservation and to exercise arrest
powers in areas within Becker
County, which will continue its current arrangement with White Earth.
At a July 24 Board of Commissioners meeting, Becker County officials
"expressed support of continuing
with the Law Enforcement agreement," according to minutes from
the meeting.
Mahnomen County Commissioner Charlie Pazdemak, who had
warned last May ofthe potential for
"social unrest" underthe existing
system, said the county acted deci
sively because there were no provisions under the agreement for an alternative to cancellation.
'They weren't complying with the
articles and the intent ofthe agreement," said Pazdemak. "There was
no provision in the agreement for
suspension or anything but termination. It's kind of like you have to
'start over."
Tribal members who have long
opposed the agreement welcomed
news ofthe county pullout and
called for grassroots tribal participation and oversight in any future
agreements.
'They have to have the consent of
the tribe. They have to have a referendum vote. But they can't have a
referendum vote because nobody
will vote for it," said Lowell
Bellanger.
Bellanger is currently facing serious criminal charges in Becker
County due to an incident in which
he says he was harassed and abused
by tribal officers. He pleaded not
guilty to charges of fleeing a peace
officer and obstructing legal process
with force, requesting an omnibus
hearing at a Nov. 19 court appearance.
The tribal police dispute is expected to be among the topics of
discussion at a Nov. 26 tri-county
summit meeting scheduled for 8:30
a.m. at the Shooting Star Casino facility in Mahnomen.
Pepsi Cup awarded to SIPI
By Jean Pagano
Southwestern Indian Polytechnic
Institute (SIPI) is the 2001 winner
ofthe National Junior College Athletic Association's (NJCAA) Pepsi
Cup at the November 10th National
Cross-Country Championships at
the University of Texas in San Antonio. The Pepsi Cup is awarded by
NJCAA Division III Coaches Association to the school that has the
best finish at the National Cross-
Country Championship between
the men and women's team combined. This is the first time tliat
SIPI has won this prestigious
award.
SIPI was ranked third in the
Coaches'Association polls going
into the competition. Upon winning
the meet by defeating the two
higher ranked schools, SIPI coach
Michael Daney was awarded the
"Coach ofthe Champions" plaque.
The coach was also the recipient of
the NJCAA's men Region 5 Coach
ofthe Year honors.
SIPI was led to victor}' by
Sophomore Brent Reiter, a
Menominee from Keshena Wisconsin, with a second place finish
in the 5 mile event with a time of
27:24. The men's Cross-Country
team has nine runners and the
women's team has six mnners.
Runners come from many different
states and numerous tribes. SIPI's
athletic programs compete in crosscountry, indoor and outdoor track,
and the marathon. The program is
in its 12dl year and in that time the
men and women's programs have
accumulated 8 National Championship Titles, 7 National Runner-
Up Titles, and 3 third place finishes. Individual athletes have
earned 10 Individual National
Champion titles and 48 All-American awards. SIPI earned a National
Championship inthe Marathon in
2001. SIPI is coached by Michael
Daney (Choctaw) and Anadine
Leon (Acoma Pueblo).
Coach Michael Daney states "I
am continually in the process of attempting to reach American Indian
tribes and communities about the
athletic opportunity in the sport of
running that we offer here at SIPI".
He also said "I honestly feel the accomplishments that our student-
athletes here at SIPI have achieved
could be a source of inspiration and
awareness to American Indians of
all tribes."
SIPI is a tuition free school,
providing books and on-campus
student housing. SIPI offers the
following degrees listed in the
box below.
For more information, contact
the Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute at 9169 Coors Rd NW,
P.O. Box 10146, Albuquerque,
New Mexico 87814 at 1-800-586-
7474 or visit them online at http://
www.sipi.bia.edu. Application requirements include: 1 .SIPI application, 2. Certificate oflndian Blood
3. High School transcripts/GED
scores, 4. Physical with Immunization Record, 5. $20 Student Activity Fee and $205 damage deposit.
• Associate of Applied Science (A AS) Degrees
Accounting
Business Administration
Computer Science
Electronics
Graphic Arts
Optica] Technology
Agricultural Technologies
Civil Engineering
Culinary Arts
Environmental Science
Natural Resources
Semiconductor Manufacturing
• Associate of Arts (AA) Degree
Liberal Arts
• Associate of Science (AS) Degrees
Business Administration       Computer Science
Former tribal official sentenced for embezzlement
AssociatedPress
MINNEAPOLIS - The former
director ofthe Tribal Employment
Rights Office on the White Earth
Indian Reservation was sentenced
to a year in prison Friday for embezzling from a tribal organization.
Roderick Bernard HighElk, 57,
of White Earth, pleaded^guilty Aug.
13 to one count of embezzling
$11,348.80 from a tribal organiza
tion.
One ofthe functions ofthe Tribal
Employment Rights Office was to
find part-time and temporary employees for programs operated by
the Tribal Council, including the
Shooting Star Casino.
During his plea hearing, HighElk
admitted that from May 1999
through July 2000 he diverted
$70,200 the tribal office had re
ceived from the casino as reimbursement for part-time and temporary employees at Shooting Star.
HighElk admitted that he deposited the checks into a bank account
he opened at the White Earth Reservation Federal Credit Union under the TERO name but for which
he had the only access,and used
the money for his personal use.
Voice
o  F
THE
People
web page: www.prea8-on.net
Native  *~
American
Press
Ojibwe News
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A wesiWy publkxiian.   Copyright, JVarivB Amn-mma, Prmss, 2QQi
Founded in 1988
Volume 13 Issue 52
November 23,2001
Dancers selected from Bug 0 Nay Ge Shig School
Bug O Nay Ge Shig School recently held a contest pow-wow to select the dancers who will represent the
School at pow-wows around the country for the next year. Those chosen include: Tara Smith - Senior Princess; Ryan Lemon - Senior Brave; Delores Tibbets - Junior Princess; and D. J. Wakonabo - Junior Brave.
Fourth Thursday of November here again
The fourth Thursday ofNovember is here again, and as in the past,
I liave posted this information at
that time. Some of us are well
aware ofthe history of Thanksgiving, wliile most ofthe 265 million
people in the United States, I
would believe, are not, and fool
themselves. We all need reminding
to look for and speak the truth.
Chris Spotted Eagle
Thanksgiving holocaust
The year was 1637... 700 men,
women and children ofthe Pequot
Tribe, gathered for their "Annual
Green Corn Dance" in the area tliat
is now known as Groton, Connecticut.
While the Pequot were gathered
in this place of meeting, they were
surrounded and attacked by mercenaries ofthe English and Dutch.
The Indians were ordered from the
building and as they came forth,
they were shot down. The rest
were burned alive in the building.
Forthe next 100 years, every
"Thanksgiving Day" ordained by a
Governor or President was to
honor that victory, thanking God
that the battle had been won.
"Thanksgiving Day was first officially proclaimed by the governor
of Massachusetts Bay Colony in
1637 to commemorate the massacre of 700 Indian men, women and
children..." said William B.
Newell (Penobscot). Newell, 84,
former chairman ofthe University
of Connecticut Anthropology Department.
Source: Documents of Holland,
13 Volume Colonial Documentary
History, letters and reports form
colonial officials to their superiors
and the King in England and the
private papers of Sir William
Jolinson, British Indian agent for
the New York colony for 30 years.
Ht * * *
An additional perspective to the
1637 Holocaust, there were survivors of that horrible massacre. Of
the survivors 1/3 were shipped to
the carribean and sold into slavery,
1/3 were sent to Narragansett Territory, and the remaining third were
sent to Mohican Territory.
The Mohicans at that time took a
more passive view concerning how
to deal with colonists, while the
Narragansett had a more resistive
view. Both Nations were dealing
with hidian Agents in their communities as well. In this case, it may be
plausible to consider that the Indian
agents were basically White "Overseers" whose purpose was to encourage Indian coinmunities to accept assimilation tatics through religious conversion, learning english,
and being redefined from vibrant
independent nations to Indian
townships under first the European
colonies, later American States and
eventually The United States of
America.
In short the surviving Pequots
who were not shipped to the
carribean were forced to be forced
refugees witiiin other Indian townships who were also struggling
colonist regimes. In time the-
Pequots in both townships once
THURSDAY to page 6
Bena elder passes on
Ojibwe lore
By Molly Miron
The Pioneer of Bemidji
BEMIDJI, Minn.- With well-
practiced delicacy, Josie Ryan
picks a strand of beads from a coil
of color.
Her skillful hands also sew birch
bark baskets, braid rugs and weave
mats.
From maple sugar in the spring
to balsam wreaths at Christmas,
Ryan's life has encompassed a
circle of traditional Ojibwe arts,
skills and lore.
And Ryan, now 91, lias been
passing on her expertise to Bemidji
State University students, senior
citizens and youngsters for more
than 30 years.
"I just started from my grandma
and my sisters," Ryan said of her
skills. "I didn't do anything out ofa
book. Just experience."
Ryan was born in April 1910,
probably at her family's sugar
camp near Old Agency. "Maybe I
was bom in a wigwam," she said.
"People didn't go to hospitals in
those days."
Later, she moved in with her
grandmother and went to school at
Sugar Point.
"My grandma lived on Bear Island. We used to walk to school,"
she said. "When it was stormy, my
ELDER to page 6
Herrington becomes first
American Indian astronaut
AssociatedPress
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) - John
Herrington lias ties to the land that
go back to a time beyond remembering, and he will be the first
American Indian to stretch that
bond by traveling in space.
Herrington, 43, a Chickasaw Indian bom in Oklahoma, is living
proof that he and others from many
backgrounds can do what once
seemed impossible.
He is one of seven crew members who will take a space shuttle
flight to the International Space
Station on Aug. 22.
"It was never something I
thought I could do," Herrington has
said "I get to do what kids dream
about."
He said the young people who
stood in line to meet him here over
the weekend can achieve what they
set out to do. 'They need to recognize people care about them," he
said.
He spent Saturday signing autographs and posing for photographs
ASTRONAUT to page 6
Salvation
Army ends
detox program
for Hennepin
County
AssociatedPress
MINNEAPOLIS - The Salvation Army is pulling out ofa program to run Hennepin County's
detox center, leaving the county
scrambling to find a replacement.
The Salvation Army has run the
facility for six years. When officials announced it would not renew its contract, the county mailed
40 letters to various organizations
to ask whether they were interested in taking over the program.
Nobody responded positively,
so, in January, the county will temporarily take over the 40-bed
detox facility at 1800 Chicago
Ave. S. in Minneapolis.
The county did find a group to
reluctantly take over operations in
April. The American Indian Housing and Community Development
Corporation, which provides services for American Indian self-sufficiency, agreed to take over the
contract, but only with increased
funding. They wanted and the
county agreed to an additional
$100,000 for pi aiming and transition services. That brings the total
contract to S466,000 a year.
DETOX to page 6