Native American Press / Ojibwe News (Bemidji, Minnesota), 2001-12-21

              INDEX
News Around Indian Country
Commentary/Editorials/Voices
Smoke Signals of Upcoming Events
Classifieds
Ojibwe artist
Joe Geshick
moves to Ely
P9 1
FBI says "foul play
suspected" in Red
Lake shooting
death
pgi
King recall petition resubmitted
with 1743 signatures
RLTC MEETING CALLED FOR DEC. 21 TO CONSIDER PETITION
Dan
by Jean Pagano
Pursuant to the Red Lake
Tribal Council's October 9dl ordi
nance providing for the
recall oftribal council
members, the petition
to recall Treasurer Dan
King was turned in to
tribal Secretary Judy
Roy at 9:30 p.m. on
December 16th at the ,
police station The petition had been previously circulated and
was turned in to tribal
Secretary Roy on December 5th,
2001, but was returned to cure
defects when it was found that
nearly 500 of the signatures
lacked the complete address
needed.
The recall petition lists two
violations by Treasurer King,
namely 1) that he did not submit
regular monthly statements and
reports of all his transactions as
Treasurer and has not rendered
regular financial statements to
the Tribal Council, and 2) that
Treasurer King has spent tribal
funds without proper authorization from the Tribal Council by
resolution and duly enacted in legal session, and that he has not
made records of all liis expendi-
tures available to either the Tribal
Council or the members ofthe
Band.
Section 7, Subdivision 1 ofthe
Recall Ordinance, Ordinance 1 -
2001, states that on the verifica
tion ofthe signatures, the Secretary shall present the Tribal
Council the petition along with a
statement certifying
that the number of
signatures verified
meets or exceeds the
number required to
necessitate a recall
election.
The petitions, as resubmitted, contain
1687 certified signatures and 56 new
King signatures for a total
of 1743 names. By ordinance, a
total of 1665 signatures are required for a recall petition, or
25% ofthe registered voters in
the last election.
Once the tribal Secretary accepts the petition, a review board
must review the petition. Upon
resubmission, petitioners submitted two questions to the review-
board: 1) to not require a second
signature on the corrected addresses, and 2) whether to accept
the 56 new signatures. The review board voted yes to the two
questions. On hand to witness the
work ofthe review board were
four hereditary chiefs, observers
for Dan King, and a number of
petitioners.
In accordance with the Recall
Ordinance, Tribal Chainnan
Bobby Whitefeather called a special meeting ofthe Tribal Council
for Friday December 21s" at 1
p.m. Section 9 ofthe Recall Or
dinance details the steps that will
be taken by the Tribal Council at
Friday's special meeting. The
Tribal Council, when presented
with a valid, verified petition,
shall set an election for the recall
ofthe named Office, in this case
Treasurer King, and that the election shall be set to occur witiiin
60 days ofthe presentation ofa
valid, verified petition. Accordingly, the election to recall Treasurer King should be held on or
before February 14*, 2002.
The form ofthe recall ballot
will contain only one question
and that question will state: "I
agree that Treasurer Dan King
should be recalled and removed
from the Red Lake Tribal Council. Yes No ".
The Recall Ordinance further
states that in order for the recall
election to be valid, 25% ofthe
eligible voting members ofthe
Red Lake Band must vote in the
recall election. If 60% ofthe voters in the recall election choose
to recall King, the Tribal Council
will then pass a resolution removing him from the Tribal
Council.
According to petition co-
spokesperson Bill Lawrence, petitioners will request that the
RLTC suspend Treasurer King
during the course ofthe election.
Lawrence stated that "I don't
care ifthey suspend him without
pay, just take the checkbook
away from him".
FBI says "foul
play suspected"
in Red Lake
shooting death
by Clara NiiSka
The body of Ronald Wayne
Long, Jr., who would have turned
19 on December 18"', was "discovered by Red Lake tribal police,
who were on routine patrol" on
Saturday, December 22, in a
wooded area on Red Lake Indian
reservation, according to F.B.I,
agent Paul McCabe. "Foul play is
suspected," said McCabe, and the
F.B.I, is "currently investigating."
The F.B.I, refused to release further infonnation, citing Department of Justice regulations and
the F.B.I.'s ongoing investigation.
Press/ONhas heard from reliable reservation sources that the
deceased was shot "execution-
style," three times in the back of
the head, that the bullet wounds
had blown offthe face, and that
Long liad to be identified through
dental records.
Sources also told Press/ON that
there has been a "gang feud" between a Leech Lake gang and a
Red Lake gang. Other sources
have indicated that dmgs may
have also played a role in Long's
death.
Long was the grandson of
Patrick "Zabadees" Long of Red
Lake reservation.
Interior Department meets
with tribal officials
Reorganization of BIA discussed
by Clara NiiSka
The Department ofthe Interior
met with tribal officials at the
Doubletree Hotel in
Bloomington on Thursday, December 20*. The meeting is the
second in a series with tribal
leaders. It was called after Interior Secretary Gale Norton, "the  .
latest Interior secretary to try to
straighten out the trust-funds
mess ... proposed a massive re-
structuring ofthe BIA." She reportedly "angered tribal leaders"
by not consulting with them prior
to unveiling her $300 million
plan to restructure the BIA, ac- .
cording to St. Paul Pioneer
staffwriter Nancy Ngo.
The December 20th meeting between the DOI and tribal leaders
was still in session when Press/
ON went to press on Thursday
morning.
The DOI's proposed restructuring ofthe BIA resulted from a
lawsuit over the Bureau oflndian
Affairs' management—and alleged mismanagement—oflndian tmst funds.
The fallout from the lawsuit
has also resulted in Indians'
checks drawn on federal tmst
funds being delayed. BIA officials said on December 19th that
trust fund checks for Indians in
Wisconsin and Minnesota will
not be mailed to recipients until
after Christmas.
According to the St. Paul Pioneer, the "BIA could not say how
many people were affected or
how much ofthe money was
headed to Minnesota and Wisconsin. Last December, $15 million in tmst fund checks were issued nationwide." BIA tmst
funds checks include oil and gas
royalty payments, mineral rights
and land lease payments, and
timber stumpage payments.
Based on a December 5, 2001
order from District Court Judge
Royce C. Lamberth, the Department ofthe Interior immediately
disconnected "from the Internet
all infonnation technology systems that house or provide access
to individual tmst data." The
DOI disconnected from the
Internet, and in a December 6"1
memo from Deputy Secretary
Griles, assure its employees that
"all inbound and outbound
Internet network traffic should be
unable to get through."
The DOI restored some
Internet connections two days
later, on December 8th; however
Internet access to the agency,
homepage http://www.doi.gov is
still limited.
Tribal police legislation termed unconstitutional
extension of state jurisdiction
By JeffArmstrong
A White Earth youth ticketed
for underage drinking is challenging the constitutionality of
Minnesota laws allowing coun- '
ties to enter into reservation law
enforcement agreements without
the formal consent oftribal members.
Jon Manypenny was given a
state juvenile citation by a tribal
officer operating under an agreement between the White Earth
RBC and Mahnomen County
from which the county has since
withdrawn. In his motion for dismissal, Manypenny states that
the charge "is based entirely
upon the alleged authority ofthe
State statutes and agreement in
purporting to allow White Earth
police officers to enforpe state
laws by turning the matter after-
the-fact over to the county for
prosecution."
Because the state was never
authorized by the U.S. Congress
to regulate or establish tribal police forces under federal law. he
argues, Minnesota has no legal
authority to enact legislation pertaining to reservation law enforcement.
"Congress has not amended or
altered Public Law 280 to expressly delegate to the State of
Minnesota the authority to pass a
statute allowing White Earth
tribal police officers to enforce
State of Minnesota laws; moreover, it is a principle of international law that one sovereign
cannot enforce the criminal law
of another sovereign, and the
state violates this basic principle
of international law," the brief
states.
Minnesota Statute 626.93
stipulates that counties may enter
into law enforcement agreements
with reservations, subject to requirements that the tribal officers
be state licensed and that tribal
officials waive immunity from
suit. Citing the state Supreme
Court mling in the Stone case,
Manypenny argues that both the
conditions and the underlying offense are civil/regulatory in nature and are thus unenforceable
intrusions upon the reservation.
"The Minnesota statutes in issue—POST-licensing and the
statute allowing tribal police to
enforce state laws—are civil/
regulatory and the State ofMinnesota cannot grant to tribal police officers authority that the
state does not have," Manypenny
maintains. "It is clearly the
present mle of law (reserving for
a later day the argument over
whether Congressional 'plenary
power' is lawfully based) that,
for the purposes of this Motion to
Dismiss, authority over Indian
affairs, especially in the area of
state criminal jurisdiction, rests in
the Federal government to the
exclusion of state governments,
unless Congress expressly declares that certain powers over
Indian affairs shall be exercised
by the states."
Manypenny argues that the police agreements in reality constitute an expansion, rather than retrocession, of state legal authority
over the reservation and thus require a majority vote of tribal
members under federal law.
"The State of Minnesota attempted to extend its jurisdiction
over indigenous lands (White
Earth Reservation) under the mse
of providing for cooperative law
agreements and intruded upon
Indian affairs without express
Federal Congressional authority
and without tribal members' consent or input to testify for or
against the legislation and without the Federal mandatory law
requirement of a vote of affected
tribal members as required by the
1968 amendments to Public Law
280 in the Indian Civil Rights
Act," he states.
The state-tribal policing pacts
also contravene, Manypenny argues, the Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe Constimtion, which estab-
LEGISLATION to page 3
King recalls petition
resubmitted with
1743 signatures
P9 1
Commentary
20017 2001!
pg4
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Founded in 1988
Volume 14 Issue 4
December 21, 2001
Artist Joe Geschick stands before two of his paintings during a showing at the Grand Casino in Hinckley in
March, 1999. On the left is "Stone People," representing his personal version of Stone People spirits. The four
colors represent the four directions and signify their sacredness. On the right is "The Healer," which was
inspired by his uncle Bob Geyshick, a medicine man who lived in Canada all his life.
Ojibwe artist Joe Geshick moves to Ely
By Michael Sinesio
The Ely Echo
, "7~hL painting is called 'Feeding ofthe Spirit'," said Ojibwe
artist loe Geshick in his new  .
home on Chandler Street in Ely,
Minnesota. It was a print of an
original oil painting in clean earth
tones; a stylized Indian fonn in a
canoe suspended between water
and sky. "the dots under the canoe are spirits," he said, "and the
wavy line between his head and
the sky are liis prayers; liis songs.
The circle in my paintings, which
people think is the moon, represents gitchi manido, God."
The calm, easy-going Geshick
pointed out other artwork around
the room as he described each one
and what he was trying to do. "I
don't use pipes or medicine
bundles in my paintings," he said.
He feels these ceremonial items
liave no place in commercial
work. He's not so concerned with
other uses of the icons, by tries to
stay away from them himself.
Geshick, a member ofthe Bois
Forte Band of Ojibwe. crew up on
the Nett Lake Reservation ana
later studied art and worked in
New York, drawing museum artifacts in pen and ink, a job he said
was really boring. He went on to
teach art at an Indian college in
Reno, Nevada and on an Ontario
reservation setting up workshops.
He told me that he learned from
each culture in which he was involved. He also spent time in
South Dakota learning healing
ceremonies and participating in
sun dance ceremonies. These
would become the foundation for
the work he is doing.
His work is described as 'Traditional Indian,' but is really a style
all liis own. His style developed,
it seems, as he uncovered his
spiritual self. The artwork can be
viewed as a land of spiritual discovery. Geshick's wife LeeAnn, a
weaver, said they have observed
that the symbolism in the paintings is universal, as individuals
from other cultures can apply their
iperiences to the scenes.
The themes tie together heaven
and earth with the human spirit as
intennediate.
Geshick has been in St. Paul for
the past 16 years where he finally
was recognized by the art world.
He has been featured in national
and international magazines,
given awards, commissioned to
do works and chosen to do the
cover art for five books of Louise
Erdrich. His painting 'Feeding of
the Spirit' will be installed as a
mural in the entrance ofthe new
Fortune Bay Museum this summer. After Geshick finishes some
commissions in liis St. Paul studio, he will build a studio here to
complete his move.
You can leam more about Joe
Geshick his shows and liis art at
www.sundancefinearts.com.
Tribal leaders upset over Norton
reshuffling of Indian trust
By Angela Turner
AssociatedPress
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -Interior Secretary Gale Norton says
she supports fonning a task force
that would help her smooth
money-management problems
with the Bureau oflndian Affairs.
"As your tmstee, I have a responsibility to see that this system gets fixed," she told tribal
leaders from across the nation
during a daylong meeting Thursday in Albuquerque. "I'm open
to alternatives. I want to know,
though, that at the end of this
process that we haven't let things
go on as usual."
Tribal leaders told Norton they
oppose her plan to reorganize
and consolidate the management
of billions of dollars in Indian
tmst assets, saying they were
never consulted.
"You should be looking out for
the tribes," Ernie L. Stensgar of
the National Congress of American Indians, told Norton, who
faces contempt charges on
whether she misled a judge about
efforts to fix a century of mismanaged Indian tmst funds.
"If you're going to have the
trust of the tribes who you're
supposed to represent, you must
do better than this," Stensgar
said.
Thursday's meeting was the
first of seven on the proposal to
move tmst responsibilities from
the Bureau of Indian Affairs to a
new Bureau oflndian Tmst Assets Management. The next will
be Dec. 20 in Minneapolis.
Last month, Norton announced
the formation of the new agency
to oversee the accounting of
$500 million a year in historically mismanaged royalties from
Indian land. The Bureau of Indian Affairs had managed the assets but a federal court ordered
the system reformed.
The Bush administration wants
the BIA to handle education, social programs and law enforcement and the new bureau to
handle natural resources and
minerals and the tmst assets.
Navajo Nation President
Kelsey Begaye of Window Rock,
Ariz., said the Navajo tribal attorney general is asking Norton's
department for documents having anything to do with tmst asset management since Sept. 1.
The request went to Norton on
Thursday as a Freedom of Information request, and Kelsey said
he wants consultation meetings
halted until the Interior Department provides the information.
"We're simply asking to be con
suited, not insulted," Begaye
said.
Darnell J. Maria, vice president
ofthe Ramah Navajo chapter in
New Mexico, said the tmst asset
management will only create
more red tape for people seeking
Indian services.
"I'm afraid the new agency
isn't going to know how to deal
with Indian people and Indian issues," he said.
At a gathering ofthe National
Congress last week, some 193
tribes adopted a resolution opposing the reorganization and
transfer of tmst responsibilities to
the new Bureau of Indian Tmst
NORTON to page 4
Interior
computer
shutdown
means no
payments for
43,000 Indians
By Robert Gehrke
Associated Press
WASHINGTON -Ajudge's
order intended to protect land
royalties for American Indians
has resulted in 43,000 Indians
failing to receive payments that
many rely on.
On Dec. 5, U.S. District Judge
Royce Lamberth ordered the Interior Department to shut down
Internet access to nearly the entire agency after a court-appointed investigator found that a
lack of computer security put the
Indian tmst funds at risk.
But the shutdown has prevented the Interior Department
from accessing the data they
need to make payments to the Indians whose land proceeds feed
into the account.
"They won't get done because
ofthe court order," said Interior
spokesman John Wright said.
Interior can't determine how-
much money would have been
paid out in December, but last
year payments totaled about $15
million for the month, Wright
said.
The department collects royalties from mining, grazing and
timber harvesting on Indian land
and makes payments to the ben-
PAYMENTS to page 4