April 18, 2003
One of the things I particularly despise about the way legislation
is passed in this great country of ours is the standard practice
of tacking on the bottom of a bill that is likely to pass all the
crap that won't take the light of day scrutiny to get passed on
a stand-alone basis. The fact that it's a standard practice in no
way dilutes the fact that it's often used as a sneaky and devious
way to get something made into law that couldn't make it on its
own...More
April 11, 2003
Finally, yes finally, it has happened. It has been a long wait.
Last week a couple of indictments and one arrest were issued, in
the murder of my friend Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, by a small faction
of the American Indian Movement (AIM). As a result, Arlo Looking
Cloud was arrested in Denver, and an arrest warrant was issued for
John Boy Patton, currently known as John Graham (in the seventies,
many AIM members did not use their real names)...More
March 21, 2003
The Preamble of the Revised Constitution and Bylaws of the Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe reads in part “We, the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe,
... in order to form a representation Chippewa TRIBAL ORGANIZATION,
... do ESTABLISH and ADOPT this constitution .... (my emphasis!)...More
March 21, 2003
For several years, OU has had a scholarship program called “The
Generations Scholarship Program” that gives $12,000 each in
tuition waivers to out-of-state students whose parents or grandparents
graduated from OU. The Oklahoma City Branch of the NAACP is working
with Fannie Bates, M.P.H., to determine if this program has a racially
disparate impact amounting to discrimination...More
March 7, 2003
I want to commend your paper for printing the article by Gregory
D.Luce (February 14, Who Profits? For Jim Graham, it may be his
company, as well as the company he keeps) regarding Ventura Village
Carriage House grant program. Your paper honored the Freedom of
Information Act by helping build an informed public. That is truly
commendable.
According to Luce’s article, conflict of interest exists on
the part of Ventura Village founders, Jim Graham and his wife, Jan,
about their potential use of public funds to build carriage houses
in Phillips. In other words, here comes some “loot” and
“we want it!”
Oh no, could this be de-ja-vu all over again? ...More
March 7, 2003
Many of our people have forgotten the traditional way "War
Stories" are used and respected in the sacred ceremonies of
the people of the Sundance and Pipe, we who have always lived in
the center of our turtle island. Long ago our wise ancestors understood
that a powerful moment in time existed when a warrior performed
a great deed and tested himself to the ultimate.
In english we call them war stories but in our own languages the
story and the person chosen to tell it have names with far more
meaning. War stories are actually "Warrior Stories" because
they are told individually by the warrior who is bringing his actions
into the circle. They are told in front of witnesses who can attest
to their truth because the story must exemplify the great virtues
of a warrior...More
By D.J. Tice, St. Paul Pioneer Press - February 28, 2003
A spirited brawl in Wisconsin over budget troubles and Indian gambling
looks downright weird to Minnesota eyes. That's just further evidence
of the odd character of Minnesota's own arrangements for tribal
gaming.
Wisconsin's new governor, Democrat Jim Doyle, faces the same sort
of budget crisis as Minnesota's new GOP governor, Tim Pawlenty.
Doyle also shares Pawlenty's determination to balance the books
without hiking state taxes.
Doyle, however, has one option Minnesota's governor lacks. Last
week, Doyle announced his intention to extract $237 million in budget-balancing
help — about 7.5 percent of the whole amount needed over two
years — from Wisconsin's 11 Indian tribes...More
February 21, 2003
I’ve given a few dollars over time to NAHA (Native American
Heritage Association).
Are they legit? Why does not Mystic help their impoverished sisters
/ brothers? Is this not proof, if true – gambling doesn’t
make a dime’s worth of difference to the average American Indian?
To say the least, things are lopsided, for example Mystic vs. Rosebud.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but was Indian gaming supposed to
support self sufficiency...More
Time Magazine rehashes old news, lumps sovereign Indian nations
into single category
February 21, 2003
Imagine this news headline: "Dirty Dealing: U.S. corporations
are making millions for investors and providing little to the poor."
How would the business world react?
Aren't U.S. corporations expected to make money for their investors?
Isn't that expected in a capitalistic society? And while businesses
create jobs, do we expect them to solve this country's poverty problems...More
By Maxine V. Eidsvig - February 14, 2003
A little over three months ago, this writer attended a showing of
Sheldon Peters Wolfchild’s docudrama New Buffalo at the Thunderbird
Hotel in Bloomington. The thirty-minute film focused on Dakota elder’s
rights and enrollment issues.
Two of the attendees, Vernice Walker Weber, 84 years old and Forrest
Leith, 63 years old, were featured in the film and each gave moving
testimony of their individual fight to gain recognition...More
January 31, 2003
We would like to inform the public on the actions of the Red
Lake Police Department during the early morning hours on January
16, 2003.
At approximately 2:15 a.m., Doug White and Chad Beaulieu were followed
into Mike Beaulieu’s residence by a couple squad cars. Officer
Ernest Smith told Doug he was being stopped for going over the fog
line. Doug told Officer Smith that he didn’t realize he did
that. Officer Smith told him he was just making sure they were not
intoxicated. Doug told Officer Smith that they not drinking and
to check their vehicle for alcohol if they wanted to...More
January 31, 2003
Summary judgment before Federal District Judge James M. Rosenbaum
in St. Paul, MN on Friday, January 24, 2003. What’s the problem?
If there was any merit to the Mille Lacs County lawsuit against
the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians, surrounding issues of boundaries,
and jurisdictional disputed claims, then, why did the judge repeatedly
pose to Attorney Tom Tobin, a clarification of the issues or problems?...More
January 17, 2003
Melanie Benjamin, “Chief” of the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
Indians in the State of Minnesota continues to be consistent, and
on target in her warning of real dangers existing, whereby local
whites, through their elected representatives, are continuing to
seek the legal “disestablishment of the Mille Lacs Reservation.”
The Mille Lacs County Board filed suit last year in Federal District
Court seeking an order that the court “reaffirm the long past
disestablishment of the 61,000-acre 1855 Mille Lacs Indian Reservation.”
This lawsuit will be heard next week (January 24th) in St. Paul,
Mn. The Mille Lacs Band will be making a motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
It will be interesting to see what will happen legally, in what
may be a first round of costly litigation...More
January 24, 2003
[In response to the comment, “Attorney General Bill Lockyer
and Davis ran smack into tribal sovereignty, a wall of legal independence
that has thwarted state and local officials across the nation”
…]
...Don't complain about the loss of your tribal programs if you
are going to vote for Senators who are carte blanc Israel in preference
to supporting our Indian programs. Next time you crowd around some
Senator or Congressman, better check his real voting track record...More
January 10, 2003
We now have a new mayor in Mpls: Chimook- slick as a whistle, with
his balancing act to please the poor, middle class, and the rich
at the same time. The last mayor, both female and black, was beholden
to the rich at the expense of the under classes; in the case of
the Anishinabeg, she looked the other way at their pleas for justice.
Her agenda was to uplift her people, and no one else. So much for
white guilt in Liberal Mpls...More
December 20, 2002
I have accumulated some 600+ names of Morrison family descendants
from the fur-traders: Roderick a.k.a. White Bear (at Grand Portage
and LaPointe); William a.k.a. Shaganasheense (at Fond du Lac and
Otter Tail Lake); and Alan III a.k.a. Tebishcondib Morrison (Crow
Wing and White Earth); including two other later arrivals, George
Allen Oliver (at White Earth) and Donald George Morrison (at Fond
du Lac). I am interested in people who are related to any of these
early settlers of the Great Lakes region, and any documented, or
proposed family trees of the same...More
December 20, 2002
Dear Mr. LaRose: Your treatment of Leech Lake people causes me great
concern. I do not claim to speak for the people, but I am going
to share with you my observations and concerns, which I believe
many Leech Lakers share. It is obvious that our tribal communities
are under attack by drugs, alcohol and violence. One only needs
to take time to listen (with an open heart and mind) to the concerns
of the elders on the Reservation. What you would hear them speak
of is fear for the future of our people. Our youth are being choked
by the death grip of violence and drugs; our people cannot even
walk in their own communities at night without the fear of violence...More
December 20, 2002
Regarding the recent petitions, the people of Leech Lake have been
wanting an audit of their finances for some time. A good question,
“where is all the money going?” We have three casinos
on our reservation. It brings a person to wonder if money is being
misused somewhere, or going into someone’s pocket...More
December 13, 2002
I am writing in regards to an article published in the Minneapolis
Star & Tribune Saturday December 7, 2002 the headline said,
“Violence feared in Leech Lake tribal vote.” Apparently
some law enforcement officials in our area are concerned that recall
petitions, a primary election, and gang activity could lead to violence
among ourselves. Five northern Minnesota prosecutors and law enforcement
officials sent word to the U.S. attorney for Minnesota that there
is a possibility of violence and concern about the election. Tom
Heffelfinger, the U.S. attorney for Minnesota stated that the federal
government has authority over our reservation and that he will work
with law enforcement to ensure safety of Leech Lake enrollees and
a fair election. He also stated that the federal government is aware
of the election and is watching it...More
December 13, 2002
The news media recently reported that your office, Office of the
U S. Attorney, is watching what is happening here at the Leech Lake
Reservation. This is totally a surprise to the tribal membership,
almost SCARY, for some of us, Sir.
For years we have filed complaints and asked for oversight of the
corruption here at Leech Lake and throughout our tribe, the Minnesota
Chippewa Tribe, including Mille Lacs, Grand Portage, Nett Lake,
White Earth and Fond du Lac, and we could never get any one to listen
or take a good look at what is going on here. While we DO NOT AGREE
with the media coverage or the attempt to slander Tribal Membership,
We should, however, be thankful to the county attorneys and officials
who have finally gotten the attention of your office on behalf of
the Tribal Membership here at Leech Lake...More
December 6, 2002
Each Thanksgiving Day memories of Thanksgivings past reminds
me of loved ones no longer with us. One of the people I think about
is my paternal grandmother, Emma Wells Goodthunder. She was born
at Prior Lake, MN in the 1860s. My father died in May, 1927, about
three months before I was born. My brother, who was a year and a
half older, and I were raised by our grandparents on the Lower Sioux
Indian Reservation in southwestern Minnesota, after my mother had
returned to South Dakota and had remarried.
How it was decided that we would live with our grandparents was
never important to me. Extended families were not unusual in Indian
families but one would think my grandparents would have given serious
thought to adding two more to the family after raising 11 children,
especially in the 1930s with the country gripped in a Depression...More
December 6, 2002
I want to thank you for allowing me to serve as Chairman for the
past six years. It has truly been an enjoyable experience and a
great honor.
After the Recall Election of October 11, 2002, stepping aside was
a difficult thing to do because I felt such a strong sense of obligation
about many issues. I was urged by many to sign up as a candidate
in the special election. I heard from many people who did not vote
because they felt I would prevail. They talked to others who said
the same thing...More
December 6, 2002
I have been bestowed with a great honor from you, the Leech Lake
People. I knew it would be very challenging; however, I never thought
I would have so much resistance from some of the current Tribal
Council members and their administrators. I had heard of the corruption
and political favors that were promised, as you already know. I
began with one simple question; I would like to see the financial
records of the Band. I had heard rumors that Leech Lake was broke
and in total chaos. I never dreamt how serious our financial dilemma
was or the conflict within our divisions...More
Tribe has legal and moral authority to limit nuclear waste at
Prairie Island
December 6, 2002
The Prairie Island Indian Community today reaffirmed its opposition
to expanding nuclear waste storage at Prairie Island. The tribe’s
announcement is in response to Xcel Energy’s 2002 Resource
Plan and disclosure that it plans to continue operating the Prairie
Island nuclear power plant and will likely seek permission from
the 2003 Minnesota Legislature to store additional nuclear waste
at Prairie Island. Xcel Energy’s Resource Plan was filed late
Monday with the Public Utilities Commission...More
November 15, 2002
The one thing I have never been able to understand is how election
after election, certain groups of people seem to enjoy the focus
of the politicians while American Indians are rarely mentioned.
Oh, you can see the occasional politicking by candidates just before
elections, but it is always with the tribal governments...More
October 25, 2002
Our Sacred ceremonies are the very core of our existence. The foundation
of our very being. To live as our "Grandfathers and Grandmothers"
in the days of old maybe unimaginable to some people, but to all
of us rests somewhere deep inside a pain that only our very Sacred
ceremonies can address. To just ignore the voices of our "Spiritual
leaders and Elders" is the same as stepping on the bones of
our ancestors...More
October 25, 2002
“I'm an Alaska Native Woman who used to work for a Native HealthCare
Facility …I'm also a US Citizen, what about the Bill of Rights,
Civil Rights Act, nobody wants to help me…” - Kim E. Perkins
So begins one of many letters my husband, Roland Morris, and I
have received from both tribal members and non-members. Some are
seeking legal help, some simply seek someone who will listen and
understand. Here are a few other examples...More
October 25, 2002
Recently, someone asked me if Chevrolets were around when I was
born. When one is their mid-70’s, those are the kind of questions
you are asked. It is the types of questions that you get many times
from your children and your grandchildren. However, the question
did jog my memory and I replied that I was not sure but I did remember
going to traditional dances, which were usually held in someone’s
home, as a child in South Dakota and hearing a song with the words
“I will take you home in my Chevy car.”...More
October 25, 2002
The historic Oct. 11 victory of a grassroots movement on the Leech
Lake Reservation for the constitutional recall of former chairman
Eli Hunt within a tribe whose purported leaders have regularly manipulated
and perverted their highest law for personal gain should have been
an occasion to celebrate for all who believe in the principles of
democracy. Hunt, too, could have gained in stature as the first
MCT official to allow the constitutional process to function as
it was intended under the recall provisions of Article X--though
he had previously favored amending the article to render recall
petition efforts all but futile...More
October 25, 2002
MYTH: Native American people are ALL doing just fine since the onset
of legalized gaming. If you are Native American and want to start
a business, just go ask the tribal council of a successful community
with HUGE proceeds for some start-up venture capital and they’ll
probably flip you some cash. If you are an educated Indian and want
to start a professional career, just go to any casino and apply;
you’ll be on the fast track to management in no time. Most
Indian people get casino per capita checks of some sort – they
just go to their mailboxes every couple weeks and there’s a
check waiting for them. And, of course, wealthy Indians share their
money with the not-so-wealthy and are always willing to lend a helping
hand...More
October 25, 2002
I have been reading numerous articles and editorials in the
Ojibwe News claiming how a new day has dawned at Leech Lake. A day
where tribal leaders are held accountable and Band members are speaking
out freely and providing valuable input into their tribal government...More
October 18, 2002
On October 20th, 2002, Traditional Spiritual Leaders representing
the Plains Nations will gather again to address concerns involving
our Sacred Ceremonials and the exploitation thereof. The meeting,
which is not open to the public, will include discussions of current
issues regarding the exploitation of culturally traditional Sacred
Ceremonials such as the Sacred Sundance, Sweat-lodge and related
ceremonials of our most sacred ways of life...More
October 18, 2002
South Dakota’s reservations have been in both state and national
news lately because of fraudulent voter registrations and absentee
ballots. Perhaps more important than the illegal fraud on these
reservations is a fraud that passes as “legal.”
October 4, 2002
This is a quick note concerning the apparent paper heist that occurred
with last week's edition of Ojibwe News. Yes, it's funny, but it
also indicates that the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community (SMSC)
is unprepared to argue with the facts. Up to now, the attorneys
have created interesting smoke and shadows to deflect attention
from the true issues. Thus, no one has ever dealt with the facts.
October 4, 2002
Thank you for printing my letter to former Assistant Secretary Kevin
Gover (September 27, 2002). I have spent years researching the problems
at Prior Lake. In so doing, I have discovered that the legitimate
Mdewakanton people face issues of vital importance to all American
Indians.
October 4, 2002
It’s been hard to read all the sordid accounts of men of the
cloth that have abused children. Even harder knowing what I know.
My mother took her secrets to the grave but she left behind a very
scarred family. Her children and my father became her victims.
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