5/2/03
Butch Brun was a patriot in every sense of the word. He was deeply
concerned about the well-being of the tribe, and we of Red Lake should
appreciate that he set aside his well-earned retirement, came back into
office, and devoted the last months of his life to at least setting us
on the right course...More
April 18, 2003
The Minnesota Gaming Equity Act is the “big news” in Minnesota Indian
country this week. The intent of the bill is, obviously, to provide for
more equity in the distribution of revenues from Indian gaming in the
state, which is long overdue. It is also obvious that the bill is being
used by some to break the casino monopoly currently enjoyed by Indian
tribes in Minnesota...More
April 11, 2003
Press/ON would like to congratulate Paul DeMain for winning the Payne
Award for Ethics in Journalism for his years of work in investigating
and reporting on Leonard Peltier’s involvement in the murder of two
federal agents on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1973, and the 1975
murder of Anna Mae Pictou-Aquash...More
April 4, 2003
It was gratifying to learn on Tuesday this week that the Minnesota
Court of Appeals threw out a Ramsey County District Court decision
which had found that Minnesota tribal casino audited financial
statements were trade secrets and therefore non-public under the
Minnesota Data Practices Act...More
March 28, 2003
I have long used this column to advocate for equity in Indian gaming in
the state of Minnesota, and after twelve years of Indian casino
monopolies, the time is long overdue for change.
Less than one-half of one percent of Minnesota’s
population currently benefit in any way from Indian casinos. As far as
Indian people in Minnesota are concerned, less than ten percent of the
60,000 – 70,000 Indians enumerated in the 2000 Census receive any
benefits from “Indian gaming”...More
March 21, 2003
It’s been an eventful week. The opening salvos of the war in Iraq began
Wednesday night. This overwhelming event far overshadows any other
issues that we’ve been working on this week. Press/ON invites our
readers’ comments, insights, and perspectives, and we’ll start printing
them next week.
Press/ON also invites those who have a family member
involved the war to send a copy to this paper. For the duration, we’ll
be printing their photos and short descriptions. Indian people have
served this country with distinction in previous wars, and I suspect
that it will be no different this time...More
March 14, 2003
On Thursday, March 13th, Leech Lake secretary/treasurer Archie LaRose
got nine hours before a tribal court judge, and at least a taste of
“due process” in the recall petition dispute between LaRose and some
other members of the Leech Lake RBC...More
March 7, 2003
The Minnesota Supreme Court made their decision on Wednesday, March 5th
to not accept the ‘full faith and credit rule’ proposed by the Tribal
Court / State Court committee.
We have written a lot of words on this important issue,
and if you look at the money, time, and effort that has been spent by
the proponents of the rule, mostly tribal attorneys / judges who don’t
have to be under the jurisdiction of tribal courts, it all seems like
just a big waste. The whole Tribal Court / State Court Forum was a
sham, because key members had already made up their minds and plotted
out their agenda before the seven-year process even started...More
February 21, 2003
...We feel it is important for tribal membership to know where all our
money goes. The amount of Indian PAC money has been rising steadily
over the past few years as casino revenues grow, and as political
influence becomes increasingly significant in maintaining Indian
gambling monopolies and in competing for federal and state funds...More
February 14, 2003
The Leech Lake people gave Alfred “Tig” Pemberton a second chance on
the tribal council when they elected him chairman in 1992. At his
victory party, he thanked the people for a second chance, and he told
me that he was going to “do it right” this time, because Tig was coming
back into office with a lot of baggage.
January 31, 2003
In the 2002 legislative session, the Minnesota legislature considered
seven separate proposals to expand gambling in Minnesota. Last
February, the House Committee on Governmental Operations and Veterans
Affairs decisively rejected all seven, effectively ending the state’s
contemplation of getting into the gambling business during last year’s
legislative session...More
January 24, 2003
“The rule of law” has been a foreign and only very rarely heard phrase
on Leech Lake and most other Indian reservations. Usually “the law” is
what the tribal council or reservation business committee says it is,
and that depends upon who is sitting on those entities at whatever time
(and that changes with every election), as well as to whom “the law” is
going to be inflicted or applied...More
January 17, 2003
We have published the full text of the “State of the Band” address by
Mille Lacs chair Melanie Benjamin in this issue of Press/ON. The mood
of this year’s speech appears to be much more conciliatory and
constructive than last year’s very combative speech, although she
reiterated last year’s call, “We are now fighting for the very
existence of our homelands. There are times when we have no choice but
to stand and fight. This is one of those times...More
January 10, 2003
New defenders of the culture of corruption on the Leech Lake
reservation are promoting their own selfish agenda under the banners of
“justice and peace” and gender equality.
Leech Lake vested interests profiting from the corrupt
status quo have finally poked their heads out from under a rock under
the misleading name of “Equay Wug for Justice and Peace”...More
December 20, 2002
This is Press/ON’s final edition of the year 2002. During these last
days of the year, it’s always interesting to take a few minutes to
reflect back and consider whether we in the Native community are better
off at the end of this year than we were at the beginning. It’s
definitely a mixed bag...More
December 13, 2002
Roman Sigana, an old friend who passed to the Happy Hunting Ground all
too soon last year, spoke English as a forcibly-imposed second language
and had no compunctions about revising ‘the English’ to fit his own
understanding of the world.
Roman would sometimes walk into Press/ON’s Bemidji
office with a sheaf of documents, objecting vigorously to the
‘planetary power’ asserted by the U.S. Congress over Indian people...More
December 6, 2002
The recently announced state budget deficit of $4.65 billion couldn’t
come at a worse time for Minnesota’s three largest Indian reservations,
Leech Lake, Red Lake, and White Earth. All three are facing enormous
debt problems due to previous administrations’ investing too heavily in
destination resort type expansions to their casinos...More
November 29, 2002
The forensic audits underway at Red Lake and Leech Lake should prove to
the be incident that caused the genie to be let out of the bottle as
far as accountability and open government is concerned. Once the people
find out just how badly their financial affairs have been and are being
mismanaged and misused they’ll be so outraged that they will demand
changes in leadership and governmental structure to provide checks and
balances so this can’t happen again...More
November 22, 2002
It’s been nearly nine months since a recall petition forced Red Lake
tribal treasurer Dan King from office. Since that time, all of his
supporters in the council have either resigned or have been defeated in
tribal elections, and a forensic audit and other reviews of his
financial management are underway...More
November 8, 2002
We have devoted a great deal of time and space to publishing tribal
Political Action Committee (PAC) campaign finance reports.
The information in this edition only includes campaign
contributions for candidates running for Minnesota state offices. It
does not include campaign contributions for federal or local offices,
and we will publish that information as it becomes available...More
November 1, 2002
This is the last issue of Press/ON before election day next Tuesday.
With the tragic death of Senator Paul Wellstone, his wife and daughter,
and his staff and plane crew, it’s hard to maintain enthusiasm and
interest in the election.
Wellstone served twelve years on the Senate Indian
Affairs Committee. We know that he was extremely interested in Indian
issues and Indian affairs, and a dedicated and sincere advocate.
Wellstone was deeply concerned about the issues, and devoted both his
own energy and that of his staff toward what he felt were the best
interests of the Indian community...More
October 25, 2002
With elections for federal, state and local offices just a little more
than a week away, it is important for our readers to know what’s going
on behind the scenes. The information about campaign contributions
published in Press/ON over the past few weeks has not usually been
publicly disclosed in Indian country. This week’s issue includes
additional information about tribal PAC contributions, and next week we
plan on publishing a summary of the campaign finance reports slated to
be released in the next few days...More
October 18, 2002
The precedent-setting recall of Eli Hunt reflects Leech Lake tribal
members’ growing demands for change to clean, open, and accountable
government.
The irony is that Hunt was elected on similar “reform”
sentiments six years ago, shortly after the convictions of former
chairman Tig Pemberton, secretary Daniel Brown, and tribal attorney and
state senator Harold R. “Skip” Finn. All three were later imprisoned
for stealing money from the Leech Lake band.
October 4, 2002
Nine Red Lakers were charged, indicted, or pled guilty this week with
violations of the Federal Major Crimes Act. This has to be some kind of
abysmal record at Red Lake, one of the worst weeks in Red Lake’s
history. As I recollect, even after the 1979 Revolution there weren’t
nine people charged with violations of the major crimes act in one week.
September 27, 2002
We have printed Barbara Buttes letter addressing problems of Shakopee
Mdewakanton enrollment in full because Dr. Buttes deals thoughtfully
and in carefully documented detail with an issue that deeply affects
the lives of Indian people.
September 13, 2002
It was sure a change to be at a Red Lake tribal council meeting where
the council members got along and openly made information available to
people so that “we, the people” could participate in our own government.
September 6, 2002
That was quite a hatchet job the StarTribune did on Green Party U.S.
Senate candidate Ed McGaa this week. For the state’s biggest daily to
devote that much space and time to a relatively insignificant issue
involving a third party primary election issue is burlesque
August 30, 2002
In last week’s edition, Press/ON carried a story entitled “Crow Creek
Sioux debate federal takeover,” in which members of the Crow Creek band
sought to turn their tribe back over to the BIA because of excessive
tribal indebtedness of $31 million. “We’re in the hole so deep …
receivership is an option because we have no other way open to us,” one
community leader is quoted as saying.
August 16, 2002
It not only looked good, it felt good to see the new council members
being sworn in at Red Lake. As they begin their new terms, it appears
we have a council that not only can work together, but who will be more
in tune with the concerns of membership, and who will be more open and
accountable to us.
July 19, 2002
First, I would like to congratulate the Red Lake tribal voters, who
voted for change. We have apparently had enough of the egos, greed,
deceptions, and self-interest of the King-Whitefeather council. The
only incumbents whom the electorate felt worthy of being retained in
office were Judy Roy and Toady Thunder. This is no doubt a recognition
of their leadership in resisting some of the irresponsibility and chaos
which swirled around them in the tribal council.
July 12, 2002
The preliminary report by the forensic auditors of the Red Lake Gaming
Enterprises and recently released financial reports by newly elected
tribal treasurer Darrell Seki for Red Lake Industries, Custom Doors and
the General Fund certainly verifies that no one has been at the
financial controls of the Red Lake Band for at least the past four
years. This has been especially disastrous because of the shoot
from-the-hip great economic leap forward campaign by the
Whitefeather-King regime.
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