Informer
Sukapi Times / Kii-po (10)
Native News Briefs
May 27, 2014 Supreme Court won’t hear suit over fees on Oneida Nation land The U.S. Supreme Court has brought some good news to the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin. The village of Hobart has been trying to impose storm water management fees on land held in trust. A federal judge and the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals said the fees constituted an impermissible tax. The village wasn’t satisfied and asked the Supreme Court to hear the case. In an order list this morning, the justices refused, meaning the tribe’s victories will stand. The case is Village of Hobart v. Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin. Indianz.com May 23, 2014 The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana is welcoming reforms to the federal recognition process. Chairman Gerald Gray said the tribe could benefit from a rule change at the Bureau of Indian Affairs that requires petitioners to demonstrate their history back to 1934. Currently, groups seeking recognition have to document their existence to the 1800s and sometimes even earlier.“For a lot of the Plains tribes, and Indians in the country as a whole, there’s oral history but not a lot of written history,” Gray told the Associated Press. “But we can prove our existence as a tribal entity and having a tribal government back to (1934).” “The proposed rule to fix the broken process for tribal recognition is a step in the right direction,” Sen. Jon Tester (D-Montana), the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, said in a press release. Nations like Montana’s Little Shell have waited decades for federal recognition with no end in sight. I will keep working with Secretary Jewell until we give these tribes a fair shot at recognition.”The rule won’t become final after another round of public comment and tribal consultation. So it could take several more months before the tribe’s petition is evaluated under the new standards. The Obama administration supports the bill.Indianz. com May 22, 2014 Lawsuit seeks establishment of New Reservation in Minnesota The plaintiffs in a new lawsuit are hoping to restore a reservation that was supposed to have been set aside for their ancestors. In 1863, Congress authorized the selection of land for the loyal Mdewakanton to reward them for supporting the federal government during the 1862 Dakota War. The Interior Department set aside 12 square miles for the Dakota and their descendants but that land is now in private hands and within the reservation of at least one other tribe. “We’re going to clear these people off this land and go to North and South Dakota, Nebraska and Canada and invite back those whose ancestors were chased out of Minnesota in 1863,” attorney Erick Kaardal told The Minneapolis Star Tribune. The defendants are mainly municipal governments and private landowners. But also named is the Lower Sioux Indian Community. “We are trying to figure out how we became a defendant, and we are trying to sort all this out,” President Denny Prescott told the Tribune. Indianz.com.
Sukapi Times / Ni-tsi-ko-pot-to (11)
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Feature
A brief timeline of the Blackfeet Factional Dispute “This American system of government we were forced to adopt reeks of corruption and bullshit! Never in my life did I think I would live through one of the worst times of our Blackfeet history! It’ s juvenile and embarrassing to witness our leaders fight over Blackfeet tribal politics! Everyone was pointing fingers at one another and families were banding together and splitting apart during this chaos. But no one was pointing their fingers at the B.I.A. or Federal Government! Their all responsible for this!” This timeline attempts to examine the Blackfeet Tribal Factional dispute that is dividing our Nation. The two factions consist of two feuding Blackfeet tribal council members, some recognized as official and unofficial by the Blackfeet Tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. But what about a third faction? A faction that has been meddling with the Blackfeet Nation since their encroachment in the 1850’s. While the Blackfeet community questioned the character and moral principles of both the “Sharp” and the “Running Crane/Augare/Old Person” factions, no one once questioned the involvement of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Federal Government faction. This timeline was put together by community members residing on the Blackfeet Nation. A group of concerned citizens “didn’t like the lies and deceit Montana newspapers and online articles portrayed us.” This is their story of the 2014 Blackfeet Tribal Council dispute. Part 1: 2010: Prior to the 2012 Tribal Elections • Prior to being elected on council in 2010, Jay St. Goddard worked for the Blackfeet Tribe’s Poka Project. • The tribe’s Po’Ka project received $9.3 million from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over six years starting in 2005. It was intended to become a reservation-wide children’s mental health system supported by the Blackfeet tribe without federal assistance. • Jay St. Goddard became a vocal advocate against the corruption and fraud that was occurring at the “Poka Ranch.” Many Blackfeet community members also began to question the ethics of the people supervising the Poka Ranch. • The Bozeman Daily Chronical has stated, “Onstad, Augare and three other people who worked on the program to provide services for troubled youth have pleaded guilty to charges related to defrauding the program. They were accused of embezzling money from the Po’Ka project and doctoring invoices to embellish the contributions the tribe was supposed to make to keep the federal grant money coming. Conti’s attorney, Joshua S. Van de Wetering, has said tribal leaders Francis Onstad and Delyle “Shanny” Augare perpetuated the fraud. Onstad, Augare and three other people who worked on the program to provide services for troubled youth have pleaded guilty to charges related to defrauding the program. They were accused of embezzling money from the Po’Ka project and doctoring invoices to embellish the contributions the tribe was supposed to make to keep the federal grant money coming. Ons-
tad, Augare and Dorothy May Still Smoking, an evaluator for the project, are scheduled to be sentenced June 5. Katheryn Sherman, the project’s coordinator, is to be sentenced the following day. • Jay St. Goddard becomes an official Blackfeet Tribal Councilmen in June 2010 Elections. 2012: Blackfeet Tribal Business Council Elections • In June 2012, Blackfeet voters elect: Willie Sharp; Jay St. Goddard; Jay Wells; Cheryl Little Dog; Paul McEvers; Bill Old Chief; Forrestina Calf Boss Ribs; Earl Old Person and Shannon Augare. • In fall 2010, the BTBC had all agreed to study the business venture of opening “Big Game Hunting” on the Blackfeet Reservation. The council all agreed to bring “celebrities” to the Blackfeet Nation to hunt big game for economic purposes. • Our sources stated that during tribal negotiations regarding the “Big Game Hunts,” Shannon Augare approached Jay St. Goddard and said, “Chairmanship is yours if you leave my dad alone!” Mr. St. Goddard replied, “I don’t operate that way!” • Shannon Augare is the son of Shanny Augare, who is accused of defrauding a tribal government. • Our sources state that Shannon Augare approached Jay St. Goddard a second time and stated, “What’s it going to cost me?” Jay St. Goddard became angry and told him not to approach him again over this. • Then in June 2013, the Associated Press states, “Three former Blackfeet tribal leaders will serve three years of probation for holding illegal big-game hunts for country musicians… U.S. District Judge Dana Christensen also ordered Jay St. Goddard, Jay Wells and Gayle Skunkcap Jr. to pay $56,625 in restitution.The trio earlier pleaded guilty to holding four hunts in 2010 and 2011 without the proper licenses and to using tribal funds and personnel to outfit and guide the musicians, including Josh Thompson, Justin Moore and Mark Cooke… St. Goddard was ousted from the governing Blackfeet Tribal Business Council last year. Wells is a suspended councilman. Skunkcap was the tribe’s Fish and Game director.” • It is argued by many Blackfeet residents that Shannon Augare supported the “Big Game Hunts” in order to use that as justification to remove St. Goddard, and Jay Wells from office. • Augare then appoints Roger “sassy” Running Crane to replace St. Goddard and Leonard Guardipee to replace Woodrow Jay Wells on the BTBC in March 2013.
Part 2: Examination of the Tribal Council Factions and Federal Governments involvement in payroll and TANF not being paid to eligible earners.