Post by mdenney on May 31, 2006 13:25:41 GMT -5
Subject: U.S. House committee could violate sovereignty
Date: 18 Mar 2000 19:42:07 -0000
From: kolahq@skynet.be
To: aeissing@home.nl
<+>=<+>KOLA Newslist<+>=<+>
[article provided by Lona. Thanks!]
03/17/2000
U.S. House committee could violate sovereignty
By David Melmer
Today staff
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The House Resources Committee is stepping into
sovereignty issues by conducting an oversight investigation into enrollment
practices of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota.
For the past six years the tribal enrollment practices of the small band
have been the subject of lawsuits filed in tribal and federal courts. And
now the people who brought the lawsuits have convinced Congress to take up
their cause.
Many people, who claim to be eligible for enrollment in the Shakopee Tribe,
have been denied and have formed a group they refer to as the orphans,
plaintiffs to the lawsuit say.
The Resource Committee, under the signature of its chairman Don Young,
R-Alaska, requested that Department of Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt
produce all records pertaining to the Shakopee Tribe.
BIA spokesman Rex Hackler said the BIA had no choice but to comply with the
request.
"The oversight review is on membership and enrollment policies and practices
of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community per capita payments made as a
result of membership in the Community, general assistance payments made by
the Shakopee Mdewakanton Community, and related matters associated with
Little Six Inc. a tribal corporation that conducts class III gaming as
authorized under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and which provides a
large portion of the revenues enabling the above-referenced payments," the
request stated.
Of concern to tribal officials and others outside the Shakopee Community is
the reference to oversight of enrollment practices. The federal government
acknowledges that a tribe has the right to decide its own enrollment
membership criteria.
The rules are established by a constitution and then by an enrollment
ordinance, which is approved by the BIA and Department of Interior. The
Shakopee Tribe has an approved ordinance that establishes enrollment and
another ordinance that deals with adoption, tribal officials said.
"The matters addressed in the committee's inquiry to Secretary Babbitt
regarding the sufficiency of community laws have been reviewed by numerous
courts, found to be adequate and wholly tribal matters amenable to
resolution in the Shakopee Medewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community tribal
court. The tribal court has repeatedly upheld the sufficiency of the
community's laws regarding adoption and enrollment," an official statement
from the tribe said.
With the acknowledgment that enrollment practices will be reviewed, the
question of an infringement to tribal sovereignty becomes an issue. Frank
Pommersheim, noted tribal law expert at the University of South Dakota Law
School, said this action could put sovereignty at risk.
"This is a blow to tribal sovereignty."
Enrollment records are kept at the tribal level. As of press time, Shakopee
officials had not seen the official request from the committee nor had had
any request placed on its own records.
It's not unusual for a congressional committee to request documents to
support an oversight investigation. But, no tribal official could recall
when Congress made enrollment practices the subject of an oversight review.
The tribal constitution states that to qualify for membership a person needs
to prove one-quarter Mdewakanton blood quantum and trace lineage to tribal
members residing in the state on May 20, 1886. An adoption ordinance was
approved by the tribal council and upheld by the tribal courts.
The catalyst that sparked the request comes from enrolled members of the
Shakopee Community. "We are grateful that Congress has finally decided to
try to shed some sunshine on the terrible tragedy," said Winifred Feezor and
Cecilia St. Pierre, plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the tribe. Their mother,
Louis Bluestone Smith, was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that attempted to
stop the tribe from adopting members who, it claimed, were not qualified
under the constitution. They further charged the tribe did not enroll others
who were qualified.
"What we want is tribal integrity, nothing more, but nothing less," Feezor
and St. Pierre said.
"The Department of Interior and BIA tolerated, if not facilitated, the
ongoing enrollment fraud and manipulation at Shakopee, literally for
decades," they said. Their claim is that the federal government "neglected
its trust responsibility to true Mdewakanton people from the start."
The Shakopee Tribe was formed under the Indian Reorganization Act in 1969.
Ancestors of the present members remained in Minnesota as friends of the
settlers and the Army after most were removed to South Dakota following the
1862 Mankato Conflict. Many of those removed moved to Santee, Neb. Some
returned to Minnesota.
The Resources Committee request stated the issues of enrollment and Class
III gaming revenue distribution will be examined within the context of the
1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, the Indian Civil Rights Act and the
Indian Reorganization Act. The committee has jurisdiction over those acts.
The request called "any and all records" that relate to the issues. That
includes all records now at Interior, those in the possession of others who
may have been employed by the department and all records created by persons
inside or outside the department.
The request also stated that personal interviews may have to be conducted.
The Shakopee Tribe is a wealthy tribe. It owns Little Six Inc. which
operates Mystic Lake Casino and Dakota Casino at Prior Lake, Minn. The small
tribe distributes the revenues to the membership through per-capita
payments.
Feezor and St. Pierre claim that as of the last per capita distribution list
there were 76 percent of the people were not qualified to be members, under
the tribe's constitution. They also claim that of the people listed as
eligible voters, 61 percent are not qualified to be members.
Since gaming came to the tribe, the two assert the number of people allowed
to vote has jumped by nearly 80 percent.
---
©2000 Indian Country Today
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Date: 18 Mar 2000 19:42:07 -0000
From: kolahq@skynet.be
To: aeissing@home.nl
<+>=<+>KOLA Newslist<+>=<+>
[article provided by Lona. Thanks!]
03/17/2000
U.S. House committee could violate sovereignty
By David Melmer
Today staff
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The House Resources Committee is stepping into
sovereignty issues by conducting an oversight investigation into enrollment
practices of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community of Minnesota.
For the past six years the tribal enrollment practices of the small band
have been the subject of lawsuits filed in tribal and federal courts. And
now the people who brought the lawsuits have convinced Congress to take up
their cause.
Many people, who claim to be eligible for enrollment in the Shakopee Tribe,
have been denied and have formed a group they refer to as the orphans,
plaintiffs to the lawsuit say.
The Resource Committee, under the signature of its chairman Don Young,
R-Alaska, requested that Department of Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt
produce all records pertaining to the Shakopee Tribe.
BIA spokesman Rex Hackler said the BIA had no choice but to comply with the
request.
"The oversight review is on membership and enrollment policies and practices
of the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community per capita payments made as a
result of membership in the Community, general assistance payments made by
the Shakopee Mdewakanton Community, and related matters associated with
Little Six Inc. a tribal corporation that conducts class III gaming as
authorized under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, and which provides a
large portion of the revenues enabling the above-referenced payments," the
request stated.
Of concern to tribal officials and others outside the Shakopee Community is
the reference to oversight of enrollment practices. The federal government
acknowledges that a tribe has the right to decide its own enrollment
membership criteria.
The rules are established by a constitution and then by an enrollment
ordinance, which is approved by the BIA and Department of Interior. The
Shakopee Tribe has an approved ordinance that establishes enrollment and
another ordinance that deals with adoption, tribal officials said.
"The matters addressed in the committee's inquiry to Secretary Babbitt
regarding the sufficiency of community laws have been reviewed by numerous
courts, found to be adequate and wholly tribal matters amenable to
resolution in the Shakopee Medewakanton Sioux (Dakota) Community tribal
court. The tribal court has repeatedly upheld the sufficiency of the
community's laws regarding adoption and enrollment," an official statement
from the tribe said.
With the acknowledgment that enrollment practices will be reviewed, the
question of an infringement to tribal sovereignty becomes an issue. Frank
Pommersheim, noted tribal law expert at the University of South Dakota Law
School, said this action could put sovereignty at risk.
"This is a blow to tribal sovereignty."
Enrollment records are kept at the tribal level. As of press time, Shakopee
officials had not seen the official request from the committee nor had had
any request placed on its own records.
It's not unusual for a congressional committee to request documents to
support an oversight investigation. But, no tribal official could recall
when Congress made enrollment practices the subject of an oversight review.
The tribal constitution states that to qualify for membership a person needs
to prove one-quarter Mdewakanton blood quantum and trace lineage to tribal
members residing in the state on May 20, 1886. An adoption ordinance was
approved by the tribal council and upheld by the tribal courts.
The catalyst that sparked the request comes from enrolled members of the
Shakopee Community. "We are grateful that Congress has finally decided to
try to shed some sunshine on the terrible tragedy," said Winifred Feezor and
Cecilia St. Pierre, plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the tribe. Their mother,
Louis Bluestone Smith, was the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit that attempted to
stop the tribe from adopting members who, it claimed, were not qualified
under the constitution. They further charged the tribe did not enroll others
who were qualified.
"What we want is tribal integrity, nothing more, but nothing less," Feezor
and St. Pierre said.
"The Department of Interior and BIA tolerated, if not facilitated, the
ongoing enrollment fraud and manipulation at Shakopee, literally for
decades," they said. Their claim is that the federal government "neglected
its trust responsibility to true Mdewakanton people from the start."
The Shakopee Tribe was formed under the Indian Reorganization Act in 1969.
Ancestors of the present members remained in Minnesota as friends of the
settlers and the Army after most were removed to South Dakota following the
1862 Mankato Conflict. Many of those removed moved to Santee, Neb. Some
returned to Minnesota.
The Resources Committee request stated the issues of enrollment and Class
III gaming revenue distribution will be examined within the context of the
1988 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, the Indian Civil Rights Act and the
Indian Reorganization Act. The committee has jurisdiction over those acts.
The request called "any and all records" that relate to the issues. That
includes all records now at Interior, those in the possession of others who
may have been employed by the department and all records created by persons
inside or outside the department.
The request also stated that personal interviews may have to be conducted.
The Shakopee Tribe is a wealthy tribe. It owns Little Six Inc. which
operates Mystic Lake Casino and Dakota Casino at Prior Lake, Minn. The small
tribe distributes the revenues to the membership through per-capita
payments.
Feezor and St. Pierre claim that as of the last per capita distribution list
there were 76 percent of the people were not qualified to be members, under
the tribe's constitution. They also claim that of the people listed as
eligible voters, 61 percent are not qualified to be members.
Since gaming came to the tribe, the two assert the number of people allowed
to vote has jumped by nearly 80 percent.
---
©2000 Indian Country Today
<+>=<+>
Information Pages: users.skynet.be/kola/index.htm
Online Petition: kola-hq.hypermart.net
Greeting Cards: users.skynet.be/kola/cards.htm
<+>=<+>
if you want to be removed from the KOLA
Email Newslist, just send us a message with
"unsub" in the subject or text body
<+>=<+>
(1411437405)