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News from Indian Country p9 5 027,2005 Indians challenge county voting system ClinvnNNR, Wyo. (AP) -A federal lawsuit filed last week by five American Indians chal lenging the system of at-largc elections in Wyoming's Fremont County is part of a continuing, nationwide effort by Indians to assert their voting rights, attor neys say. Five members of the East ern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes charge that Fre mont County's system of at largc elections dilutes the Indian vote. Although nearly 20 percent of Fremont County's 35,800 residents arc Indian, none of the five county commissioners is Indian. The plaintiffs arc represented by local lawyers and Atlanta law yers with the American Civil Liberties Union. Bryan Sells, staff attorney for the ACLU's Voting Rights Project in Atlanta, said Friday the ACLU already has success fully represented Indians in chal lenging at-large elections in Montana and South Dakota. "It think it's undeniable that Native Americans are really be Tribe to brild casino near Detroit Airport ROMULUS, Mich. (AP) -With the roar of jet engines in the background, a northern Michigan American Indian tribe Thursday announced plans to build a $243 million casino and hotel complex just north of Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The Hannahville Indian Community, which already owns a casino in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, says the 24-acre com plex would create 3,300 new jobs and bring in more than $300 million in annual revenue. The tribe is partnering on the proposed casino with Sweetwater Gaming Inc. of Naples, Fla. But the casino project faces formidable obstacles. It must be approved by the U.S. Depart ment of Interior, which has not' allowed an off-reservation ca sino since 2000. Then, the gov ernor must agree to the proposal. Police can't find body after reported killing YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) A teenager is being held for investigation in a shooting death even though police have been unable to find the body of the apparent victim. Police called off the search for Julio Munguia, 20, on Tuesday after de ploying divers, boats and planes in and around Sarg Hubbard Park and the Yakima River. Kevin James Perez, 18, the son of Munguia's girl friend, remained in custody for investigation of murder with bail set at $1 million. Police Capt. Jeffrey Schneider said investigators are convinced that Munguia was shot to death in his car Friday night after he and his girlfriend, Michelle Harris, 36, got into a fight in front of her son. The car was found "full of blood" and bloody drag marks were found at the park after Perez told inves tigators that he shot Munguia when the older man began choking his mother, police said. coming more interested and energized about their rights to vote. And this is part of that effort," Sells said. Sells said there are parallels between the ongoing efforts of American Indians to secure their voting rights and the efforts of black Americans in the South during the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. "The ways to discriminate against whatever minority of voters you've got, they're pretty tried and true," Sells said. "So there are very distinct parallels between some of what is still going on in Indian Country and what happened in the South. It just happens, it's 30 years, or in some cases 20 years, later." Fremont County Attorney Ed Newell said Friday he hadn't seen the lawsuit and couldn't comment on it. But Scott Detamore, an attorney with the Lakcwood, Colo.-based Moun tain States Legal Foundation who has defended against simi lar lawsuits in Montana, said the ACLU files such suits in small Western counties because of Gov. Jennifer Granholm "has long had serious concerns about off-reservation tribal gaming," said Liz Boyd, her spokes woman. "Part of it involves tribes operating casinos great distances from their reservation and their governmental centers." Boyd, however, would not comment on the Hannahville community's proposal. Generally, it takes 212 years for a casino to gain approval from the secretary of the inte rior, said Gary Garrison, Bureau of Indian Affairs spokesman. Only three off-reservation ca sinos have been approved since they were allowed by Congress in 1988, he said. "There's a lot of desire to do it, but there hasn't been a whole lot of success," he said. Tribal Chairman Kenneth Meshigaud said he hopes for Boost for Makah whaling WASHINGTON, D.C. (AP) - The House Resources Com mittee has given a boost to the Makah Tribe's bid to resume whale hunting off the coast of Washington state. The panel approved a non binding resolution urging the Bush administration to uphold whaling rights guaranteed to the tribe under an 1855 treaty with the federal government. The resolution, sponsored by the panel's chairman, Rep. Ri chard Pombo, R-Calif., calls a waiver process required by the National Marine Fisheries Ser vice "burdensome, costly and tantamount to a denial of the tribe's treaty rights." The resolution goes on to urge Congress to express "its disapproval of the 'abrogation of the tribe's treaty rights, and that the government of the United States should uphold the treaty rights of the Makah Tribe." The Republican-led panel approved the measure 21-6, with five Democrats joining 16 Republicans to vote in favor. Five Democrats, including Rep. Jay Inslee of Washington, voted against the measure. Inslee ridiculed the resolution as a "political statement" with no legal impact, introduced by an out-of-state lawmaker, "This effort is clearly not a their small populations and without proof of discrimina tion. "They come in, particularly the federal government, with this great big stick, and say, 'Change your system,"' Detamore said. "What often happens is these counties say that, 'It will break the treasury to defend this thing. All right, we'll change the sys tern. F'rcmont County voters in 1992 turned down a ballot ini tiative to create five separate commission districts. The lawsuit asks US. District Judge Alan Johnson of Chey enne to block Fremont County from holding any more at-largc elections and to order the county to develop a redistrict ing plan. The plaintiffs arc James E. Large, Gary Collins, Emma Lucille McAdams, Patricia Bcrgie and Pete Calhoun. At tempts to reach them for com ment on Friday were unsuccess ful. Scott Crichton, executive di rector ACLU of Montana, said F'riday that Indians in his state quick approval from the federal government. "We feel that this is a good project. It's ig a good location and has overwhelming commu nity support," Meshigaud said at a news conference at the site in Romulus, about 25 miles west of Detroit. Romulus voters in 2003 passed a referendum for a new casino, with 56.6 percent in fa vor. Garrison said such approval would help the proposal. Another obstacle is a bill sponsored by U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Brighton, that would ban off-reservation casinos. The measure is in the House Re sources Committee and likely will have a hearing in Novem ber, said Sylvia Warner, spokes woman for Rogers. Casino supporters, including Romulus Mayor Alan R. Lam bert, say market studies show serious effort by Chairman Pombo to look into an impor tant issue. It's just asking us to make a political statement" in favor of the tribe, Inslee said. Inslee said he supports the tribe's treaty rights, but said he also wants to uphold the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which outlaws whaling in the United States. The tribe is proposing to har vest as many as 20 gray whales during a five-year period, with a maximum of five whales killed in any one year. "This is a very complicated issue and we ought to have hear ings on it," Inslee said. After the federal government removed the gray whale from the endangered species list in 1994, the Makah took steps to hunt again in waters off its reservation at the tip of Washington's Olym pic Peninsula. In 1999, tribal members killed their first whale in more than 70 years. Animal welfare activists soon sued the tribe and its federal backers, leading to the court order that resulted in the Feb ruary request for a waiver. Rick Marks, a lobbyist for the tribe, hailed the vote as an important statement. The Resources panel over sees Indian issues in the House of Representatives. have prevailed in similar court challenges to at-largc voting. "Essentially, what they were finding were practices not dis similar to the Jim Crow South," Crichton said of the Montana cases. "I don't know the factual pattern in Wyoming, so 1 can't speak to that. But there were systematic ways of keeping Native Americans from register ing and participating in the po litical process." As a result of a lawsuit end ing at-largc voting in Montana's Big I lorn County, Crichton said, Indians are now represented on the county commission and have been elected to several county offices. And as a result of a lawsuit the US. Justice Department filed recently to end at-largc voting in Blaine County, Mont., Crichton said, an Indian woman was elected to the county com mission. The Mountain States Legal Foundation represented Blaine County and appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court. The high court in August declined to hear the appeal. the new gambling site would not take money from the three ca sinos in Detroit or from one in nearby Windsor, Ontario. 'There's been studies done to show that there's plenty to go around," said Lambert, who added that the complex could bring the city $15 million to $20 million in additional property tax revenue that could be used to cut taxes. - ' The casino would be part of a larger complex near an Inter state 94 freeway interchange that includes a new horse track, re tail mall and convention center. Meshigaud said proximity to the airport would help the 200 room hotel and casino draw more than 5 million visitors per year to its 2,400 slot machines and 90 gaming tables. The Hannahville Indian Community, located in Wilson, has about 800 members, officials said. (byCrosley) Save $25 or more on selected Upright & Chest Freezers mum 33 475-2578 JLr i Osage Nation breaks ground on rural Bartlesville casino BARTLESVILLE, Okla. (AP) - The Osage Nation broke ground on its new $11 million casino in the rural hills west of the city. Once open, the lodge themed Million Dollar Elm Casino is expected to bring 200 jobs to the area. The ca sino will operate 24 hours a day and feature more than 600 gaming machines, a res taurant, bar, delicatessen and parking for more than 700 cars. Tribal officials said Thurs day that building a new ca sino miles out of town in an area with limited infrastruc ture will pay off. One tribal councilor, Harry Roy Red Eagle, said the tribe will invest in new roads and security at the 20 acre site before the casino's completion next May. "We're not here to take the money and run," Red Eagle said. Jim Fram, Bartlesville Chamber of Commerce Arkansas panel rejects Native American recognition, wet-dry studies LITTLE ROCK (AP)-The prospect of Indian casinos in Arkansas prompted legislators to reject a proposal to study granting state recognition to na tive American tribes. ! Members of the House and Senate committees on state agencies and governmental af fairs also declined to study pro posed legislation that would grant residents of dry counties a vote on allowing mixed-drink sales at private clubs. Legislative committees rou tinely look at study proposals between sessions. But a state Department of Finance and Administration of ficial pricked the interest of law makers Thursday when he cau tioned that state recognition of Indian tribes and groups could hasten federal recognition, rmjftnftmjj OO-IBOSftiinimi Ralph's TV & chief executive officer, said the tribe has the backing of city officials. "We consider tourism a major part of our economic development," he said. "The more destination things you can cluster in an area the bigger crowd it can draw." Red Eagle sees the same potential in the site. "The feasibility studies were very encouraging. They showed us a heavily populated area at Dewey, Bartlesville and southern Kansas ... and there is no immediate gaming site in their vicinity," he said. The tribe worked to de velop a Bartlesville casino for several years. To solidify the deal, the tribe entered into a 25-ycar lease with the Allen family of nearby Pawhuska and I lominy. The Aliens' allotment property came with re stricted land status, making it a prime choice for the tribe's plans, Red Eagle said. which could open the door to Indian casinos and smoke shops on tribal land without the state's consent "That has never been my in tention and will not be my in tention. I would not be part ol anything that would further 'any thing along that line. I do be lieve, however, that people have a right to be heard," said Rep. Preston Scroggin, D-Vilonia, who said he brought the proposal at the request of some of his constituents and those of col leagues in surrounding districts. Washington historian and lob byist Mike Lawson urged the panel to consider recognizing indigenous native American tribes of Arkansas to honor their history and acknowledge their cultural contributions to the state. Furniture 525S.E.5thSt. Madras OR 97741