More News from Indian Country
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Proposal for Indian casino in
downtown Kansas City moves ahead
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP)—
W yandotte C o u n ty ’s U nified
Government has endorsed a rev
enue-sharing agreement with an
American Indian tribe that wants
to build a casino in downtown
Kansas City, Kan.
The agreement comes even
as the state is appealing a fed
eral court ruling that allowed the
Wyandotte Nation o f Oklahoma
to open a casino in a form er
M asonic tem ple, a fter m o re
than a decade o f controversy.
“We believe it is reckless to
proceed w ith Class II gaming
b efore all legal issues are re
solved,” said Ashley P. Anstaett,
spokeswoman forKansas A ttor
ney General Paul Morrison.
Anstaett said current law pto-
hibits the tribe from conducting
gambling on the site if it is no t
gaming-eligible Indian land. The
state contends th at w hen the
tribe bought the half-acre site in
1996, it used federal money not
allowed for such purposes, dis
qualifying the land for a casino,
f T he 10'th Circuit C ourt o f
Appeals in D e n v e r has heard
arguments in the case, and law
yers say a ruling is expected
soon.
H al Walker, chief Counsel
for the Unified G overnm ent o f
W yandotte County and Kansas
City, Kan., said the agreement
approved Thursday was nego
tiated with the assumption that
the slate will lose its appeal.
“The consensus among attor
neys in all parties is ... that it’s
very probable, alm ost w ithout
doubt, that (the tribe is) going
to win the appeal,” Walker said.
U nder th e ag reem ent ap
proved Thursday; th e W yan
dotte N ation would reimburse
the U nified G o vernm ent fo r
w ater, police, fire and o th e r
municipal services to its p ro
posed $20 million casino.
Any casino opehed at the site
would be restricted to provid
ing only Class II games, which
play like slot machines b ut pit
players against each other in net
works based on bingo odds. The
city has agreed to support the
tribe if it tries to get state ap
proval to add traditional games
such as* craps and blackjack.
The tribal casino is separate
from a proposal to open a State-
ow ned Casino in W yandotte
County. T hat casino would be
owned by the state and operated
by a private developer.
The Wyandotte tribe briefly
offered slots in mobile units on
the site, b u t in 2004, the N a
tional Indian G aming Commis
sio n said th e lan d th e trib e
claimed in dow ntow n Kansas
City, K an., did n o t qualify as
tribal land for gambling p u r
poses.
That decision was overturned
last sum m er by U.S. D istrict
Judge Julie Robinson, and it is
that ruling the state is appealing.
As the court case goes on,
the tribe has hired contractors
to resume remodeling w ork to
convert the Masonic Lodge into
a casino with around 400 slots
and a steakhouse.
“T he people o f K C K will
never be sorry the Wyandottes
are p art o f their community,”
W y an d o tte N a tio n C h ie f
Leaford Bearskin said Thursday.
"It will be g o o d for both o f us.”
Thursday’s agreement would
give the Unified G overnm ent
3.5 percent o f the first $10 mil
lion in casino revenue, 1 percent
from the next $10 million and
one-third o f a percent from the
third $10 million. The Unified
Government V otild get nothing
from revenue exceeding $30
million.
The city also agreed to pro
vide free parking in city lots to
casino customers.
The agreement also requires
the tribe to follow zoning, build
ing and public safety codes simi
lar to those enforced by the City.
I f the state wins its appeal,
Walker said the casino could not
operate. The tribe could still ne
gotiate a formal compact w ith
the state to open a full-scale
Class; II I casino o n th e site,
which the Unified G overnm ent
has agreed to support.
Indian tribe watches its history erode
; E D IS T O IS L A N D ,. S.C.
(AP)— The Spanish M ount shell
m idden is all b u t gone. T he
Edistow tribe that built it, lost.
All except for Indian Mary.
' H e id i V arn er, o f
th e
W assam asaw ' T rib e
of
V arnertow n Indians, thoug h t
about that as she looked over
the eroding, oyster shell-riddled
.fr^nk o f F ish in g
Edisto Islatid f e c e n ^ Sh€ and
other younger m em bers have
been struggling to re-establish
the heritage o f the Berkeley?
County tribe whose .people for
generations wouldn’t acknowl
edge it.
’ ’? “We have our history hefe,’v"
Varner said.
]tn records from the ISOQs,
“Indian Mary,” w ho m arried
into a V arnertown family, iden
tified h erself as • an Edistow.
T h a t m akes th e in la n d
Wassamasaw people possibly the
last Hving link to the coastal tribe
thought to have been wiped out
two- centuries ago.
V arn er an d fo rm e r trib a l
chief Chris Weik were at Edisto
Beach State Park talking with
visitors and cultural educators
for tile park and other natural
and cultural sites along the boast.
The presentation was part o f the
South Carolina D epartm ent o f
'sénes. ■ !
Edisto is named for the tribe
that once lived there. lik e other
native Lowcountry names, it is
a strand in the weave o f the
place., T h e w eavers are little
more than mysteries.
“ we know a lot about Native
Americans in general, b u t we
know very little about Native
Americans in the Lowcountry.
A nything they can share i f
v a lu a b le ,”
sa id
T hom as
T hornton o f Charleston Parks
and Recreation.
A shell midden is a pile o f
discarded oyster and clam shells,
the leftovers o f feasts from as
long as 4,000 years ago. Middens
and shell rings can be found up
and dow n the South Carolina
co ast They are among the few
visible remnants o f the pre-Co-
lonial tribes there who tended to
roam and built villages with ma
terials that rotted away.
. The middens, .and irings were
long thought to be trash dumps.
R ecent excavations suggest at
least some o f the rings were lay
ered and stru ctu red in o th e r
words, built with a purpose.
The Spanish M ount midden
is in the Edi$to park along the
creek behind Edisto Beach. Jt
was mentioned in a 1630s Jour
nal as being as tall as a tower,
tall enough to be seen from the
sea over the scrub duties that
constituted the beach then. Ex
cavations suggest that it, too,
might have been built as a ring
and collapsed .under its ow n
weight
*
Today,.most o f the midden’s
shells have fallen from the bluff
into the creek. The rest jut like
a fractured tooth from the bank
m u d . T h e re m n a n ts are a
sought-after cultural site on the
island; park staff have stabilized
the bank with riprap and built a
wooden walkway down from the
bluff to view it.
It’s a pointed juxtaposition the
shards o f an American-Indian
structure so singular that a Co
lonial explorer was struck by it,
built by a tribe lost to colonial
history, with the descendants o f
both groping to restore that link.
Weik, w ho was taught native
pottery by his mother, laid out
a challenge like: th a t fo r the
people in Varnertown.
“You know bits and pieces.
They know bits and pièces. We
can p u t.th o se pieces together
and be a tribe again.”
Tribes receive $6 million to battle drug abuse
W A S H IN G T O N '
Montana and Wyoming tribes will
receive almost $6 million in gov
ernment grants ova: the next three
years to battle substance abuse,
M ontana’s congressional delega
tion said Thursday.,
. T h e M o n tan a-W y o m in g
Tribal Leaders Council will use
the m oney to help A m erican
In d ian s w ho need substance
abuse treatm ent but can’t afford
it. Priority will be given to those
suffering fro m m etham phet-
amine addiction, which has been
a ram pant problem in Indian
country.
M ontana’s two D em ocratic
senators, Max Baucus and Jo n
T ester, an d R epublican Rep.
D en n y R eh b erg p raised th e
grants and council’s programs.
“Tackling substance abuse
problems with programs like this
will lead to better opportunities
for jobs, education, housing and
law enforcement in Indian Coun
try,” Tester said.
Lessons of the past abound at Trail of Tears powwow
H O P K IN S V IL L E ,
Ky.
(AP)^—Colors swirled as voices
melded into the drum beat and
dancers zigzagged around the
circle.,.
O utside the circle, Lorinda
Proctor o f Clarksville, Tenn., a
spectator instead o f a competi
tor this year, watched at the Trail
p f Tears Intertribal PowwOw. . .
“It’s so family-oriented and
makes you feel like you’re so
co n n ected w hen you corne,”
P roctor said o f the powwow.
H er father is an American
Indian, and Proctor began go
ing to powwows about 12 years
ago as a way to become closer
to her heritage. In past years, she
has participated in the dancing
competitions.
“Coming to these powwows
kind o f gives you back that heri
tage,’’.she said. “I don’t think there
are enough events like this.”
' Powwow C hairm an R oger
Richey said that connection is
why the powwow and the Trail
o f Tears Park are so important.
“ T h is is h oly g ro u n d fo r
them,” he said, referring to the
two Cherokee chiefs w ho are
b u rie d a t th e p a rk in
Hopkinsville, as well as the thou
sands o f other people w ho died
oti the forced march to Okla
hom a beginning in 1838. “This
is their celebration, and we’re
happy we can give that back to
the Cherokee Nation.” •
A ttendance was dow n this
year com pared w ith previous
years, hitting bétween 4,000 and
5,000, Richey said. Attendance
has dwindled since a 2003 crowd
o f about 15,000.
“We didn’t have a whole lot
o f dancers, didn’t have a whole
lot o f people, bu t we did have
an outstanding powwow,” he
said.
N ext year, Richey hopes to
fix that with a bigger powwow
that should draw more people.
H e hopes to bring in some dif
ferent events, including the Az-
tec fire dancers, an exhibition
group th at perform ed at past
powwows.
C hristo p h er Baker, 11, o f
Hopkinsville and his three co
h o rts , 1'0-year-olds D e x te r
Schuzer and Lance Baker and
8 -y e a r-o ld J o h n S c h u le r,
seemed pretty excited, if slightly
embarrassed, about joining the
dance at the powwow, even if
th e y Were th e re b ecau se o f
schooL
* ‘W e’re studying about Native
Americans in social studies, and
our teacher wanted us to come
over th e w eekend and com e
back and tell him all about it,”
Christopher said. “We’re learn-
ing about the samé thing in arts
and humanities.”
The boys are all in fifth grade
at Belm ont Elementary where
teacher Chris Bentzel gave the
extra credit assignment o f go
ing to the powwow.
“I like th e pow w ow c o s
tumes,” John said.
T hroughout the daÿ, specta
to rs like the boys were invited
to' join the dance in betw een
competitions, and the blue-jeaq-
clad o f all ages danced right
along with those in féathers and
buckskin.
D a n n y C h a p p e ll o f O a k
G rove brought his daughter, 2-
year-old Dayna, to introduce her
to-their Cherokee background.
“ I t ’s always im p o rta n t to
bring her ou t here and let her
enjoy it,” he said. “To let her see
w hat our relatives did in the
p a st”
Spílyay Tyrooo
September 27, 2006
Minnesota tribal IDs
aren't being recognized
BEM IDJI, Minn. (AP)—
Some American Indians in
Minnesota say their tribal iden
tification cards aren’t being ree-,
ognized as legitimate forms o f
ID off the reservation, despite
a state law that says they can
be used in place o f state
driver’s licenses.
T he law, passed last year,
applies only to instances in
which people are required by
the state to show identifica
tion, such as w hen buying
tobacco o r alcohol, o r when
pawning an item at a pawn
shop. B ut even then, some
businesses post signs by cash
registers saying that tribal ID s
aren’t accepted.
Audrey Thayer, coordina
tor o f the Greater Minnesota
Justice Project, a program o f
the American Civil Liberties
Union o f Minnesota, said a
lawsuit over tribal IDs has al
ready been filed in Hennepin
County and more suits could
be on the way.
‘T m moving rather quickly
now to negotiate, and work
with the county and the cities
in the areas up here so that we
don’t have to have suits,” she
said. “N o one wants to have
suits filed against them.”
Kevin Mahto, a m em ber
o f the R ed Lake B and o f
Ojibwe, knows all about get
ting his ID rejected.
H e lives near a Bemidji
pawnshop, and knows owner
D on Josefson by name. But
w hen h e recently tried to
pawn a full-length coat for
$25, he couldn’t do it.
Since J o s e fs o n ’s paw n
shop is governm ent-regu
lated, Josefson had to ask for
an ID. H e can accept Cana-
diaii ID s o r ID s from other
states, but the com puter sys
tem h e’s m andated to use
doesn’t accept tribaLID.
I .‘T h is is n o t N ew York
City. This is Bemidji, Minne-
sota,” Jqsefson said. “I know
a good deal o f these people
p erso n ally , an d u n less
th ey ’ve b een lying to m e
since they were 15, they are
w ho they say they are. B ut I
can’t do business with them,
because they don’t have a
Minnesota state-issued ID.”
Josefson said he’s frustrated
because he’s losing business,
and because he thinks refus
ing tribal ID s is wrong.
Tribal governm ents may
also run into problems. The
new law says tribal ID s must
contain security features that
make them hard to duplicate
o r tam per w ith, b u t m any
tribal ID s may not meet those
vague standards.
Beltrami County Attorney
Tim Faver said the security
situation is confusing. He said
state agencies are working with
tribes to establish clear crite
ria for secure IDs, but until
there’s some uniformity, there
will continue to be problems.
“I t is really no t fair in my
mind that a clerk in a con
v e n ie n c e s to re o r, q u ite
frankly, a city or county gov
ernm ent, to be making the
determination in a given case
as to w hat ID card meets the
requirements o f the statute,”
Faver said. “I think those are
standards th a t need to be
further defined and set by
the state.” American Indian
tribes in M innesota w ould
like to see full recognition o£
tribal ID s everywhere.
Navajo Nation considering
upgrading landing strips
W IN D O W R O C K , A riz.
(AP) — The Navajo N ation is
considering upgrades to seven
air strips on the reservation.
The tribe wants the strips at
Crownpoint, Shiprock, Oljato,
Tuba City, Chinle, Kayenta and
Ganado to become airports, said
the spokesman for the Navajo
D epartm ent o f Transportation,
Rutherford Ashley.
“T he reservation is a vast
place, and airports would make
all these areas a little bit more
accessible,” he said. ‘W e could
start a shuttle service open to
the public to fly from Tuba City
to Crownpoint, and the airports
would generate funds that would
benefit the tribe.”
A n airport at W indow Rock,
the capital o f the Navajo N a
tion, is the only air strip on the
reservation with a terminal, han
gar an d nav ig atio n system s,
Ashley said.
In Shiprock, for example, the
air strip is powered by a genera
to r and has no running water,
said Wilfred Brown, airport pro
Wärm.
gram supervisor .for the Navajo
transportation agency.
O n average, five planes land
in Shiprock each week, Brown
said. M ost flights are emergency
medical evacuations.
“There are no runway lights,
water or sewer,” he said. “There
are no buildings except for a
shelter where patients wait for
emergency flights.”
T h e d e p a rtm e n t p lan s a
meeting Wednesday in W indow
Rock to discuss air travel on the
reservation.
Ashley said the transportation
agency hopes to use grants from
the state and the Federal Avia
tion Administration to eventu
ally improVe the strip and build
a terminal.
“People don't know there's a
landing strip out there,” Ashley
said. “ This could be the begin
ning o f a better quality o f life,
b e tte r access to h ealth care,
m ore tourism and private busi
nesses. This is going to generate
revenue.” '
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