By CHRISTl
cant.
Kelley cha th upplie
co pired to fore chools to pay
millio of dolla mo for mil
cont eta than n sary.
W yne Roelof, general man-
r of Roelof Dairy, in Gal -
. bur id the allegations are
just going to 008t a 10 of money
for bOth parti. . .
" ARE JUST a family
dairy who' being forced to pay
thou nd of dollars in legal
� ,It Roelof said.
Roelof Dairy was dropped
from a imilar suit by th fed
eral government in 1991. Roelof
id he expects th suit to be
only a big hassle.
Kelley alleges that the sup
plie violated federal and state
u.
•
By DAWN LOCNISKAR
Capital News Service
LANSING - It is well known
that those of Native American
heritage have a history that pre
dates all other Ameri ns.
What is less well known is the
struggle many Native Ameri
cans, including members of sev
eral Michigan tribes, have had
to undergo.
The essence of that struggle?
'To achieve the same sense of
identity and self-worth as those
who came to this country after
them.
The federal recognition on
Sept. 21 by President Clinton of
three Michigan tribes - Man
is tee's Little River Band
(Ottawa), along with the Little
Traverse Bay Band (Odawa)
and the Pokagon Band
(Potawatarni) - brought to a
close their quest to be a recog
nized tribe in the eyes of the
federal government.
Now, tribe leaders are deal
ing with decisions to be made
regarding many issues affecting
their communities. Methods of
fundraising are only one item on
a varied agenda.
"We're having to contend
with a multitude of issues and
responsibilities right now," said
Mark Dougher, executive direc
tor of the Little River Band.
NATIVE AMERICAN
RUN casinos have received
wide attention in the media re
cently, with the principal focus
being the debate over whether
one should be built in downtown
Detroit. The absence ofa Native
American member of Gov. John
Engler's task force studying the
feasibility of the Detroit casino
has led to allegations of dis
crimination.
But to Tom Topash of Sault
Ste. Marie, chairman of the.
State Commission on Indian Af
fairs, gaming is merely a means
to an end.
"Gaming is the fastest way to
generate funds for Native
American operations," he said.
"But as tribes grow," he con
tinued, "they understand that
diversification is the b st ap
proach for long-range planning"
The hi tory of Michigan trib
looks back as w 11 as forward
and is p rtially intertwined
with the history of th state it-
elf.
A treaty igned in 1836 laid
the fou ndation for Michiga n
statehood. How v r, another
treaty sign d 20 year lat r
would prov to b . th trib s' un
doing.
o 0 D
schools n ra of 1
for ch half-pint of mil
price has remained th me
ince the rly 1980, ccording
to Roelof.
Kelley id he ho to ac-
compli h three objective
through the la uit: "Fir t, e
expect to recover- all th dam
age ustained by chool dis
trict . Second, we want to
tore competitive bidding to
school mil contracts and en
sure eompeti ion for the future.
Third, e want to end a cl
message to any person or com
pany who contracts with school
di tricts that anti-competitive
practices will not be tolerated."
The state has hired two pri
vate law firms to handle the
case. Thrun, Maatsch & Nord
berg, P. C. of Michigan and
Kenny, Nachwalter, Seymor,
THE TREATY of Detroit of
1855, signed between the
Ottawa bands of the Upper and
Lower peninsulas and Chip
pewa bands of the eastern half
of the U.P., contained language
at app . sol bot
the Ottawa and Chippewa or
ganizations.
Dougher said that language
only referred to the dissolution
of the treaty council, not the
tribes themselves. The bands
did not want to present issues as
a united group, he said, but pre
ferred to press their concerns
separately.
Some 20 to 30 years later, fed
eral officials misinterpreted the
language, thinking it meant the
tribes were willfully agreeing to
go out of existence. After a few
decades, Dougher said, it be
came official policy.
The debate was reopened in
1978, in a case formally known
as U.S. vs. Michigan and less
formally known as the "fishing
rights" case. The presiding
judge in the case u ed the origi
nal 1836 treaty as the- basis for
his written opinion, Dougher
said.
The majority opinion also ad
dressed the provision in the
1855 treaty that had resulted in
the effective dissolution of the
tribes. The presiding judge,
who had read the treaty, dis-
. agreed with the federal govern
ment's interpretation of the
provision and clarified it in his
written opinion.
SINCE TH T TIME,
Dougher said, tribal bands such
as his own whose ancestors
signed treaties have worked to
Kelley
charges
suppliers
conspired,
costing
schools
millions in
over
payment.
mold, Chritchlow
Mi mi, I., will p
uit.
Thrun, ordb rg
ould not comment on th uit.
Th tat i king damages of
up to three tim what chool
districts 10 t as a result of th
alleged violation of antitrust
la w . The fine could reach
50,000 for each dairy,
The 11 dairi charged in the
suit are: Bareman airy, In . of
Holland, Country Fresh, Inc. of
Grand Rapids, Dairy Maid of
Holland, Detroit Pure Milk of
Detroit, Lansing Dairy of
Lansing, McDonald Dairy Com
pany of Flint, Roelof Dairy of
Galesburg; Sherman and Broth
ers, Inc. of South Haven, Allen
. Dairy Company of Fort Wayn ,
Ind., New Paris Creamery Corn
pany, Inc. of Gr nwich, Conn.'
and Scholl Dairy of Michigan
City, Ind.
restore their tribal status.
Topash, a mernb r ofth Pok
agon Band, d scribed th recog
nition pro s as "I ngthy" and
involving much paperwork. Th
importance of gaining ogni-
tion, op sh " neom
mol' n ju t th I gality of
formal tri al recognition.
"Our own elf-r ognition i
ju t a valuable any from a
federal ource, bu it' nic to
hav r cognit.ion fr o m all
sources, II he said.
Self-recognition, in Topash's
opinion, is equivalent to over
eignty.
He is currently helping p.ed
that process by his work as th .
principal of Sault Ste. Marie's
Bahweting Anishinabe School.
Bahweting, the ancient nam
for Sault Ste. Marie, me n
"meeting place of the rivers."
Anishinabe, Topash aid, is th
Gr .at Lakes Algonquian word
for Indian.
THE SCHOOL' FOCU,
Topash said, is teaching kids
"who they are." What thi in
cludes, Topash said, is instruc
tion in the Ojibway language.
Traditional basics of reading,
writing and arithmetic are
taught as well, and bas d on ho
li tic themes.
Whatever their YIAY of fun
draising or living, trib must
always include the n s of fu
ture generations in th ir long
range planning, Topash said.
Michigan Citizen
. Published each Sunday by
NEW DAY ENTERPRISE
P.O. Box 03560, Highland Park, MI 48203 (313) 869-0033
Benton Harbor Bureau, 175 Main Street
Benton Harbor, MI 49022 (616) 927-1527
Publisher: Charles Kelly
Contributors: Bernice Brawn
Mary Golliday
Allison Jones - Jacquelyn Martin- Ron Seigel
Nathaniel Scott - Tureka Turk (
Carolyn Warfield
Managing Editor: Kascene Barks
Typesetter: Henry K II r - Verell Larks
Adverti ing Repr entative: Ardella Thomas
()(QdVl( l('Of nil MW'ipapU o (?'I' �� J 1 fI()(1,. rl4(fd.l)· prwr If' (111"" auo« })(adJ,jfI( (If nil lUI Cf>(7) �I 12
fI fI I rt'M(1,i..JI' f"""r In p"hI, altOfl Th« M,c/IlXO" ( ,1I"('fI,' tl'ooQdab/( on lin« tl",,"�h f d,,,;e. cow, 1�'Il/<1r
Ilft(J t. \/I IC"btrf Wcoad /).1/11 Central
(ISSN 1072·2041)
By DAWN LOC ISKAR
Detroit mothers study at Northern Michigan University
Judith Burt,.17 (left) and Octavia Coker, 17 (right), recently complet d summ r chool at Northern
Michigan University. Burt and Coker were two of 65.pregnant or parenting teenage mothers from
Detroit' Catherine Fergu on Academy in an int n ive thre -we k umm r chool program. Th
program, in it third year at NMU, i de igned to help the girl b com familiar with life on a college
campus while exposing them to a broad range of life experl nce . It al 0 grant them high school
academic credit. (NMU photo) .... .J� , �:;j:. I '-' � .:�. 'OT I
,. ." ,.. ."""""4.',,,
First Home?
First Home Mortgage?
First Federal
La Loan tart- Pre-Approve You For Mortga Finan ing
8 fore You Buy Hom.
The fir. t rep (0\ ard buyinj; that home i\ w hen )Oll get your free
llJ L nStart "Pre- ppro al Certificate" from Firvr Federal. ( n .c vou
have it, the. eller knov � you're a criou bu cr. That'v a big d antagc.
A Firvt Federal lending expert wil] work with �()1I to determine the
111.1 imurn amount you qualifv for hu-ed on vour income. a\\ct�
and credit hi..,t()ry. That\ a hi� help .. 'ec the fricndl-, pie
at Fir�t Federal for detail". The� rn ... kc financing vour fir t horne
the I t thing you have to worr, about.
Pr . pproval. An th r Big Id a from Fir st.F d r I of Michi�faD,
of Mi higan' Bi� t : ving, In, titution Sin 1934.
(E::r 1ain ( : H 1 Woodward AI( nil . D -troit. �1i( hiK<t1l I. L!b Phon : m3) .. ,.. 111M)
l··· n �l)Tt In urod I I "I I It ,. fl • \I II 'J I
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