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