April 17, 1998 - As part of Mainstreet Radio’s Treaty Rights and Tribal Sovereignty series, Catherine Winter presents report on the concept called tribal sovereignty, and a look at the where this complex set of rules comes from, and how it affects Indian people today. Report includes various interviews with tribe members.
May 19, 1998 - Guns, gangs and violence. Not the usual picture when you think of a small northern Minnesota town. But residents in Cass Lake on the Leech Lake Reservation say they're under siege. As MPR's Tom Robertson reports, the area is also struggling with high unemployment, poverty, and longstanding racial divisions between the Leech Lake tribal government and city officials. BACKANNOUNCE: Tomorrow, Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil tells us how a recent State Supreme Court decision is resulting in some changes for law enforcement on the state's reservations.
May 20, 1998 - Young people are frequent victims, and the most likely perpetrators, of hate crimes. Many Minnesota teens were among hundreds who gathered yesterday at a hate crimes summit in Minneapolis, hoping their stories will encourage more people to pay attention to the problem. Minnesota Public Radio's Eric Jansen reports: The most energetic session of the day-long summit on hate crimes was the taping of a national television show about how prejudice affects teens. The June 20 show is hosted by Court TV's Carol Randolph:
May 20, 1998 - In December, the Minnesota Supreme Court delivered "the Stone decision," a ruling on a case brought by members of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. They claimed the state lacks authority to enforce civil laws, such as traffic regulations, on reservations. The high court agreed and as a result Tribal authorities now face big decisions over how to provide their own law enforcement... and how to pay for it. Minnesota Public Radio's Amy Radil reports from Duluth. Most Minnesota reservations are covered by what's known as Public Law 280, which has allowed the state to provide law enforcement on reservation land since 1953. With the Stone decision, the court clarified that the state ONLY has criminal jurisdiction. So reservations are stepping in to en
May 21, 1998 - More than 125 Native American tribes from across the nation are represented at a tribal environmental conference underway at the Prairie Island Dakota Community. One session addressed a key issue facing Prairie Island and other tribes - the storage of nuclear waste on or near their lands. Minnesota Public Radio's Laura McCallum reports... One Prairie Island official says the most ominous issue facing the tribe is its nuclear neighbor. Northern States Power Company's Prairie Island plant sits less than a mile away from the reservation, along with its seven dry casks storing spent nuclear fuel. Whether tribes should accept nuclear waste for storage has been hotly debated across the country - Robert Hold
May 21, 1998 - Mainstreet Radio's Catherine Winter reports on Cass Lake-Bena school district, a small district on the Leech Lake Reservation that has struggled with racial tension for years. The district is trying to serve its Native students better, but the case is still not settled.
May 29, 1998 - Today was the last day of school for kids on the Red Lake Reservation, and it could be the start of one of their last long summer vacations. As Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson explains from Bemidji, the Red Lake School District is proposing a year-round school schedule... Less than 20 percent of eighth graders in the Red Lake School District passed this year's statewide tests in math and reading -- well below the statewide average of around 70 percent. Superintendent Roger Schmidt says switching to a year-round school schedule would raise those figures, and he's hoping to convince the rest of the community to back the change. Like a growing number
June 2, 1998 - The United States Supreme Court has handed Native American tribes a major legal victory. The high court refused to hear two cases against Mystic Lake Casino in Prior Lake, upholding earlier rulings that found the casino couldn't be sued in state court. Steve Thorn is a Minneapolis attorney whose firm represents Indian tribes. He says the ruling affirms the sovereign immunity of tribes: Steve Thorn is an attorney with Jacobson, Buffalo, Schoessler & Magnuson, a Minneapolis firm that represents Indian tribes. Sun 28-MAY 11:01:03 MPR NewsPro Archive - Wed 04/11/2001
June 3, 1998 - Migrant workers are arriving in southeast Minnesota to work in canning and packing plants. Many come from the Eagle Pass area of Texas, along the Mexican border. They used to travel to the Red River Valley to work on the sugar beet harvest but mechanization and better farm chemicals mean sugar beet farmers don't need as much labor. In the first report in an occasional series on migrants in Minnesota, Minnesota Public Radio's Brent Wolfe introduces us to one migrant family and what they leave behind.
June 10, 1998 - Tribal elections were held on the White Earth Reservation yesterday, despite efforts by a group of band members to put a stop to the voting. Minnesota Public Radio's Tom Robertson reports from Bemidji.... Two days ago it looked doubtful that the scheduled election would take place on White Earth. A group of protesters took control of tribal headquarters Sunday, vowing that they would use any means necessary to stop the election. The group contends that three tribal council members have been holding office illegally since 1996. Those officials, with about 70 supporters, entered and reclaimed control of the building just before sunrise Tuesday.