Rj Rita Jones (Notoweega Clan Mother) at Yellowstone National Park with Jimmy St. Goddard (Blackfeet Hereditary Chief.) Entering for Ceremony to protect the Buffalo, During Shutdown Link →Buffalo Field Campaign

By Shawna Burkham October 9th 2013

Hunker down, RJ and I have been out west for a week + for a trip that was planned months ago to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks. That was before congress lost its mind and closed everything.

So we made the most of the trip (we went with 3 other friends) and we saw some amazing sights and had a wonderful time.

But Monday, Divine Order prevailed. I am here to tell you that 16 people - including the 5 of us - spent the afternoon in Yellowstone National Park. The CLOSED to the public National Park. Odd things happened in an odd order and we arrived at the West Yellowstone gate just to say we had "been there" and take pictures.

When we arrived we saw a small group of people 100 yards away talking to the park rangers at the actual gate. Rangers who are working even though not being paid. Two of the people were obviously Native Americans and the man said to RJ as she walked up (don't know why - she just decided to walk up) "you're indigenous, aren't you?" She told him she was and he said "I knew it" and walked her into to the group.

The Buffalo Field Campaign, a group out of West Yellowstone was there to prepare to go into the park with the man who took RJ. He is the head spiritual leader of the Blackfeet Nation. They do a ceremony in the park to ask for protection for the Yellowstone herd, which is the only pure buffalo herd left in the US. All of the rest of the herds have been crossbred with cattle. So this herd, which is very sacred, has been hazed and even killed with the approval of the park and the government and this ceremony is apparently performed to ask for protection for them and yesterday was the day it was to be performed.

We had no inkling of any of this.

So up the chain of park command the request went for clearance for this sacred ceremony which had to take place in a certain area of Yellowstone. We stood, we waited, we couldn't believe it, but after about a half hour we were approved to go in. A caravan of three cars plus a ranger drove about 30 miles into the park to Fountain Flats, where the prayer ceremony complete with sage and tobacco and cedar and sweet grass was held. It was powerful. We stood together in a circle, listened to him speak and pray, shared our requests for humanity and nature - all the while two buffalo grazed then lay in the meadow not too far away. It was as though they knew we were there for them. They didn't leave the whole time we were there. The sun shone, the skies were blue, several ravens and what looked like an eagle flew in and out, the wind blew gently and it was amazing.

As we drove in and out of the park we were not permitted to stop, but we did see that area of the park and we did pass elk herds along the road as well as three or four more buffalo "galoomping" alongside the road, too. We were driving along the Madison River almost the whole way in and out. I tell you it was magic.

So even though I never saw Old Faithful, or the falls, or the mud pots, we did visit Yellowstone at a time that no one else was permitted to do so. We were alone in Yellowstone Park on a gorgeous October afternoon.

I will never forget it. And I like the way one of the other men in the group put it. He was also there completely serendipitously and he commented that he had always led a charmed life and he considered yesterday just another "tender mercy" that was shone him. And I feel the same.

By DEBRA TOBIN Logan Daily News Reporter This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

LOGAN — A U.S. District Court Judge for the Southern District of Ohio has recommended additional public officials be added in a lawsuit between local resident Marshall Lucas, also known as Great Elk Dancer for his Elk Nation, and the City of Logan.

Magistrate Judge Mark R. Abel, who previously called the case “frivolous and malicious,” has filed a recommendation that the lawsuit continue against Logan City Mayor Martin Irvine, Logan Fire Chief Brian Robertson, Logan Police Patrolman Josh Mowery and Logan City Service Director Steve Shaw. In the magistrate’s first recommendation, Abel recommended all parties be dismissed with the
exception of Robertson.

In the court document, Abel denied a recent motion to strike filed by the city’s attorney, Mazanec, Raskin & Ryder Co., L.P.A., and recommended the city’s motion for an extension of time to respond to the lawsuit be granted, meaning the four remaining in the lawsuit have until Sept. 13 to respond. The $20 million lawsuit has been an ongoing flow of paperwork filed in the district court since June. Lucas is asking the court for “injunctive relief and declaratory judgment as well as compensatory damages for the value of the business opportunity or expectancy that was lost as a result of the defendants’ tortuous and improper interference of his business.”

A total of 19 complaints were listed in the original lawsuit, but most were prior to June 12, 2011 and are barred by the statute of limitations, according to Abel.

Lucas, who believes he has been harassed since he first opened his business in Logan, the Mingo Trading Company, alleges that those mentioned in the suit have interfered with his commerce, all of which he describes as “tribal” businesses.

Although Lucas refers to his businesses, including Red Door Internet Café, as “tribal” businesses, supporters of a bill to ban Internet café businesses have argued that the 800 plus Internet cafes operating throughout the state are nothing more than illegal gambling operations.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and other law enforcement have referred to Internet cafes as being a home to illegal activity, including money laundering.

Lucas told The Logan Daily News in a previous interview that interfering with his commerce is a violation of the Greenville Treaty and the U.S. Constitution.

Dan Tierney, a spokesman and attorney with DeWine’s office, previously told The Logan Daily News that Ohio has no federally designated tribal land. “Nor is there any recognized treaty under which a Native American tribe holds land in Ohio. Therefore, the State of Ohio would retain jurisdiction,” he said.

The Internet Cafe House Bill 7 restricts the limit of payouts to $10, and will take effect on Sept. 4. Operators of Internet cafe businesses say the new bill will force them out of business due to the limit on payouts.

Abel’s first recommendation included language to remove the following officials from the lawsuit: Hocking County Common Pleas Court Judge John T. Wallace, City of Logan, Logan Police Chief Aaron Miller, Logan Police Lt. Gregg Cluley, Logan Police Officer Tony Byram, Hocking County Prosecutor Laina Fetherolf, Hocking County Assistant Prosecutor William Archer, Logan City Law Director Jonah Saving, former Logan City Law Director Bob Lilley and employees of the Hocking County Probation Office.

By DEBRA TOBIN Logan Daily News Reporter This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

LOGAN — More paperwork has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio in what Magistrate Judge Mark R. Able has referred to as a “frivolous and malicious” case against the City of Logan filed by Marshal Lucas “Great Elk Dancer for his Elk Nation” in June. Lucas has sued the city for $20 million on a total of 19 complaints stemming from his business, Red Door Internet Café, claiming the city has "molested his commerce" and left him no choice but to file the lawsuit in district court.

On Aug. 2, Lucas filed a motion to strike the plaintiff’s first amended complaint and a motion for an extension of time to answer. According to Lucas, the Treaty of Canadaiqua of 1794, Jay Treaty of 1794 and Greenville Treaty of 1795 exempts him from prosecution and harassment by the City of Logan in state court for violations of city ordinances.

Yet Dan Tierney, a spokesperson and attorney with Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine's Office told The Logan Daily News, “Ohio has no federally designated tribal land, nor is there any recognized treaty under which a Native American tribe holds land in Ohio. Therefore, the State of Ohio would retain jurisdiction.”

Tierney also noted, “The Ohio Department of Taxation may request audits to investigate violations of tax law,” referring to Lucas’ business, Red Door Internet Café.

Lucas wants the district court to deny the motion to strike as moot because the defendants have failed to show a need or good cause for a further extension of time; the motion and relief requested is openended; the motion is untimely; and the defendants have demonstrated a lack of diligence in completing the discovery.

The city refutes the accusations and has filed a motion to strike, and an extension of the answer date as well. The city claims the plaintiff's first amended complaint was improperly filed and uncertainty surrounding the status of the pleadings necessitates an extension of the city defendants’ answer date. According to paperwork obtained from the U.S. District Court, Lucas has filed an application to proceed in forma pauperis, and the Sixth Circuit has held that a plaintiff proceeding in forma pauperis cannot amend his complaint to avoid dismissal by the magistrate, which appears to be what Lucas has done.

The law firm for the city, Mazanec, Raskin & Ryder Co., L.P.A., contend that the amended complaint was improperly filed and should be stricken from the record and requests the court extend the answer date for 20 days after the court rules on the motion.

Lucas is asking the court for “injunctive relief and declaratory judgment as well as compensatory damages for the value of the business opportunity or expectancy that was lost as a result of the defendants’ tortuous and improper interference of his business.”

Internet cafes have come under scrutiny lately, especially after a multi-agency investigation of online gambling targeted Internet cafes in seven counties throughout Ohio, including Union, Shelby, Hardin, Butler, Montgomery, Franklin and Logan counties.

Tierney also made note of the new laws regarding Internet cafes which will become effective Sept. 1. Law enforcement officials, including the attorney general’s office, contend that Internet cafes operate as illegal gambling establishments, and in some cases, engage in money laundering and other serious criminal activity.

“Generally, owners call their businesses Internet cafés because they purport to sell Internet time to be used at computer terminals,” Tierney stated. “These businesses also often sell prepaid phone cards. The owners sell these products and offer opportunities to play casino-style games on terminals as part of a purported sweepstakes.”

“The legislation taking effect next month would prohibit cash prizes for games played at an electronic sweepstakes terminal and limit the value of such prizes to no more than $10,” he added. “These regulations bring such ‘sweepstakes’ games in line with other Ohio gaming laws. The restrictions also make it easier to investigate violations, as the limits on prizes are clear.”

“Local law enforcement and BCI will investigate violations of the new law,” Tierney noted. Lucas, who believes he has been harassed since he first opened his business in Logan, the Mingo Trading Company, alleges that those mentioned in the suit have interfered with his commerce, all of which he describes as “tribal” businesses.

Although Able has recommended the suit be dropped against all named in the suit except Logan Fire Chief Brian Robertson, District Court Judge Michael H. Watson has not signed the paperwork making it official.