H/T Indianz
Here is the decision, In re Peabody Western Coal Division, from the Environmental Appeals Board
Author: Kate Fort
McSweeney’s: Supreme Court Can’t Agree on Lunch
Here.
It is therefore with great solemnity that we hand down the majority opinion in the case of Domino’s v. That One Greek Place Over on N Street.
There are meritorious arguments for both proposals. Pizza, as some members of the Court have contended, is a lunch cuisine with deep foundations in the history of the United States Supreme Court’s break room kitchenette. Further, our unanimous opinion in Domino’s v. Sbarro, 540 U.S. 891 (2003), stands for the proposition that Domino’s never skimps on the toppings, and that their Cinna Stix are pretty good too, especially if you eat them when they’re still warm.
While those Justices in favor of that Greek joint have argued that Gyros are, in many respects, way tastier than pizza (see Scalia, J., dissenting, infra), they have failed to cite to any relevant Federal Statutes or Law Review articles for support. As another matter, the Court isn’t even sure whether the Greek place will deliver all the way to the Supreme Court Building—and Breyer is the only Justice with a car, and he doesn’t really feel like driving.
Niijii Radio–American Indian Law Update
For a number of weeks, the Center’s Fellow has been recording American Indian Law updates for Niijii Radio, based out of White Earth. We’ve collected them as mp3 files on a page here at Turtle Talk. Thanks to Elaine Barr, our Fellow, and Gordon Henry, the director of the Native American Institute at MSU for this program.
Lansing City Pulse: Proposed Lansing Casino Would Allow Smoking
The article is here. There’s some good reporting in there (comments from Inter-Tribal Council, a quick survey of the issue of smoking in tribal casinos, a distinction about state law not applying on tribal land, and a discussion of the negotiations around the topic):
“If they did not allow smoking, they wouldn’t be doing any of the business they’re doing now,” said Bill Cross, a partner in the development group, Lansing Future LLC. “If you take that away, it would probably take out 30 percent of the revenue, maybe even higher. That means it would have been a deal-breaker for the city, too.
“Let’s say we’re the only Native American casino in the entire state that doesn’t have smoking: It just makes it an unfair playing field,” he said.
Speaking on the new television show “City Pulse Newsmakers” on Sunday, Mayor Virg Bernero said, “Don’t let perfect become the enemy of good,” acknowledging that while he would have liked to see a smoke-free casino, it was the tribe’s decision.
“In truth, I don’t think this is a perfect proposal. I think if we wait for perfect, we’ll wait for something that may never be,” he said. “There’s lots of things to like about this proposal.”
Bernero said he “didn’t notice a heavy smell” when visiting other casinos where smoking is permitted. “Would I prefer that there was no smoking anywhere indoors? Yeah, I would. But that’s not law in Michigan. To single out Lansing would have put us at a disadvantage.” Bernero added “that’s our view” when asked if requiring the casino to be entirely smoke-free would have been a “deal-killer.”
New Book on Cherokee Syllabary
ICT has two articles on Ellen Cushman’s new book, The Cherokee Syllabary: Writing the People’s Perseverance.
Here is the interview with the author, and here is the review of the book.
Cushman, a Cherokee Nation citizen, writes in her preface about the questions generated by a poster of the Cherokee syllabary chart that hangs in her office. Visitors ask, “Why so many characters? How is this learned? Why these shapes? Where can I find samples of writing in Sequoyan? Is it even still used? What does it all mean?”
Cushman, wondering herself, set out to answer these and other queries. Her first few chapters detail the story of Sequoyah and how the writing system evolved from handwritten script to the printing press. Then the author delves into the deeper meaning of the syllabary itself. In theorizing about how the original handwritten script may have had many linguistic meanings built into its very shapes, she actually strips down the syllables digitally to their core shapes and creates a table comparing them. All this makes for a fascinating discussion.
The narrative then flows into how the script was later adapted to the printing press. Cushman notes that despite the influence of missionary groups, the final product was not informed by the English alphabet, even though some Cherokee syllables ended up resembling English alphabetic shapes. It was a Cherokee product from start to finish.
Unpublished ICWA Opinion out of Nebraska
The court found that the denial of transfer to tribal court was not an abuse of discretion by the trial court. In this case the blood quantum requirements of the tribe initially led to a determination that the children were not eligible for membership, though it turns out the determination was in error. Because of the error, the tribe was late to intervene, and the trial court denied transfer. The State and the GAL opposed transfer, and the court used a best interests standard to deny transfer. It’s not a pretty opinion and touches on a number of the usual issues involved in these cases (permanency, termination of parental rights, whether foster care placement and termination proceedings are separate or intrinsically linked).
UofM NALSA Indian Law Day: Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Under International Law
Indian Law Day 2012:
Full schedule here. (pdf)
Friday, March 30, 2012
12:00pm-3:00pm
Speakers:
Armstrong Wiggins, Indian Law Resource Director, Washington Office
Frank Ettawageshik, Executive Director of United Tribes of Michigan
Kirsten Carlson, Assistant Professor of Law at Wayne State University
TurtleTalk on VodPod
For reasons known only to WordPress, we can’t embed videos from the internet we’d like to share in our posts (Daily Show bits, youtube videos, etc.). For those of us who only follow us via subscription, we now have a VodPod (www.vodpod.com) account where you can follow us at turtletalk. However, if you visit our homepage and look to the right, you’ll see a new widget with the video (Shinnob Life is our first one). You can watch it right here on TurtleTalk.
PS-if you care about these things, we still have our Vimeo account where we’re happy to put up original content from events or conferences.
Job Opening: Experienced Litigation Attorney for Rosette, LLP
Here. (PDF)
The Pundit: Enforcing State Child Support Orders in Tribal Courts in Michigan
A publication of the State Court Administrative Office (SCAO), The Pundit is primarily for those working on child support issues, including Friend of the Court. The editors asked for an article detailing how tribal courts recognize foreign (state) court child support orders. All of the information came from inquiries to the tribal courts in Michigan. The article includes detailed contact information for the tribes as well.
The publication is here. (PDF)
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