In this disturbing opinion, the court found that the child was not an Indian child under ICWA, even though both the Oglala Sioux Tribe and the child’s mother demonstrated the child is eligible for membership in the Oglala Sioux Tribe
Author: Kate Fort
Guidiville Band of Pomo Indians v. NGV Gaming, Ltd.
In a contract dispute between the Tribe and NGV gaming, the court interprets Congressional intent regarding the word “is” in 25 USC 81. Specifically, the Court was concerned with whether Congress intended the word “is” to include the present and future tense.
New Chairman for Sault Ste. Marie Tribe
From the tribal press release via Soo Today:
2008 general election results
SAULT STE. MARIE, ON – The Sault Tribe membership will welcome in a new chairman this year. Darwin (Joe) McCoy successfully defeated incumbent Chairperson Aaron Payment 3,853 to 3,495 to become the fourth chairperson of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
“I am really humbled about how things turned out. I look forward to working with our team members, the new and existing board members, and working for our tribal members. I would also like to thank all my supporters and look forward to bringing the tribe into better times,” stated Chairman-Elect Joe McCoy.
Native American Kids Still Disproportionately Represented in Foster Care
From the Seattle Post Intellegencer:
Excerpt:
Native American, black kids more likely to end up in foster care
Percentage of whites put in system among lowest
By JOHN IWASAKI
P-I REPORTER
Until he was 17, Charles Goodwin spent most of his teen years living with foster families and interacting with caseworkers who never fully understood him for a basic reason: None shared his Native American heritage.
The state removed him from his dysfunctional home and passed him through the child welfare system, where some foster parents referred to him as an “Injun” and disregarded his cultural interests, he said, while the state ignored his requests for a Native American caseworker.
“I do think that training and cultural awareness regarding the Native community would help,” said Goodwin, a 21-year-old Seattle resident who is part Blackfoot and Keetoowah and also goes by Miskomaengun, his Indian name. “It’s not everything, but it would be a big step.”
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Articles on BMIC and Sault Ste. Marie Tribe Bills
BMIC and Sault Ste. Marie Tribe Bills Defeated in the House
Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land & Cattle Opinion
The 40 page opinion is available here:
Plains Commerce Bank v. Long Family Land & Cattle
Additional materials regarding the case can be found at here.
Supreme Court reverses lower Plains Commerce Bank decision
We’ll post the opinion as soon as it’s available.
From SCOTUS blog:
The Court has released the opinion in Plains Commerce v. Long Family Land and Cattle (07-411), on whether Indian tribal courts have authority to decide civil lawsuits involving business dealings between companies owned by members of the tribe and banks that own land on a reservation, but are not themselves owned by a tribal member. The ruling below, which found for the tribal members, is reversed.
Chief Justice Roberts wrote the opinion. Justice Ginsburg dissented, joined by Justices Stevens, Souter and Breyer. We will provide a link to the decision as soon as it is available.
Congressional Vote Today on BMIC and Sault Tribe Gaming Bills
From The Hill:
Pelosi to grant vote on Indian gaming bill benefiting Rep. Dingell’s district
By Susan Crabtree
Posted: 06/24/08 07:08 PM [ET]
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is giving Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) a full House vote Wednesday on a nettlesome Indian gaming bill he’s been pushing for years as a surefire way to help out his cash-strapped district.
Dingell and his allies tried — albeit unsuccessfully — to insert it into various legislative vehicles despite an onslaught of complaints from high-profile opponents and others, such as convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who were stalwartly against congressional intervention in the issue.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), then the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs panel investigating Abramoff’s Indian gambling lobbying scandal, was infuriated by an effort to parachute the language into an early version of the 2005 highway bill. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), at Dingell’s urging, had placed the language deep within the massive transportation measure as early as 2003.
Graphic Novel: Trickster
From ICT:
‘Trickster’ – a Native anthology of tales in graphic novel form
Posted: June 25, 2008 by: Robert Schmidt / Pechanga.net
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| Images courtesy Matt Dembicki |
”Trickster” is a graphic novel-style anthology of Native trickster tales created primarily by Native writers and artists. In a Q&A interview conducted by e-mail, writer/artist Matt Dembicki shared the inside story on his project.
Rob Schmidt: Let’s start with a brief description: What is ”Trickster”?
Matt Dembicki: ”Trickster” is a comics anthology, comprising more than 20 Native American trickster stories. Each story is written by a Native American storyteller and illustrated by a comics artist of the writer’s choosing. The stories cover a range of trickster types – from the more well-known creatures, such as the rabbit and coyote, to less-known characters, such as raccoons and personified spirits such as Moshup – as well as types of American Indian tribes and geographic area.
Turtle Talk 
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