Here:
GTB Testimony before Mich. House Natural Resources Committee on Commercial Net Pen Aquaculture
Here:
Author: Matthew L.M. Fletcher
Michigan Tribes Oppose Net Pen Aquaculture
Here.
NILL Indian Law Bulletin (2/5/16)
| The National Indian Law Library added new content to the Indian Law Bulletins on 2/05/16.
U.S. Courts of Appeals Bulletin U.S. Federal Trial Courts Bulletin State Courts Bulletin News Bulletin U.S. Regulatory Bulletin U.S. Legislation Bulletin |
Yakama Nation Largely Prevails in CERCLA Suit with US
Here are the materials in Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation v. United States of America (D. Or.):
Federal Court Quashes Subpoena on Tribal Sovereign Immunity Grounds
Here are the materials in Dillon v. BMO Harris Bank (N.D. Okla.):
3 Otoe-Missouria Tribe of Indians Motion to Quash
D.K. Sprague Retires after Twenty-Four Years as Chairman of the Gun Lake Tribe
D.K. Sprague Retires after Twenty-Four Years as Chairman of the Gun Lake Tribe
Sprague Led Tribe from Pre-Recognition to Successful Modern Tribal Government
(Bradley, Mich.) – Today, the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (Gun Lake Tribe) (Tribe) announced the retirement of David K. (D.K.) Sprague as chairman. Sprague served as chairman since his initial election by the Bradley Settlement Elder’s Council in 1992. He is distinguished as one the longest serving tribal chairman, in consecutive terms, throughout Indian Country in the Unites States.
“It has been an honor and privilege to serve my community as chairman for the last twenty-four years,” said D.K. Sprague, former chairman. “I thank my family and the Tribe for supporting me, and God for allowing me to serve at a time when our dreams came to reality. I give recognition to our tribal leaders who came before me, as I merely finished what they started when the Bradley Indian Mission was established in the 1830s.”
The Tribe achieved federal re-acknowledgment in 1999 after many years of working through the federal acknowledgment process. The Tribe’s goal of reaching self-sufficiency through its pursuit of economic development under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act would take over a decade. During the last twenty-four years the Tribe went from having nothing to becoming a modern tribal government that can now provide for the needs of its people.
“I am proud to have served the Tribe under the leadership of D.K. Sprague,” said Vice Chairman Ed Pigeon. “I witnessed steady and consistent leadership in extremely difficult situations over a long period of time. It was amazing to see him put to the test so many times, but never waver. The Tribe is truly blessed that a person with such rare leadership qualities was in place at a time when it was most needed.”
Many friends, family and staff members have expressed their gratitude to the former chairman for his dedication to the needs of tribal government staff and the team members who work in the gaming enterprise. He was always approachable and jovial with everyone around him.
“No one ever wanted this day to come,” said Leah Sprague-Fodor, Tribal Council member. “However, asking him to continue serving would be selfish of us. We know he served with everything he had for so many years. He has earned his retirement and now he should enjoy golf, traveling, baseball games and spending time with his family and friends.”
Sprague grew up in the Bradley area where he remained most of his life. He joined the U.S. Army and served in the Vietnam War. He served in 14 natural disasters worldwide as a Red Cross volunteer, which included an extended time of service in Louisiana for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. He is a lifelong member of the Methodist Church at the Bradley Indian Mission.
In the next 90-120 days the Tribe will hold a special election to fill the seat on the Tribal Council vacated by Sprague’s retirement. Afterwards, the Tribal Council will select the next chairman. In the interim, Vice Chairman Ed Pigeon will serve as acting Chairman.
Timeline of Gun Lake Tribe events occurring under the leadership of D.K. Sprague
| 1992 | Bradley Settlement Elder’s Council elects D.K. Sprague to serve as Chairman. |
| August 23, 1999 | Federal re-acknowledgment by the United States as a sovereign tribal government. |
| August 2001 | Tribe submits land-into-trust application to re-establish reservation lands for the purpose of economic development under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. |
| January 30, 2009 | Federal government takes land in trust for Tribe to construct Gun Lake Casino. |
| February 10, 2011 | Gun Lake Casino opens. |
| May 14, 2014 | Bradley Indian Mission Church building turns 100 years old, at that time the Mission is approx. 176 years old. |
| September 26, 2014 | President Obama signs into law the Gun Lake Trust Land Reaffirmation Act. |
| October 2014 | Approx. 300 acres of additional land placed into trust. |
| August 2015 | Government Campus opens to tribal citizens and tribal government staff. Becomes the “Capitol Building” of the Gun Lake Tribe. |
| January 29, 2016 | D.K. Sprague retires as chairman. |
Ninth Circuit Briefs in Bishop Paiute Tribe v. Inyo County
Fletcher & Jurss: “Tribal Jurisdiction – A Historical Bargain”
Matthew Fletcher and Leah Jurss have posted “Tribal Jurisdiction — A Historical Bargain” on SSRN.
Here is the abstract:
The existing rhetoric surrounding tribal civil jurisdiction over non-Indians often leaves out the historical foundations to that jurisdiction. This article compares the tribal economies of the 18th and 19th centuries with the current environment of gaming and economic development on tribal lands. Though non-Indians and nonmembers occasionally object to tribal jurisdiction, the long history of tribal governance and economic regulation demonstrates that nonmembers have received and continue to receive the benefit of a bargain that places them under considerable tribal regulation in exchange for access to tribal markets.
Through a detailed survey of treaties, tribal statutes, and federal laws covering pre-1970’s tribal economic regulation, this article reveals that non-Indians have continually consented to tribal jurisdiction to access these tribal markets, making outliers of the non-Indians attempting to access tribal markets without consenting to tribal market regulations. Analyzing the laws surrounding the federal and tribal licensing of Indian traders; the Great Lakes fur trade; the marriage laws of the Five Civilized Tribes; and the procedures established for dealing with intruders on Indian lands in the 18th and 19th centuries demonstrates the vast historical underpinnings of the current efforts to retain civil jurisdiction over non-Indians.
This is a work in progress, and so as usual we would be delighted for helpful constructive criticism. Miigwetch!
Seminole Tribes Sues Wells Fargo over Hidden Fees on Minor Trust Accounts
Here is the complaint in Seminole Tribe v. Wells Fargo Bank NA (17th Jud. Cir., Fla.):
An excerpt:
The Seminole Tribe of Florida seeks to recover millions of dollars of fees fraudulently charged Minor Tribe Members when Wells Fargo was supposed to be acting as a fiduciary trustee to protect the financial interests of those same minors. Instead Wells Fargo engaged in a decade-long fraudulent scheme using deficient and confusing account statements to conceal the collection of unauthorized fees to the minor beneficiaries. The Tribe also seeks to recover for its Minor Tribe Members at least one hundred million dollars in lost value to the trust as a result of the Trustee’s gross mismanagement of the trust assets by negligently employing imprudent investment strategies. It is evident that Wells Fargo focused its attention on concealing the collection of unauthorized fees instead of adopting a viable investment protocol. It appears as if, the Trustee established the trust, placed it in cruise-control, failed to properly advise the Tribe or its minor beneficiaries on investment strategies, and invested in a deficient portfolio in order to defraud the minor beneficiaries out of millions of dollars in fraudulent fees. The bank’s collection of fraudulent fees and the gross mismanagement of the trust is a breach of fiduciary duty to the beneficiaries and the proximate cause of the plaintiffs damages.
Fourth Circuit Rules against Western Sky et al.
Here is the opinion in Hayes v. Delbert Services Corp. (4th Cir.).
An excerpt:
We both respect and appreciate the support of Congress and the Supreme Court for an arbitration procedure that reduces the costs and delays of civil litigation. Our review of the record leads us to conclude, however, that the arbitration agreement in this case is unenforceable. The agreement purportedly fashions a system of alternative dispute resolution while simultaneously rendering that system all but impotent through a categorical rejection of the requirements of state and federal law. The FAA does not protect the sort of arbitration agreement that unambiguously forbids an arbitrator from even applying the applicable law. We therefore reverse the district court’s order compelling arbitration and remand for further proceedings.
Briefs here.
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