Author: Kate E. Fort

Lansing City Pulse: Proposed Lansing Casino Would Allow Smoking

Kate Fort1 Comment

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

Kate Fort

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

Kate Fort

In re Zylena R..

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

Kate Fort

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

Kate Fort

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

Kate Fort

Here. (PDF)

The Pundit: Enforcing State Child Support Orders in Tribal Courts in Michigan

Kate Fort

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)

Mohawk Ironworkers Story in WNYC

Kate Fort

Here.

At its peak in the late 1950s, there were 800 Mohawk ironworkers living in North Gowanus in a neighborhood nicknamed Little Kahnawake. They made up about 15 percent of ironworkers then. Today, they make up about 10 percent.

“Virtually every skyscraper … has been built by Mohawk and other Iroquois ironworkers including the new Time Warner building…Rockefeller Center, Empire State building, Chrysler, all these skyscrapers, virtually all the bridges,” said Robert Venables, a historian and former Director of Cornell University’s American Indian studies program.

via C.G.

Stephen Pevar to Speak at ILPC Event Tomorrow

Kate Fort

Stephen Pevar, the author of The Rights of Indians and Tribes, is speaking tomorrow at 2pm. We also have two commentators, Philip (Sam) Deloria and Mario Gonzalez, who will talk about his book and their work. The event will be in the Castle Board Room on the third floor of the Law College (648 N. Shaw Lane, East Lansing). Coffee and snacks will be served.

March 20, 2012 2:00 pm (Castle Board Room)

Author:

Stephen Pevar

The Rights of Indians and Tribes

Commentators:

Mario Gonzalez, Gonzalez Law Firm
Philip S. (Sam) Deloria, American Indian Graduate Center

Denial of TRO in Yakama Nation v. Holder

Kate Fort3 Comments

Order

As the Court declines to enter a preliminary injunction on the grounds that unclear legal precedent preclude a finding of a likelihood of success on the merits and that public policy counsels against injunction, the Court does not reach the issues of irreparable harm and the balance of the equities. The Court notes, however, that this decision should not be seen as a comment on the ultimate merits of this case. Policies that counsel against the extraordinary remedy of a preliminary injunction may have no relevance to the ultimate questions of tribal and state sovereignty which are at issue in this case.

Additionally, the Court’s unwillingness to enter an injunction should not be construed as an invitation to the County to ignore the jurisdictional concerns raised by the Nation in the materials supporting this motion. It appears that the parties have the capacity to resolve many of their concerns by finding common ground through their shared interest in investigating and punishing crime. To that end, an agreement or memorandum of understanding respecting the jurisdictional authority of both parties could clarify what the County refers to as a “jurisdictional maze.”