Author: Kate E. Fort

Save the Man, Kill the Indian, or “Targeted Kindergartens”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Chris Bray, from Cliopatria via HNN:

Save the Man, Kill the Indian

or, “Targeted Kindergartens”

Harriet Beecher Stowe, the New York Daily Tribune, April 1, 1876:

“We have tried fighting and killing the Indians, and gained little by it. We have tried feeding them as paupers in their savage state, and the result has been dishonest contractors, and invitation and provocation to war. Suppose we try education? Suppose we respond to the desire of these young men, and give them, for two or three years, teaching and training in some such institution as the Amherst State Agricultural School…Might not the money now constantly spent on armies, forts and frontiers be better invested in educating young men who shall return and teach their people to live like civilized human beings?”

Thomas Friedman, the New York Times, February 9, 2010:

“So here is my new rule of thumb: For every Predator missile we fire at an Al Qaeda target here, we should help Yemen build 50 new modern schools that teach science and math and critical thinking — to boys and girls. If we stick to something close to that ratio of targeted killings to targeted kindergartens, we have a chance to prevent Yemen from becoming an Al Qaeda breeding ground.”

Prof. Fletcher to Deliver USD Dillon Lecture

Kate Fort

From the Sioux City Journal:

USD Dillon Lecture to Address Indian Law

By Nick Hytrek Journal staff writer | Posted: Wednesday, February 10, 2010 10:00 am |

VERMILLION, S.D. — Michigan State University law professor Matthew L.M. Fletcher will present the University of South Dakota’s annual Dillon Lecture, “Rebooting Indian Law in the Supreme Court.”

Fletcher’s lecture is set for 7 p.m. Feb. 18 in the law school courtroom.

In addition to teaching courses on Indian law, Fletcher sits as an appellate judge for various tribes.

The Dillon Lecture is being presented in conjunction with the South Dakota Law Review Symposium, scheduled for 10 a.m. Feb. 18 in the law school courtroom. In addition to the symposium, USD’s Native American Law Students Association is hosting the 2010 National NALSA Moot Court Competition Feb. 19-20.

The Dillon Lecture is named for Charles Hall Dillon, a pioneer South Dakota lawyer and South Dakota Supreme Court justice who died in 1928.

GTB Eliminates General Counsel Position

Kate Fort1 Comment

We agree with John Wernet.

From the Record-Eagle:

Published: February 03, 2010 08:05 am

Longtime GT Band attorney let go

By BILL O’BRIEN
bobrien@record-eagle.com

SUTTONS BAY — The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians cut ties with longtime legal counsel John Petoskey.

The band’s Tribal Council on Monday voted to “restructure” its legal department and make its general counsel a contracted position. The move effectively ended Petoskey’s 23-year tenure with the band.

“They said it was a restructuring, but in my view it wasn’t a restructuring,” Petoskey said Tuesday. “They wanted to get rid of me.”

The move was approved with votes from tribal councilors Sandra Witherspoon, David Arroyo and Rebecca Woods. Councilor Sandy Anderson abstained, and council members Brian Napont and Connie TwoCrow were absent.

Tribal Chairman Derek Bailey only votes to break a tie on the council, and declined comment Tuesday on the council’s decision.

“For me, the vote has been made,” Bailey said. “The action has been put in place.”

Petoskey said the decision was discussed in a closed session Monday that he did not attend. He informed other tribal staff of the move in an e-mail Monday afternoon.

“I have been dismissed by the Council with notice that my last day is Feb. 28,” Petoskey said in the brief note. He asked for any pending legal matters to be forwarded to the band’s legal department to assure a “smooth transition” to a new staff.

Petoskey described a deteriorating relationship with the tribal council in recent months. He would not cite specifics because of his attorney-client relationship with the council, but said he witnessed an increasing number of closed sessions on various topics. He said he urged officials to be more open and transparent.

“We had real differences of opinion on how the council elected to do things … it was not advice that was accepted,” Petoskey said. “As far as I know, it’s not an example of (me) doing something wrong.”

Petoskey said his annual salary is just over $100,000, but doubts the band will realize any cost savings by shifting to contracted legal help.

“A contract attorney is going to cost much more than the work that I do,” he said.

John Wernet, deputy legal counsel for Gov. Jennifer Granholm and her liaison to Michigan’s Indian tribes, described Petoskey as “one of the most-respected tribal attorneys in the country.”

“I have the utmost respect for his knowledge, ability and integrity,” Wernet said.

Petoskey said he enjoyed his career working for the band. It evolved from a small Indian tribe that operated on a shoestring budget for years after its federal recognition in 1980 to a major economic powerhouse and employer in northern Michigan that runs two casinos and the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa.

“It’s certainly been rewarding,” Petoskey said. “I’m from here, I spent my whole life working here.

“Years ago the band was nothing. Now it’s something,” he said.

“Expert” on Sweat Lodges Opines in HuffPo

Kate Fort1 Comment

H/T Indianz

Jonathon Ellerby answers questions about sweat lodges to respond to the deaths at the James Ray sweat lodge.  While Ellerby does attempt to distinguish between non-Native and Native sweat lodges, and discuss the cultural appropriation problems with new age sweat lodges, commenter  Nishnabe replies succinctly:

“More Indians and minorities on Huffpo would negate the need to find ‘experts.’  Geesh.”

Louise Erdrich’s Shadow Tag

Kate Fort

Louise Erdrich’s new novel Shadow Tag was released today.

H/T The  Millions

A Friend of TurtleTalk in NY Times

Kate Fort

Prof. Stephen Gasteyer wrote this letter to the editor in response to a David Brooks column about Haiti:

To the Editor:

David Brooks should be congratulated for stating that greater attention to poverty reduction is needed. He is also correct that systemic poverty reduction will result neither through small, nongovernmental efforts alone nor neoliberal macroeconomic policies. There is a growing body of development research now focusing on the importance of cultural change.

But I take issue with his call for more paternalism. United States foreign policy in Haiti has been nothing if not paternalistic. Over the last 20 years the United States has ousted, reinstated, then ousted again Haiti’s leadership. We have consistently worked with international financial institutions to impose neoliberal governance — leaving the Haitian government impotent before the earthquake, and largely invisible since.

Paternalist cultural development policy has led to some of our most shameful legacies (like Indian boarding schools). Cultural change must be locally led to have positive effects — not based on self-righteous proclamations.

Stephen Gasteyer
East Lansing, Mich., Jan. 18, 2010

The writer is an assistant professor of sociology at Michigan State University.

Colorado Legislature Threatening Cuts to Fort Lewis College’s Indian Students

Matthew L.M. Fletcher5 Comments

From the Durango Herald News:

DENVER – Legislators are targeting Fort Lewis College’s free tuition for Native Americans for a $1.8 million cut.

It comes on top of the nearly $4 million in cuts Gov. Bill Ritter has proposed for the college by 2011 – the deepest percentage cut in the state. Together, the two cuts will have a “devastating, crippling impact” on Fort Lewis, said Steve Schwartz, FLC’s vice president for finance and administration.

“I’ve never seen anything where I’ve felt so singled out by the state,” Schwartz said.

The college hasn’t figured out what it would do if the Legislature OKs both cuts, which could take $6 million out of its $41 million annual budget. But it would “absolutely” have to lay off employees, Schwartz said.

College officials and their allies at the Legislature are fighting the cuts, and their first priority is to kill House Bill 1067, which targets the Native American tuition program.

Continue reading →

ESPN Article on Haskell Basketball

Kate Fort

H/T Indianz.

From ESPN.com (see photos at ESPN.com):

Originally Published: January 13, 2010

Haskell offers haven for hidden talent

Native American players continue to strive for recognition outside the reservation

By Dana O’Neil

LAWRENCE, Kan. — The bus bounced along the highway from Eagle Butte, S.D., to Lawrence, Kan., covering the almost 700-mile trip in about 16 hours.

Folded into one of the seats, 6-foot-10 Terrance Little Thunder tried to make himself comfortable enough to relax.

It was no use. He was far too preoccupied to rest. Every time the bus stopped, Little Thunder scrambled in his seat to make sure he hadn’t lost the worn-out scrap of paper stuffed in his pocket.

When Terrance Little Thunder left South Dakota on a bus, he had little else but a piece of paper with a coach’s number on it.

Before he left his home on the Lakota Nation reservation, Little Thunder had scratched a phone number on that piece of paper.

If he lost the paper, he lost the number.

If he lost the number, he lost his last shot at a future.

He was 29 and out of chances.

“All I had was a little bit of money and that piece of paper with Coach’s number on it,” Little Thunder said. “I held onto that thing so tight, man. I wasn’t about to lose it.”

Continue reading →

MSU’s Nick Reo Quoted in Indian Country Today

Kate Fort

From yesterday’s Indian Country Today, Nick’s quote is after the jump:

GOP leader continues ‘honest injun’ controversy
MSNBC commentator uses ‘off the reservation’
By Rob Capriccioso

Story Published: Jan 13, 2010

Story Updated: Jan 13, 2010

WASHINGTON – Instead of apologizing without condition for using a racist term, the top GOP leader parsed his own words, while calling on another politician to step down for using racially offensive words.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele encountered criticism after his Jan. 4 appearance on the Sean Hannity Fox News program for using the phrase “honest injun” to punctuate a point he was making about conservative ideals.

Several Native American leaders, including the Native American Journalists Association and congressional advocates, noted that the term is racist, and said Steele should apologize. Continue reading →

Gaming on Newly Acquired Lands Rule Apparently Not Submitted to GAO

Kate Fort2 Comments

A recent Congressional Research Service (CRS) report detailed the number of agency rules which were not passed on to the Government Accounting Office (GAO).  Hat tip, Constitutional Law Prof Blog.  The report concludes that over 1,000 rules over the past 10 years had not been submitted to the GAO.  The reason for this requirement, according to the CRS report is as follows:

Agency regulations generally start with an act of Congress, and are the means by which statutes are implemented and specific requirements are established. Therefore, Congress has a vested interest in overseeing the regulations that agencies issue pursuant to those statutes. Because congressional authority over agency rulemaking was believed to have waned in recent decades (while presidential authority over rulemaking had increased), the CRA was enacted in an attempt to reclaim a measure of congressional control.107 Although Congress can learn about the issuance of agency rules in many ways, the requirement in Section 801(a)(1)(A) of the CRA that agencies submit all of their final rules to GAO and Congress before they can take effect helps to ensure that Congress will have an opportunity to review, and possibly disapprove of, agency rules.

Curious, we decided to try to find out if the recent advisory letter turned rule regarding gaming on newly acquired trust lands (with the 25 mile radius or near a “significant number of tribal members” requirement) was one that hasn’t been submitted to the GAO pursuant to the Congressional Review Act.   It appears it is.  25 CFR 292, “Gaming on Trust Lands Acquired After October 17, 1988” does not come up in a search of the GAO’s database Federal Rules Database.