Author: Kate E. Fort

LTBB Election Results

Kate Fort

From the Petoskey News-Review:

Tribal leadership shifting

By Christina Rohn News-Review Staff Writer
Wednesday, July 1, 2009 9:18 AM EDT
The leadership for the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians will be shifting.On Monday, during the tribe’s general election, the team of 51-year-old Ken Harrington of Petoskey and 63-year-old Dexter McNamara of Pigeon, won the chairman/vice chairman positions over incumbents Frank Ettawageshik and Bill Denemy — with 504 votes to 319.

Each position has a four-year term.

Harrington said when the results came in Monday, he was elated.

“We were right there at the polls … I did the Tiger Woods pump, and immediately left the room and started making calls,” he said. “I’m just thankful and I feel real humble — it’s been a long road.”

Ettawageshik, who has served on tribal government for 20 years — 14 as chairman — said he is ready to help Harrington make the transition into his position.

“I have congratulated Ken on his win, and I’ll be working on a smooth transition from one administration to the other,” he said.

Harrington said he is ready to get to work, and has different priorities for the tribe than the current administration.

“There’s different agendas that I have that Frank has been implementing, or not implementing,” he said. “(Frank) does so much travel, and his time was spread so thin with so many different committees that it was hard to do what needed to be done here at home.

“I hope to get caught up to speed on things — I want to move in as fast as possible.”

Harrington said he has plans to rent out the old Victories Casino building, and focus on renewable energy.

As for the five seats available on tribal council, each having four-year terms, Julie Shananaquet secured her place with 543 votes, John Bott won a spot with 520 votes, Belinda Bardwell took a position with 439 votes, incumbent Melvin Kiogima secured his seat with 402 votes and Aaron Otto rounded out the group of five with 399 votes.

Harrington said he is pleased to see new people getting a chance on the council.

“The new generation is coming in — we’re the younger people,” he said. “The ‘good old boy’ system is going to change — I think it’s good.”

Ettawageshik said he agrees that having new members on the council is positive for the tribe.

“I just think it’s a very healthy and good thing,” he said. “I’m looking forward to getting our council seated and functioning.”

According to Denise Petoskey, chair of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians’ election board, these results are preliminary, and will be certified July 13, and the swearing in will take place Aug. 23.

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Muskegon Museum Repatriates Remains

Kate Fort

Eric Hemenway continues his good work up at LTBB:

From the Muskegon Chronicle

Ancient Indian remains reburied with dignity

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

By Marla Miller
mmiller@muskegonchronicle.com

MUSKEGON — The aroma of burning sage, cedar, sweet grass and tobacco swirled into the air at the Old Indian Cemetery Tuesday as about 50 people gathered for the repatriation and reburial of Native American bones.

Native Americans believe burning the cleansing herbs brings good spirits to them, and when smoking tobacco and speaking, the words go directly to God, according to Joseph Genia, a Muskegon resident and member of the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians, who led the ceremony.

“Grandfather, have pity on us for digging up our relatives and not doing anything about it,” he said as part of the closing prayer. “Have pity on us and bless us here in this life.”

The centuries-old remains of nine West Michigan American Indians were returned to a proper resting place after a long process led by John McGarry, executive director of Lakeshore Museum Center, and Eric Hemenway, of Harbor Springs.

Hemenway is a research repatriation assistant and member of the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians. He works with state and federally recognized tribes to pursue the return of Native American remains and sacred objects.

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Nottawaseppi Huron Band to Contract Police Services to Local Village

Kate Fort

From the Battle Creek Enquirer:
Athens, Potawatomi police plans move ahead
Council says up to $25,000 may be available next year
Justin A. Hinkley • The Enquirer • June 11, 2009

ATHENS — The Athens Village Council said it can spare $20,000 to $25,000 from its 2010-11 budget to subcontract police services from the local Potawatomi.

Council President Mike Alverson said that, because the village recently purchased several pieces of large equipment and finished major maintenance projects that won’t soon be repeated, money from those funds could be re-allocated in next year’s budget for the police service.

The village has been in talks for months with the Athens Township-based Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi, which in January established a one-man police force that it hopes to soon expand with federal grants. Athens has been without dedicated police service since the mid-1980s and has had problems with vandalism and thefts.

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Published Active Efforts Case in California

Kate Fort

This question was debated often in my ICWA class this year–what would  active efforts consist of for a sex offender and/or pedophile parent (father, in this case)?  The California Court of Appeals, 4th district, held there are none required:

Nevertheless, his history clearly demonstrates the futility of offering reunification services: He is a registered sex offender with a prior conviction for lewd and lascivious acts on a child under the age of 14.  . . . The parents do not suggest any services which might have been offered to the father under the circumstances and we cannot conceive of any services which could usefully be offered to a registered sex offender with a prior conviction for molesting a child and a current finding of molesting a different child. For these reasons, requiring the court to provide services to the father would be at best an idle act which would not further the legislative purposes of ICWA.

While this quote is from the section of the case discussing active efforts prior to removal to foster care, the court came to the same conclusion for active efforts prior to termination.

Oddly, the court is also confused as to whether the father is Cherokee or Choctaw, using them interchangeably at one point.

In re K.B. Opinion

Call for Papers: South Dakota Law Review

Kate Fort

From the South Dakota Law Review:

The South Dakota Law Review is pleased to announce that it has
selected the 20th anniversary of the Employment Division v. Smith
decision as the topic for its annual symposium issue.  The Smith
decision remains central to our understanding of the scope of religious
protection Americans enjoy and continues to provoke much debate.  The
anniversary provides an occasion for scholars to engage the decision,
its impact on Free Exercise doctrine, and the subsequent actions by
Congress and the federal courts in the area of Free Exercise.

The Law Review invites the submission of abstracts on any facet of policy
or law research relating to the symposium topic.  The topic will
encompass diverse areas of religion and the law, with an emphasis on Indian law and constitutional law.

To submit an abstract for publication consideration, send an electronic copy of the abstract by email to kelly_jo_minor@yahoo.com by August 10, 2007.  All abstracts must contain original work that has not previously been published.

Arizona Snowbowl Case Cert Denial–Media Coverage

Kate Fort

As collected at How Appealing:

“Tribes lose Snowbowl battle; High court refuses to hear case on wastewater for snowmaking”: The Arizona Republic today contains an article that begins, “Would artificial snow made from purified wastewater defile a mountain Native Americans hold sacred? The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to consider that question, essentially ending a five-year court battle over the future of Arizona Snowbowl on Flagstaff’s San Francisco Peaks.”

Today’s edition of The Arizona Daily Sun contains articles headlined “Snowmaking wins legal OK; The U.S. Supreme Court declines to hear a final appeal by tribes, clearing the way for Arizona Snowbowl to make snow with reclaimed wastewater“; “What next for Snowbowl? Construction could start soon; But a tribal attorney says his clients are weighing further legal action and asking federal officials to revoke the construction permit“; “Snowbowl: When is religious belief ‘substantially burdened?’“; “Snowbowl: City contract locked in“; and “Snowbowl: Snowplay tourists mostly from Phoenix.”

And The Associated Press reports that “Court steers clear of Ariz. ski resort dispute.”

New Mexico’s Sex Offender Law Not Applicable in Indian Country

Kate Fort

The New Mexico Court of Appeals ruled that Indians living in Indian Country, not employed or in school outside of Indian Country who were convicted of sex offenses in a court other than a New Mexico court, are not required to register on the New Mexico sex offender list as required by New Mexico law.

The specific question presented then is whether the two statutes [42 U.S.C. § 14071 (1998), as amended by “Megan’s Law” ]can be deemed an express statement by Congress that state sex offender registration laws shall apply in Indian country. We hold that they cannot. The language of the statutes betrays no indication that Congress intended the term “resident” by itself to override historically recognized and accepted limits on the reach of state criminal and regulatory law in Indian country. The type of language specifically referring to Indians and Indian
tribes which would support a conclusion that Congress intended to override tribal sovereignty is simply missing.

New York Times coverage

Opinion

UKB v. HUD–10th Cir. Overturns Agency Interpretation of NAHASDA

Kate Fort

The 10th Circuit found that the regulations used by HUD to deliver funds under NAHASDA did not conform to the clear intent of Congress.  Specifically, the United Keetoowah Band’s lack of court jurisdiction did not mean the tribe could not receive funding.

The absence of such a connection means that HUD’s imposition of the [section]1000.302 Formula Area court jurisdiction requirement as a threshold for need-based funding over the minimum allocation is contrary to Congress’s plainly expressed intent because it leads to funding allocations based on factors that do not reflect tribal housing needs. This conclusion finds no better illustration than the case at hand: the UKB’s need for housing assistance did not abate when HUD concluded that the UKB lacked the ability to claim court jurisdiction.

Opinion

Online Documents of Maori Legal History

Kate Fort

From the Legal History Blog:

The New Zealand Legal Text Centre had recently launched an on-line archive of documents relating to the legal history of the Maori, the indigenous people of the islands. Here is the announcement:

The New Zealand Electronic Text Centre is proud to announce the launch of the Legal Maori Archive, a collection of more than 14,000 pages of around 250 19th century documents that illustrate the bi-lingual nature of New Zealand’s legal history. The Legal Maori Archive is freely available to the public and can be accessed via the NZETC website.

Among the many documents featured in this collection are the following:

The Proceedings of the Kotahitanga Parliaments

Henry Hanson Turton’s Maori Deeds of Land Purchases in the North Island of New Zealand

Maori translations of Acts and Bills circulated among Maori communities by the Crown

The Archive has been created in conjunction with Mamari Stephens from the Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Law as part of a project to establish a corpus of legal Maori documents, which will allow the analysis of the language and eventually a dictionary of legal Maori terms and concepts. It is the first time the documents have been brought together in one place and is the largest collection of separate documents that the New Zealand Electronic Text Centre has digitised. The Legal Maori Project seeks to resource speakers of te reo Maori who may not currently have access to a shared vocabulary to describe Western legal concepts. This Project will collate, develop and make available the terminology from Legal Maori texts, including those from the Legal Maori Archive, to all speakers and learners of te reo Maori and all researchers

Alexie on the Kindle

Kate Fort

There’s been a lot of debate and discussion lately about the Kindle, Amazon.com and the fate of the printed book.  Sherman Alexie weighed in on the inequity of the Kindle recently, and gave an interesting interview clarifying his concerns.

From Ed Champion’s blog:

As noted by Kassia Kroszer and others, Sherman Alexie recently expressed some controversial remarks in relation to the eReader. At a BookExpo panel, Alexie called the Amazon Kindle “elitist” and said that he wanted to hit a woman sitting on a plane who was using a Kindle on her flight to New York.

Now since I’m a man known to make extraordinary statements myself, I recognized Alexie’s pugilistic promise as the conversational theater he intended. Nevertheless, I was baffled by Alexie’s position. So I took it upon myself to contact Alexie to figure out where the guy was coming from. I didn’t believe the boilerplate message on his website was enough. Alexie was very gracious to respond to my questions.

Why do you consider the Kindle “elitist?”

I consider the Kindle elitist because it’s too expensive. I also consider it elitist because, right now, one company is making all the rules. I am also worried about Jeff Bezos’ comments about wanting to change the way we read books. That’s rather imperial. Having grown up poor, I’m also highly aware that there’s always a massive technology gap between rich and poor kids. I haven’t yet heard what Amazon plans to do about this potential technology gap. And that’s a vital question considering that Bezos wants to change the way we read books. How does he plan to change the way that poor kids read books? How does he plan to make sure that poor kids have access to the technology? Poor kids all over the country don’t have access to current textbooks, so will they have access to Kindle?

The rest of the interview can be read here.