Author: Matthew L.M. Fletcher

MT. PLEASANT, Mich. —Today, during a summit of Michigan’s tribal leaders, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Executive Directive 2019-17. The executive directive reaffirms and extends Michigan’s commitment to recognize the sovereignty and right of self-governance of Michigan’s federally-recognized Indian tribes and orders each state department and agency to adhere to these principles.

“As Michiganders, we must ensure that our tribalcommunitiesare treated with dignity and respect,” said Governor Whitmer.“It’s important to me that each tribe has aseat at the table in my administration to contribute their perspectives, and I’m committed to working closely with our tribal leaders to protect the health, safety, and welfare of their communities.”

Executive Directive 2019-17 also details a process of tribal consultation designed to ensure meaningful and mutually beneficial communication and collaboration between these tribes and the departments and agencies on all matters of shared concern. It’s also the firstexecutivedirectivein Michigan history to require training on tribal-state relations for all state department employees who work on matters that have direct implications for tribes.

Governor Whitmer has shown a deep commitment to ensuring members of Michigan’s federally recognized tribes have a seat at the table in state government. She appointed Wenona Singel, a citizen of Little Traverse Bay Bands, as her advisor on tribal-state affairs, the first tribal citizen to hold this position in Michigan history.

Tribal members that Governor Whitmer has appointed to Michigan state boards and commissions include Chris Swartz on the UP Energy Task Force, General Counsel Whitney Gravelle on the Michigan Women’s Commission, Natural Resources Department Director Evelyn Ravindran on the Committee on Michigan’s Mining Future, and Councilor Emily Proctor on the Census Complete Count Committee.

MSU Press Publishes “After the Bloodbath Is Healing Possible in the Wake of Rampage Shootings?” by James Diamond

October 31, 2019Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here. The blurb:

As violence in the United States seems to become increasingly more commonplace, the question of how communities reset after unprecedented violence also grows in significance. After the Bloodbath examines this quandary, producing insights linking rampage shootings and communal responses in the United States. Diamond, who was a leading attorney in the community where the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy occurred, focuses on three well-known shootings and a fourth shooting that occurred on the Red Lake Indian Reservation in Minnesota. The book looks to the roots of Indigenous approaches to crime, identifying an institutional weakness in the Anglo judicial model, and explores adapting Indigenous practices that contribute to healing following heinous criminal behavior. Emerging from the history of Indigenous dispute resolution is a spotlight turned on to restorative justice, a subject no author has discussed to date in the context of mass shootings. Diamond ultimately leads the reader to a positive road forward focusing on insightful steps people can take after a rampage shooting to help their wounded communities heal.