This is a great resource developed and published by Olson Bzdok and Howard.
Public Rights to Fish and Hunt on Lakes and Streams: A Primer for Michigan’s Indian Tribes
Also, here.
Environmental
Marty Curry Promotes Local Food
From the Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun:
A Mt. Pleasant man traveled to Italy for a summit of global food growers and returned with a passion to support local food growers.
Martin Curry, 38, a freelance writer and photographer, attended the Terra Madre (Earth Mother) in Turin, Italy in October.
The conference was a session of the International Food Growers of the World, where the issue of “seed slavery” was brought to light by indigenous food growing communities who are battling corporate monopolies on seed ownership.
“It was an opportunity to learn about the politics of food production,” Curry said. “It was quite an experience.
“A majority of the food, with very few exceptions, that ends up on our tables traveled more than a thousand miles to get there. And with the issues that we’ve been having with energy and with truckers because diesel fuel has gone too high. It’s a basic question of distribution,” he said.
Second Update on Native Village of Kivalina v. Exxon
Here is the response brief to the motion to dismiss (here): opposition-to-motion-to-dismiss
And here is the main oil company reply brief: oil-company-reply-brief
And one from Shell Oil: shell-reply-brief
And, of course, here is the complaint that started it all.
San Juan Citizens Alliance v. Norton
This environmental case involves the Southern Ute Tribe.
National Wildlife Federation Talk on Upper Peninsula Mining
Join Us at “Mining in Michigan”
For an Inside Look at Threats to the Upper Peninsula
You’re invited! Join the National Wildlife Federation at the University of Michigan’s School of Natural Resources and Environment for “Mining in Michigan: A case study of a proposed sulfide mine in Marquette County, Michigan.”
Learn about the controversy and about a new potential mine site in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula while watching a documentary produced by the National Wildlife Federation and interacting with a discussion panel.
Find out what mining means to Michigan and the Great Lakes.
The film, “Mining Madness, Water Wars: The Great Lakes in the Balance” explores the controversial proposal by Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company to develop a new sulfide mine in Marquette County, Michigan. Sulfide mining has been proven deadly to streams and harms public health.
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Interlochen Public Radio on the Great Lakes Compact
From IPR:
INTERLOCHEN PUBLIC RADIO (2008-11-19) Michigan Congressman Bart Stupak will try again to address what he calls a serious flaw in the Great Lakes Compact. That’s the new law that bans diversions of water out of the basin. State legislatures and the Congress approved it overwhelmingly. But critics say the Compact leaves a door open for international companies to put unlimited quantities of water in containers and sell it. IPR’s Bob Allen reports.
Ottawa Tribe v. Ohio Dept. of Natural Resources — Sixth Circuit Briefing
Please see our previous post on this case here (it links to the briefs and other materials in the lower court).
Here is the Ottawa Tribe’s opening brief: appellant-brief
And here is the amicus brief signed by the National Congress of American Indians and several Michigan tribes on the laches question: brief-amici-curiae
And now the State of Ohio’s brief: brief-of-defendant-appellee-director-of-ohio-dept-of-natural
GAO Transition Materials
GAO has identified a number of long-standing financial and programmatic deficiencies in Interior’s Indian and Island Community programs.
- While Interior has taken significant steps in the last 10 years to address weaknesses in certain Indian programs, it is still in the process of implementing key trust fund reforms, including preparation of a timetable for completing remaining activities, to effectively manage more than 300,000 trust fund accounts with assets of more than $3 billion. Further, in the department’s consolidated financial statements, the management of Indian trust funds continues to be reported as a material internal control weakness.
Highlights of GAO-07-104 (PDF)
- GAO has also reported on serious delays in the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ (BIA) program for determining whether the department will accept land in trust—as of the end of fiscal year 2005, more than 1,000 land in trust applications from tribes and individual Indians were pending. While BIA generally followed its regulations for processing land in trust applications, it had no deadlines for making decisions on them.
Highlights of GAO-06-781 (PDF)
- In addition, the department could be doing more to assist the island communities of American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the three sovereign island nations with long-standing financial and program management difficulties in accurately accounting for expenditures, collecting taxes and other revenues, controlling the level of expenditures, and delivering program services—all of which resulted in numerous federal agencies designating some of the governments as “high-risk” grantees. Further, the department faces challenges in addressing the failing economy in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and assisting Guam in preparing for the anticipated expansion of military personnel.
Highlights of GAO-08-655 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-08-466 (PDF), Full Report of GAO-07-514R (PDF, 74 pages), Highlights of GAO-08-791 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-07-163 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-07-119 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-08-732 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-07-513 (PDF), Highlights of GAO-06-590 (PDF)
United States Opposition to Cert Petition in City of Pocatello v. Idaho
Here is the cert petition.
Arizona State Bar Indian Law Section Newsletter — Fall 2008
“The Arrow” — arizona-indian-law-fall-08
Highlights:
A Substantial Burden: Navajo Nation v. United States Forest Serv., 535 F.3d 1058 (9th Cir. 2008)
Indian Law Section 2008-2009 Writing Competition Call for Entries
Barona v. Yee: State Taxation of Tribal Construction Projects
Turtle Talk 
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