federal recognition

MSU NALSA to Host Panel on Federal Recognition — Nov. 8 @ 7:30PM

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

The members of the Native American Law Student Association (NALSA) at Michigan State University College of Law invite you to attend the following panel discussion on Monday, November 8, 2010 at 7:30pm in the Castle Boardroom of the law school building.

What Does it Mean to be Federally Recognized?
There are currently 565 federally recognized tribes in the United States, but there are many others that do not have the benefit of that distinction. John Shagonaby, Curtis Chambers, and Matthew Fletcher will discuss their unique perspectives on this issue.

John L. Shagonaby is the Chief Executive Officer of the Gun Lake (federally recognized) Tribal Gaming Authority. John started this role in March 2004. Previously, John served as the Executive Director of the Tribe’s administrative office. John has also served on the Tribal Council for 12 years as a Council Member, Treasurer and Vice-Chairman.

Curtis Chambers, Chairman of the Burt Lake Band (non-federally recognized) was re-elected on August 9, 2008. He is also the Harbormaster of Cheboygan County Marina and a devout Catholic.

Curtis’s first priority for the Burt Lake Band is to be federally recognized. His second goal is to provide housing and health care to Burt Lake Band members. He also believes that diversity in business is a necessity to help move the tribe into the future.

Matthew Fletcher is Director of the MSU Indigenous Law and Policy Center. He is a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the first tribe to be federally recognized under the Department of Interior’s federal acknowledgment process. He is the author of a forthcoming legal and political history of the Grand Traverse Band (Michigan State University Press).

NARF: Pamunkey Indian Tribes Files for Federal Acknowledgment

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

From the NARF Press Release:

Boulder, CO – After years of preparing the necessary historical, legal, genealogical and anthropological evidence to fully document its petition for federal acknowledgment, the Pamunkey Indian Tribe, located on the Pamunkey Indian Reservation, Virginia, filed its petition with the Office of Federal Acknowledgment, Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) on October 14, 2010. It is the only Indian Tribe located in the Commonwealth of Virginia to have filed a fully documented petition. Established no later than 1646, the Pamunkey Indian Reservation is located next to the Pamunkey River, and adjacent to King William County, Virginia. The Reservation comprises approximately 1,200 acres and is the oldest inhabited Indian reservation in America.

The history of the Pamunkey people is rich and well documented. In the course of collecting evidence for the federal acknowledgment petition, researchers compiled more than a thousand documents recording their existence from the period of first European contact through the present. These documents comprise official censuses, correspondence between the Pamunkeys and officials of the Commonwealth and U.S. governments, numerous newspaper stories, church and school records, books by prominent scholars, popular authors, and federal officials, memoirs and much more. Because of these rich resources, continuous, detailed genealogies have been created for the Pamunkey Tribal members, which trace their lineage back over two hundred years.

Notably, documents have been preserved both in the United States and England that show the continual existence of the Pamunkey Indian Tribe as an independent sovereign since the first visit of Capt. John Smith in 1607, when the English settled Jamestown. At this time, Powhatan, father of Pocahontas, ruled a vast empire which included the great and powerful Pamunkey Indians who were at the core of his empire. A Treaty relationship between the Pamunkeys and Great Britain in 1646, followed by the Treaty of Middle Plantation in 1677, is still honored between the Pamunkeys and the Commonwealth of Virginia. One expression of this continuing relationship is the annual tribute ceremony at Richmond, Virginia where deer and other wild game are presented to the Virginia Governor by the Pamunkey Chief and members of Tribal Council.

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Shinnecock Wins IBIA Appeal — Become 565th Federally Recognized Tribe — UPDATED with IBIA Decision

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is the IBIA decision: 38553324-Shinnecock-Decision

Here is the news article:

The Shinnecock Indian Nation received word Friday afternoon from its tribal attorneys that it is now officially the 565th Native American tribe to earn recognition from the U.S. government, according to Shinnecock Tribal Trustee Lance Gumbs.

Though neither the Interior Board of Indian Appeals or the Bureau of Indian Affairs has yet to formally announce the news, the Shinnecock Nation has cleared all the hurdles to federal recognition, the trustee said.

“The first day of October will live forever in the hearts and minds of the Shinnecock people,” Mr. Gumbs said in an phone interview Friday. “Everyone is just relieved and shedding tears for not only us who are here, but those who just missed it,” he said. He explained that some Shinnecock elders have died since July 19, when the tribe’s recognition application was originally expected to be finalized.

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Materials in Shinnecock Federal Recognition Appeal before the IBIA

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are a few selected briefs:

BIA Brief on Interested Parties

Shinnecock Answer Brief

CCGJ – Supple Brief – Merits

CCGJ Standing Brief

Montauk Reply

Sandy Lake Chippewa Sues BIA for Federal Recognition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the complaint: Big Sandy Complaint

From Indianz:

The Sandy Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa is suing the Bureau of Indian Affairs in hopes of gaining federal recognition.

The tribe, based in Minnesota, signed treaties with the U.S. as far back as 1825. In 1915, President Woodrow Wilson created a reservation for the tribe by executive order.

Despite the actions, the BIA has never placed the tribe on the list of federally recognized entities. The tribe has about 90 members, Chairwoman Sandy Skinaway said.

Get the Story:

Group of Indians sues BIA for federal recognition (AP 9/1)

Shinnecock Nation Wins Procedural Victory in Federal Recognition Appeal

Matthew L.M. Fletcher6 Comments

From tv, via Pechanga:

The Connecticut gaming group spearheading the challenge to the Shinnecock Indian Nation’s long-sought federal recognition was denied extra time to file additional paperwork in support of their argument in a ruling in early August.

The decision is a minor victory for the members of the Shinnecock Indian Nation, who have waited decades for federal recognition, and who want the legal challenge to their bid filed by the Connecticut Coalition for Gaming Jobs to be resolved as quickly as possible. Shinnecock Tribal Trustee Lance Gumbs had expressed frustration earlier this summer that the challenges had halted the tribe’s official federal recognition essentially on the eve of when they were slated to receive the designation.

“Obviously, their stuff was frivolous and they weren’t prepared,” Mr. Gumbs said of the CCGJ’s denied request. “It is what it is. They brought a frivolous suit and tried to build a case around it.”

The Interior Board of Indian Appeals, or IBIA, which is an administrative judicial department within the U.S. Department of the Interior charged with reviewing objections to federal recognition, denied the motion on August 4. If granted, the motion would have given CCGJ an additional month to file papers in support of its standing within the case against the Shinnecock Indian Nation. The board stated that CCGJ has already submitted arguments on its standing after initially filing 400 pages of arguments in July.

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Materials in Mishewal Wappo Federal Recognition Case

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are materials in Mishewal Wappo Tribe of Alexander Valley v. Salazar (N.D. Cal.):

Mishewal Wappo Complaint

Counties Motion to Dismiss

Cloverdale Rancheria Complaint for Federal Recognition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the complaint in Cloverdale Rancheria of Pomo Indians v. Salazar (N.D. Cal.): Cloverdale Rancheria Complaint

News Coverage on Shinnecock Response to Opposition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

From Newsday mobile:

Incensed by two last-minute attempts to block their federal recognition, leaders of the Shinnecock Indian Nation called on the entire 1,200-person membership to attend a court hearing in Central Islip Wednesday as they fight to put their long-awaited status back on track.

On the day the nation was to celebrate its first day as a federally recognized tribe, one leader said a sense of sadness had been replaced by one of resolve. “We’ll continue to fight,” said senior trustee Lance Gumbs.

Chairman Randy King said he called on the entire tribal membership to attend the court hearing Wednesday “to celebrate our heritage.”

Also Tuesday, two Shinnecock members created a Facebook page to announce the formation of the New York Coalition for Shinnecock Gaming, which is calling for a boycott of Connecticut casinos they say are seeking to block the Southampton tribe’s federally recognized status.

Tela Loretta Troge, who is attending American Indian Law Center’s Pre Law Summer Institute, said she created the page with another tribal member, Kelly Dennis, out of “frustration” at “not being able to get Bureau of Indian Affairs scholarships for school next month” because of the Connecticut group’s filing.

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Winnemem Wintu Tribe’s Cultural Property Claims Largely Dismissed

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is the opinion in Winnemem Wintu Tribe v. DOI (E.D. Cal.): Winnemem Wintu Tribe v. DOI