Michigan Indian – Page 112

Bay Mills Indian Community Reportedly Opens Off-Rez Casino in Lower Peninsula

November 3, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the link:

We have breaking news just in to the 9&10 Newsroom.

There is a new casino in Otsego County and it just opened its doors.

The Bay Mills Indian Community bought land and an empty welcome center in the Vanderbilt area, not far from I-75. The deal took more than 10 years to complete.

The Bay Mills Community is in Chippewa County, but leaders say they have been hunting elk in the area since 2007 as part of off-reservation hunting rights.

Since the purchase, there’s been wide speculation that the tribe would open a casino on the property.

That’s exactly what’s happening today, with little warning.

We have a crew in Vanderbilt and will bring you continuing coverage tonight on 9&10 News at 5:00 & 6:00.

LTBB Looks to Open Museum

November 2, 2010November 2, 2010Kate Fort

H/T E.P., from upnorthlive.com—

History will be preserved in new Odawa museum

Andrew Keller

Posted: 11.01.2010 at 7:07 PM

HARBOR SPRINGS, MI — The Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians has a plan to preserve its history.

The new museum will not only provide a place to learn about the past, it’s also going to have a state of the art system that will help keep history safe.

There’s an old bible, worn in age, but written in native language. There’s a tomahawk, a spear, and an arrowhead. These are just a few things that have been in storage with a lot of other things, but soon, will be on display.

“I’m close to retirement age, but I’m going back and forth, I don’t know if I want to retire, and like an old hen on an egg, I want to see what happens, when it hatches, so I want to be there,” said Yvonne Walkerkeshick, Director, Archives and Records.

Walkerkeshick is the Director of Archives and Records at the Governmental Center for the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians. She says retirement has been put on hold for now, as details of a new museum of history for the tribe were announced.

The tribe is moving forward with plans that started rolling more than 10 years ago. A new museum, equipped with a state-of-the-art safety and fire suppression system, will be built near the Government Center.

“They did a study, and they found there is a need, there’s a need for storage and a museum is a big part of this to look to display our artifacts and our items,” said Tribal Chairman Ken Harrington.

Somebody found a spear near the Straits of Mackinac and donated it to the Archives and Records Department. The estimate is it was made somewhere in the late 1700’s. This will be one thing that’s displayed at the new museum.

Archives and Records and the Repatriation Department are working with other non-Native American Museums to repatriate items to be a part of the new museum on top of the donated artifacts.

“I believe once it really gets rolling, and the Native Population sees we really are going to have a museum, then they will go into their attics and begin digging out more things that we can put in our museum,” said Walkerkeshick.

“It shows the culture of the people,” said Harrington.

The new museum will also be safe storage for members of the tribe personal keepsakes.

Right now, site plans are being finalized to be presented to the Tribal Council.

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

October 30, 2010November 8, 2010Matthew 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).

Indian Country Today Coverage of MI Native Language Law

October 28, 2010Kate Fort

From Indian Country Today:

Michigan’s tribal language bill allows uncertified Native speakers to teach

Pottawatomi ‘is quintessentially a language of this place’

By Gale Courey Toensing

Story Published: Oct 27, 2010

Story Updated: Oct 22, 2010

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan legislature has taken a commonsense approach to the teaching of Native languages in the state’s public schools.

As of Sept. 30, public school students will get foreign language credits for succeeding in Native American language and culture classes taught by tribal elders and other Native language speakers who are not state-certified teachers.

The new law, Public Act 168 of 2010, was introduced in December 2009 by Sen. Mike Prusi, who represents the state’s 38th District, which includes most of the Upper Peninsula.

“With this new law we will put the best teachers, the tribal members who have the greatest knowledge about their culture and language, into our classrooms and teaching our children,” Prusi said at the signing ceremony. “I am happy to be the sponsor of this law because it means that all Michigan students will have the opportunity to be better informed about the history of our state, and about the people we share Michigan with and who have been here the longest.”

The signing ceremony took place in Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s capitol office and included leaders and members of the Hannahville Indian Community Tribe of Potawatomi Indians, the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians (Gun Lake Tribe), the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.

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Bay Mills Buys Land in Vanderbilt

October 26, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From Upnorthlive:

The Bay Mills Indian Community is now the owner of a large parcel of land in Vanderbilt.

The more than 45 acres of property is next to I-75. The tribe is evaluating the condition of a 1200 sq. foot building, which is the former Treetops Resort Welcome Center, on the property.

While rumors have circulated that the tribe may choose to open a casino on the land, leaders of Bay Mills said they will use the land for hunting purposes.

Tribal leaders said they have been looking for a parcel of land for more than 10 years and the current economic climate allowed the tribe to buy the property at a reasonable price. Leaders have not prepared any trust application in regards to the site.

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Tribal Judge Mike Petoskey Named to Michigan State Bar “Master Lawyers” Section

October 25, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is the announcement.

The blurb on Judge Petoskey:

Michael D. Petoskey
University of New Mexico, 1983
Traverse City, MI.

Petoskey is an elder and member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. He has been instrumental in developing five of the 12 tribal courts serving Michigan’s federally recognized Indian tribes and serves as chief judge in three of those courts. He has witnessed great improvements for Indians in the legal profession since his admission to practice, when finding even one native law student was nearly impossible. His concern for the future of the profession is the lack of general understanding about federal Indian law, the legal standing of tribes, and the relationship between state and tribal courts. Petoskey invites Michigan lawyers to visit tribal courts for an enriching and rewarding experience.

Gun Lake Band Casino Posts 700 Jobs

October 25, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

News article here, via Pechanga.

From the article:

Some of the jobs available at gunlakescasino.com

Accounting Clerk
Beverage Server Beverage
Cage Asst Shift Supervisor
Casino Marketing Coordinator
Credit Clerk Accounting
Gift Shop Supervisor Gift Shop
Rewards Center Supervisor
Executive Chef Coffee Shop
Senior Engineer Maintenance
Slot Marketing Coordinator
Valet
Table Games Director

Michigan COA Decides ICWA Challenge re: Active Efforts and Tribal Court Transfer

October 22, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

… and a challenge to the expert witness.

Here is the unpublished opinion in In re Swinson.

News Coverage of Sault Tribe v. Bouschor

October 21, 2010October 21, 2010Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Sault Evening News:

After six years of legal wrangling, political posturing and a one-week trial, a six-person jury in the 50th Circuit Court ruled that four employees were entitled to severance packages in the wake of former Tribal Chairman Bernard Bouschor’s defeat in the 2004 Sault Tribal election.

General Legal Counselor Daniel Green, Chief Financial Officer Dan Weaver, Deputy Legal Counsel James Jannetta and Human Resources Director David Scott were all fired by their employer, according to the jury’s verdict Wednesday evening.

In layman’s terms, the severance agreements are the equivalent of a football coach with a four-year contract being fired after going 3-13 in his first season; he would no longer be employed by the team, but would still receive payments for the life of the contract.

Had the jury ruled the four men — Green, Jannetta, Weaver and Scott — had quit, the employees could have been forced to pay back at least a portion of the money claimed in their severance package. Green walked away with a little over $500,000 while Weaver and Jannetta both cashed checks well over $400,000, while David Scott received approximately $350,000.

The jury also ruled that Bouschor had acted in the Sault Tribe’s benefit in entering into the severance agreements with the key employees and not his own, essentially exonerating the former tribal chairman.

While all four of them were considered to have fiduciary duties, the jury unanimously agreed that they did not knowingly participate in an enterprise or conspiracy by which Bouschor breached his fiduciary duty.

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