Nottawseppi Huron Band Potawatomi Chief Judge Announcement

TRIBAL COUNCIL SEEKS LETTERS OF INTEREST FROM PERSONS TO SERVE ON AS CHIEF JUDGE OF THE NHBP TRIBAL COURT (TRIAL COURT).  The Tribal Council is soliciting letters of interest from qualified individuals interested in being appointed to serve as Chief Judge of the NHBP Tribal Court.  The individual appointed to this position would be appointed to a term of office which expiring on December 31, 2014.  Letters of interest must be submitted no later than December 15, 2010 to be considered.  Interested applicants should send a letter of interest and statement of qualifications (or resume) to:  Homer A. Mandoka, Tribal Council Chairperson, 2221 1 ½ Mile Road, Fulton, Michigan 49052.

Qualifications for Appointment:  In accordance with the NHBP Constitution, persons interested in being appointed to the Tribal Judiciary must agree to undergo an extensive background investigation.  The qualifications of prospective appointees are determined by the Tribal Council in accordance with the qualifications for office contained in Article X of the NHBP Constitution which include the following:

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LTBB Letter to Michigan Gaming Control Board re: Bay Mills Vanderbilt Casino

Here: LTBB Letter to E Bush 110810

GTB Celebrates Past and Present Leaders

From the Traverse City Record Eagle:

Five arrows, five leaders — one history.

The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians has a new permanent exhibit at its Eyaawing Museum & Cultural Center off M-22 in Peshawbestown.

The exhibit features a bundle of five tribal chairperson “leadership arrows.” Each handcrafted arrow is marked with the names and years of service of all the tribal chairpersons who served since the tribe was federally recognized in 1980. They are:

• Ardith “Dodie” Harris Chambers, 1980

• Joseph “Buddy” Raphael, 1980-1996

• George E. Bennett, 1996-2000

• Robert Kewaygoshkum, 2000-2008

• Derek J. Bailey, 2008-present

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Saginaw Chippewa Reservation Boundaries Settlement Materials

Happy reading! And congrats to the parties in this case. Fingers crossed until Nov. 19.

Joint Motion to Enter Order for Judgment

Proposed Order for Judgment

Exhibit A – Isabella Reservation Map

Exhibit B – ICWA Agreement

Exhibit C – Law Enforcement Agreement

Exhibit D – Tax Agreement

Exhibit E – Income Tax Resolution

Exhibit F – Conservation MOU

Exhibit G – City Zoning Agreement

Exhibit H – City Law Enforcement Agreement

Exhibit I – City Revenue Sharing Agreement

Exhibit J – City Local Regulation Agreement

Exhibit K – County Zoning Agreement

Exhibit L – County Law Enforcement Agreement

Exhibit M – County Revenue Sharing Agreement

Isabella County Board of Commissioners Approves Saginaw Chippewa Reservation Boundaries Settlement

From the Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun (an excerpt):

Isabella County commissioners on Tuesday agreed to a settlement in the lawsuit filed by the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.

Following in the footsteps of the federal government, the state, the Tribal Council and the city of Mt. Pleasant, commissioners agreed to the the settlement in a 6-1 vote, with Commissioner John Haupt dissenting.

Citing the Tribe’s planned water park on east Pickard Road, Haupt said he is concerned that the county will have to foot the bill for the infrastructure for the project,

which he said will also contain restaurants that could put existing eateries out of business.

Essentially identical to the settlement approved by the Mt. Pleasant City Commission on Monday, the agreement provides for cross-deputization of city and state police officers, and Isabella County Sheriff’s officers.

Tribal Police officers have historically been deputized but state, county and city officers have not been cross-deputized to enforce Tribal and federal law.

The agreement calls for thos officers to begin enforcing those laws and gives the Tribe jurisdiction over Tribal members and other Native Americans within the boundaries of the Isabella Reservation, which includes Deerfield, Denver, Isabella, Nottawa and Wise townships, and the northern halves of Chippewa and Union townships.

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SCIT Release on Boundaries Settlement

From the SCIT page:

SETTLEMENT RECOGNIZES TREATY BOUNDARIES

November 8, 2010

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribal Council today approved settlement of a suit it filed in federal court seeking recognition of the Isabella Indian Reservation. The settlement will ask the federal court to recognize the boundaries of the Isabella Indian Reservation established by the treaties of 1855 and 1864 and comprised of five full and two half townships in Isabella County.

According to Tribal Chief, Dennis V. Kequom Sr., the Tribe is pleased to reach this negotiated settlement with the City and State.

“We are hopeful that the county will join the city and state, and that the court will approve this settlement so that the governments can put this dispute behind them,” said Chief Kequom. “The federal government has also approved the settlement. General counsel for the Tribe, Sean Reed, said that “this settlement clearly recognizes the Tribe’s Reservation boundaries as ‘Indian Country’ and provides certainty with respect to the proper exercise of jurisdiction over Tribal members.”

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe filed suit against the governor of Michigan, the Michigan attorney general, and the treasurer of the State of Michigan in November of 2005 . The federal government joined with the Tribe in 2006. The city of Mt. Pleasant and Isabella County joined the state of Michigan in the lawsuit in 2007.

The settlement includes several intergovernmental agreements regarding issues of law enforcement, Indian child welfare, taxation, zoning and land use. It is the result of over 20 months of Court facilitated mediation.

Saginaw Chippewa and State Reach Settlement on Boundaries Case

Reported on Indianz.

Judge Ludington won’t approve the settlement until the public comments, according to the news. Strange there’s no settlement document available on which to comment….

LTBB Suspends Economic Incentive Payments

Article here, from Uplivenorth.

TV coverage here, from channels 9 & 10.

Little River Band Ottawa Plans for Fruitport Casino Revealed

From the Muskegon Chronicle, via Pechanga:

 

Business Week Coverage of BMIC Vanderbilt Casino Controversy

From B.W.:

The opening of a casino in northern Michigan this week by the Bay Mills Indian Community is raising legal questions over where tribes are allowed to open new gaming locations.

Joy Yearout, a spokeswoman for Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox, said state officials will meet with Bay Mills officials next week to discuss the new casino in Vanderbilt.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm’s administration is “deeply concerned” about the casino opening, spokeswoman Liz Boyd said, in part because it isn’t on the tribe’s reservation.

“There are substantial questions about whether the tribe in fact can legally conduct gaming on this property,” Boyd said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “We are dismayed that the tribe would open an off-reservation gaming facility without first resolving these substantial legal issues.”

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