News article here.
Mich. AG’s Office to Meet with BMIC Monday
News article here.
Michigan Indian
News Update on Bay Mills Vanderbilt Casino — John Wernet Comments
Bay Mills Indian Community on the Move Again: Port Huron Land Deal Completed Yesterday
MIRS: Casino Catches Officials Off Guard
Without any of the standard federal or state approvals, the Bay Mills Tribe opened a new casino today near Vanderbilt off Interstate 75 in the Northern Lower Peninsula.
The 40-slot machine facility is located in a renovated Project Nature Welcome Center. Tribal members are familiar with the Vanderbilt area as they have been hunting elk in the region since 2007, exercising off-reservation treaty rights established with the 2007 Inland Consent Decree.
“This is something we’ve been working on for a long time,” said Bay Mills Chairman Jeff PARKER.
Apparently the tribe is testing a legal theory that, if it were to hold up, could open the floodgates for establishing tribal casinos without having to worry about the red tape that usually delays such projects for years. Some observers claim it could ultimately affect the status of an off-reservation site the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians own at Pinnacle Racetrack in Romulus.
Bay Mills and the Soo tribe were once a single tribe.
The move came as a complete surprise to state and federal officials. The tribe jumped through none of the usual legal hoops involved with the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA). In fact, its plan seems to involve specifically avoiding taking the land in trust, which is a key step in the IGRA process.
It usually takes years of working through the IGRA process to obtain the necessary sign-offs from the U.S. Department of Interior and the state to establish even an on-reservation casino.
The tribe’s reservation is located in the Upper Peninsula, centered at Brimley. However the casino Bay Mills opened today was on land far from the reservation. What’s more, the tribe bought the property less than three months ago.
President Ronald REAGAN signed IGRA in 1988. Ever since, IGRA guidelines have been an open target for almost any and every legal theory an attorney could convince a tribe to try out.
The theory Bay Mills seems to be pursuing is that because it purchased the land near Vanderbilt with money it had received in exchange for giving up its aboriginal lands, the land is therefore exempt from the usual impediments IGRA placed on off-reservation gaming.
The entire issue of off-reservation gaming, as it pertains to IGRA is currently being reviewed nationally (See “Minnesota Event <http://mirsnews.com/capsule.php?gid=3437%2325188%20> Could Affect Muskegon Casino,”10/20/10).
The Bay Mills decision to test the legal theory might have been timed to coincide with the national discussion. In addition, it might also have been timed to take place prior to Governor-elect Rick SNYDER taking office.
Snyder is believed to be less amenable to gaming expansion than Gov. Jennifer <http://mirsnews.com/lob_bio.php?cid=532> GRANHOLM has been. However, the Granholm administration quickly voiced opposition to Bay Mills opening the Vanderbilt casino today.
Bay Mills Press Release on Vanderbilt Casino
Bay Mills Indian Community Reportedly Opens Off-Rez Casino in Lower Peninsula
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
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
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
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.
Bay Mills Buys Land in Vanderbilt
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.
Turtle Talk 
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