Michigan Indian

GTB Election Postponed; Three Candidates Removed from Ballot

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Traverse City Record-Eagle:

PESHAWBESTOWN — Three candidates for Tribal Council were booted from the ballot, and the election is postponed until next week.

Three council positions are open for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, those held by incumbents Rebecca Woods, Connie TwoCrow and Sandra Anderson. Tribal election officials removed Woods from the ballot, along with candidates Gail Diaz and Angela Shinos, for election rules violations.

Tribal documents show the Election Board removed Woods from the ballot because she didn’t sign the bottom of her absentee ballot application. The board removed Diaz and Shinos for not submitting absentee ballot applications at all, as election rules require.

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NAGPRA Repatriation Roundtable at University of Michigan — April 9

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

REPATRIATION ROUNDTABLE

MOVING TOWARDS THE FUTURE

Friday, April 9

2:30-3:30pm

4448 East Hall

With the new federal regulations of Native American Grave Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) regarding “culturally unidentifiable” human remains becoming law in May, this roundtable, sponsored by the Ethnography-as-Activism Repatriation Subgroup, seeks to explore the University of Michigan’s future in the process of implementing these new regulations.

Please join us for short presentations from our panelists followed by what we hope is an engaging conversation.

Speakers:

  • Dean Toni Antonucci
    • Chair, Advisory Committee on Culturally Unidentifiable Human Remains (CUHR) under NAGPRA; Associate Vice President for Research – Social Sciences and Humanities; Professor, Department of Psychology; and Research Professor, Institute for Social Research
  • Professor Wenona Singel
    • Assistant Professor of Law & Associate Director of the Indigenous Law & Policy Center at Michigan State University
  • Professor Stuart Kirsch
    • Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, UM

For more information about our group and about NAGPRA, please visit our website:


“The institution could not have a future with tribes until it had resolved its past”
Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh, Anthropology News, March 2010

Saginaw Valley St. Univ. Barstow Lecture on Indian Law — April 1

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here (the paper is here):

Barstow Lecturer to Explain History of Indian Land Law

Saginaw Valley State University will host a lecture by American Indian legal expert Matthew Fletcher Thursday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m. in the Rhea Miller Recital Hall. In his talk, he will explain how a 2007 decree finally ended a 170-year-old dispute regarding Michigan Indians’ land rights. The lecture is part of SVSU’s Barstow Humanities Seminar series.

Fletcher says the delay owes its origins to miscommunication. In 1836, five Michigan Indian tribes entered into a treaty with the state and federal governments over “inland rights” – a treaty in which the Indians ceded their land in exchange for defined areas where they could fish, hunt and gather. The problem was that two of the treaty’s key words – “occupancy” and “settlement” – had vastly different meanings in the local Indian language. Relying on their understanding, the Indians agreed to the treaty.

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Indian Mascots Video re: Clinton, Michigan

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Vodpod videos no longer available.

Michigan Indian Law Day Agenda (UPDATED) — April 2

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

University of Michigan NALSA

2010 Indian Law Day Schedule

Looking Inward: Tribal Governance

Blessing

1:00 – 1:10

Joseph Brave-Heart

Keynote Speaker

1:10 -1:40

Frank Ettawageshik

Former Tribal Chairman, Little Traverse Bay

Bands of Odawa Indians

Tribal Constitutions

1:45 – 2:25

Allie Maldonado, Assistant General Counsel,

Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians

Mike Phelan, Office of the General Counsel

Pokagon Band Potawatomi Indians

Tribal Courts

2:30 – 3:10

Prof. Matthew Fletcher, Michigan State University College of Law

Amy Kullenberg, Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians

Break/Refreshments

3:10 – 3:25

Tribal Economic Diversification

3:25 – 4:05

Zeke Fletcher, Associate, Rosette & Associates

Prof. Matthew Fletcher, Michigan State University College of Law

Kennecott Mine Claims It Doesn’t Need EPA Permit

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

MARQUETTE COUNTY — According to Kennecott Minerals, construction for the Eagle Mining Project might start within the next few months.

With modifictions to their water infiltration system, company officials now claim they don’t need a permit from the Environmental Protection Agency, but not everyone agrees.

One major obstacle stood in the way of constructing the controversial nickel and copper mine in Marquette county: its underground water discharge system. The system required a permit from the epa- but kennecott says moving the system above ground has changed everything.

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Lake Huron Dig to be Discussed at Michigan Archeological Society Meeting

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

This MAS meeting promises to be somewhat controversial, given that Michigan professor John O’Shea will be discussing his project in Lake Huron, to which two tribes have objected (BMIC and LTBB):

Dr. John O’Shea from the University of Michigan: Evidence of Early Hunters beneath the Waters of Lake Huron

Dr. John O’Shea from University of Michigan will be discussing his current endeavors to locate ancient landscapes preserved beneath the Great Lakes.  Through the use of underwater acoustic and video survey on the Alpena-Amberley ridge, Dr. O’Shea has discovered the presence of a series of stone features that match, in form and location, structures used for caribou hunting in both prehistoric and ethnographic times.

Here are the objections:

BMIC Resolution re Lake Huron

LTBB declaration re underwater dig

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Op/Ed Favoring Little River Band Gaming Compact

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Muskegon Chronicle via Pechanga:

It’s becoming more of a sure bet Muskegon County will see construction of a casino in its near future.

With the governor’s approval of amendments to the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians’ tribal compact and Fruitport Township’s and Muskegon County’s approval of the 36-page Municipal Services Agreement last week, there are only a few hurdles left.

The Chronicle Editorial Board urges our state lawmakers to shepherd the plan to build at the former Great Lakes Downs site through the Legislature. All three — representatives Mary Valentine, D-Norton Shores, and Doug Bennett, D-Muskegon Twp., and Sen. Gerald Van Woerkom, R-Norton Shores — have indicated they will support the move that could eventually create up to 1,100 new jobs in Muskegon County.

The Legislature must agree with Gov. Granholm’s approval of a change in the tribal compact and the Little River Band needs approvals from the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Department of the Interior. The tribe is expected to ask that 60 acres of its 233-acre site in Fruitport Township be placed in a “trust” for casino development.

The Editorial Board also urges Congressman Pete Hoekstra, R-Holland, and U.S. senators Carl Levin, D-Detroit and Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing to help this proposal sail through the approval process in Washington, D.C.

Federal lawmakers also should push highway officials to fund construction of an interchange at I-96 and Sternberg. The development of the interchange will be key to the continued growth of tourism and retail businesses in that area. Muskegon County has waged a 25-year campaign for the improvement and it has waited long enough.

With the construction of the casino and proper highway access, Muskegon County could become a year-round tourism destination, a definite boost in efforts to diversify the area economy and create permanent jobs in business serving casino visitors.

However, the Editorial Board continues to draw the line against a casino in downtown Muskegon or multiple casinos in the county.

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Michigan Daily Article on NAGPRA Compliance

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Daily:

The University is set to begin implementing a process that will see the transfer of Native American human remains to Indian tribes, according to a University press release sent out today.

The decision came after a March 15 ruling by the United States Department of the Interior concerning how museums and other agencies — including the University — should deal with unidentified Native American human remains.

Under the terms of the ruling, unidentifiable remains must be returned to the tribes from whose land the remains were originally excavated, the press release stated.

The University currently possesses about 1,400 unidentified remains, according to the release.

Stephen Forrest, the University’s Vice President for Research, wrote in the release that the University is currently developing a process for the transfer of the remains.

“The rule change announced last week provides a clear path for the transfer of the human remains in our possession,” Forrest wrote in the release. “We will move down that path in a transparent, swift and respectful manner.”

The University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology currently possesses unidentifiable remains from 37 states, according to the release.

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Univ. of Michigan Press Release on NAGPRA Compliance

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here, from the UM Record Update.

The text:

U-M has begun outlining a process for the transfer of Native American human remains to Indian tribes.

Vice President for Research Stephen Forrest said the most recent activities are in response to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s March 15 publication of a final rule clarifying how museums and other agencies — including the university — should handle Native American human remains that are under their control but for which no culturally affiliated Indian tribe has been identified.

Other resources
• Web site of the Advisory Committee on Culturally Unidentifiable Human Remains under NAGPRA
• Culturally Unidentifiable Native American Inventory Database for the U-M Musem of Anthopology

“Now that the Department of the Interior has clarified the rule for transferring culturally unidentifiable human remains, it is important that the university reach out to tribal leaders and facilitate the transfer process,” Forrest said.

Forrest said he anticipates having a process in place by the time the new federal rule takes effect May 14. The university has in its possession the remains of about 1,390 individuals unidentifiable with an existing tribe.

“The rule change recently announced provides a clear path for the transfer of the human remains in our possession,” Forrest said. “We will move down that path in a transparent, swift and respectful manner.” Officials and traditional religious leaders will be included in the consultation process. A letter to relevant tribes will be sent soon. Continue reading →