This Wednesday at 9:30 AM, the Michigan Supreme Court will consider changes to the Michigan Court Rule that will “incorporate specific provisions of the Indian Child Welfare Act into the relevant rules that relate to adoptions, guardianships, child protective proceedings, and juvenile status offenses.” The proposed changes are here.
Comments on the proposed changes are here:
* Supplemental Comments (01/25/10)
Honorable Dorene S. Allen, Midland County Probate Court (01/12/10)
Here is the Michigan Court of Appeals decision in Devlin v. Attorney General — Devlin vs Attorney General MI Ct of App.
An excerpt:
On June 3, 2008, plaintiff filed his complaint for mandamus against attorney general Michael A. Cox in his official capacity. Plaintiff averred that casinos and other businesses owned by Indian tribes in Michigan are selling spirits, beer, and wine on their premises, but are doing so without a license issued by the Michigan Liquor Control Commission as required by law. Plaintiff further averred that defendant, as the State’s chief law enforcement officer, had knowledge of these “tribal liquor license violations.” And, although “hundreds of thousands of felony violations have been committed by Michigan tribal casino management” . . . defendant “fails and refuses to take any corrective action, whether it be a civil suit against the tribes for a declaratory and injunctive Order . . . or criminal actions against tribal management.” Plaintiff alleged that he and other travelers on State highways are in danger because “[a]ll of the tribal casinos are located within a minute or two drive to State highways” and underage customers, as well as intoxicated persons, are likely to leave the casinos and drive on State highways. Accordingly, plaintiff alleged, defendant’s failure to enforce State liquor licensing laws under these circumstances constituted a clear abuse of discretion and warranted the issuance of a writ of mandamus to command him to act.
Here was the complaint filed in 2008.
From the Detroit News:
A plan approved Friday to lead Greektown Casino out of bankruptcy protection will repay most creditors and strip ownership from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
Judge Walter Shapero of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit confirmed the plan, pending state and city approvals on other issues that must be obtained by June 30. The plan, the third proposal since Greektown filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2008, was approved by creditors last week.
“Greektown Casino is now approaching the finish line for its exit from bankruptcy,” said Charles Moore, the casino’s lead restructuring adviser with Conway MacKenzie Inc. in Birmingham.
Disproportionate Minority Contact of American Indians/Alaska Natives in the Child Welfare System of Michigan: Understanding the Law and Respecting Cultural Differences
by Margaret Olesnavage, Maribeth D. Preston, Angel D. Sorrells, and Stacey M. Tadgerson
Ms. Sorrells is a true leader on increasing compliance and awareness of the Indian Child Welfare Act in Michigan, and Ms. Tadgerson is the director of Native American Affairs in the Michigan DHS.
Here are the materials in Sault Ste. Tribe of Chippewa Indians v. Hamilton (W.D. Mich.):
Sault Tribe Motion to Dismiss Counterclaims
As reported on Indianz yesterday, former Sault Tribe chief of police and board member Fred Paquin has been indicted in federal court. Here is the indictment:
Here: Kennecott FDO
Of note, the last paragraph on page 8 reads:
Of the six features specifically enumerated in Rule 202(2)(p), four unquestionably occur in structures: residential dwellings, schools, hospitals and government buildings. The other two, places of business and places of worship, could be reasonably construed as not requiring a structure. However, Rule 202(2)(p) contains a catch-all provision that the PFD did not address: “or other “buildings used for human occupancy all or part of the year.” R 425.202(2)(p). This inclusion of this phrase means an EIA must identify all buildings, including those used for the six enumerated features, in the proposed mining area and affected area. Consistent with the rules of statutory construction discussed above, I conclude, as a Matter of Law, Rule 202(2)(p) applies only to buildings used for human occupancy. I further conclude, as a Matter of Law, because Eagle Rock is not a building used for human occupancy, there is no basis to require the EIA identify and describe the feature as a “place of worship.” Concomitantly, the EIA submitted by Kennecott complies in all respects with § 62505(2)(b) and Rule 202, and I so conclude, as a Matter of Law.
Emphasis added.
So DEQ seems to have concluded that an outdoor American Indian sacred site is not a “place of worship” under the relevant law because it is not inside a building (as “used for human occupancy”). In other words, no American Indian place of worship can ever be a “place of worship” unless it’s inside a building.
From Michigan Messenger (h/t to A.K.) [DEQ press release here]:
Two days before the DEQceases to exist and a week after its director stepped down, DEQ moved to wrap up a long standing fight over permits for a planned nickel sulfide mine by concluding that only buildings may be considered “places of worship.”
A rock that is sacred toAnishnabe people need not be considered when issuing a mining permit because state law only recognizes buildings as places of worship, the Department of Environmental Quality announced Thursday.
This decision cleared the way for DEQ to finalize permits for a mine planned for public land on the Yellow Dog Plain northwest of Marquette.
The resolution comes at a time of great tumult for the department. Director Steven Chester resigned last week, and the department is slated to come under the leadership of DNR director Rebecca Humphries when it is rolled into the new Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment on Jan. 17.
For seven years the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company, a subsidiary of London-based Rio Tinto, has been trying to develop the mine project. The company promised hundreds of construction and mining jobs but has faced opposition from groups that are concerned that acid drainage from the mine will damage the nearby Salmon Trout River and Lake Superior.
The National Wildlife Federation, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve, and the Huron Mountain Club together filed an administrative appeal of DEQ’s 2007 approval of mining and groundwater discharge permits for the mine. Continue reading
From How Appealing:
“Asian carp DNA found in Lake Michigan; High Court inaction angers Mich. leaders”:The Detroit News has an update that begins, “On the same day the U.S. Supreme Court announced it would not take immediate action to prevent Asian carp from reaching Lake Michigan, DNA samples indicate the fish may already be there.”
The Detroit Free Press has a news update headlined “Granholm: White House summit about carp needed.”
The Chicago Tribune has a news update headlined “Army Corps: Asian carp DNA found in Lake Michigan.”
And James Vicini of Reuters reports that “Michigan request denied in Great Lakes carp case; High court won’t order closing of two Chicago-area locks; Federal government said Michigan was unlikely to prevail; Closing locks would hurt shippers.”
From the AP via How Appealing:
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to order immediate closure of shipping locks near Chicago to prevent Asian carp from infesting the Great Lakes.
The court rejected a request by Michigan for a preliminary injunction to close the locks temporarily while a long-term solution is sought to the threatened invasion by the ravenous fish. The one-sentence ruling didn’t explain the court’s reasoning.
Asian carp, primarily bighead and silver varieties, have been migrating up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers toward the Great Lakes for decades. They have swarmed waterways near Chicago leading to Lake Michigan.
Scientists fear that if they reach the lakes, they could disrupt the food chain and endanger the $7 billion fishery.
The biggest Asian carp can reach 4 feet in length and weigh 100 pounds while consuming up to 40 percent of their body weight daily in plankton, the foundation of the Great Lakes food web.
Many scientists say they could starve out popular species such as trout and salmon.
They also are spooked by passing motors and often hurtle from the water, colliding with boaters forcefully enough to break bones.
Officials poisoned a section of the canal in December after discovering genetic material that suggested at least some carp might have eluded an electric barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and could be within six miles of Lake Michigan. If so, the only other obstacles between them and the lake are shipping locks and gates.
Last week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers said additional carp DNA – but no live fish – had been found in three different spots along the Chicago River within a mile of where it flows into Lake Michigan.
Michigan, joined by Minnesota, New York, Ohio and Wisconsin and the Canadian province of Ontario, asked the high court to order the locks closed as a stopgap measure while considering a permanent separation between Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River basin. Continue reading
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