This case, Geroux v. Assurant, Inc., started as a tribal court complaint against two insurance companies seeking benefits for long-term disability, but was removed by the defendants to federal court. The district court remanded the case back to tribal court under the principles of the tribal court exhaustion doctrine.
Tribal Court Complaint against Assurant
Tribal Court Complaint against Union Security
Union Security Co. Answer and Counterclaim
Geroux Motion to Dismiss Counterclaim
From Indianz:
The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians of Michigan recently formed a corporation to pursue economic development opportunities.
Waganakising Odawa Development, Inc. is looking at two sectors: government contracting and renewable energy. Frank Ettawageshik, the president of the corporation, believes the tribe can benefit from growth in both areas.
“It’s better, I believe, to not have all your eggs in one basket with revenue sources,” Ettawageshik said at a tribal council meeting, The Petoskey News-Review reported.
So far, Waganakising has landed one government subcontract and is looking for ways to get into alternative energy.
From Indianz:
A member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians says the tribal council should only serve part time.
Jaime Barrientoz thinks the chairman position should remain a full-time job. But the other six members of the council are wasting time and money, he says.
“I think that they have too much time on their hands,” Barrientoz told The Traverse City Record-Eagle. “Put them back to part time and you’d save about $1 million a year.”
Barrientoz served on the council when it was a part-time job. Full-time status started in 1998.
Get the Story:
Here is a copy of the Fall 2009 MILS newsletter:
From the LSJ:
LANSING — A federal appeals court
is about to consider a lawsuit challenging Michigan’s ban against racial preferences in public university admissions and government hiring.
Civil rights groups and University of Michigan students, faculty and applicants say the 2006 ballot measure approved by voters is unconstitutional.
Critics say the constitutional amendment has created an unfair process where universities give weight to geographical diversity and legacy status but not racial identity.
Supporters say the law reflects the will of the people.
Arguments will be held Tuesday morning at the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati. A district judge dismissed a challenge to the law last year.
Tuesday, November 10th, 2009
Loosemore Auditorium
6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Special Guest: Dennis Banks
Movie: We Shall Remain: Episode V – Wounded Knee followed by a firsthand discussion with Dennis Banks.
Dennis Banks (Ojibwe) is one of the co-founders of the American Indian Movement (AIM). AIM began in Minneapolis in 1968 to prevent police brutality against urban Indians. It grew rapidly during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Banks took a leading role in the decisions leading to the takeovers of Alcatraz Island and Bureau of Indian Affairs Office in Washington D.C., to bring attention to the poor living conditions American Indians endured throughout the United States. In 2004, he authored Ojibwa Warrior: Dennis Banks and the Rise of the American Indian Movement.
Thursday, November 12th, 2009
L.V. Eberhard Center, 2nd Floor, Auditorium
7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Movie: The Business of Fancydancing (Written & directed by Sherman Alexie)
Special Guests: Paul Collins, Jennifer Gauthier, Shannon Martin
Friday, November 13th, 2009
L.V. Eberhard Center, 2nd Floor
5:15 p.m.: Traditional Native American Ceremony
5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.: Journey to Forgiveness: Implications for Social Change
Special Guests: Hunter Genia, George Martin, Shannon Martin
7 p.m. to 9 p.m. (Seating is first come/first serve – overflow seating in the Eberhard Auditorium and DeVos Center)
Special Guest: Sherman Alexie
From the SCIA:
Panel 1
MR. GEORGE SKIBINE
Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC
Accompanied: MR. R. LEE FLEMING, Director, Office of Federal
Acknowledgement U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC
Panel 2
MR. FRANK ETTAWAGESHIK
Chair, Federal Acknowledgment Task Force, National Congress of American Indians, Washington, DC
THE HONORABLE JOHN SINCLAIR
President, Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Havre, Montana
THE HONORABLE ANNE D. TUCKER
Chairperson, Muscogee Nation of Florida, Bruce, FL
MS. PATTY FERGUSON -BOHNEE
Director, Indian Legal Clinic, Tempe, Arizona
From the House Resources Page:
Witnesses:
Panel 1
The Honorable Michael Arcuri
U.S. House of Representatives, 24th District (D – NY)
Panel 2
Mr. Donald Laverdure
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs
U.S. Department of the Interior
Washington, D.C.
Panel 3
The Honorable Bill Iyall
Chairman
Cowlitz Indian Tribe
Longview, Washington
The Honorable Janice Mabee
Chairman
Sauk-Suiattle Indian Tribe
Darrington, Washington
The Honorable Sandra Klineburger (Attachment)
Chairwoman
Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians
Arlington, Washington
The Honorable Richard Blumenthal
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Hartford, Connecticut
Mr. Steven Woodside (Attachment 1) (Attachment 2) (Attachment 3)
Sonoma County Counsel
On behalf of the California State Association of Counties
Sacramento, California
Mr. Riyaz Kanji
Kanji & Katzen, P.L.L.C.
On behalf of The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Turtle Talk 
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