The video is here.
At about the 15 minute mark, Rep. Kildee discusses the Flint dig and the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe’s involvement.
Miigwetch to A.K.
Michigan Indian
Politics at LTBB
from the Petoskey News-Review (H/t Pechanga and Indianz) and a second article is here:
During its regular meeting Sunday, Sept. 27, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Tribal Council made a declaration against comments made by its tribal chairman to the press.
Tribal Chairman Ken Harrington’s comments were made in response to the Tribal Council’s meeting on Sept. 13, during which tribal elders spoke out about their concerns regarding Harrington’s hiring practices, as well as his morals and ethics while in office.
While tribal elders were making comments, a reporter from the News-Review was excused from the meeting without motion.
The following day — Sept. 14 — Harrington agreed to meet with the reporter to provide updates regarding the elders comments.
In the Sept. 15 edition of the News-Review, it was reported that Harrington told the reporter that the council discussed the tribal elders comments and came out on his side.
Margaret Bailey Chandler to Enter Mich. Hall of Fame
From Indianz:
Margaret Bailey Chandler, a member of the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians who died in 1997 at the age of 67, will be inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.
Chandler’s work helped secure federal recognition for her tribe. She served as tribal historian and advocated for treaty and fishing rights.
“She had to fight for what she believed in, and look what she did,” granddaughter Valerie Chandler told The Muskegon Chronicle. “She made such a difference in so many people’s lives.”
The induction ceremony will be held October 21. Continue reading
News Coverage of Michigan Indian Day 2009
From the State News (video of interview with Don Lyons):
The slow, repetitive rhythm of the drum provided the background for the closing event at Michigan Indian Day Friday evening in the Union.
After a day that exposed many MSU students to the trials and hardships of Michigan’s Native American population, students and American Indians from around the state gathered in the Union Ballroom to close out the day with a drum circle complete with traditional dances and songs.
MSU’s School of Social Work hosted 10 symposiums on the state-honored day, which centered on Native American boarding schools and the damage they caused the culture, MSU’s Michigan Indian Day co-chair Suzanne Cross said.
“Sometimes in textbooks the American Indian … is a general overview of the population,” Cross said before the event. “Being in the room with a lot of American Indians — including elders — can give a different perspective and (you) can hear some of their lived stories. (You can) actually hear it from them what happened and how their lives have been impacted by this.”
The powwow concluded with a particularly significant song considering the context of the day, said Don Lyons, drum circle member and social work graduate student.
Michigan Indian Day is TOMORROW!
Registration materials are here.
Here is the agenda:
Morning keynote:
9:15-10:30 AM — Historical Context of Boarding School Experiences & the Reverberation to Subsequent Generations
—Suzanne Cross, PhD
10:45 AM-Noon — S-1 — Intra & Inter Generational Effects of Boarding School Experiences: From the Voices of Native Women
—Le Anne Silvey, PhD, MSW
10:45 AM-Noon — S-2 — Intergenerational Trauma: Recognizing & Treating Grief & Loss in American Indian/First Nations College Students
—J. Tawa Sina, PhD
10:45 AM-Noon — S-3 — Boarding Schools & Scholarship: Considerations in Research
—James M. McClurken & Veronica Pasfield
10:45 AM-Noon — S-4 — Traditional Approaches to Prevention of Stress, Diabetes & Heart Disease
—Reddog Sina, DO, PhD
1:30-2:45 PM — S-7 — Healing the Hidden Scars: Coping with the After Effects of Historical Abuse
—Susan M. Montroy, MSW/LMSW
1:30-2:45 PM — S-8 — The Role of Language in the Revitalization of Identity Formation
—Helen Roy, Adam Haviland, and Autumn Ellie Mitchell
1:30-2:45 PM — S-9 — Substance Abuse Prevention & Treatment
—Cheryl Samuels, PhD
1:30-2:45 PM — S-10 — Elders’ Discussant Session: Historical Trauma, Boarding School Food Socialization, Intergeneration Eating Habits & Health
—Heather Howard, PhD
Afternoon keynote:
3:00-4:15 PM — Healing the Wounds: Historical Trauma & Urban Health Disparities
—Jerilyn Church and Josette French, MD
LRB Sturgeon Release in Manistee River
From the Chicago Tribune:
MANISTEE, Mich. – A Northern Michigan Indian tribe is releasing young sturgeon into the Big Manistee River on Saturday to help restore the ancient fish in the Great Lakes region.
It’s the sixth year that the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians has placed sturgeon in the river.
Lake sturgeon date from the days of the dinosaurs. They can live from 50 to 150 years. Once plentiful in the Great Lakes, their numbers have been greatly reduced because of overfishing, habitat loss and pollution.
The tribe’s natural resources department operates a facility where young fish are reared until big enough to have a good chance for survival. Then they’re put back into the waterway from which they came. Tribal elders will take part in the release.
Gun Lake Band Groundbreaking Ceremony
🙂
Online Materials for Michigan State Bar American Indian Law Section Meeting
Here are material to supplement today’s MSB American Indian Law Section program on the Indian Child Welfare Act:
In re J.L. opinion (Mich. S. Ct.)
American Indian Law Section amicus brief in In re J.L.
Michigan Court Improvement Program — ICWA Resource Guide
Facing the Future: The Indian Child Welfare Act at 30 (MSU Press)
ILPC Occasional Paper 2009-04 The Origins of the Indian Child Welfare Act: A Survey of the Legislative History (or here)
ILPC Occasional Paper 2009-05 The Indian Child Welfare Act: A Case Update (August 2008-August 2009) (or here)
LTBB Chairman Faces Criticism
From Indianz:
The new leader of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians of Michigan is facing criticism from tribal elders after less than a month on the job.
At a tribal council meeting on Sunday, one elder said Chairman Ken Harrington violated tribal employment laws in the hiring of two top financial officials. Another elder said Harrington has created an “atmosphere of fear among tribal employees.”
Harrington, who was sworn into office on August 23, denied the accusations. He said it was natural for critics to question his performance.
“I will just move forward, I can’t let a few negative people hold down the greater good with my job … I’m a dedicated person; I’m working hard,” Harrington told The Petoskey News-Review.
The newspaper said its writer was forced to leave the tribal council meeting after the two elders spoke.
Huron Nottawaseppi Negotiates for Lower Revenue Sharing Rate with State
From Indianz:
The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians Indians signed an amended Class III gaming compact with Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm (D).
The new agreement lowers the tribe’s revenue-sharing rate. In 2009 and 2010, the tribe will share 4 percent of slot machine profits from the FireKeepers Casino with the state, down from 8 percent in the original compact.
In 2011, the tribe will share 4 percent of slot profits under $100 million and 6 percent of slot profits over $100 million. Starting in 2012, the rate will based on a sliding scale, with payments not to exceed 8 percent of slot profits.
Despite the lower rate, the tribe will continue to share 2 percent with local communities. The amended compact restructures the Local Revenue Sharing Board, expanding it from three to six members.
“The amended compact will help create new jobs, new economic opportunities and new revenues for the tribe, local community and the state,” Chairwoman Laura Spurr said in a press release.
The tribe and the state already submitted the amended compact to the Bureau of Indian Affairs. They said the agreement was approved and will become effective once a notice is published in the Federal Register.
The changes bring the Nottawaseppi Huron agreement in line with other tribal-state gaming compacts.
Turtle Talk 
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