Michigan Indian

Little River Band May Enter Into Law Enforcement Cooperative Agreement with City of Manistee

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

From Indianz:

The city council in Manistee, Michigan, voted in favor of a mutual aid agreement with the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.

The tribe is offering its officers free of charge. The city police chief said the service is crucial.

“There are many times when there’s only one police car working the entire county outside of the city. My concern is someone’s going to dial 9-1-1 and no one’s going to be available to respond,” said chief Dave Bachman, WPBN-TV reported.

The agreement lasts one year.

Get the Story:

Manistee votes in favor of an agreement with tribal police (WPBN-TV 9/2)

GTB Chair Derek Bailey on the White House Consultation

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

Derek Bailey, the chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, was among dozens of tribal leaders who attended listening sessions at the White House on Monday.

Bailey, who has served on the tribal council since 2004 and as chairman since 2008, said the sessions were just the beginning of an ongoing dialog with the Obama administration. He hailed White House officials for inviting tribes to Washington, D.C.

“Across the table, we saw indigenous faces, those that are from Indian Country, that understand when we speak as leaders from our own upbringing,” Bailey said in an interview yesterday. He called the meeting “inspiring.”

Jodi Gillette (Standing Rock Sioux) and Kim Teehee (Cherokee) from the White House, along with Indian Health Service Director Yvette Roubideaux (Rosebud Sioux) and Del Laverdure (Crow) of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, participated in the session that Bailey attended. He said they paid close attention as tribes shared a wide range of concerns.

“Never once did i feel that they were not interested listeners,” Bailey said. “They really were engaged.”

During the session, Bailey talked about regional approaches to providing health care, improving access and use of technology and appointing Native Americans to federal judgeships. He also spoke of the need to have a better understanding of the federal-tribal relationship.

“That is part of the consultative process,” he said. “The more of a cornerstone you have of tribal understanding, the better footed you’ll be.”

Bailey, who met with President Barack Obama in Michigan in July, said he has already noticed a change in atmosphere with the new administration. “From my understanding, there’s a huge turnaround, a very noticeable turnaround, and very much appreciated,” he said of the developing relationship.

During the campaign, Obama promised to hold an annual summit with tribes. The issue was raised yesterday but the White House has not said when the first meeting will occur.

LTBB to Present Data on Lake O’Neal

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Petoskey News-Review (miigwetch to A.K.):

BLISS TOWNSHIP — Spurred by last year’s public outcry not to drain Lake O’Neal, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians set out to collect fishery, wildlife and water quality data.

Now that the compilation is complete, the tribe will present its findings to the public beginning at 7 p.m. on Thursday at the Bliss Township Hall.

Doug Craven, the natural resources director for the tribe, said Lake O’Neal is unique to the tribe and the data was collected to help inform better decisions for it in the future.

“It’s one of the few lakes that’s completely within the tribal reservation area,” he said. “We recognized the gap regarding fisheries data and there was substantial public interest. We conducted the data to see if it matched the public’s perception and it appears that it does.”

Bill Parsons, an inland fisheries biologist with the tribe, said the data helps provide a baseline inventory on the lake cataloguing both the types of fish and birds that populate it. Parsons said he found smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, blue gill, yellow perch, rock bass, pumpkinseed and northern pike making up the fishing, and a large population of water fowl, including osprey and loons, as well as bald eagles nesting around the lake.

“We’ve determined that it’s an important fishery for the wildlife,” he said.

Continue reading →

Uniting Three Fires Against Violence Wins Recovery Act Grant Funds

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here. An excerpt:

The Department of Justice is awarding $246,172 to the Uniting Three Fires Against Violence (UTFAV) to hire new staff and establish a resource center. UTFAV will hire a new full-time outreach coordinator to provide assistance in developing appropriate programming in each of the tribal communities, hire a full-time resource center coordinator to collect and develop resource materials and develop a resource center to collect, develop and maintain information on domestic violence, sexual assault, stalking and dating violence to ensure that victims receive culturally appropriate services and make information available to women victimized by violence. UTFAV’s service area includes the twelve federally recognized tribes and programs providing victim assistance to women who have experienced domestic violence and sexual assault in the State of Michigan.

Tenth Circuit to Hear HRI v. EPA En Banc

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order (CA10 Order Granting En Banc Review), the earlier materials (here), the news report from Indianz, and here are the en banc petition stage materials:

HRI En Banc Petition

EPA Opposition to En Banc Petition

Navajo Opposition to En Banc Petition

New Mexico Brief in Support of En Banc Petition

A Reception to Benefit the National Indian Child Welfare Association

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment
A Reception to Benefit the National Indian Child Welfare Association

You are cordially invited to attend a reception to benefit NICWA.
Come and learn more about NICWA’s efforts to improve the lives American Indian children and families, and how you can help.
Enjoy the company of party hosts, community guests, and NICWA staff for an evening of food, friends, and fun.
Date:
Friday, September 18th, 2009, 6pm – 9pm
Location:
Luella Collins Community Center
Address:
419 126th Avenue
Shelbyville, MI 49344

You can sign up here.

Suit against Gun Lake Trust Acquisition Dismissed

Matthew L.M. Fletcher4 Comments

Here is the news report.

And the materials:

DCT Order Dismissing Patchak Claims

Gun Lake Band Motion to Dismiss

US Motion to Dismiss Patchak Claims

LTBB Credit Rating Dips

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Petoskey News-Review (H/T Junior; also Indianz):

Standard & Poor’s — an independent global provider of credit ratings — has reduced the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians’ credit rating twice in one week.

Following the tribe’s Aug. 11 announcement that it was attempting to re-negotiate the payment of its $122 million in senior unsecured notes — which were originally issued in 2006 to support the construction of the Odawa Casino Resort — and would therefore be suspending its $6.3 million in interest payments due Aug. 17 to its holders; Standard & Poor’s issued a statement Aug. 12, that it would immediately reduce the tribe’s credit rating from ‘CCC’ to ‘CC’ with a negative outlook.

According to Standard & Poor’s credit rating definitions, available on their Web site — www.standardandpoors.com— a ‘CCC’ credit rating means that a company is currently vulnerable, and ‘CC’ means the company is highly vulnerable.

In its Aug. 12 release, Standard & Poor’s also stated that once the tribe missed its interest payment on Monday, Aug. 17, that its credit rating would be reduced to ‘D,’ which means the company has failed to pay one or more of its financial obligations, and that the global credit-rating provider believes the tribe will fail to pay all, or substantially all of its obligations as they come due.

Continue reading →

Sixth Circuit Affirms Dismissal of Oklahoma Ottawa Treaty Claims — Declines to Apply Laches

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the Sixth Circuit’s opinion in Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma v. Logan — Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma v Ohio DNR.

The lower court had made its primary holding that the Ottawa Tribe’s treaty claims were barred by laches, as in Sherrill and Cayuga. But consistent with an amicus brief filed by NCAI and Michigan tribes, the Court declined to apply laches, instead relying upon an interpretation of the relevant treaties.

Lower court materials here and here and here and here.

Gun Lake Reservation Declared

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From DOI:

WASHINGTON – Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Larry Echo Hawk announced today that the Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan’s reservation proclamation has been signed. Approximately 147 acres, more or less, will serve as the Tribe’s initial reservation under the authority of the Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 986; 25 U.S.C. 467). The land is located in Wayland Township, Allegan County, Michigan.

“I am pleased to issue this proclamation and to exercise the authority delegated to me by the Secretary of the Interior to the Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians,” Echo Hawk said. “The land is for the exclusive use of Indians on the reservation who are entitled to reside at the reservation by enrollment or tribal membership. These properties will provide opportunities for economic development, self-determination and self-sufficiency.”

A proclamation is a formal declaration issued by the Secretary, proclaiming that certain trust lands, acquired for an Indian tribe, are a new reservation or are being added to an existing reservation. The request for a proclamation must originate from the tribe. The parcel was acquired in trust under the authority of the Indian Reorganization Act.

The Gun Lake Tribe filed their initial land acquisition application with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) in August of 2001, requesting the Secretary of the Interior to take this land into trust and to proclaim the land to be the Tribe’s reservation. The application was processed in accordance with 25 C.F.R. Part 151 and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. On May 13, 2006, the Department of the Interior, BIA, published in the Federal Register, a Notice of Final Agency Determination to take the 147 acres of land into trust for the Gun Lake Tribe under 25 C.F.R. Part 151.

On August 10, 2009, Assistant Secretary Echo Hawk signed the proclamation for the Tribe’s initial reservation. With this proclamation the trust lands are now legally a formal reservation. The BIA’s Midwest Regional Office shall record the Federal Register’s notice and Proclamation in the Land Titles and Records Office, after which the Original Proclamation will be sent to the Tribe for their records.

The Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs has responsibility for helping the Secretary of the Interior to fulfill his trust responsibilities to tribal and individual trust beneficiaries and promoting self-determination and self-governance for the nation’s 564 federally recognized American Indian and Alaska Native tribes. The Assistant Secretary oversees the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) and the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE), which administers one of two federal school systems.