Michigan Indian – Page 142

Nottawaseppi Huron Band to Contract Police Services to Local Village

June 11, 2009Kate Fort

From the Battle Creek Enquirer:
Athens, Potawatomi police plans move ahead
Council says up to $25,000 may be available next year
Justin A. Hinkley • The Enquirer • June 11, 2009

ATHENS — The Athens Village Council said it can spare $20,000 to $25,000 from its 2010-11 budget to subcontract police services from the local Potawatomi.

Council President Mike Alverson said that, because the village recently purchased several pieces of large equipment and finished major maintenance projects that won’t soon be repeated, money from those funds could be re-allocated in next year’s budget for the police service.

The village has been in talks for months with the Athens Township-based Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi, which in January established a one-man police force that it hopes to soon expand with federal grants. Athens has been without dedicated police service since the mid-1980s and has had problems with vandalism and thefts.

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Michigan Indian Legal Services Newsletter

June 7, 2009June 4, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

MILS_Spring_2009_Newsletter

Interlochen Public Radio on Saginaw Chippewa Reservation Boundary Case

June 4, 2009June 5, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From IPR:

The Saginaw-Chippewa Indian Tribe won a victory last month in an ongoing lawsuit over the boundaries of Indian land in Isabella County. The suit has yet to go to trial, but it’s been in court for years.

Should the tribe win, it would exert tribal sovereignty throughout five townships, and half the city of Mt. Pleasant.

Just what that would mean is still not clear to Mt. Pleasant’s Mayor, Jim Holton. “Well the city has several concerns, obviously, with this. And it’s still a lot of theory. It’s still a lot of ’What if’s.’”

Some of Holton’s big “What if’s” include questions of zoning, law enforcement, and taxation. “Who to tax, how can we tax. Can we collect on tax? It’s obviously vital to our survival as a city, with infrastructure, roads and all those things.”

Saginaw-Chippewa leaders do not want to comment on ongoing litigation. But Matthew Fletcher says – as he understands it – those last two are also some of the tribe’s biggest concerns: taxation and law enforcement. Fletcher runs the Indigenous Law Center at Michigan State University.

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Michigan Casino Market Stagnant

June 1, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Old news….

From the K’zoo Gazette:

The gaming-market “pie” has grown only slightly while being sliced into smaller pieces, analysts say

BY CHRIS KNAPE | Gazette News Service

Michigan’s economy is down, its unemployment is up and the auto industry is in a battle for its life.

But when it came to spending on lady luck at casinos, the state bucked national trends until winter set in.

Revenue at Michigan’s three commercial (non-Indian) casinos was up 1.3 percent in 2008, while commercial casinos around the country saw revenue decline 4.7 percent from record 2007 levels, according to state data and a study by the American Gaming Association.

Michigan’s tribal casinos, though not tracked by the association, also saw some revenue growth, based on records of payments they made via their state revenue-sharing agreements.

But growth in that sector was scattered, driven by the first full year of operations at the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo.

“It’s a dynamic where you don’t know if it’s an aberration, or if it’s a peculiarity of the Michigan market,” said Eric Bush, administrative manager for the Michigan Gaming Control Board, which regulates the state’s casinos.

“It doesn’t seem to be making a downturn and following the economy.”

The upward trend is not expected to continue, however. Eric Kalm, executive director of the MGCB, said the big question now for the state is how big of a revenue drop it should expect.

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Keweenaw Bay Challenge to State Sales and Use Taxes Reaches Sixth Circuit

May 29, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are the appellate materials:

KBIC Opening Brief

Michigan Appellee Brief

KBIC Reply Brief

And here is our earlier posting on the district court case, along with all of the extensive exhibits, etc.

New Book: Anishinaabemowin Maajaamigad (The Anishinaabe Language Leaves)

May 24, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Anishinaabemowin Maajaamigad (The Anishinaabe Language Leaves)

A community welcomes its veterans home from World War II and they work together to build something for the future generations and to remember the past. Authors Howard Kimewon and Margaret Noori share this story of Manitoulin Island, “the place of the spirits.” Set in 1940s, this true story of survivors of war honoring those who will never return by building an ice arena is told in both Anishinaabemowin and English.

The book contains a three-line version of the story so that readers will see and learn the meaning of each word in the Anishinaabe order. The top line is exactly as it was spoken by fluent speaker, Howard Kimewon. The second line is a direct translation of the meaning contained in the words and sometimes parts of words. The third line is the same meaning as it would be spoken by someone fluent in English. There is often a difference between the literal and literary English and clearly seeing that difference can help students understand how to think and speak in Anishinaabemowin.

For Kimewon, a teacher and author who grew up in the Murray Hill area of Wikwemikong Unceded Reserve and heard these stories passed down from generations, this is an opportunity to share both his language and his history. As a boy he skated at this rink and heard the story of how it came to be. As he told this story it was carefully transcribed and edited by Noori.

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Sault Tribe to Vote on Chairman/CEO Separation

May 21, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From AIPBlog:

Tonight the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians voted to have a referendum to change the Tribes Constitutional By-Laws and Separate the Chairman/CEO position into two distinct positions: one elected and one otherwise.

AIPBlog followers realize I have advocated this type of separation and cited several academic studies which indicate more positive outcomes from separating politics and business in Tribes. It is a pleasure as a member of the Sault Tribe to see some action in this direction.

LTBB Primary Election Results

May 15, 2009Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

Members of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians of Michigan voted in a primary election on May 11. Incumbent chairman Frank Ettawageshik and incumbent vice chairman Bill Denemy received the most votes. They will face Ken Harrington and Dexter McNamara in the June 29 general election. Tribal members also narrowed the field for five council seats.

Get the Story:
Twelve candidates move on in the tribe’s election process (The Petoskey News-Review 5/15)