Michigan Indian

Michigan Supreme Court Grants Leave to Appeal in In re Lee

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

This is an ICWA case involving the meaning of “active efforts” under Michigan law. The petitioner is the Michigan Dept. of Human Services, and tribe involved is the Sault Tribe. The docket number is 137653. Here are the opinions from the Michigan Court of Appeals:

in-re-lee-per-curiam-opinion

in-re-lee-partial-concurrence-dissent

From the order granting leave to appeal:

On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the October 16, 2008 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is GRANTED. The parties shall include among the issues to be briefed (1) whether the term “active efforts” in 25 USC 1912(d) requires a showing that there have been recent rehabilitative efforts designed to prevent the breakup of that particular Indian family; and (2) whether the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard of 25 USC 1912(f) requires contemporaneous evidence that the continued custody of the Indian child by the parent or Indian custodian is likely to result in serious emotional or physical damage to the child before parental rights may be terminated.

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MichGO v. Kempthorne a “Petition to Watch”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

SCOTUSblog has listed MichGO v. Kempthorne as a petition to watch (see post here) for the January 9 conference. Here are the briefs, etc.:

Docket: 08-554
Title: Michigan Gambling Opposition v. Kempthorne
Issue: Whether Section 5 of the Indian Reorganization Act, which gives the Secretary of Interior discretion to acquire lands for Native Americans, is an unconstitutional delegation of legislative authority.

Interview with New GTB Chair Derek Bailey

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From the Leelanau Enterprise:

Ed. note: New Tribal Chairman Derek Bailey of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, who was sworn in to his new position Thursday, talked with Enterprise reporter Eric Carlson Friday on a wide range of topics. Following is their conversation:

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Derek Bailey Sworn in as New GTB Chairman

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From the Leelanau Enterprise:

Derek Bailey sworn in as new GTB chairman.DEREK BAILEY at last week's swearing-in ceremony.DEREK BAILEY at last week’s swearing-in ceremony.

Clutching an eagle fan believed to give a leader the courage to “speak in a good way,” the youngest tribal chairman in the history of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians stepped up to the podium on stage at the Leelanau Sands Casino Showroom Thursday afternoon immediately after being sworn in.

“This is a very emotional, powerful moment not only for me but for our entire nation,” said 36-year-old Derek Bailey.  He explained that the sacred feathers were loaned to him by his uncle, Deuce Miller.
Bailey acknowledged how long and difficult the 2008 tribal election process had been.

“To those who did not support me in the election,” Bailey said, “I will work hard to meet your needs and expectations.”

In 1980, when the tribe was finally recognized as a sovereign nation by the U.S. government, membership was around 400.  Tribal membership now exceeds 4,000.

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Saginaw Chippewa v. Granholm Update — Motions to Certify Case for Interlocutory Appeal Denied

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The City of Mount Pleasant and the County of Isabella had moved the Eastern District of Michigan to certify the earlier decision not to allow the defense of laches for an interlocutory appeal to the Sixth Circuit, but all the other parties (including co-defendant State of Michigan) objected. And so the district court rejected the motions.

city-of-mt-pleasant-motion-for-certification

isabella-county-motion-for-certification

state-of-michigan-opposition-to-motions

us-response-to-motions

sag-chip-response-to-motions

sag-chip-v-granhold-dct-order-on-motion-for-certification

First Glimpse at a Possible Post-Carcieri World

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

The United States Department of Justice has been thinking a little bit about what will happen if the Supreme Court rules against the Secretary of Interior in Carceri v. Kempthorne. We’ve already suggested that, based on oral argument, that the Secretary’s authority under Section 5 of the Indian Reorganization Act will be sharply limited in relation to tribes “not under federal supervision” or “under federal jurisdiction in 1934.”

In the recent filing opposition a petition for a writ of certiorari in MichGO v. Kempthorne, a direct challenge to Section 5 as applied to all tribes, the Solicitor General’s officer may have laid the groundwork for a post-Carcieri world. The MichGO petitioners, who have been using the litigation to delay the opening of the Gun Lake Band of Pottawatomi Indians’ casino for years, appear to be pushing the Supreme Court to hold the MichGO petition until after Carcieri is decided (likely in January or February). But the government argued that no such delay was necessary, because (and this is the key part, where the United States asserts what will happen if the Court rules against the government):

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United States Files Brief in Opposition to MichGO Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the brief (courtesy of Indianz) — ussg-opposition

GTB Compensation Committee Sues over Councilor Pay

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

The outgoing chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of Michigan is being sued in tribal court over salaries of tribal council members.

The tribe’s Compensation Committee set the base council salaries at $60,000. Those serving as vice chair, secretary and treasure were supposed to receive base pay of $65,000. But right before this year’s election, chairman Robert Kewaygoshkum set higher salaries for some council members, according to the suit filed by the Compensation Committee. Kewaygoshkum reportedly makes around $100,000. Kewaygoshkum was defeated by Derek Bailey after a second election was held in September.

Get the Story:
Suit targets tribal head over new salary levels (The Leelanau News 12/15)

Michigan Indian Legal Services Fall-Winter 2008 Newsletter

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here it is — mils-newsletter-fall-2008

It features an article by Karrie Wichtman, a Sault Tribe member and an MSU law student, called “Cooperative Law Enforcement Agreements: An Indian Country Law Enforcement Solution.”

Gun Lake Band’s Opposition to MichGO’s Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Is here — gun-lake-band-cert-opposition

MichGO’s cert petition is here, as are links to the lower court materials.