Larry Plamondon, a member of the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians, is profiled in the new paper by Trevor Morrison on the Supreme Court case, United States v. District Court (the Keith case, named after Judge Damon Keith). Here is a link to the paper (via Legal History Blog), which is part of the Presidential Power Stories book.
And it’s great to see Larry’ autobiography, Lost from the Ottawa (available at Nokomis), featured in an important piece of legal scholarship.
Here are a few recent scholarly articles of interest to the blog:
Susan Gray, Miengun’s Children: Tales from a Mixed-Race Family, 29:2&3 Frontiers 136 (2008) — article about the children of Northport, Michigan missionary George N. Smith
David Wilkins & Sheryl Lightfoot, Oaths of Office in Tribal Constitutions, 32 Am. Indian Q. 389 (Fall 2008)
Siegfried Weissner, Indigenous Sovereignty: A Reassessment in Light of the UN Declaration, 41 Vand. J. Int’l L. 1141 (2008)
This is a great resource developed and published by Olson Bzdok and Howard.
Public Rights to Fish and Hunt on Lakes and Streams: A Primer for Michigan’s Indian Tribes
Also, here.
From the Record-Eagle:
PESHAWBESTOWN — The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians settled the last in a long string of election disputes, clearing the way for Derek Bailey to assume the post of tribal chairman.
Bailey is slated to take over a four-year position held by two-term Chairman Robert Kewaygoshkum, pending certification of the September election.
“I am very happy that this process is over, and I definitely look forward to being sworn in as the next tribal chairman,” Bailey said.
Kewaygoshkum, 57, defeated Bailey, 36, in the original May election, but that was overturned and Bailey won a special September election.
Nokomis Learning Center Receives 2008 Best of Okemos Award
U.S. Local Business Association’s Award Plaque Honors the Achievement
WASHINGTON D.C., December 4, 2008 — Nokomis Learning Center has been selected for the 2008 Best of Okemos Award in the Non-Profit Organizations category by the U.S. Local Business Association (USLBA).
The USLBA “Best of Local Business” Award Program recognizes outstanding local businesses throughout the country. Each year, the USLBA identifies companies that they believe have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category. These are local companies that enhance the positive image of small business through service to their customers and community.
From the Western Michigan Business Review:
The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi is planning to open its FireKeepers Casino east of Battle Creek next summer.
The process of getting the land into federal trust took years, and Laura Spurr was the calm public voice of the tribe throughout. She represented the tribe with a killer sense of humor and an encyclopedic command of data.
And she can’t be bullied.
What does a tribal chairman do?
“It’s kind of similar to city or township government. We have a five-member council, all elected by the tribe, then the council selects the chairman.
“Not all tribes do it that way. Some elect the chairman directly.”
From the Romulus Roman:
Romulus officials hope a year-long moratorium regarding the expansion of Indian gaming that was put into place by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs will be lifted, or at least more flexible, under a Barack Obama administration.
City officials met with a representative from the Hannahville Indians last week, and all involved said they felt they would receive more consideration for the tribal request to build a casino in Romulus.
“I think that once there’re more Democrats in Washington, and more people who are interested in helping Michigan, we will turn this around,” said Romulus Mayor Alan Lambert.
From the Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun:
A Mt. Pleasant man traveled to Italy for a summit of global food growers and returned with a passion to support local food growers.
Martin Curry, 38, a freelance writer and photographer, attended the Terra Madre (Earth Mother) in Turin, Italy in October.
The conference was a session of the International Food Growers of the World, where the issue of “seed slavery” was brought to light by indigenous food growing communities who are battling corporate monopolies on seed ownership.
“It was an opportunity to learn about the politics of food production,” Curry said. “It was quite an experience.
“A majority of the food, with very few exceptions, that ends up on our tables traveled more than a thousand miles to get there. And with the issues that we’ve been having with energy and with truckers because diesel fuel has gone too high. It’s a basic question of distribution,” he said.
Here is an article about GTB member Mitch Sullivan, son of one of our contributors!
Congress effectively killed the various proposals brought by the State of Michigan, the Bay Mills Indian Community, and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians to ratify off-reservation gaming agreements between the three and variously the Cities of Romulus, Flint, and Port Huron. But now that the Detroit auto makers are in the very ugly throes of near-bankruptcy, and with Congress seemingly ready to let the Big Three die, maybe the off-reservation gaming proposals will have new legs in the 111th Congress?
Several questions need answering. First, how will the Obama Administration view Indian gaming, especially off-reservation? I wonder, given that the Administration doesn’t have much to gain politically by supporting tribal gaming, but might have much to lose. Tribes need to make the Obama Administration realize the benefits of off-reservation. Second, how will off-reservation gaming in southeastern Michigan help local economies? Again, tribes need to make a strong case, and it may be the same case made to answer the first question.
Turtle Talk 
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