Michigan Indian

Romulus Indian Gaming News

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

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.

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Marty Curry Promotes Local Food

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

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.

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GTB Boxer Kicks Butt

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is an article about GTB member Mitch Sullivan, son of one of our contributors!

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Detroit Auto Bailout & Indian Gaming Proposals: A Link?

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

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.

Romulus Casino Talk

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

Officials in Romulus, Michigan, are still interested in hosting off-reservation casinos even after Congress killed a bill to authorize two tribal facilities.

Officials plan to meet with the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians to discuss reviving the casino. A deal with the Hannahville Indian Community could be in the works too. With Congress looking at ways to bail out the auto industry in Michigan and considering economic packages, officials say now is a good time to think about the casinos again.

Get the Story:
Romulus casinos are still a possibility (The Journal Newspapers 11/20)

Interlochen Public Radio on the Great Lakes Compact

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From IPR:

Listen Now

INTERLOCHEN PUBLIC RADIO (2008-11-19) Michigan Congressman Bart Stupak will try again to address what he calls a serious flaw in the Great Lakes Compact. That’s the new law that bans diversions of water out of the basin. State legislatures and the Congress approved it overwhelmingly. But critics say the Compact leaves a door open for international companies to put unlimited quantities of water in containers and sell it. IPR’s Bob Allen reports.

Suit over LTBB Revenue Sharing Payments

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

A lawsuit over the distribution of gaming revenues from the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians will continue but the parties reached an agreement over payments for this year.

The tribe shares 2 percent of electronic gaming revenues from the Odawa Casino Resort with local communities. The Emmet County Local Revenue Sharing Board decides how to distribute the funds. Three educational institutions are suing the board over the distribution formula, saying they are entitled to a larger share. The tribe is not a party in the lawsuit.

Get the Story:
Agreement reached to delay casino revenue-sharing payments (The Petoskey News-Review 11/19)

Soo Tribe v. Bouschor et al. — Michigan Court of Appeals

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

The Michigan Court of Appeals affirmed, for the most part, the trial court’s decisions not to grant summary disposition of the various claims against former Sault Tribe chairman Bernard Bouschor and several others (Dan Green, Paul Shagen, Jim Jannetta, etc.) involving their severance packages in 2004. The claims against Miller Canfield appear to have been dismissed.

So I suppose the case will go to trial, unless settled. Interesting reading, to say the least….

Here is the opinion.

Federal Criminal Jurisdiction over Ontonagon Reservation in the Upper Peninsula

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Kudos to Jeff Davis for this one! The United States Attorney’s Office in Grand Rapids is prosecuting the taking of tribal timber on trust land on the Ontonagon Reservation of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. The defendant argued the reservation was no longer reservation land, but Judge Robert Holmes Bell rejected the motion. Interesting case!

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united-states-v-genschow-dct-opinion

Greektown Casino Bankrupty Materials — Motion to Extend Time

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here is a selection of materials on the Greektown Holdings LLC’s motion to extend its planning period for finalize bankruptcy for 90 days. Other materials are here.

greektown-motion-to-extend-planning-period

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