Michigan Indian

Pokagon Revenue Sharing Dispute Under Negotiation

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Michigan City News-Dispatch:

ST. JOSEPH, Mich. – Negotiations between the state and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians to resolve problems blocking the distribution of casino revenue to local governments should wrap up in 60 to 90 days, a tribal official said.

The tribe, saying it was concerned over actions taken in forming the Local Revenue Sharing Board and its bylaws, withheld in escrow the first payment from electronic gambling earnings at the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo Township. The payment was due in December.

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ICT: Saginaw Chippewa vs. the Unions

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From ICT:

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – In an effort to ward off unionization efforts under the federal National Labor Relations Act, some tribes have adopted labor laws that allow employees to organize under tribal law. The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe has taken a different approach.

”The position of this tribe is that the National Labor Relations Act does not apply to Indian tribes and the National Labor Relations Board does not have jurisdiction, and, that being the case, we don’t believe we have to adopt an ordinance that allows union organizing to occur. The ordinance the tribe adopted prohibits union organizing,” said Saginaw Chippewa attorney Sean Reed.

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Radio Podcast re: Grand Traverse Band’s Successful Child Welfare Program

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

More than 18,000 children and teens live in Michigan’s child welfare system. Officials in Lansing say there are too many kids who have been taken from their homes to live in the care of strangers. In Leelanau County social workers with the local Indian tribe say they had almost 40 kids in state care a decade ago – but not anymore. What the Grand Traverse Band is doing right And what native traditions of family life can teach us about helping struggling families stick together.

Here is the radio podcast.

Frank Ettawageshik on CNN

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

From cnn.com:

Shoutout

AZUZ: Time for the Shoutout! From which Native American tribe was the leader Geronimo? If you think you know it, shout it out! Was it: A) Apache, B) Blackfoot, C) Cherokee or D) Dakota? You’ve got three seconds — GO! Geronimo was an Apache leader known for his courage and determination.

Saying Sorry

LLOYD: All of those tribes, along with the rest of the Native American community, are getting an apology from the U.S. government. Now, you guys know that saying “I’m sorry” isn’t always an easy thing to do. But it’s important, especially when you’re apologizing for wrongs that took place over hundreds of years. Kate Bolduan fills us in on the details.

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Jeff Parker in Business Week re: Metro Detroit Casino Proposals

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Business Week:

MGM Mirage’s Hidden Card

The flyers mailed to homes across Michigan in late January looked like the handiwork of a group bitterly opposed to gambling. They pictured dice emblazoned with exclamation marks, piles of crumpled-up cash, and text blaring: “Washington Poised to Force Two New Casinos on Michigan Families. Only You Can Stop the Special Interests.” The outfit behind this grassroots campaign calls itself Gambling Watch.

As it turns out, Gambling Watch is a tiny operation financed by MGM Mirage (MGM), one of the world’s largest gaming companies. MGM is locked in a bitter dispute with two Native American tribes that hope to open casinos in Michigan. The Las Vegas company inaugurated a new $800 million casino in downtown Detroit in October and is not in the mood for competition. There’s nothing underhanded about its tactics, MGM says. “We’ve made no secret of where we are on this,” says Alan Feldman, senior vice-president for public affairs at MGM Mirage.

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Detroit News: Feds Defend Casino Plan Rejections

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Detroit News:

WASHINGTON — Indian tribes face long odds in winning federal approval for casinos hundreds of miles away from their reservations, the Bush administration told Congress on Wednesday.

In defending the decision to reject 22 such off-reservation casino applications around the country, officials further angered tribal leaders who told the House Resources Committee that the government is trying to force Indians to stay on reservations with high unemployment and few opportunities.

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Grand Traverse Band Revenue Sharing Slowly Declining

Matthew L.M. Fletcher4 Comments

From the Leelanau Enterprise (H/T Indianz):

This winter’s “2-percent” payments from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians are down for the third year in a row to the lowest level in more than a decade.

The twice-yearly payments represent two percent of the revenues earned from video slot machines at the tribe’s Leelanau Sands Casino in Peshawbestown and Turtle Creek Casino in Grand Traverse County. The tribe is required to pay out the money to local units of government in the immediate vicinity of tribal casinos for governmental services and “for impacts associated with existence” of tribal casinos in their vicinity under terms of a 1993 federal court consent decree. Since 1994, the tribe has paid out around $18 million in “2-percent” money.

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The Issues in Carcieri v. Kempthorne

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The two questions presented in Carcieri v. Kempthorne have significant import for much of Indian Country. But it might be a mistake to conclude the first question (whether the Secretary can take land into trust for tribes that were not federally recognized in 1934, when the Indian Reorganization Act was passed) is an Indian law question. The outcome of that question may turn on the Supreme Court’s decision in National Cable & Communications Assn v. Brand X Internet Services, 545 U.S. 967 (2005). Huh?!?!?

Consider the United States’ brief in opposition to the petition for cert:

    As this Court held in [Brand X], a “judicial precedent” does not “foreclose an agency from interpreting an ambiguous statute” in a reasonable way that differs from the “court’s opinion as to the best reading” of the statute, unless “the prior court decision holds that its construction follows from the unambiguous terms of the statute and thus leaves no room for agency discretion.” [Brand X, at 982-83.]

Cert Opp at 9.

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Security Guards Drop Effort to Unionize Soaring Eagle at Saginaw Chippewa

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

Security guards at the casino owned by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan have dropped efforts to unionize.

The International Union Security Police & Fire Professionals of America petitioned the National Labor Relations Board for a vote at the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort. But the effort was dropped for an unexplained reason, The Mt. Pleasant Morning Sun reported. Housekeeping staff at the casino tried to organize last year. But they voted 2-1 against unionization.

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Off-Reservation Casino Bills Inspire Big Fight — Bay Mills & Sault Tribe

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

Disgraced Republican lobbyists Jack Abramoff is in prison but his name is being thrown around a lot as the House considers legislation to authorize two off-reservation casinos.

Abramoff lobbied against casinos sought by tribes in Louisiana and Michigan. One of his former clients was the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan, which spent $14 million in hopes of defeating rival gaming projects. The Saginaw Chippewas dumped Abramoff but the tribe is opposing legislation to allow the Bay Mills Indian Community and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians to open casinos hundreds of miles from existing reservation. Other opponents include members of the Congressional Black Caucus and Las Vegas gaming interests. “I’m somewhat optimistic that we can get this through Congress, which is not to say it isn’t going to be a battle,” Bay Mills Chairman Jeff Parker told The Port Huron Times Herald. “Those opposed to this for financial reasons will continue to throw money at it.”

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