As we blogged before, the Michigan Court of Appeals recently decided Moses v. State, in which an Indian sought to overturn his conviction on the basis that the land upon which the crime was committed with Indian Country; specifically, Saginaw Chippewa Indian Country.
Here are the briefs:
By Christina Rohn News-Review Staff Writer
Wednesday, January 16, 2008 9:32 AM EST
A groundbreaking new course is being offered at Harbor Springs High School — Anishinaabemowin, the native language of Odawa Indians. The class, which is a collaboration between the Little Traverse Bay Bands (LTBB) of Odawa Indians and Harbor Springs Public Schools, began in September 2007 — the beginning of the current school year.
Returning the Gift: Native Writers Conference March 13-15, 2008
Registration is now available on line at http://www.aisp.msu.edu/events.html
Space in each workshop is limited, so register early. Continue reading
The Grand Rapids Public Museum is having a huge public event on Saturday, January 19th. Doors open at 9:00 and the festivities begin shortly thereafter. The Native American community will be involved with the drum and dancers leading the opening procession, at approximately 10:45 and also in the Fashion Showcase that happens at 1:00. This is a showcase of traditional attire used by the various ethnic groups of the city of Grand Rapids and will be a wonderful sight for all to see. The impetus for this is the opening of the new permanent exhibit: Newcomers, The People of This Place that is the companion of the permanent Anishinabek Exhibit. It tells the stories of various groups that have moved into West Michigan to make this their home.
The event is free and the doors remain open until 6:00.
From Debra Muller.
From the Observer & Eccentric Newspapers:
Milford Moments in Time
According to the book “Ten Minutes Ahead of the Rest of the World, A History of Milford,” Elizur and Stanley Ruggles were attracted to the Milford area back in 1831 because of its flowing river. They were also smitten by the beauty of the land, and so they staked their claim. However, both the local waterways and rich surrounding land were utilized by many people long before these pioneers settled the area.
From the Munster Times:
VALPARAISO | Most Hoosiers don’t realize that nearly 42,000 of the state’s residents are American Indians, said Brian Buchanan, chairman of the Indiana Native American Indian Affairs Commission.
From the Missoulian:
Justice worked Burns investigation regardless of election calendar
By CHARLES S. JOHNSON
HELENA – The recent announcement that former Sen. Conrad Burns is no longer under criminal investigation by the Justice Department came as a welcome relief to him.
More coverage from the Kalamazoo Gazette and the Muskegon Chronicle. The Chronicle’s coverage denotes significant skepticism:
The standing-room-only crowd at the casino presentation by the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians left Muskegon City Hall on Monday night wondering whether the western Upper Peninsula tribe’s proposal was realistic.
Last week, the Department of Interior rejected fee-to-trust applications for eleven tribes . Matthew has linked to the rejection letters elsewhere on this site. In rejecting these applications, the DoI has changed the method by which it will review all fee-to-trust applications under 25 C.F.R. Part 151. On January 3rd, Assistant Secretary of Interior Carl Artman , issued a letter to the BIA’s Regional Directors that established that all future applications will be subjected to a “commutable distance” test. In other words, if a tribe seeks to have land placed into trust, even for non-gaming economic development purposes, it must be within a distance where tribal citizens on the existing reservation can reasonably commute to jobs at the site. This had previously not been the case.
From Indianz:
The Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians is seeking an off-reservation casino in Muskegon, Michigan.
Turtle Talk 
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