Michigan Indian

Description: Lawyers in the Office of Legal Counsel serve as the Governor’s attorneys, providing analysis and advice on all legal and policy issues that involve the Governor. This includes a wide array of functions, including interpreting federal and state laws, advising the Governor and senior staff on legislation that may impact the powers and authorities of the Governor and the Governor’s office, and serving as the Governor’s lead advocate on litigation involving the Governor’s office and state agencies.

Law Clerks may assist attorneys in the Office of Legal Counsel with the following:

• Reviewing major litigation;

• Monitoring, researching, and drafting legislation;

• Researching and drafting Executive Orders and Executive Directives;

• Reviewing and advising on extradition, clemency, and other criminal matters and ethics issues; and

• Representing and advising the Governor in tribal-state relations

Candidates who have completed their first or second year of law school will be selected based on the following criteria:

• Exceptional legal research, writing, and communication skills;

• Ability to work in a fast-paced environment; and

• Ability to respond to a variety of legal issues that arise daily, requiring quick research, analysis, and response

Instructions for Applicants:

Applicants should send a resume, cover letter, transcript, writing sample, and one letter of recommendation by mail or email to the address below. The deadline for applications is February 22, 2019.

Wenona Singel
Deputy Legal Counsel
Office of the Governor, State of Michigan

George W. Romney Building

111 S. Capitol Avenue

Lansing, MI 48909

singelw@michigan.gov

Saginaw Chippewa Disenrollees’ Suit Dismissed

January 9, 2019Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order in Cavazos v. Zinke (D.D.C.):

16 DCT Order

Briefs here.

call-for-proposals-on-indian-ground-northern-woodlands.pdf

Chapter proposal due December 15, 2018.

JoAnne Cook: “Water Is the Essence of Life”

November 2, 2018November 2, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here, on the FLOW site.

An excerpt:

The Anishinaabek, who are the Indigenous people from the Great Lakes area, are born with an innate sense of our connection to everything around us. We feel the connection between us and all things in creation, whether it’s people, plants, or animals. We feel it in everything that is part of our Mother, the Earth. There is knowledge about creation and how it fits together and in balance. It isn’t easily expressed into words, as it is a way of thinking and being. We, the Anishinaabek, understand that living in balance with all things is what we seek. As caretakers of the Earth, we use what we need and strive to ensure it is there for the next seven generations.

GTB Press Release: “Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians Implements Authority to Prosecute All Persons, Including Non-Indians, for Domestic Violence”

November 1, 2018Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Peshawbestown, MI – During a legislative session today, the Tribal Council of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB) enacted amendments to the Domestic Violence Ordinance authorizing tribal police and justice officials to investigate and prosecute domestic violence crimes committed by non-Indians on tribal lands. Non-Indians who live or work on the reservation or have a marriage or dating relationship with a Native person now may be prosecuted by GTB for domestic and dating violence crimes, and for criminal violations of certain protection orders. Individuals who commit these crimes in Indian country can be arrested by tribal police, prosecuted in the Tribal Court, and sentenced to incarceration. Crimes committed outside of Indian country, between two strangers, between two non-Indians, or by a person without sufficient ties to GTB are not covered by the law.

The law guarantees substantive and procedural protections to the accused, including the rights to a jury trial, to an attorney, and to stay proceedings in the Tribal Court to petition for a writ of habeas corpus in a court of the United States.

“The epidemic of violence against Native women has worsened as a result of tribal governments’ forced reliance on distant federal officials for justice. Domestic violence demands a local solution. At long last, we have one,” said Council Chair Sam McClellan. “Tribal law enforcement officers are no longer required to obtain federal permission to arrest a non-Indian who perpetrates domestic violence against an Indian. Bad actors who assault our women are on notice: They will be prosecuted and put in jail.”

For the first time since 1978, when the U.S. Supreme Court stripped tribal governments of their criminal authority over non-Indians in Oliphant v. Suquamish Indian Tribe, the Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act of 2013 (VAWA 2013) has authorized Indian tribes to reassert a portion of their inherent governmental authority to investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence non-Indians who commit crimes in Indian country. The legislation begins the process of eliminating a jurisdictional gap on tribal lands that has for far too long endangered Native men, women, and children by tying the hands of tribal law enforcement.

Approximately twenty tribes around the United States have implemented the jurisdiction. By adding GTB to that list, the Grand Traverse Band Tribal Council demonstrates its commitment to confronting domestic violence, and to reversing the lasting damage it inflicts on Native families.