Michigan Indian

Federal Court Affirms Sault Ste. Marie Tribe’s Sovereign Immunity to Bankruptcy Proceeding

Sarah M Donnelly

Here are the materials in the matter of Buchwald Capital Advisors, LLC v. Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, 16-cv-13643 (E.D. Mich. January 23, 2018)(In re: Greektown Holdings, LLC, #08-53104, Bankr. E.D. Mich.):

Link: Case archive

Saginaw Chippewa Tribe Awarded Attorney Fees, BCBSM is Not

Sarah M Donnelly

Here is the order in Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan et al v. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, 16-cv-10317 (E.D. Mich.):

132 – Order Denying Defendant’s Motion for Attorney Fees, Granting in Part Plaintiffs’ Motion for Attorney Fees, and Granting in Part Motion to Review Taxed Bill of Costs

Sixth Circuit Affirms Denial of Permissive Intervention by Saginaw Chippewa in Bay Mills v. Snyder

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the order:

BMIC v. Snyder CA6 Unpublished Opinion

Briefs here.

Michigan Tribal Response to Michigan’s Line 5 Deeply Flawed Report

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Tribal Comments on Dynamic Risk Final Alternatives Analysis 12-22-2017

GTB 12-20-17 letter to governor

Jeff Davis to Join Private Practice

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Jeff Davis, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and the tribal liaison for the Western District of Michigan, has decided to leave the United States Attorney’s Office in Grand Rapids for private practice. Here is his letter to tribes announcing his departure:

Jeff Davis Letter

Jeff has been the tribal liaison for the Western District of Michigan for many years. Long before the Indian Law and Order Commission (of which he was a member), the Michigan Tribal-State-Federal Judicial Forum (of which was also a participant), and VAWA (which he has been instrumental in implementing), Jeff was one of the relatively few AUSAs in the country who took Indian country crime seriously. Well, he was one of the first and often only tribal liaisons west of the Mississippi for many years. He leaves an important legacy for the next tribal liaison in GR.

We wish Jeff luck in his new endeavors. Miigwetch is the right way to say thanks and chi-miigwetch is the way to say many thanks, but neither captures the amount of gratitude Indian country owes Jeff Davis.

Sixth Circuit Briefs in Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe v. Blue Cross Blue Shield

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Saginaw Chippewa Opening Brief

BCBS Brief

Reply Brief

Nick Reo & Kyle Whyte et al. on Indigenous Principles for Cooperating on Great Lakes Conservation

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Nick Reo, Kyle Whyte, and others have posted “Seven Indigenous principles for successful cooperation in Great Lakes conservation initiatives.”

Grand Traverse Band Statement on the Navajo Code Talkers

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

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GTB Statement to Honor the Navajo Code Talkers

To the Editor:

On behalf of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, I wish to express gratitude to the Navajo Nation’s Code Talkers for their service in World War II, and for their recent poise and grace in the face of the President’s cultural insensitivity.

In front of a backdrop portrait of Andrew Jackson—an Indian antagonist whose forced removal of Indian Tribes, commonly known as the Trail of Tears,—President Trump attempted to betray the Code Talkers by invoking a political slur against Senator Elizabeth Warren, who like many Americans, claims tribal descendancy. America’s Indian heritage should be a source of pride for all Americans.
The Navajo Code Talkers signify America’s constructive historical experience: Their Navajo/Diné language served as an unbreakable military code without which America would not have won World War II. Rather than praising the Code Talkers for the achievement, Trump debased himself during the ceremony by using an unnecessary slur in the presence of these Elder Navajo War Heroes.

Although the President obscured the message, the point of the ceremony has not been lost: It is to honor the Navajo Code Talkers as unique to America, and to recognize that they represent the pain and promise of American history. As Americans, we should embrace our shared history. For bearing this message, the Grand Traverse Band thanks the Navajo Code Talkers.

Update in KBIC Suit against Michigan Treasury Dept.

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the materials in Keweenaw Bay Indian Community v. Khouri (W.D. Mich.):

99 state motion re state prosecutions

115 kb motion for protective order

126 kb motion for summary j re sales and use taxes

143 magistrate order granting protective order

Fletcher Paper on States and American Indian Citizenship Rights (+ ICWA)

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is “States and Their American Indian Citizens,” recently published in the American Indian Law Review.

An excerpt:

This article is intended to provide a theoretical framework for tribal advocates seeking to approach state and local governments to discuss cooperation with Indian nations, with a special emphasis on Indian child welfare. While the federal government has a special trust relationship with Indians and Indian nations, Indian people are also citizens and residents of the states in which they live. Thus, states have obligations to Indians as well.

This article posits the fairly controversial and novel position that states have obligations to guarantee equal protection to all citizens, including American Indians (and non-Indians) residing in Indian country. In other words, states have an affirmative obligation to ensure that reservation residents, Indian and non-Indian, receive the same services from states that off-reservation residents receive.