News

An excerpt:

There appears to be a lot of interest in a new kind of court in Washtenaw County.

More than 80 lawyers, mediators, and probation officers packed Judge Timothy Connors’ courtroom on Friday.

They were there for a six-hour education session on the Native American philosophy that guides the new peacemaking court.

The program was led by Tribal Council member and former Tribal Judge JoAnne Gasco and Court Peacemaker Paul Raphael from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottowa and Chippewa Indians.

ILOC Chair Troy Eid Op/Ed in Denver Post

January 31, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here. An excerpt:

Yet there’s another massive PTSD tragedy in Colorado and across our country. It generates virtually zero public attention because it concerns what may be the most vulnerable group of our citizens: Native Americans and Alaska Natives. Because they’re exposed so frequently to violent crime, an astonishing one in four Native American juveniles currently suffers from PTSD.

That’s the same PTSD rate as returning veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq.

Nipmuc Nation v. Jewell — Complaint Seeking Federal Recognition

January 28, 2014January 27, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

Complaint

News coverage here.

NNABA Letter in Support of Diane Humetewa

January 27, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

NNABA Humetewa Letter 2014

The Senate Judiciary Committee hearing is tomorrow at 10AM. It will be broadcast here.

Diane Humetewa’s Judicial Confirmation Hearing Set for Tuesday Morning

January 24, 2014January 23, 2014ilpc

Announcement and hearing list here.

Bigotry Piled on Top of Bigotry: More from Oakland County

January 22, 2014January 23, 2014Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here’s a quote from an L. Brooks Patterson defender:

As for his comment about the fulfillment of an old prediction he made that Detroit would become the equivalent of an Indian reservation, with the people waiting for corn and blankets to be tossed in, well, the remark was crude, but not far off the mark. Get off the freeways and drive into the city’s neighborhoods. You’ll see vast wastelands of blight and abandonment, with a population largely dependent on government hand-outs.

Get out of Oakland County, pal, head to Michigan Indian country and you’ll see a bunch of local governments near Indian reservations thankful for all of the economic development and shared governance generated by Michigan’s 12 Indian tribes.

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