Here.
News Commentary on Port Huron Casino Likelihood
Here.
News
Quicken Loans Founder to Acquire Greektown Casino
Here.
Michigan Civil Rights Commission to File Discrmination Complaint with U.S. Dept. of Education over Indian Sports Names and Mascots
From the MCRC:
Later this morning, the Michigan Department of Civil Rights will file a complaint with the United States Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) on behalf of all present and future students who are, are descended from, or otherwise self-identify as American Indians. This complaint asks OCR to order an end to the use of American Indian mascots, names, terms, graphics and/or other imagery as a violation of equal protection for primary and secondary students.
Here are the materials:
MDCR_2-8-13_Discrimination_Complaint
MDCR_2_8_13_Supporting_Argument
MDCR_2-8-13_Appendix_A_-_References
NCAI Release in Support of Senate Version of VAWA
NCAI Reiterates Support for Senate Version of Violence Against Women Act;
Letter to Leahy and Crapo Calls for No Harmful Amendments to S.47
NCAI Policy Research Center Releases Brief on Violence Against Women Statistics
Washington, DC – In a letter sent to Senators Leahy and Crapo this morning, the National Congress of American Indians’ (NCAI) Taskforce on Violence Against Women expressed strong opposition to any harmful amendments offered to the Senate legislation to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA). In the letter to the Senate co-authors of the legislation, NCAI expressed unified opposition to amendments to VAWA that would strip tribal jurisdiction provisions or alter the current language in S. 47 in a harmful manner.
The letter sent by NCAI Task Force co-chairs Juana Majel Dixon (Pauma Band of Mission Indians, CA) and Terri Henry (Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, NC) can be downloaded here, and highlights examples of amendments which the organization opposes:
“Amendments which place more funding in the hands of federal authorities will not address…local need. We believe strongly that local government is the best government for addressing public safety concerns. For example, an amendment is being offered today which would require that tribal governments petition a U.S. District Court for an ‘appropriately tailored protection order excluding any persons from areas within the Indian country of the tribe.’ This level of procedure for an intimately local issue is not practical and will do little to improve matters on Indian reservations. Tribal courts are the appropriate venue to issue such protection orders.
Also, tribal courts and authorities are the appropriate triers of fact for domestic violence matters conducted on Indian reservations. The federal system has proven ineffective in many respects, but none as detrimental to the backbone of a community as the area of domestic violence against Native women. Further many tribal courts operate in much the same manner as state courts, albeit with smaller dockets and lesser degrees of crime as their sister governments: state and federal courts. Also, all tribal courts are bound by the Indian Civil Rights Act, which, as amended, guarantees all of the constitutional rights non-Native defendants have in state courts.”
Additionally, NCAI’s Policy Research Center released today a new Policy Insight Brief titled, Statistics on Violence Against Native Women. The brief aims to provide detail on previously reported statistics and original sources of data used often in policy discussions, specifically focusing on the context in which the disproportional violence against Native women happens. The brief synthesizes data and provides context for critical tribal provisions of S. 47:
“From what we know about the high rates of intimate partner violence against Native women, about the fact that assaults against Native women tend to take place at private residences, about the reports from Native women of perceived perpetrator race, and about the high rates of interracial marriage and unmarried partners of Native women, it is clear that violence against Native women tends to be perpetrated by non-Native men.”
NPR on ICWA in South Dakota
From tonight’s All Things Considered: here.
This week, officials from the Crow Creek Sioux Nation and seven other tribes in the state sent an extensive report to Congress accusing South Dakota of systematically violating the federal Indian Child Welfare Act. The federal law says that, with some exceptions, if the state removes a Native American child, the state must place that child with relatives, tribal members or other Native Americans.
The report, which the officials wrote with the help of the nonprofit Lakota People’s Law Project, concludes that in many instances the state does not have the authority to remove native children from tribal land. When the state does have that authority, through a tribal court order or tribal council agreement, the report says the state is failing to place the majority of those children according to the law.
NCAI on the Nomination of Sally Jewell as Interior Secretary
NCAI Statement on the Nomination of Sally Jewell
to Serve as U.S. Secretary of the Interior
Washington, DC – Today President Obama announced his selection for the next Secretary of the Department of the Interior, nominating Sally Jewell, CEO of the outdoor company REI. The National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) released the following statement regarding the Obama Administration’s swift action to nominate a successor for Department of the Interior Secretary Ken Salazar:
“NCAI welcomes the news that the Obama Administration has moved quickly to nominate an innovative leader to continue the momentum of the Department of the Interior achieved under Secretary Salazar. Sally Jewell’s diverse experience in energy, conservation, and stewardship efforts, presents an exciting opportunity for the country and tribal nations to make great strides and continue the transformation of the Department of the Interior under this President.
As a key partner in advancing the trust relationship between the United States and tribal nations, the Secretary of the Interior is a critical component in carrying forward this trust and fulfilling the promise of a new era in U.S. – tribal relations. Over the last four years, this trust relationship has a new focus from all corners of government.
Ms. Jewell’s career indicates that, like other leaders in the Northwest, her efforts have often intersected with and supported the timeless wisdom of tribal nations in relation to natural resource issues. Her career has also included service on boards of organizations that have partnered with tribes to expand educational opportunities for Native people, develop renewable and responsible energy solutions with the private sector and government agencies, and emphasize the importance of Native cultures and languages.
We look forward to working with President Obama and the next Interior Secretary to ensure that tribal nations remain central stakeholders and governments in conserving and managing the natural resources, lands, and communities of North America.
NCAI urges the Senate to take swift action to consider this nomination so that Interior can carry on its work that is vital not only to the first Americans, but all Americans.”
NPR: South Dakota Tribal ICW Directors’ Studies on State’s Incredible Lack of Compliance with the Indian Child Welfare Act
An excerpt:
South Dakota’s Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) directors have issued two reports to Congress: “Reviewing the Facts: An Assessment of the Accuracy of NPR’s ‘Native Foster Care – Lost Children, Shattered Families,’” and “Is South Dakota Over-Prescribing Drugs to Native American Foster Kids?” The first of these reports cites evidence that South Dakota’s Department of Social Services (DSS) is placing 87% of Indian children into non-Indian homes or group care, even while anywhere from 20-43% of licensed Native American foster homes in the state sit empty. This, according to the authors of the report, is in clear violation of the federal ICWA law which requires states to keep Native foster children with their extended families and tribes whenever possible. The study also affirms NPR’s assessment that the state’s ICWA violations are partly motivated by the tens of millions of federal dollars that South Dakota receives for placements of Native children each year.
Andrew Cohen on SCT Voting Rights Case Amicus Briefs (and the Navajo Amicus Brief)
Here. An excerpt:
We tend to think of the mission of the Voting Rights Act as focusing exclusively upon the plight of black Americans. But the federal statute has been a grace note to Hispanic organizations and American Indians as well. National Latino groups filed a powerful brief with the justices. And the Navajo Nation filed an amicus brief in this case, and it is poignant for its reminder that while white Americans were discriminating against black Americans they also were discriminating against Native Americans. The Navajo Nation writes:
Indian people have endured a century of discrimination and overcome new obstacles each generation in order to exercise the right to vote in state and federal elections. Nowhere have these struggles been more prevalent than in the Section 5 covered jurisdictions of Apache, Navajo and Coconino Counties in Arizona the home of the Navajo Nation and Todd and Shannon Counties in South Dakota the home of the Rosebud and Oglala Sioux. The amici curiae file this brief to elucidate the importance that the Voting Rights Act and, in particular, Section 5 preclearance, has had in overcoming the purposeful efforts to disenfranchise Indian voters.
While passage of the Voting Rights Act in 1965 ended certain means of discrimination, Indians continued to be denied the right to vote through a variety of new strategies. As part of the 2006 reauthorization process, Congress obtained evidence that Indians continued to be disenfranchised by voting schemes, polling place discrimination and ineffective language assistance. The 2006 reauthorization was a legitimate Congressional response to the disenfranchisement. Protected by the Section 5 preclearance, voter registration and turnout have increased, but new challenges have arisen that require continued vigilance.
Obama to Nominate CEO of REI to be Interior Secretary
From WaPo.
Gawker Video: American Indian Tells Immigration Protesters to Get Out
Here.
Turtle Talk 
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