News

NYTs: Federal Officials Accuse Spirit Lake Tribal Leaders of Covering Up Child Sexual Abuse

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

An excerpt:

The tribe, according to federal and state administrators, has not conducted required background checks before placing foster children, failed to make mandated monthly visits to children in foster care and illegally removed foster children from homes and placed them elsewhere without determining that the new homes would be safe.

Unease about the tribe’s ability to adequately safeguard children has escalated in the past several weeks after two scathing, detailed e-mails were sent by federal officials to their superiors at the Department of Health and Human Services, alleging misconduct by reservation officials.

In a June 14 e-mail sent to his managers in Washington, Thomas F. Sullivan, the regional administrator for the Administration for Children and Families for six states, called on the government to declare a state of emergency at Spirit Lake, cut off the reservation’s federal financing and charge the tribe’s leader with child endangerment to combat what he described as “daunting” child abuse being covered up by the tribe.

ICT: Update in Indian Country Jobs Survey

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here. An excerpt:

Tribal leaders learned on July 2 that Interior is withholding a major “Labor Force Report” due to what the agency calls “methodology inconsistencies.” The problem was partially explained in a letter from Acting Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Donald Laverdure to tribal leaders. It says federally recognized tribes were asked in 2010 to participate in a web-based survey on population and employment statistics in order to provide the Department the information it needed to issue a report on tribal job and labor statistics. It does not indicate if every tribe participated.

The survey, which has roots going back to 1982, is important because it is supposed to depict the labor and employment landscape across a wide range of tribes facing a multitude of economic situations. Ideally, those tribes that are most poverty-stricken are identified so that they can receive help, while others with strong economies can offer insights on possible remedies and best practices. Tribes could use the data to make strong arguments to the U.S. Congress and Obama administration for targeted assistance that could make the most impact.

The report would also track the impact of the more than $3 billion the Obama administration provided to tribes under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 in an attempt to bolster tribal economies. That the administration hasn’t rushed to quantify this—especially in an election year—is a warning sign to some tribal observers that perhaps the money didn’t help the tribes that were struggling most.

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Three Trust Acquisitions for New Mexico Pueblos

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz.

Great Lakes NWF Report on Fracking in Michigan and Ohio

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

An excerpt from the website:

A new legal analysis by the National Wildlife Federation finds that laws in Michigan and Ohio need to be improved to protect the region’s streams, rivers, lakes, and wildlife from the risks of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” Energy companies use this controversial technique to extract natural gas from fine-grained shale, injecting a mix of water, chemicals, and sand into a well at high pressures to crack open the rock. The natural gas then flows out into the well and is captured aboveground.

Fracking has raised significant environmental concerns, including the potential for impacts on water quality and water-dependent natural resources.

“Our analysis shows that Michigan and Ohio are doing some things right, but the states remain vulnerable to risks associated with fracking,” said Sara Gosman, water resources attorney for the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes office and lecturer at the University of Michigan Law School. “We urge Michigan and Ohio to strengthen their laws to protect public health, wildlife and water resources now and for generations to come.”

Download the full report: Hydraulic Fracturing in the Great Lakes Basin: The State of Play in Michigan and Ohio

IPR on the Patchak Decision

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here. Audio here.

An excerpt:

By Bob Allen

A decision this week by the U.S. Supreme Court is seen as a setback for Indian tribes. The case involves the Gun Lake Tribe and its casino near Grand Rapids.

A neighbor is suing saying the casino is lowering property values and ruining the neighborhood.

As tribal attorneys see it, the Court opened a way for just about anyone to challenge the legitimacy of tribal lands. Land taken into trust by the federal over the last several years is especially vulnerable.

Matthew Fletcher is a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. He’s attorney and professor of law at Michigan State University.

And he tells IPR the decision is seen as a big set-back in Indian Country.

ICT In-Depth Report on Patchak Decision

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

An excerpt:

Asked if there is any lemonade to the lemon of a decision from the high court, Fletcher said, “Lemonade? Sotomayor is Indian country’s best friend. Read the three consequences part of her dissent and you can see she actually gets it. She understands the consequences of these decisions. She gets it more than any other Justice in Supreme Court history. And that’s a fact.”

Sotomayor’s first point of dissent is that the Quiet Title Act clearly states that the right to sue the federal government in property disputes “does not apply to trust or restricted lands.” The exception, Sotomayor says, reflects the view that a waiver of immunity is inconsistent with treaty commitments and other agreements with the tribes. By exempting Indian lands, Congress ensured that the government’s “‘solemn obligations” to tribes would not be “abridged’ without their consent. Her second argument is that the QTA provides for the preservation of the government’s right to retain possession or control of property even if a court rules that the government’s property claim is invalid. This provision ensures that a negative court ruling would not interfere with government operations. Sotomayor’s third point is the QTA limits the class of individuals who are allowed to sue the government to those with a “right, title or interest” in the property.

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ICT: 2012 Presidential Candidates Yet to Campaign in Indian Country

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Meant to post this last week….

Here. An excerpt:

In 2012, Native Americans across the land are wondering where on Earth—or in America, at least—the outreach has been from the presidential campaigns. For an election that is forecasted to be quite close—closer by the day, according to the most recent polls—in battleground states where Native populations, though comparatively small, could tip the scale. “This will probably be a very close election, and neither campaign should ignore any group of voters, especially one that is reliably supportive,” says Daniel McCool, a political science professor at the University of Utah and co-author of the 2007 book Native Vote: American Indians, the Voting Rights Act, and the Right to Vote.

Obama realized the opportunity early on in 2008, but Indian votes appear to be less important to him this time around. As of June 14, his Chicago camp hadn’t formally named an official Native vote coordinator or hierarchy, while operations to court African-American, Latino, Asian, Jewish, gay, and women voters were already established. His campaign website in 2008 had many Native blog posts and tribal endorsements. This year, nothing yet.

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MLive In-Depth Coverage of Patchak Decision

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

An excerpt:

The ruling, Fletcher said, was not really a surprise.

“This is a court that is pretty reluctant to rule in favor of Indian tribes and I think they are very skeptical of things like Indian gaming.”

Fletcher said the Sotomayor dissent highlights the destabilizing consequences of Monday’s decision. Wrote Sotomayor:

“… the majority’s rule will impose a substantial burden on the Government and leave an array of uncertainties. Moreover, it will open to suit lands that Congress and the Executive Branch thought the “national public interest” demanded should remain immune from challenge. Congress did not intend either result.”

Fletcher said that whereas parties seeking to challenge land-in-title decisions previously only had 30 days to file action, after Monday, tribes will likely have to wait six years to develop any property the government takes into trust while they wait out potential lawsuits against the use of the property.

“It’s very difficult to borrow money or do anything with land under those circumstances.’

The vast majority of Indian land-in-trust decisions by the government are for reasons like housing, treat rights, environmental protection and public safety. Very little are done for gaming reasons, Fletcher said.

Gun Lake Band’s Press Release on Patchak

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here:

PR Patchak Decision 6.18.12

The text:

Bradley, Michigan – Today the U.S. Supreme Court rejected motions by the Gun Lake Tribe and U.S. government seeking to have David Patchak’s lawsuit dismissed on procedural grounds. The Court’s decision expressly declined to say anything about the merits of Patchak’s lawsuit. It simply allows Patchak to go forward with his lawsuit back at the lower court. The Tribe is ready to continue fighting the lawsuit and is confident that it will ultimately prove that Patchak’s claims are completely without merit.
“The Supreme Court clearly stated that this decision was not based on the merits. This is simply a procedural decision that has no impact on operations at Gun Lake Casino. The Casino will continue to operate, employ over 800 area residents, and provide millions of dollars to state and local governments,” said D.K. Sprague, Tribal Chairman.
The likely course of action is a remand by the U.S. Court of Appeals District of Columbia Circuit to U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia before Judge Richard Leon. Judge Leon’s decision in January of 2009 to grant a procedural motion by the Tribe and U.S. would have ended Patchak’s lawsuit.
“This simply means that Patchak’s lawsuit can go forward before the federal courts, which may take many more years to finally resolve it. We are ready to continue that fight in federal court and we are confident the facts will clearly prove once and for all that Patchak’s claims have absolutely no merit. The Tribe would prefer to devote its resources to the economic development of the area; however, since Patchak’s lawsuit dictates otherwise, the Tribe will do what is necessary to prevail.”

MLive Coverage of Patchak Decision

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

An excerpt:

The nation’s highest court has decided to allow a lawsuit to move forward which threatens to shut down gaming at the Gun Lake Casino in Wayland Township.

In an 8-1 ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld a lower court decision to allow former Wayland Township trustee David Patchak to continue with his lawsuit in federal district court.

Patchak, backed by anonymous benefactors, has challenged how the federal government took land in trust for the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, also known as the Gun Lake Tribe, in order for them to construct a casino.

Who are these people?