News

As early as Tuesday morning, the Committee for More Michigan Jobs could get approval from the State Board of Canvassers to launch a campaign to persuade Michigan voters to let the group build those two casinos and six more. If the developers convince voters to amend the Michigan Constitution, it could usher in the largest expansion of gambling since Detroit won three casinos in 1996.

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Backers include former Granholm administration budget director Mitch Irwin, an East Lansing Democrat, and former House Speaker Rick Johnson, a Cadillac-area Republican. The Detroit partnership has lined up names such as Four Tops singer Duke Fakir, boxing promoter Emanuel Steward and Detroit funeral director O’Neil Swanson as major investors.

Despite the big names and big money, however, the outcome is far from certain. The proposal faces opposition from Indian tribes that operate outstate casinos and existing Detroit casino operators not keen on new competition.

“We are confident the voters of Michigan will reject this unprecedented expansion of gaming,” said James Nye, spokesman for Protect MI Vote, a coalition that includes MGM Grand Detroit and Greektown Casino-Hotel in Detroit; the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe, owner of Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort in Mt. Pleasant, and the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi, owner of FireKeepers Casino near Battle Creek.

Canadian Aboriginal Senator Bloodied and Beaten by Opposing Member of Parliament

April 2, 2012Peter Scott Vicaire

The attack by the MP and son of a former Canadian Prime Minister was relentless. Read the story here as well as watch actual video of the brutal attack here.

Michigan Indian Country Crime Report

April 2, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Man Sentenced For Murder on Indian Reservation (U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan – http://www.justice.gov/usao/mie/)

Daniel Lawrence Fuller, 31, of Mount Pleasant Mich., was sentenced to 300 months in prison and five years supervised release for second degree murder on March 22, 2012. Fuller pleaded guilty to the charge on Dec. 7, 2012. The evidence at the plea hearing established that on July 10, 2010, Fuller strangled his sister, Iva Joy Fuller, to death on the Isabella Reservation.

Man Sentenced for Shooting Gun Inside House on Indian Reservation (U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan – http://www.justice.gov/usao/mie/)

Gonnzalo Alaniz Jr., 44, of Mount Pleasant, Mich., was sentenced to 14 months in prison and two years of supervised release on March 22, 2012. Alaniz was sentenced in connection to his guilty plea on Oct. 11, 2011. The evidence at the plea hearing established that on Feb. 23, 2011, Alaniz discharged a firearm on the Isabella Reservation after having previously been convicted of a felony.

Here is our post on Prof. Singel’s nomination.

New Book on Cherokee Syllabary

March 28, 2012Kate Fort

ICT has two articles on Ellen Cushman’s new book, The Cherokee Syllabary: Writing the People’s Perseverance.

Here is the interview with the author, and here is the review of the book.

Cushman, a Cherokee Nation citizen, writes in her preface about the questions generated by a poster of the Cherokee syllabary chart that hangs in her office. Visitors ask, “Why so many characters? How is this learned? Why these shapes? Where can I find samples of writing in Sequoyan? Is it even still used? What does it all mean?”

Cushman, wondering herself, set out to answer these and other queries. Her first few chapters detail the story of Sequoyah and how the writing system evolved from handwritten script to the printing press. Then the author delves into the deeper meaning of the syllabary itself. In theorizing about how the original handwritten script may have had many linguistic meanings built into its very shapes, she actually strips down the syllables digitally to their core shapes and creates a table comparing them. All this makes for a fascinating discussion.

The narrative then flows into how the script was later adapted to the printing press. Cushman notes that despite the influence of missionary groups, the final product was not informed by the English alphabet, even though some Cherokee syllables ended up resembling English alphabetic shapes. It was a Cherokee product from start to finish.

SCT of Canada Orders Lower Courts to Consider Aboriginal History When Sentencing Natives

March 25, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in R. v. Ipeelee.

An excerpt from the Court’s syllabus:

When sentencing an Aboriginal offender, a judge must consider the factors outlined in R. v. Gladue, [1999] 1 S.C.R. 688: (a) the unique systemic or background factors which may have played a part in bringing the particular Aboriginal offender before the courts; and (b) the types of sentencing procedures and sanctions which may be appropriate in the circumstances for the offender because of his or her particular Aboriginal heritage or connection. Systemic and background factors may bear on the culpability of the offender, to the extent that they shed light on his or her level of moral blameworthiness. Failing to take these circumstances into account would violate the fundamental principle of sentencing— that the sentence must be proportionate to the gravity of the offence and the degree of responsibility of the offender. The Gladue principles direct sentencing judges to abandon the presumption that all offenders and all communities share the same values when it comes to sentencing and to recognize that, given these fundamentally different world views, different or alternative sanctions may more effectively achieve the objectives of sentencing in a particular community. The principles from Gladue are entirely consistent with the requirement that sentencing judges engage in an individualized assessment of all of the relevant factors and circumstances, including the status and life experiences, of the person standing before them. Gladue affirms this requirement and recognizes that, up to this point, Canadian courts have failed to take into account the unique circumstances of Aboriginal offenders that bear on the sentencing process. Section 718.2(e) is intended to remedy this failure by directing judges to craft sentences in a manner that is meaningful to Aboriginal peoples.

News coverage here.

H/t to RK.

WSJ on the Grand Canyon Controversy

March 24, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here. Or just go to Google news and enter “hualapai grand canyon”.

An excerpt:

The legal battle is testing the limits of business partnerships between tribes and non-Indians and is pitting tribal government leaders against one another. At stake are future profits of the lucrative Skywalk and at least $10 million in profits that the bridge has accumulated—now locked in an escrow account while the tribe fights with Mr. Jin.

“Our business is being destroyed by a handful of self-interested [tribal] government officials who are stealing our business and trampling our rights” said Troy Eid, a lawyer for Mr. Jin and former U.S. attorney for Colorado.

The tribe argues that it is Mr. Jin who “makes a promise, breaks it, then changes his story,” said Paul Charlton, the tribe’s lawyer and former U.S. attorney in Arizona.

Grand Traverse Band Council Expresses “Outrage” at Renaming of T.C. State Park after Keith J. Charters

March 22, 2012March 22, 2012Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the letter sent yesterday to the Michigan Natural Resources Commission by the tribal council:

By motion enacted today, the Tribal Council of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (“GTB”) protests the renaming of the Traverse City State Park. The new sign proclaiming the “Keith J. Charters Traverse City State Park” is an outrage, given that Mr. Charters is responsible for an additional 825 feet of beach not being added to the park. We refer to the adjacent property immediately west of the state park beach area (including Mitchell Creek before it flows into East Bay), which is now open space and beachfront where our “Cross Creek” motel previously was located.

Here is the letter:

03-21-12 MI-NRC ltr

Turtle Talk

Freep: 8 New Casinos For Michigan Proposed