News

Sault Tribe Chair Resigns

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Sault Tribe News:

Sault Tribe Chairman Resigns

Written by Communications Department

Tuesday, 10 May 2011

Sault Ste. Marie, MI – Sault Tribe Chairman Darwin “Joe” McCoy on Tuesday night announced his immediate resignation as the elected leader of the 39,000-member Tribe.

His brief resignation letter to the Sault Tribe Board of Directors provided no specific reasons for his decision to resign other than “circumstances beyond my control.”

McCoy had served for nearly three years as Chairman after being elected by members of the Tribe.

Under the Tribe’s Constitution:

1. Board Vice Chairperson Lana Causley will serve as interim Chairperson until a successor is appointed or elected.

2. The Sault Tribe Board will decide as soon as possible whether to either appoint a successor, as specified in the Tribal constitution, or call an advisory special election to fill the seat under Tribal law.

All Board members pledged a smooth transition to the new chairperson.

Michigan Law Student Protest at Commencement against Anti-Gay Senator

ilpc1 Comment

Here (video link also):

In many ways Senior Day 2011 at the Michigan Law School was like any other commencement ceremony. Graduates donned caps and gowns. They discussed their time together and their plans for the future. Families asked passersby to snap photos of themselves with the new lawyer in the clan. Graduates and guests laughed politely at Dean Evan Caminker’s attempts at humor. It was a day of celebration.

But it was also a time for protest.

As families and friends entered Hill Auditorium they were handed a pamphlet explaining how this year’s Senior Day ceremony would be a little bit different than normal. The pamphlet explained the students’ plans to walk out during Senator Rob Portman’s commencement address.

Portman, a 1984 alum of the law school, was a six-term congressman before being tapped by President George W. Bush in 2005 to serve as the U.S. Trade Representative and, later, director of the Office of Management and the Budget, both cabinet-level positions. He was elected to the U.S. Senate in November 2010.

Portman came under fire for his voting record. He has opposed gay adoption in Washington, D.C. and opposes gay marriage. A number of students who took part in the protest said that such views are incompatible with basic, human dignity.

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Interlochen Public Radio: Many Natives Bristle at “Geronimo” Codename

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

By Linda Stephan

American Indians across the U.S. are voicing frustration with the codename used for the mission to capture and kill Osama bin Laden.

The radio call that came shortly after bin Laden’s death was: Geronimo E.K.I.A., meaning: Geronimo, Enemy Killed In Action.

“Why did it have to be Geronimo? Why did that have to be referenced? There was no need for that. You just alienated Indian Country from sharing fully in this moment,” says Derek Bailey, chair of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. He says the good news of bin Laden’s death will always be tainted for him by a codename that links the Al-Qaeda leader with an 19th Century Apache warrior many in Indian Country today see as hero.

Bailey says he hopes this will force national discussion on the use of native stereotypes. Coincidentally, that issue will be taken up by a U.S. Senate committee Thursday

Geronimo was a native warrior who fought against the invasion of Apache tribal lands in the 1800s. He evaded U.S. authorities for years.

Matthew Fletcher, head of the Indigenous Law Center at MSU College of Law, says he wasn’t surprised to hear the codename.

“The federal government, particularly the military and parts of the Department of Justice have been using Indian stereotypes for a long time to describe bad guys,” he says.

The National Congress of American Indians released a statement today from its president, Jefferson Keel. It says: “To associate a Native warrior with bin Laden is not an accurate reflection of history and it undermines the military service of Native people…”

According to the group, 61 American Indian and Alaskan Native service members have died in Afghanistan and Iraq since 2001. Close to 450 have been wounded.

What Is It with the U.S. Military and Indians?

Matthew L.M. Fletcher7 Comments

First it was al Qaeda and the Seminole Tribe (postings here and here and here).

Now its Osama bin Laden and Geronimo (articles here and here, thanks to C.F).

Troy Eid on the Indian Law and Order Commission

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the article from ICT.

The text:

The Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA), signed into law by President Obama last July with bipartisan support, makes federal agencies more accountable for serving Indian lands. TLOA also provides greater freedom for tribes to design and run their own criminal justice systems.

TLOA’s reforms—including enhanced sentencing options for tribal courts, expanded Indian Country law enforcement training, and greater transparency for federal prosecutors who decline to file cases—are welcome and long overdue. Yet many of the greatest challenges to securing equal justice for Native Americans living and working on Indian lands are structural. They’re rooted in a system of federal institutions, laws and practices that pre-date the modern era of tribal sovereignty and self-determination, and which TLOA does little or nothing to change.

That’s why TLOA created the Indian Law and Order Commission. This independent, all-volunteer advisory group, whose nine members were appointed by the President and Congress, is charged with looking beyond the horizon.

TLOA directs the Commission to report back to the White House and Capital Hill next year with specific proposals to make Indian Country safer and more just, so that Native Americans may finally receive the full protections guaranteed to all U.S. citizens by the Constitution.

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Tsunami could erase Northwest Washington village – bellinghamherald.com

Ann Tweedy

Here’s an article about the Quileute Tribe’s efforts to move its village to avoid tsunami dangers:  Tsunami could erase Northwest Washington village – Northwest McClatchy – bellinghamherald.com.

Keepseagle Judge Questions Use of Major National Banks to Safeguard Settlement Funds

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From BLT:

The federal judge overseeing the $750 million settlement in a Native American class action expressed concern Tuesday over the selection of four banks in which the plaintiffs’ lawyers want to invest money before checks are cut to potentially thousands of beneficiaries.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers in Keepseagle v. Vilsack, a suit over discrimination in the government’s loan processing for Native American farmers and ranchers, proposed splitting and investing about $600 million in Bank of America Corporation, Wells Fargo & Company, Citigroup, Inc. and PNC Financial Services. A fifth bank, owned by a Native American tribe in Oklahoma, would receive about $18 million.

At a hearing in the case yesterday in Washington federal district court, U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan criticized the selection of the four major banks, saying the plaintiffs’ team failed to fully examine the use of Native American or minority-owned banks.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers, he said, should have sent proposal requests to more banks outside of the major national institutions. The judge called the selection of the big four banks “suspect” and asked whether their designation marked “business as usual.”

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NFL Player Fails Chickasaw Boxing Commission Drug Test, Then Passes Test in Chicago

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the article on ESPN:

OKLAHOMA CITY — Tom Zbikowski’s manager said Tuesday the Baltimore Ravens safety is appealing a positive drug test administered after a weekend boxing match in Oklahoma.

Zbikowski took another test Tuesday at a Chicago lab that came back negative, said his manager, Mike Joyce, who hopes the Chickasaw Nation Gaming Commission overturns a 45-day suspension leveled against his client.

“We pray that they act in an expedited manner,” Joyce told The Associated Press. “We are going to try to keep fighting, to see if we can get the deal overturned.”

Zbikowski fought Saturday at the WinStar World Casino in Thackerville in far southern Oklahoma, knocking out Blake Warner of Oklahoma City in the first round and improving his pro record to 4-0. The casino is owned by an American Indian tribe, the Chickasaw Nation.

After the second boxing card ever held at the casino, 16 fighters underwent drug tests and five of them came back positive. Haskell Alexander, the deputy commissioner of the Chickasaw Nation Gaming Commission, suspended those fighters for 45 days.

Joyce said he’s been told Zbikowski tested positive for traces of THC, a substance found in marijuana. That test result caught those connected with Zbikowski off guard, including Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, the CEO of Top Rank Boxing, which promotes Zbikowski.

“Anybody could have a trace [of THC],” Arum said. “If you’re in a railroad station or an airport and somebody is smoking a joint and you walk by, you can have a trace. Boxing commissions, knowing that, have elevated the level [of testing] for marijuana so that it doesn’t pick up the traces.

“But this one did. I know Tommy doesn’t smoke.”

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AP News Coverage of U.S. v. TON Opinion

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

BLT: Indian-Owned Bank Amongst Five to Hold Keepseagle Settlement Funds

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the BLT:

The plaintiffs’ lawyers overseeing the $750 million settlement in a discrimination suit brought by Native American farmers and ranchers proposed using five banks in which to deposit and invest settlement funds until the money is disbursed to class members.

Four banks—Bank of America Corporation, Wells Fargo & Company, Citigroup, Inc. and PNC Financial Services—would each receive about $150 million from the compensation fund payment to invest, the plaintiffs’ lawyers in Keepseagle v. Vilsack said in a court filing (PDF) April 22 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

In addition, a fifth bank, Bank2 of Oklahoma, would receive about $18 million to hold. The plaintiffs’ team, led by Joseph Sellers of Washington’s Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll, said Bank2 is owned by the Chickasaw Nation and is the largest mortgage lender to Native Americans. Sellers said the plaintiffs’ team sought out a Native American-owned bank to reinforce the settlement’s connection with the Indian community. The United States Department of Agriculture helped research the identification of a bank.

U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan said in an order today that he wants the plaintiffs’ lawyers to discuss the bank selection process at a hearing Tuesday. The lawyers are meeting with Sullivan to go over a dispute about attorneys’ fees and costs. The judge asked the lawyers to come prepared to discuss, among other things, “the credentials” of the selected banks.

One hopes the Chickasaw-owned bank isn’t worrying the judge….