Here: Statement by LVD Tribal Council.
News
News Coverage of LVD Council Jailing
WATERSMEET — It has been a politically charged few weeks for the Lac Vieux Desert Tribe but things turned criminal on Wednesday.
All nine members of the tribal council were held in contempt of court after refusing to swear in the new chairman and treasurer and are now sitting in jail.
Judge Bradley Dakota’s ruling said the council must remain in jail until a majority agrees to swear in the new members.
Ruth Antone is an elder within the tribe and has lived on Lac Vieux Desert land all of her life.
She supports swearing in the new council but given the fact that two of her grandchildren are on the current council and are now in jail it’s been a difficult situation.
“I was at the hospital last night because my blood pressure was high and that’s because all that’s been going on,” she said. “I want it over with, I’m glad it’s over with soon I hope.”
The jailed council members released a statement through their attorney saying:
“We are being criminally punished for upholding the Constitution.”
Obama Names Asian Carp Issue Leader
President Barack OBAMA today announced the appointment of John GOSS as the administration’s new “Asian Carp” director.
In his role, Goss will serve as the principal advisor to Council of Environmental Quality Chair Nancy SUTLEY on Asian carp issues and oversee the coordination of federal, state, and local efforts to keep Asian carp from establishing in the Great Lakes ecosystems.
“As the new Asian Carp Director, John Goss clearly understands this mandate, and he will ensure that all federal agencies understand it as well,” said Gov. Jennifer GRANHOLM. “John Goss shares our passion for protecting the Great Lakes, and his skills and experience make him a great choice for this vital mission.”
Saginaw Chippewa Repatriation News
From the Morning Sun:
Dennis Banks, renowned co-founder of the American Indian Movement who helped create the language for the Native American Graves and Repatriation Act which became law in 1990, took part in a reburial ceremony Thursday on the Isabella Reservation.
The reburial ceremony was for 10 Native American ancestoral remains who were dug up and kept in a vault in a museum at Harvard University and were proven to be affiliated with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.
LVD Council Arrested?!?!?
WATERSMEET — Controversy continues to surround the Lac Vieux Desert Tribe and Wednesday police took action.
All nine tribal council members have been arrested for disobeying a court order by refusing to swear in the newly elected chairman and treasurer at last night’s tribal council meeting.
In July, tribal members protested the council’s decision not to step down after seven of the nine council members were voted out of office.
A third party judge ruled last month that the new chairman and treasurer must be sworn in and a new election would be held for the five general council positions.
The nine arrested council members have been transported off tribal property and are being held in the iron county jail without bond.
John Arum, an attorney who represented the Makah Tribe and other tribes, dies in hiking accident
Here.
ICT Article on Michigan Bid to Codify ICWA
From ICT:
SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. – The Indian Child Welfare Act is a federal law that can at times be confusing to those it was designed to help – tribes, tribal children, their families and the state and tribal court systems.
Making ICWA easier to use and understand is the goal of a group of dedicated people – a special committee formed by the Michigan Supreme Court. This committee is charged with helping Indian children and families in child welfare cases, and with educating judges and child welfare practitioners about ICWA.
Congress enacted ICWA in 1978 to help prevent the disruption of Indian families and tribes due to state and federal child welfare practices.
In 2008, a special committee was formed by the Michigan Supreme Court to help Michigan judges and child welfare practitioners learn more about ICWA and understand the need for states to comply with the act and how it can be better implemented within Michigan.
In 2009, the State Court Administrative Office, the administrative agency of the Michigan Supreme Court, published a court resource guide. This guide is designed to provide Michigan trial courts with best practice tips to apply when using ICWA. During work on the court resource guide it was determined further research was needed and a subcommittee was formed that recommended changes to Michigan’s court rules to help with the recognition and implementation of ICWA. On Jan. 27, the Michigan Supreme Court approved those changes, which became effective May 1.
A second subcommittee, the Tribal Court Relations Committee, was formed as part of the Court Improvement Program Statewide Task Force and continues to meet on proposed state legislation that was drafted to reflect the federal statute with the goal of making judges and child welfare workers more aware of ICWA at both the tribal and state levels. A special session to review the proposed ICWA statute is being held Sept. 30 in Lansing. This meeting is by invitation only to the ICWA committee that authored the Court Resource Guide.
Additionally, in 2010 the Michigan Supreme Court has been sponsoring ICWA training and dialogue for state court judges, tribal representatives, attorneys, court staff and Department of Human Services workers as a step toward implementing the “best interests” considerations for Indian children, families and tribes.
Planning is also underway for the Walking on Common Ground: Michigan Regional Conference, Oct. 12 – 13 at the Grand Traverse Resort in Acme, Mich., for tribal, federal and state justice communities throughout Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin. Walking on Common Ground promotes collaboration, education and the sharing of resources to build a more positive future for tribal children and families involved in the child welfare system.
NYTs Article on Ideological Polarization on the Supreme Court
Here.
An excerpt:
Indeed, the polarization among law clerks has had consequences for the development of the law, a 2008 study published in the DePaul Law Review found. The presence of clerks who identified themselves as Democrats made liberal votes from the justices for whom they worked more likely, the study found. The opposite was true, too.
A handful of federal appeals court judges known as feeder judges are gatekeepers. J. Michael Luttig, for instance, produced more than 40 Supreme Court clerks in his 15 years on the federal bench, with 33 of them going to work for Justices Thomas or Scalia. Mr. Luttig, now general counsel of the Boeing Company, said the justices’ overall hiring practices reflected a fundamental shift.
“As law has moved closer to mere politics, political affiliations have naturally and predictably become proxies for the different political agendas that have been pressed in and through the courts,” Mr. Luttig said. “Given this politicization, it should come as no surprise to learn that the more liberal judges tend both to hire clerks who would self-describe themselves as Democrats and to hire clerks from other judges who would likewise self-describe themselves as Democrats, and vice versa for the more conservative judges.”
Asian Carp Injunction Hearing Today
From the Toledo Blade, via How Appealing:
A federal court hearing begins in Chicago Tuesday that has huge ramifications for the Great Lakes region’s $7 billion fishery, and especially for Toledo and other parts of western Lake Erie trying to diversify their economies with more recreation tourism.
Mike Cox, Michigan’s attorney general, is asking for a preliminary injunction against the Army Corps of Engineers to block the movement of Asian carp into Lake Michigan until a suit seeking a permanent separation of the lakes from the Mississippi River is decided.
Mr. Cox, joined by Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray’s office and other officials, demands immediate construction of more barriers and more aggressive use of poisons, metal grates, nets, and similar devices to repel the threat.
“The future of our water-based economy and environment is hanging in the balance,” Mr. Cox said.
The hearings only will decide the temporary injunction.
Navajo President Shirley on the Importance of San Francisco Peaks to Dine People
Here: President Shirley statement on Sanctity of San Francisco Peaks.
An excerpt:
After centuries of attempts to subdue and vanquish North America’s native people, as Navajo people we are trying to do everything we can to save self, to preserve our identity, and to live by the teachings our ancestors gave to us. Dook’o’osliid is one of our strengths. It is our essence. It is us. When the foreigners decide to desecrate it to make artificial snow for economic interests alone, that does not help my way of life. That does not help my people’s survival. That does not help when I talk to my children and grandchildren about the importance of the Navajo way, and the pride that is to be taken to be Navajo despite all that tells them they and their beliefs are somehow less than others’.
Turtle Talk 
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