Here.
NYTs Article on the Battle over Jim Thorpe’s Remains
Here.
News
NYTs: Roberts Court Most Conservative Court Since 1953
Here.
BLT Cobell Update
From BLT:
Members of Congress are still looking for a way to authorize two, billion-dollar agreements that would settle litigation involving the federal government and minority groups.
The House of Representatives had included authority for the settlements in a bill authorizing supplemental war funding. It passed the House July 1. But senators rejected that idea Thursday in the latest setback for the proposed $1.41 billion Cobell settlement for American Indians and $1.25 billion Pigford settlement for black farmers.
Key Bank Consents to Navajo Court Jurisdiction in Lending Agreement
From the Navajo Times:
* * *
Shirley pointed to an unprecedented $60 million loan agreement with Cleveland-based Key Bank to fund construction of justice complexes in Crownpoint and Tuba City.
Shirley signed the agreement, which had previously been endorsed by the council, with KeyBank on June 24. This marks the first time that the tribe has made this kind of arrangement with a bank and assigned tax revenues to pay for it.
“This signing comes six years after discussions first began and fulfills our vision to see these needed facilities built on Navajoland to combat the rising crime rates,” Shirley said.
He noted that the bank had agreed to respect the tribe’s sovereignty, including a pledge to use the tribal courts in case of a dispute.
Shirley said KeyBank agreed to the provision after doing its own evaluation of tribal court rulings.
“KeyBank took the time to conduct research and determined that our Navajo legal system is strong and stable,” he said.
About 20 years ago, a similar study was done and determined that in cases involving a dispute between the tribe and an outside entity, the Navajo Nation Supreme Court ruled for the Navajo side in all but one instance. In the one case won by a non-Navajo plaintiff, the company was never able to collect the money it was owed.
Key Bank officials, however, determined that the decisions in the tribal court system went about half the time to the tribe and the other half to the non-Navajo entity.
News Coverage of GTB Election Delays (and Copies of GTB Election Board Decisions)
Election Board decisions: Election Board Opinion Russell McClellan 7 13 10 and Election Board Supplemental Opinion.
From the Leelanau Enterprise:
A General Election to seat three members of the seven-member Tribal Council of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians has been delayed yet again.
The election was slated to occur today, July 15, but has been postponed for a third time. A new date had not been determined as of press time this week.
The tribe’s appointed Election Board met in special sessions on Monday and Tuesday to hear testimony, review evidence and discuss a complaint that one of the six candidates in the election failed to comply with election regulations by campaigning during working hours and taking other actions that threatened the integrity of the election process.
Former Tribal Councilor and current candidate Thurlow “Sam” McClellan was accused of campaigning during working hours by having phone conversations with incumbent Tribal Councilor Brian Napont, whose term does not expire until 2012. During the conversation, McClellan and Napont were heard in a recorded conversation disparaging other candidates and incumbent tribal leaders.
The phone conversations had been recorded, apparently inadvertently, through a voice mail system in a tribal office. The recordings were subsequently copied and distributed among tribal members by third parties.
“While it is clear that McClellan did not intend for his phone conversation with Napont to be recorded, or for it to be circulated among members of the tribe, the fact remains that the message was recorded, and that the message has been circulating among Tribal voters,” according to an opinion and determination issued by the Election Board on Tuesday evening.
White House Press Release on TLOA
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 21, 2010
Statement by the President on the Passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act
Today’s passage of the Tribal Law and Order Act is an important step to help the federal government better address the unique public safety challenges that confront tribal communities. The fact is, American Indians and Alaska Natives are victimized by violent crime at far higher rates than Americans as a whole. Native communities have seen increased gang and drug activity, with some tribes experiencing violent crime rates at more than ten times the national average. And one in three Native women will be the victim of rape in her lifetime.
The federal government’s relationship with tribal governments, its obligations under treaty and law, and our values as a nation require that we do more to improve public safety in tribal communities. And this Act will help us achieve that. It will strengthen the relationship between the federal government and tribal governments. It will improve our ability to work with tribal communities in the investigation and prosecution of crime, and it authorizes resources for tribes to fight crime more effectively. While many members helped pass this bill, I especially want to applaud Senators Dorgan, Barrasso and Kyl, and Representatives Herseth Sandlin, Kildee, Cole, Conyers, Scott, Rahall, Simpson and Pastor for their leadership on this issue. I look forward to signing the Act into law.
Cranbrook Repatriation
From Indianz:
The Cranbrook Institute of Science in Michigan is preparing to repatriate 59 ancestors to a group of tribes.
The 13 tribes requested the ancestors in 2008. The museum’s board of directors voted to repatriate the remains under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act.
“It is the right thing to do,” Michael Stafford, the Institute’s director, told The Detroit Free Press. “We don’t view these remains as data. We see them as people, with spirits and souls.”
The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians is coordinating the process. The band will work with the other tribes on the reburial.
“We see this as a human rights issue,” Eric Hemenway, a repatriation expert for the tribe, told the paper.
Get the Story:
Tribes to finally lay ancestors to rest (The Detroit Free Press 7/21)
Gun Lake Casino Construction Update
From the Grand Rapids Press, via Pechanga:
WAYLAND TOWNSHIP — The Gun Lake Casino is back on track through a $165 million loan arranged by Goldman Sachs and announced Tuesday.
Work on the 83,000-square-foot Allegan County gaming facility off U.S. 131 had slowed as the Gun Lake Band of Pottawatomi and its backers faltered in their ability to secure the loan in time to continue construction in time to meet their original plan to open this fall.
The five-year, 12 percent loan, which can be paid off after the third year, means the casino should be able to open sometime in early 2011, according to a statement released by the tribe. A specific opening date is expected to be announced soon.
“We’re going to shoot for January,” said John Shagonaby, chief executive of the Gun Lake Tribal Gaming Authority. “It’s all an estimate at this point. Once we get a couple of months into construction, we’ll be able to have a better idea.”
The delay was the latest in a string of setbacks for the tribe, which spent more than 10 years dealing with regulatory and court challenges only to emerge into a dicey economy that resulted in plans for the casino being scaled back when they were announced last year.
News Coverage on Shinnecock Response to Opposition
From Newsday mobile:
Incensed by two last-minute attempts to block their federal recognition, leaders of the Shinnecock Indian Nation called on the entire 1,200-person membership to attend a court hearing in Central Islip Wednesday as they fight to put their long-awaited status back on track.
On the day the nation was to celebrate its first day as a federally recognized tribe, one leader said a sense of sadness had been replaced by one of resolve. “We’ll continue to fight,” said senior trustee Lance Gumbs.
Chairman Randy King said he called on the entire tribal membership to attend the court hearing Wednesday “to celebrate our heritage.”
Also Tuesday, two Shinnecock members created a Facebook page to announce the formation of the New York Coalition for Shinnecock Gaming, which is calling for a boycott of Connecticut casinos they say are seeking to block the Southampton tribe’s federally recognized status.
Tela Loretta Troge, who is attending American Indian Law Center’s Pre Law Summer Institute, said she created the page with another tribal member, Kelly Dennis, out of “frustration” at “not being able to get Bureau of Indian Affairs scholarships for school next month” because of the Connecticut group’s filing.
Grand Traverse Band Election Postponed Again
Here is the news coverage: Election Delayed Again July 14 2010
And the Election Board decision: Election Board Opinion Russell McClellan 7 13 10
Turtle Talk 
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