News

Kildee Press Release on Michael Steele’s “Honest Injun” Comment

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

The video is here.

For Immediate Release… Contact: Peter Karafotas
January 5, 2010 (202) 225-3611

Congressman Kildee Responds to RNC Chairman Michael Steele’s Racist Comment about Native Americans

Washington, D.C.—Congressman Dale E. Kildee (D-MI), Democratic Co-Chair of the Congressional Native American Caucus, released the following statement today in response to RNC Chairman’s Michael Steele’s use of a racist and derogatory saying about Native Americans to describe the Republican Party’s platform on Fox News. Steele said, “Our platform is one of the best political documents that’s been written in the last 25 years, honest Injun on that.”

“I am outraged and disgusted that the head of the National Republican Party would make such a derogatory and offensive statement about Native Americans on national television. In an effort to cover up Michael Steele’s racist comment, Fox News altered the transcript online to read ‘honest engine’ instead of ‘honest Injun.’ For those of us who have been fighting to reverse decades of mistreatment of Native Americans, we all know what Mr. Steele said and what he meant. His insensitive comment undermines and threatens to reverse the progress we have made to correct those wrongs. A cursory look through a dictionary or even some knowledge of Native American history would show Mr. Steele that the term is a racial slur for Native Americans. I strongly urge Mr. Steele to publicly apologize to the Native American community immediately for his derogatory comment.”

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NYTs Editorial on the Shinnecock Recognition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Pathetic. Rank hypocrisy, at the very least.

From the NYTs:

More than 200 years late — 31 if you count from the tribe’s petition — the federal government has acknowledged that the Shinnecocks of Southampton, Long Island, are an Indian tribe. Settling that question raises new ones. The Shinnecocks will almost certainly try to build a casino — they have been lobbying as hard for one as they have for recognition — but how big, and where?

The “where” is an especially interesting question. Casinos are usually built on reservation land. The Shinnecocks live on the East End of Long Island, a national depository of wealth, privilege and privacy. When the tribe jumped the gun a few years back and bulldozed part of its property for a bingo hall, the not-in-my-backyard opposition erupting from the dunes and privet hedges was ferocious. And that was just a skirmish.

That is probably why the Shinnecocks are exploring other sites in Suffolk County, at two New York racetracks and in the Catskills. But building an off-reservation casino is itself fraught with uncertainty and regulatory hurdles. The tribe could end up spending many years and lots of money chasing something that is a guaranteed winner only for lobbyists and consultants.

Casinos are also a magnet for tainted money and a handmaiden to addiction, crime and other social ills. That is why we would urge the tribe to spend its energy on finding other ways to leverage its valuable real estate.

A casino is, after all, only a means to an end — to economic vitality, greater respect, a better future for the tribe’s 1,000 members. The Shinnecocks are now in a much better position to pursue that dream. Lack of federal status did more than hamper the tribe’s quest for gambling riches. It also denied it access to federal programs for housing, health care and education.

The Shinnecocks have a long, proud history of self- governance, and advantages that poorer, more remote tribes can only dream of: geography, bargaining power and the support of state officials including Gov. David Paterson, who endorsed their quest for recognition. The good news on recognition would be even better if the tribe could foresee a future apart from slots and dice.

News Profile of Barriers to Justice for Indian Women

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Lincoln Journal Star:

She needs to call 911. She needs police to arrest the drunken boyfriend who assaulted her. She needs to go to the hospital, because she might be pregnant and he might be HIV-positive. And she needs a lawyer.

She could be one of so many women on Native reservations, where alcoholism and domestic violence often are rampant. In fact, Amnesty International reported in 2007 that Native women were 2 1/2 times more likely to be sexually assaulted.

Yet when a Native woman dials 911, a series of legal obstacles arise. Many stem from laws governing tribes — laws that can amplify the horror of sexual assault on Native reservations.

Among them is a 1950s federal regulation allowing government agencies, such as Indian Health Services, to avoid testifying in state and tribal courts.

The perceived benefit: Less courtroom involvement keeps agencies neutral.

But critics say information being withheld can include forensic evidence that could convict a rapist.

“So we have serial rapists that stalk our women,” said Charon Asetoyer, whose South Dakota-based group fights for Native women’s reproductive rights. Continue reading →

Cobell Settlement Deadline Extended to End of February

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the BLT:

The federal government and lawyers for the plaintiffs have agreed to extend the deadline to finalize a $1.41 billion settlement in long-running Indian trust litigation past Dec. 31..

The new deadline is Feb. 28.

Kilpatrick Stockton partner Keith Harper, a lawyer for lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell, and a spokeswoman for the Department of Justice issued identical statements via e-mail: “In order for the agreement to remain valid after its existing December 31, 2009 Legislative Enactment Deadline, the parties have agreed to extend that deadline through February 28, 2010.”

Harper said he and D.C. solo practitioner Dennis Gingold,who also represents Cobell, signed the agreement late Tuesday. The extension does not require court approval, and no other changes were made to the settlement terms, Harper said.

The settlement agreement required Congress to pass legislation by Dec. 31 authorizing payment to the plaintiffs, but lawmakers didn’t do so before leaving town for the Christmas holiday. Continue reading →

Shooting at Barona Band Gaming Commission

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the San Diego Union-Tribune via Pechanga:

LAKESIDE — A Barona Gaming Commission employee who was fired last month walked into a commission office armed with a shotgun Tuesday morning and shot and killed a manager, then turned the gun on himself, authorities said.

San Diego County Sheriff Bill Gore identified the shooter in the murder-suicide as Donnell Roberts, 38, of El Cajon. He worked as an investigator for the commission before he was terminated in November.

Roberts’ ex-wife, Maria Small of Racine, Wis., said Roberts was a former Marine who was discharged from the service in 1994 after serving in the Gulf War. She described him as a man who was sometimes violent and “always angry.”

The name of the victim was not immediately released.

The bodies of both men were found about 2:30 p.m. inside the manager’s office, Gore said. Continue reading →

Canadian Courts Failing to Reduce Incarceration of Natives

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Globe and Mail via How Appealing:

All things being equal, Dennis Thibault didn’t have a prayer of getting bail.

The lanky, fast-talking street person had evaporated into the streets of downtown Toronto last July, after his arrest on cocaine-trafficking charges, and missed three consecutive court dates. Few judges would have considered taking a chance on him again.

But all things were not equal. The courtroom Mr. Thibault was led into last week – known as a Gladue Court – was created after a landmark Supreme Court of Canada ruling urged judges to be sensitive to the long-standing plight of aboriginal people.

Mr. Thibault was released on bail with a token $500 surety and a direction that he take drug treatment at an aboriginal centre.

“My client was very fortunate that the stars lined up for him,” Mr. Thibault’s lawyer, Steven Dallal, said afterward. “His counterpart in an ordinary court would probably not have been released.”

The outcome for Mr. Thibault was an exception. Ten years after the Supreme Court described aboriginal over-incarceration as a full-fledged crisis that must be attacked at all levels, the response has been erratic and piecemeal.

Continue reading →

Cobell Plaintiffs File Cert Petition

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From BLT (miigwetch to A.K.) (cert petition, with appendices, is here):

The lawyers in the long-running Indian trust litigation in Washington find themselves in an odd position: filing a petition for certiorari just two weeks after the sides announced a $1.41 billion settlement to end the case.

This week, lawyers for lead plaintiff Elouise Cobell filed their petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to challenge a ruling in July in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. The settlement is not final and so the lawyers are keeping open their options.

The appeals court ruling erased a $455.6 million award—restitution for the government’s breach of trust in managing billions of dollars flowing from natural resources tied to Indian lands. The court also dismissed a finding that an historical accounting of individual Indian trust accounts is impossible. A three-judge panel said the government has no obligation to conduct a complete historical accounting—just “the best accounting possible” with whatever money Congress decides to appropriate.

“As a result of that holding, the government is responsible only for whatever accounting it chooses to pay for, and Indian beneficiaries will never know what happened to billions of dollars of their assets that the United States purportedly held in trust for them subject to the most exacting fiduciary standards,” Cobell’s lawyers, including D.C. solo practitioner Dennis Gingold and a Kilpatrick Stockton team, said in their petition for certiorari. “The court of appeals’ holding turns traditional, controlling trust law on its head, and is akin to giving the fox sole discretion to determine the security features of the henhouse.”

Cobell’s lawyers, who include Kilpatrick Stockton partner Keith Harper, said in a footnote on the first page of their petition that the plaintiffs and the government executed a settlement Dec. 7 that is contingent on legislation that authorizes payment and, in addition, final approval from the presiding trial court judge.

Continue reading →

News Coverage of Michigan v. Illinois/US in Asian Carp Suit

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

One question might be … why wait until the Supreme Court goes into its holiday recess?

From the Detroit News:

Detroit — Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox is calling on the U.S. Supreme Court to flex its muscle in the fight to keep invasive Asian carp from Lake Michigan. In a press conference this morning, Cox announced his intention to sue the State of Illinois, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago to force them to close off waterways leading to the lake.

His move comes just weeks after authorities poisoned a section of the Chicago Sanitary and Shipping Canal to halt the spread of the carp, which are considered a major threat to the ecosystem of Lake Michigan. That project produced one Asian carp above an electrical barrier designed to keep the fish out of Lake Michigan.

“With the finding of (Asian carp) DNA within 6 miles of Lake Michigan recently … quite simply, now is the time,” Cox said. “These agencies have not acted quickly enough.”

Cox is calling for:

Continue reading →

News Profile on GTB Chairman

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Traverse City Record-Eagle:

PESHAWBESTOWN — Derek Bailey made several promises throughout his campaign to lead a local American Indian tribe.

One of them was to work with all levels of government. So far, it appears the youngest tribal chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians has lived up to that pledge.

“Derek has been very open to collaboration with the county,” Leelanau County Commissioner David Shiflett said.

Commissioner Richard Schmuckal said Bailey is “the most active” tribal chairman he’s worked with since joining the Leelanau County board seven years ago.

“He’s here, he’s there,” Schmuckal said. “He’s very energetic.”

Bailey, 37, also reached beyond Michigan borders. He’s visited Washington D.C. five times since taking over as tribal chairman in December 2008.

“When I go out and travel, I’m living up to the promises I made during my campaign,” Bailey said. “My perspective is to develop those relationships. It’s important to put a face to a name.”

So it’s no surprise that one of the “major highlights” from Bailey’s first year in office involved a public introduction from President Barack Obama before a presidential speech in July on the American Graduation Initiative. Before he began, Obama introduced Bailey.

“And the chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indian Tribe, Derek Bailey is here. Please give Derek a big round of applause,” Obama said.

Continue reading →

State Judge Dismisses Suit against N.D. Board of Education re: Fighting Sioux

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Grand Forks Herald:

A district court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education that sought to prevent the body from retiring the University of North Dakota’s controversial nickname.

Judge Michael G. Sturdevant said in his decision that he would’ve preferred otherwise, but he can see no legal reason that the state board could not change the nickname. Nevertheless, he rapped the board for its failure to fight hard to keep the Fighting Sioux nickname.

The higher education board had earlier set an Oct. 31 deadline for both Sioux tribes in the state to approve the nickname and, at its last meeting in November, did not extend the deadline. Because of the litigation, though, the board never formally instructed UND to retire the nickname.

Nickname supporters in the Spirit Lake Dakotah Nation, which approved the nickname by a 67 percent vote, sued shortly before the November meeting seeking to buy time for members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe to rally for a similar vote.

Continue reading →