Tribal Codes

GTB Compensation Committee Sues over Councilor Pay

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

The outgoing chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of Michigan is being sued in tribal court over salaries of tribal council members.

The tribe’s Compensation Committee set the base council salaries at $60,000. Those serving as vice chair, secretary and treasure were supposed to receive base pay of $65,000. But right before this year’s election, chairman Robert Kewaygoshkum set higher salaries for some council members, according to the suit filed by the Compensation Committee. Kewaygoshkum reportedly makes around $100,000. Kewaygoshkum was defeated by Derek Bailey after a second election was held in September.

Get the Story:
Suit targets tribal head over new salary levels (The Leelanau News 12/15)

Academic Review: Susan Gray, David Wilkins & Sheryl Lightfoot, and Siegfried Weissner

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are a few recent scholarly articles of interest to the blog:

Susan Gray, Miengun’s Children: Tales from a Mixed-Race Family, 29:2&3 Frontiers 136 (2008) — article about the children of Northport, Michigan missionary George N. Smith

David Wilkins & Sheryl Lightfoot, Oaths of Office in Tribal Constitutions, 32 Am. Indian Q. 389 (Fall 2008)

Siegfried Weissner, Indigenous Sovereignty: A Reassessment in Light of the UN Declaration, 41 Vand. J. Int’l L. 1141 (2008)

Ninth Circuit Affirms Immunity of Tribally Chartered Corporation

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

In Cook v. Avi Casino, a divided Ninth Circuit panel held that a dram shop action against Avi Casino Enterprises, a wholly owned corporation owned by the Fort Mohave Indian Tribe and chartered under the laws of the tribe, was barred by sovereign immunity. The panel split over the question of whether the federal court had jurisdiction over the claim on the basis of diversity.

cook-opening-brief

avi-casino-brief

cook-v-avi-casino-ca9-opinion

White Earth Band Chippewa Drafting New Criminal Code

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Minn. Star-Tribune:

WHITE EARTH, Minn. – Tribal leaders of the White Earth Band of Chippewa are writing a new criminal code to replace state law for members of the band.

The White Earth Reservation crosses three counties. That means three sheriff’s offices are responsible for law enforcement on the northwestern Minnesota reservation. Over the years, the agreement has caused tension between county and tribal governments.

White Earth Tribal Chairwoman Erma Vizenor says relying on counties for law enforcement has compromised public safety on the reservation.

“It all depends on the political whims of a sheriff or county commissioners. Our people deserve better than that,” Vizenor said.

Fletcher on “Laughing Whitefish” and Tribal Customary Law

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Matthew Fletcher posted “Laughing Whitefish: A Tale of Justice and Anishinaabe Custom” on SSRN. Here is the abstract:

Laughing Whitefish, a novel by Robert Traver, the pen name of former Michigan Supreme Court Justice John Voelker, is the fictionalized story of a case that reached the Michigan Supreme Court three times, culminating in Kobogum v. Jackson Iron Co., 43 N.W. 602 (Mich. 1889). The petitioner, Charlotte Kobogum, an Ojibwe Indian from the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, brought suit to recover under a note issued to her father, Marji Gesick, by the mining company in the 1840s. The company had promised a share in the company because he had led them to one of the largest iron ore deposits in the country, the famed Jackson Mine. Despite the company’s defense that Mr. Gesick was a polygamist and therefore Ms. Kobogum could not be his legitimate heir, the Michigan Supreme Court held that state courts had no right to interfere with internal, domestic relations of reservation Indians, and upheld the claim. Justice Voelker’s tale is a powerful defense of the decision, and offers insights into why state courts should recognize the judgments of tribal courts even today.

book cover of Laughing Whitefish by Robert Traver

GTB Chairman Election Re-Run

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the court order referenced in the Record-Eagle article — Bailey v. GTB Election Board

PESHAWBESTOWN — A new election will be held for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians’ chairman’s post after a tribal court ruled the band’s election board improperly censured candidate Derek Bailey just before the initial vote.

A 23-page order issued by the band’s appellate court last week threw out the results of the May 21 tribal chairman’s election and ordered a new vote for the four-year post.

Bailey lost by 23 votes to two-term incumbent Robert Kewaygoshkum. But he challenged the results because the band’s Election Board held an emergency meeting two days before the election and subsequently issued an e-mail censuring him for allegedly using his tribal computer to visit his campaign Web site.

No date for the new election has been scheduled, tribal officials said.

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David Wilkins on Tribal Disenrollment and Banishment

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

David Wilkins has published “Exiling One’s Kin: Banishment and Disenrollment in Indian Country” in Western Legal History. This excellent piece describes banishment and membership laws from traditional law through the early 20th century and into the modern era of tribal banishment and disenrollment.

Patrick Garry et al. on Tribal Incorporation of First Amendment Norms

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Patrick M. Garry (South Dakota), Candice Spurling (South Dakota), Jennifer Keating (South Dakota), and Derek Nelson (South Dakota) have posted “Tribal Incorporation of First Amendment Norms: A Case Study of the Indian Tribes of South Dakota” on SSRN, recently published in the South Dakota Law Review.

From the abstract:

This article analyzes how Indian tribal courts have incorporated First Amendment norms within tribal legal systems. Given the more traditionally communal nature of tribal societies, Indian tribal courts have taken a slightly different approach to the kind of individual rights articulated in the First Amendment. As this article demonstrates, tribal courts have elevated community interest and values when considering individual rights issues. The ways in which those interests and values have been elevated may prove instructive to those who advocate a more balanced approach to First Amendment freedoms within the U.S. judicial system.

The article examines the legal obligation imposed on Indian tribes to protect certain individual rights, and whether the First Amendment applies to Indian tribes, and finally how the Indian Civil Rights Act applies. The article analyzes how federal courts have interpreted the Indian Civil Rights Act and surveys Indian tribal court decisions concerning individual rights issues such as free speech, free press, and free exercise of religion.

The final part of the article analysis turns away from reported tribal court decisions and focuses on tribal political, social, and cultural issues relating to First Amendment-type rights. In this respect, the article focuses exclusively on the nine tribes of South Dakota, exploring how First Amendment-type issues have arisen within those tribes and how they have been resolved outside of the judicial system.

Fourth Part of Billings Gazette Special Report — Tribal Economies

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Billings Gazette:

The Crow Tribe recently signed an innovative agreement with Montana and the federal government that will make it easier for banks to offer secured loans on the reservation. Essentially, it provides for seizure of personal property used as collateral when a loan is in default. (It does not apply to land held in trust for the tribe or its members.)

In 2004, the Crow Tribe adopted The Crow Finance Protection and Procedures Act, which makes it possible for banks to foreclose on trust property within the reservation. The catch is that at the foreclosure sale, the land can be sold only to the Crow Tribe or to a member of the tribe. If no eligible bidder can meet the price, the lender gets the beneficial title to the property but must continue to try to sell it to a qualified Crow buyer.

Differences in state and tribal law do come with some complications, but they aren’t barriers, said Mike Eakin, who works in the Billings office of Montana Legal Services.

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Billings Gazette Special Report on Tribal Sovereignty

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From the Billings Gazette:

When the last of the bison herds disappeared in the early 1880s, Indian nations on the Northern Plains were reduced to poverty.

In Montana, where there are no high-flying gambling operations and big population centers, economic conditions for American Indians have been slow to change. Unemployment is rampant, and business opportunities are scarce.

Through various acts of Congress, tribes are contracting with the federal government to provide essential services to their people. But federal funds, static for years, are shrinking. Tribes are taking on more responsibilities than ever for the welfare of their people and are pursuing economic opportunities to support their efforts.

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