Bay Mills Indian Community

Bay Mills Buys Land in Vanderbilt

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From Upnorthlive:

The Bay Mills Indian Community is now the owner of a large parcel of land in Vanderbilt.

The more than 45 acres of property is next to I-75. The tribe is evaluating the condition of a 1200 sq. foot building, which is the former Treetops Resort Welcome Center, on the property.

While rumors have circulated that the tribe may choose to open a casino on the land, leaders of Bay Mills said they will use the land for hunting purposes.

Tribal leaders said they have been looking for a parcel of land for more than 10 years and the current economic climate allowed the tribe to buy the property at a reasonable price. Leaders have not prepared any trust application in regards to the site.

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Lake Huron Dig to be Discussed at Michigan Archeological Society Meeting

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

This MAS meeting promises to be somewhat controversial, given that Michigan professor John O’Shea will be discussing his project in Lake Huron, to which two tribes have objected (BMIC and LTBB):

Dr. John O’Shea from the University of Michigan: Evidence of Early Hunters beneath the Waters of Lake Huron

Dr. John O’Shea from University of Michigan will be discussing his current endeavors to locate ancient landscapes preserved beneath the Great Lakes.  Through the use of underwater acoustic and video survey on the Alpena-Amberley ridge, Dr. O’Shea has discovered the presence of a series of stone features that match, in form and location, structures used for caribou hunting in both prehistoric and ethnographic times.

Here are the objections:

BMIC Resolution re Lake Huron

LTBB declaration re underwater dig

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Michigan Daily on U-M’s Response to New NAGPRA Regs

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Excerpt from the Michigan Daily:

* * *

LSA sophomore Alys Alley, the co-chair of the Native American Student Association at the University, wrote in an e-mail interview that she and other members of the group believe that the new rule will mean that the culturally unidentifiable remains in the University’s possession will be returned to their respective tribes.

“Many of those remains that are held by the University of Michigan Museum of Anthropology are the ancestors of the Native American students on campus, including myself, and I can say confidently that we are looking forward to the return of our ancestor’s remains to our communities,” she wrote.

She added that the status of the “culturally unidentifiable” remains in the University’s possession has caused a lot of tension between the University and Native American groups in Michigan.

“This whole situation with the 1,390 Native American human remains in the U of M Museum of Anthropology has caused a lot of pain for the Native American community; we have struggled to see our ancestors return home for many years,” she wrote.

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Univ. of Michigan Finally to Review Repatriation Policy

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

From CBS via Pechanga:

Facing criticism for still holding the remains of about 1,400 Native Americans in its archaeological collection, the University of Michigan will be reviewing its policies on how to properly deal with Indian bones and artifacts.

A committee charged with looking at the legal, ethical and scientific concerns involved will meet for the first time next week and “will hear all sides of the story,” said Stephen Forrest, vice president for research at the Ann Arbor school.

“We want to have a very balanced approach,” he said Friday. “We are actively seeking to understand all the aspects of the problem.”

At issue is the conflicting interests of researchers and museums in studying and teaching about earlier human cultures and that of native peoples to have their religions and ancestral remains respected.

Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act passed by Congress in 1990, federally supported institutions must catalog the remains and burial items they hold and return them, when requested, to groups that have a “cultural affiliation” to them. Continue reading →

Detroit Auto Bailout & Indian Gaming Proposals: A Link?

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Congress effectively killed the various proposals brought by the State of Michigan, the Bay Mills Indian Community, and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians to ratify off-reservation gaming agreements between the three and variously the Cities of Romulus, Flint, and Port Huron. But now that the Detroit auto makers are in the very ugly throes of near-bankruptcy, and with Congress seemingly ready to let the Big Three die, maybe the off-reservation gaming proposals will have new legs in the 111th Congress?

Several questions need answering. First, how will the Obama Administration view Indian gaming, especially off-reservation? I wonder, given that the Administration doesn’t have much to gain politically by supporting tribal gaming, but might have much to lose. Tribes need to make the Obama Administration realize the benefits of off-reservation. Second, how will off-reservation gaming in southeastern Michigan help local economies? Again, tribes need to make a strong case, and it may be the same case made to answer the first question.

Articles on BMIC and Sault Ste. Marie Tribe Bills

Kate Fort

The Freep

The Detroit News

Port Huron Times Herald

Soo Today

BMIC and Sault Ste. Marie Tribe Bills Defeated in the House

Kate Fort

In a vote this afternoon HR 2176–which was the Bay Mills bill and was amended in the nature of a substitute earlier in the day to include the text from HR 4115, the Sault Tribe bill–was defeated 121-298.

Congressional Vote Today on BMIC and Sault Tribe Gaming Bills

Kate Fort

From The Hill:

Pelosi to grant vote on Indian gaming bill benefiting Rep. Dingell’s district

By Susan Crabtree
Posted: 06/24/08 07:08 PM [ET]

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is giving Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.) a full House vote Wednesday on a nettlesome Indian gaming bill he’s been pushing for years as a surefire way to help out his cash-strapped district.

Dingell and his allies tried — albeit unsuccessfully — to insert it into various legislative vehicles despite an onslaught of complaints from high-profile opponents and others, such as convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who were stalwartly against congressional intervention in the issue.

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), then the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs panel investigating Abramoff’s Indian gambling lobbying scandal, was infuriated by an effort to parachute the language into an early version of the 2005 highway bill. Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), at Dingell’s urging, had placed the language deep within the massive transportation measure as early as 2003.

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Freep on BMIC and Sault Tribe Gaming Bills

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Detroit Free Press:

A fight over proposed American Indian casinos in Romulus and Port Huron may reach the floor of Congress this week, where two Michigan political heavyweights find themselves on opposite sides of the issue.

The proposals — which could be on the floor as early as Wednesday — have a fair shot at passing, despite loud objections from Detroit politicians who fear new casinos could cut into the take of the city’s three gaming emporiums and undercut investments their owners have made.

Even if the House approves, however, the proposals face a big obstacle in the Senate — Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who is said to be opposed to the legislation that has been simmering in Washington for at least six years.

The difference now is the strong support for the Romulus casino from Rep. John Dingell, a Dearborn Democrat who is the longest-serving active member of the House and chairman of the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee.

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BMIC & Sault Tribe Gaming Bill Heads to House Floor

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Never mind the Senate, this one’s going to be ugly. I wonder how many times Abramoff’s name gets mentioned. Here’s the report from The Hill:

House Democratic leaders have brokered a deal to bring to the floor next week a contentious Indian gaming bill that has pitted two powerful Democratic committee chairmen against one another.

For months, Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) and Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) have been clashing over two bills that would settle tribal land disputes and allow two new Indian casinos to be built near Detroit. Next week, they will settle their differences on the House floor.

The deal would allow the two tribal land dispute bills that Dingell supports to be voted on on the floor, but would also give Conyers an amendment, according to sources tracking the measures. The amendment apparently would direct the Department of Justice (DoJ) and possibly the Department of the Interior to review the land claims — a difficult and likely unsuccessful process Dingell and other supporters have attempted to avoid by seeking congressional approval of the legislation.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and other Democratic leaders are in a politically difficult spot.

They have decided to allot precious floor time for measures that will pave the way for Indian casinos during the first election year after the fall of Jack Abramoff, whose lobbying practices involving tribes and gambling helped propel Democrats into power in 2006.

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