From the Leelanau Enterprise:
Hank Bailey wanted to become the first member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians to kill a bull elk with a muzzle loader.
HANK BAILEY: with the elk he shot.
He figures Michigan’s elk herd had been mostly devastated before his ancestors started hunting with firearms. After the herd was re-established by state biologists early last century, hunts were strictly regulated and the odds of receiving a tag were slight.
From Crain’s Detroit Business:
wo Detroit casinos are rolling snake eyes in the debt market.
A top ratings service downgraded its outlook for MotorCity Casino‘s parent company, citing a host of financial concerns. Greektown Holdings L.L.C. has until the end of this week to submit a reorganization plan that can resolve its swelling debts without need for a sale.
An agreement entered in U.S. Bankruptcy Court last month between the troubled Greektown Casino owners and its creditors gives the parties until Feb. 1 to submit a “co-exclusive” plan to restructure and settle its debts.
In other words, if the casino company doesn’t submit a plan — with the consent of as many bondholders and other litigants as possible — by the deadline, creditors can submit restructuring plans of their own.
Here is the amended complaint — lvd-complaint
From ICT:
WATERSMEET, Mich. – The chairman of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians has some advice to tribes who are thinking about economic development projects outside the United States. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is, Chairman Jim Williams warned.
The Lac Vieux Desert Band (LVD) has filed a lawsuit against Arturo Rojas Cardona and Juan Jose Rojas Cardona and their company, alleging that the brothers have defrauded the tribe of its $6.5 million investment in a casino in Guadeloupe, Mexico.
The lawsuit was filed originally in Arizona Superior Court in April 2008, and moved to the U.S. District Court in Arizona in July 2008. The action lists multiple claims, including “breach of contract, conversion, breach of fiduciary duty, fraud, breach of the implied covenant of good faith and fair dealing, constructive trust, and piercing the corporate veil against” the brothers and the host of companies in Mexico, the U.S. and Panama that comprise their gaming empire of 16 casinos and sports books in Mexico.
From Indianz (the lower court opinion is here):
The federal government has dropped its appeal of a gaming case involving the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Michigan.
The tribe spent $41 million on the Kewadin Shores Casino but the National Indian Gaming Commission said the site didn’t qualify under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The land was taken into trust after 1988, the year IGRA became law. A federal judge disagreed, noting that the casino site is adjacent to land that was already in trust prior to 1988. The Department of Justice filed a notice of appeal but withdrew it this week, the Associated Press reported.
Get the Story:
Legal threat to Indian tribe’s Mich. casino over (AP 1/15)
alhameed-v-grand-traverse-resort
The ALJ held that a tribally owned business enterprise is immune from a private suit under 8 U.S.C. sec. 1324b.
From the North Bay Nugget:
Message from Grand Council Chief John Beaucage–
Prior to contact, the Anishinaabe lived in peace and harmony with each other, living off the bounty of our Mother Earth. We acknowledged each other- our distinct bands and traditional territories. We respected our boundaries — not borders — out of respect for our neighbours. We harvested only what was needed, always mindful of sacred law and ensuring our food sources — the plants, animals, birds and fish — would remain abundant for seven generations into the future.
We governed ourselves according to that same sacred law. The Creator gave us the Clan System as a means to govern our day-to-day affairs, set priorities, and look after the needs of the community as a whole.
From the Record-Eagle:
PESHAWBESTOWN — Tribal officials with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians are caught up in another lawsuit.
Members of the band’s compensation committee filed suit in tribal court alleging former tribal Chairman Robert Kewaygoshkum inappropriately raised council members’ salaries.
From the Traverse City Record-Eagle:
PESHAWBESTOWN — Derek Bailey wakes up with a sense of privilege, a feeling he’s had each morning since taking office as chairman of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.
“I hold that thought throughout the day,” he said.
Bailey, 36, became the band’s youngest tribal chairman this month, following a nearly seven-month election odyssey rife with disputes and litigation.
This is an ICWA case involving the meaning of “active efforts” under Michigan law. The petitioner is the Michigan Dept. of Human Services, and tribe involved is the Sault Tribe. The docket number is 137653. Here are the opinions from the Michigan Court of Appeals:
in-re-lee-partial-concurrence-dissent
From the order granting leave to appeal:
On order of the Court, the application for leave to appeal the October 16, 2008 judgment of the Court of Appeals is considered, and it is GRANTED. The parties shall include among the issues to be briefed (1) whether the term “active efforts” in 25 USC 1912(d) requires a showing that there have been recent rehabilitative efforts designed to prevent the breakup of that particular Indian family; and (2) whether the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard of 25 USC 1912(f) requires contemporaneous evidence that the continued custody of the Indian child by the parent or Indian custodian is likely to result in serious emotional or physical damage to the child before parental rights may be terminated.
From the Leelanau Enterprise:
Ed. note: New Tribal Chairman Derek Bailey of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, who was sworn in to his new position Thursday, talked with Enterprise reporter Eric Carlson Friday on a wide range of topics. Following is their conversation:
Turtle Talk 
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