chippewa

Soo Tribe’s Greektown Troubles

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:


A federal bankruptcy judge held a hearing to discuss the future of the commercial casino that is majority owned by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Michigan.

The tribe plans to sell the Greektown Casino in Detroit but is seeking an extension in order to complete work on the facility. The Michigan Gaming Control Board opposes the extension and wants to affirm that it has the right to force a sale. Judge Walter Shapero did not rule on the matter but called another hearing next Tuesday to review the issue. He previously set a deadline of December 15 for the tribe to finalize the casino’s bankruptcy plans. The hotel at the facility won’t be completed until February 12, 2009.

Get the Story:
State tips hand on Greektown (The Detroit News 11/18)

Fluent Anishinaabemowin Teacher for Sutton’s Bay Schools in Leelanau County

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Wanted:  Fluent Anishinaabemowin Teacher for Suttons Bay Public Schools and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.  Teacher will be employed half time by Suttons Bay public Schools to instruct a Level 1 class at the high school level, a beginning class at the middle school level, as well as some foundation language experiences at the elementary level.

The ideal candidate will help develop the high school curriculum, which will grow in the following year into a two-year course sequence. The applicant must be a first speaker of the Odawa or Ojibwe dialects of Anishinaabemowin.  The applicant must write in the double vowel system and speak the dialect of Manitoulin Island or the North Shore of Ontario.  The applicant should have training in the Total Physical Response methodology of teaching the language, and should have a minimum of three years experience teaching Anishinaabemowin.  The teacher must know the cultural aspects of the language and the worldview inherent in Anishinaabemowin.

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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.

More GTB Election Drama

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Holy cow! It just won’t stop. 😦

From the Record-Eagle:

TRAVERSE CITY — Yet another challenge has arisen in the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians’ quest to install a chairman.

On Sept. 24, Derek Bailey defeated two-term incumbent chairman Bob Kewaygoshkum 256 to 186 for the four-year chairman position. That election was scheduled after a tribal court threw out the regularly scheduled May chairman election, in which Kewaygoshkum beat Bailey 233 to 210.

Bailey said it’s his understanding eight people filed nine separate challenges to the recent election, but he couldn’t provide details.

“I do recognize and honor the election challenge process,” he said. “(But) all of these challenges are personal character attacks and, or, are an … attack on the tribal judiciary’s ruling that was reached in August.”

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St. Croix Band v. Kempthorne Materials

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Here are many of the pleadings in the St. Croix Band v. Kempthorne case reported earlier today (opinion).

st-croix-amended-complaint

us-motion-to-dismiss-st-croix-complaint

st-croix-opposition-to-govt-motion-to-dismiss

govt-reply-brief

st-croix-supplemental-memorandum

govt-response-to-supplemental-memorandum

dct-order-denying-preliminary-injunction

Disaster Response Drill at Lac Vieux Desert Band

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

State and tribal cooperation in Michigan at its best….

From TV (video):

WATERSMEET — “We need to be aware of what’s going on.  I don’t know, it seems like a lot of people with upper respiratory stuff happening here.”

As Dr. Gary Pusateri addressed his staff at the Lac Vieux Desert Health Clinic Wednesday, his words implied trouble for the small town.  From the waiting room came the sounds of dry coughing and the moans of patients in pain.  It would have been an alarming situation for any small clinic–especially if it were real.

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Federal Courts Holds Artman Guidance NOT Reviewable

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

In St. Croix Band of Chippewa Indians v. Kempthorne, the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed St. Croix’s challenge to the Secretary’s authority to refuse to take off-reservation land into trust. The court found that the Artman Guidance letter is not final agency approval.

dct-order-of-dismissal-st-croix

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

New GTB Chairman Derek Bailey

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

From Indianz:
Voters of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians of Michigan elected Derek Bailey as chairman on Wednesday.

Bailey defeated incumbent chairman Robert Kewaygoshkum in a second matchup that was ordered by the tribal court. He won by 70 votes, after losing by 23 votes in a disputed election in May. At 35, Bailey will be the youngest person to serve as chair. The term lasts four years.

Get the Story:
Challenger elected tribal chairperson (The Traverse City Record-Eagle 9/26)

Tribal Court Decision:
Bailey v. GTB Election Board (August 8, 2008)

Written Testimony in SCIA Hearing on Burt Lake etc. Federal Recognition Bills

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From SCIA:

Witnesses

THE HONORABLE TIMOTHY M. KAINE
Governor of the Commonwealth of Virginia, Richmond, VA

THE HONORABLE JIM WEBB
United States Senate, Washington, DC

THE HONORABLE JAMES P. MORAN
United States Congressman

Panel 1
MR. LEE FLEMING
Director, Office of Federal Acknowledgment, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, DC

THE HONORABLE ANNE TUCKER
Chairwoman, Muscogee Nation of Florida, Bruce, FL

THE HONORABLE JOHN SINCLAIR
President, Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana, Great Falls, MT

THE HONORABLE RON YOB
Chairman, Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians, Grand Rapids, MI

DR. HELEN C. ROUNTREE
Professor Emeritus, Old Dominion University, Hampton, VA