chippewa

GTB Election Today

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Ugghhh. I wish we just had one election, instead of two or more every time….

From the Record-Eagle (H/T Indianz):

PESHAWBESTOWN — Members of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians will have another shot at selecting a tribal chairman today.

A tribal court in August ruled the band’s election board improperly censured candidate Derek Bailey shortly before the initial vote in May. A new election was ordered, and polls will be open today from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. in Peshawbestown, East Jordan, Traverse City and Benzonia.

Bailey lost by 23 votes to two-term incumbent chairman Robert Kewaygoshkum in the regularly scheduled May 21 election. But Bailey challenged the results because the band’s election board issued an e-mail censuring him for using a tribal computer to visit his campaign Web site.

The mass e-mail was sent less than 24 hours before the election to all tribal gambling and government employees. A tribal appeals court eventually ruled the action was “far outside the scope of the authority granted to the election board under the Constitution.”

Bailey, who served as a tribal councilman before running for chairman, is pleased to see the new election.

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GTB Supports Deer Baiting Ban

Matthew L.M. Fletcher4 Comments

From the TC Record-Eagle:

TRAVERSE CITY — Some Michigan politicians want to lift a ban on using bait to lure deer during hunting season in lower Michigan.

State officials banned baiting over fears it could help spread a deadly deer disease, but politicians who oppose the restriction said those who grow and sell bait crops could suffer financially.

State Sen. James Barcia, D-Bay City, plus state Reps. Joel Sheltrown, D-West Branch, and Jeff Mayes, D-Bay City, sponsored similar resolutions in the Michigan legislature this week to urge state officials to rescind a ban enacted after a deer at a private ranch in Kent County tested positive last month for chronic wasting disease.

The politicians contend state officials overreacted.

***

Not everyone agrees.

The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians supports the baiting ban. Michigan’s wild deer herd is a valuable natural resource for the public and the tribe, said Hank Bailey, a tribal fish and wildlife technician and elder tribe member.

“If they bow to this, they are jeopardizing that resource,” Bailey said, adding he fully expected politicians to meddle in the decision.

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Fineday v. Roy — Minnesota PL280 Jurisdiction over Child Support

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

The Minnesota Court of Appeals in Fineday v. Roy (unpublished) held that state courts have jurisdiction over reservation Indians in child support cases. From the opinion:

Andy Joseph Roy is an enrolled member of the White Earth Band of Indians. He and Larissa Pauline Fineday have two children and live on the White Earth reservation. Fineday receives public assistance from the state. The county commenced an action to enforce Roy’s child-support obligation as a means of obtaining reimbursement for the public-assistance benefits. Roy moved to dismiss the action for lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, but the district court denied the motion. We conclude that the district court had subject-matter jurisdiction over the county’s action and, therefore, affirm.

Creditors Object to Greektown Reorganization Plan

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Detroit News:

DETROIT — Greektown Casino LLC, which is in bankruptcy reorganization, shouldn’t get an exclusive right until June 1 to file a turnaround plan, a group of creditors and a U.S. government representative told a judge.

Greektown’s request to block competing plans for more than eight months beyond the current Sept. 26 deadline should be denied because the company can realistically gauge its success long before then, U.S. Trustee Daniel McDermott said in an objection filed Monday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Detroit.

“The court should not permit the debtors to remain in Chapter 11 in a shroud of secrecy” while ” keeping other potential plan proponents off the playing field for such an extensive length of time,” McDermott said in the filing.

Closely held Greektown won court approval last June to borrow $150 million to continue operations and construction of a new hotel and gaming floor. McDermott questioned the viability of the company’s projected future operations during an economic decline in the U.S.

“The question that must be answered is whether the projections are reasonable for the foreseeable future in the given economic and political milieu in Detroit,” McDermott said in the filing.

Objections also were filed by the Michigan Gaming Control Board and the official committee of unsecured creditors.

Greektown sought court protection from creditors on May 29, citing cost overruns in a $332 million expansion. It opened in 2000, four years after Michigan citizens voted to legalize three gambling facilities in Detroit. It employs about 1,976 people, and attracts 15,800 visitors a day, the company said.

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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Soo Tribe Layoffs

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From Indianz:

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians plans to lay off about two percent of its workforce.

Chairman Joe McCoy said the tribe’s financial situation forced the reduction. “Unfortunately, over the years, millions in tribal reserves has been dwindled down to nothing. According to financial analysts, if changes are not made, the tribe will not recover,” he said in a press release. The layoffs affect employees of Kewadin Casinos and employees of the tribal government. Based on recent figures, it looks like about 80 people will lose their jobs. The tribe already laid off 89 people at the Greektown Casino in Detroit. The tribe has a majority stake in the commercial casino, which is undergoing a restructuring in federal bankruptcy court.

Get the Story:
Press Release: Soo Tribe and Kewadin Casino to restructure (SooToday 7/30)

GTB Revenue Sharing for the 1st Half of 2008

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the press release — 2-first-half-2008-press-release-07-30-08

Tribal Judge Korey Wahwassuck on Tribal Court Jurisdiction

Matthew L.M. Fletcher1 Comment

Leech Lake Band of Chippewa Indians Chief Judge Korey Wahwassuck has published “The New Face of Justice: Joint Tribal-State Jurisdiction” in the Washburn Law Journal.

This piece covers the watershed agreement between the Leech Lake Band and the Cass County District Court.

ICT Article on New Grand Traverse Band Casino

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From ICT:

WILLIAMSBURG, Mich. – Go green!

That might be the new motto for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

The northern Michigan tribe, which opened the doors to its rebuilt Turtle Creek Casino & Hotel in June, has received much fanfare for creating an eco-friendly gaming destination.

The project didn’t come without apprehension, though.

As GTB officials excitedly toured tribal casinos in their state and visited gaming properties in Las Vegas during planning stages of their new Turtle Creek property, they were nervous about the direction architect Stephen Knowles envisioned.

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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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