Grand Traverse Band

Romulus Indian Gaming News

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Romulus Roman:

Romulus officials hope a year-long moratorium regarding the expansion of Indian gaming that was put into place by the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs will be lifted, or at least more flexible, under a Barack Obama administration.

City officials met with a representative from the Hannahville Indians last week, and all involved said they felt they would receive more consideration for the tribal request to build a casino in Romulus.

“I think that once there’re more Democrats in Washington, and more people who are interested in helping Michigan, we will turn this around,” said Romulus Mayor Alan Lambert.

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GTB Boxer Kicks Butt

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is an article about GTB member Mitch Sullivan, son of one of our contributors!

mitch-sullivan

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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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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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)

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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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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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

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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