Here are the materials in Parks v. Tulalip Resort Casino, in which the district court for the Western District of Washington dismissed a tort claim against the casino on the grounds of sovereign immunity.
Parks Opposition to Motion to Dismiss
Indian gaming
“Reservations Rebuffed” — Article on Off Rez Gaming Policy
From CQ Politics:
Tribal casinos, which have bulked into a multibillion-dollar industry since Congress first gave them its blessing two decades ago, now possess all sorts of economic and political clout — but not enough, it seems, for them to go off the reservation.
American Indians marooned on reservations far from population centers have long pressed the Interior Department to grant them the authority to launch gambling operations closer to where the people willing to risk their money live — and rake in the sort of revenues that the more fortuitously situated tribes have enjoyed.
Keno Case Settled
From the Traverse City Record-Eagle:
TRAVERSE CITY — A settlement in a three-year-old lawsuit between the state and two northern Michigan Indian tribes will reduce Michigan’s cut of tribal gambling money, but will shake loose millions in escrowed state revenue.
The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians in Petoskey and the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians in Manistee approved a settlement with the state to end a long-running dispute over the Michigan Lottery’s Club Keno game.
Pechanga Disenrollment Dispute – Salinas v. Barron
The California Court of Appeals (4th Dist., Div. 2) decided Salinas v. Barron, another in the series of cases involving the Pechanga Band’s various membership disputes. This case involves the disenrollment of the plaintiffs in LaMere v. Superior Court, 131 Cal. App. 4th 1059 (2005).
From the opinion:
In LaMere, the plaintiffs were members of the Pechanga Band of Temecula Luiseo Mission Indians (the Band); the defendants were members of the Band’s enrollment committee. The defendants had allegedly commenced proceedings to disenroll the plaintiffs, in violation of the Band’s own laws. This court held that the trial court lacked jurisdiction of the dispute.
Continue reading
Pokagon Revenue Sharing Dispute Under Negotiation
From the Michigan City News-Dispatch:
ST. JOSEPH, Mich. – Negotiations between the state and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians to resolve problems blocking the distribution of casino revenue to local governments should wrap up in 60 to 90 days, a tribal official said.
The tribe, saying it was concerned over actions taken in forming the Local Revenue Sharing Board and its bylaws, withheld in escrow the first payment from electronic gambling earnings at the Four Winds Casino in New Buffalo Township. The payment was due in December.
ICT: Saginaw Chippewa vs. the Unions
From ICT:
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – In an effort to ward off unionization efforts under the federal National Labor Relations Act, some tribes have adopted labor laws that allow employees to organize under tribal law. The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe has taken a different approach.
”The position of this tribe is that the National Labor Relations Act does not apply to Indian tribes and the National Labor Relations Board does not have jurisdiction, and, that being the case, we don’t believe we have to adopt an ordinance that allows union organizing to occur. The ordinance the tribe adopted prohibits union organizing,” said Saginaw Chippewa attorney Sean Reed.
McIntosh County Bank v. Dorsey & Whitney — Minn. Supreme Court
The Minnesota Supreme Court reversed an intermediate appellate court decision finding Dorsey & Whitney liable to third party banks in a transaction involving a loan to the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe’s failed casino venture.
Kickapoo v. Texas Cert Petition
The petition is here. This case concerns the validity of25 CFR Part 291, the procedures established by the Secretary of the Interior to act as a “Seminole fix.”
There is no serious chance the Court will grant cert in this case, unless the United States also files a petition. Even then, this is a likely case of first impression, a death knell for cert petitions.
Really, I should get out of the certiorari prediction business….
Detroit News: Feds Defend Casino Plan Rejections
From the Detroit News:
WASHINGTON — Indian tribes face long odds in winning federal approval for casinos hundreds of miles away from their reservations, the Bush administration told Congress on Wednesday.
In defending the decision to reject 22 such off-reservation casino applications around the country, officials further angered tribal leaders who told the House Resources Committee that the government is trying to force Indians to stay on reservations with high unemployment and few opportunities.
Written Testimony from House Resources Hearing re: New Fee to Trust Guidance
From the House Resources Committee:
Witnesses:
Panel 1
The Honorable Carl Artman, Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Indian Affairs, United States Department of the Interior, Washington, DC
Panel 2
The Honorable Lorraine White, Chief, St. Regis Mohawk Tribal Council, Akwesasne, NY
The Honorable Vincent Armenta, Tribal Chairman, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians, Santa Ynez, CA
The Honorable Hazel Hindsley, Tribal Chairwoman, St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, Webster, WI
Mr. Jeff Warnke, Director, Government and Public Relations, Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation, Oakville, WA
Turtle Talk 
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