Tribal Prosecutor Position at Little River

Here. (pdf)

Position: Prosecutor, Department of Prosecutor’s Office (Full Time – Appointment)

Summary: This position serves as the chief law enforcement officer responsible for the prosecution of violations of the Tribe’s Constitution, criminal laws, conservation laws, ordinances, regulations, and resolutions in Tribal Court. The incumbent acts independently, exercising his/her own prosecutorial discretion.

Employment Qualifications: A qualified candidate offers the following: • J. D. Degree from an ABA accredited law school; and • a minimum of five (5) years of experience in criminal law (prosecution or defense); and • previous litigation experience in a tribal court system; and • a license to practice law (shall obtain Michigan Bar within 6 months of employment, if
applicable).

Photos and Captions from Hearing in Muskegon on LRBOI Compact

From the Muskegon Chronicle.  Click through for the slideshow and captions.

Also, live blogging coverage of the event, also from the Chronicle.  Not sure why the updates end before the hearing did.

Video excerpt, starting with Rep. Johnson and Ogema Romenelli.

LRB Sturgeon Release in Manistee River

From the Chicago Tribune:

MANISTEE, Mich. – A Northern Michigan Indian tribe is releasing young sturgeon into the Big Manistee River on Saturday to help restore the ancient fish in the Great Lakes region.

It’s the sixth year that the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians has placed sturgeon in the river.

Lake sturgeon date from the days of the dinosaurs. They can live from 50 to 150 years. Once plentiful in the Great Lakes, their numbers have been greatly reduced because of overfishing, habitat loss and pollution.

The tribe’s natural resources department operates a facility where young fish are reared until big enough to have a good chance for survival. Then they’re put back into the waterway from which they came. Tribal elders will take part in the release.

Little River Band May Enter Into Law Enforcement Cooperative Agreement with City of Manistee

From Indianz:

The city council in Manistee, Michigan, voted in favor of a mutual aid agreement with the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.

The tribe is offering its officers free of charge. The city police chief said the service is crucial.

“There are many times when there’s only one police car working the entire county outside of the city. My concern is someone’s going to dial 9-1-1 and no one’s going to be available to respond,” said chief Dave Bachman, WPBN-TV reported.

The agreement lasts one year.

Get the Story:

Manistee votes in favor of an agreement with tribal police (WPBN-TV 9/2)

Fruitport Backs LRB Off-Reservation Casino Proposal

From Indianz:

The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians won support for its off-reservation casino in Muskegon, Michigan.

The Fruitport Township Board voted 4-3 on a resolution in favor of the casino at the defunct Great Lakes Downs. Residents said they welcomed the jobs the facility would create. The tribe operates the Little River Casino on its reservation, about 80 miles from the proposed gaming site.

Get the Story:
Divided Fruitport Township Board supports casino (The Muskegon Chronicle 7/29)

Muskegon County in Support of LRB Casino Proposal

From Indianz:

The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians is seeing support for its off-reservation casino in Muskegon, Michigan.

The board of commissioners in Muskegon County passed a resolution in support of the project. The tribe said local approval is one step in the long process for the casino. The tribe purchased the former Great Lakes Downs and plans a $100 million casino.

Get the Story:
Muskegon County bets on casino at former track (Press News Service 7/18 )

LRB Purchases Great Lakes Downs

From Indianz:

The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians purchased a defunct racetrack in Michigan for an undisclosed price.

The tribe wants to open a casino at the site near Muskegon. But official said there is no timetable for development. The tribe operates a casino on its reservation, about 80 miles away. The tribe has a branch office in Muskegon. Another Michigan tribe, the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, has expressed interested in a casino in Muskegon.

Get the Story:
Little River tribe buys Great Lakes Downs with hopes of opening casino (The Muskegon Chronicle 7/17)
Muskegon casino could face same opposition Gun Lake tribe encountered in Wayland Township (The Grand Rapids Press 7/17)
Tribal group wants casino at Great Lakes Downs (WOOD 7/16)
Magna sells Great Lakes Downs (The Thoroughbred Times 7/16)

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.

Continue reading

Inland Agreement Photos

 From Indian Country Today:

  Click to Enlarge  
   
     

Photos by Theresa Keshick — Pictured are the signatories of the commemorative signing of the 2007 Inland Consent Decree between five tribes – Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Bay Mills Indian Community, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians – and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. government Oct. 25. More than 100 people were present to witness the signing. (Below) Some of the signatories included Alice King Yellowbank, member of the Little Traverse Bay Bands Tribal Council; Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians Chairman Frank Ettawageshik; and Albert Colby Jr., tribal administrator of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.

Indian Country Faces and Places welcomes your submissions. Send your high resolution photographs and a short description to photo@indiancounty.com and place ”Faces and Places” in the subject line.

Makwa, a Song About a Bear

Kenny Pheasant’s got a lovely singing voice.

How the song came to be…

One morning when I went to teach at a local school , the first chorus of a song came to me that I had heard about a year ago. So, as I was driving, I began to sing it. This inspired me to write some additional verses that came to me very naturally. When I got to school that day, I taught it to the children and they loved it. We sang it every day for about two weeks. One day when I was leaving the school, the bus drivers met me at the door and said, “Mr. Pheasant, could you please teach the children another song, because we want to hear a different one now”. I guess what the children were doing was singing this song on the bus on the way to school and on the way back, every single day.

[from Kenny’s Anishinaabemdaa website, sponsored by the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians]