
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians
Michigan Tribal-State-Federal Judicial Forum Meeting at Pokagon Band Tribal Court





Prisoner Suit against Pokagon Tribal Police in their Individual Capacities Allowed to Proceed
Here are the materials in Hartsell v. Shaarf (N.D. Ind.):
Prior post here.
Minnesota Bankruptcy Court Holds Pokagon Potawatomi Gaming Per Capita Payments are Not Part of Debtor’s Estate
Here are the materials in In re Musel (D. Minn. Bkrcy.):
25 Memorandum Decision and Order
An excerpt:
The Pokagon Band followed all of the requirements outlined in IGRA – a federal statute – to achieve federal approval for its Gaming Revenue Allocation Plan. Once that RAP was approved, the Band’s sovereignty ensured that it became the sole and exclusive authority for creating and defining property rights for payments it authorized. The RAP’s plain language prevented the creation of any vested property right or interest, and any intangible right to payment was unique to the individual tribal member. As a consequence, the debtor had no property interests that would be considered property of the estate under § 541(a). Additionally, even outside of the Pokagon Band’s sovereign authority to create and define property rights, the per capita payments are not property of the estate in policy, logic, or equity.
Prisoner Complaint against Pokagon Tribal Police Dismissed
Indiana COA Affirms Drug Conviction of Non-Indian on Tribal Lands
Here are the materials in Riggle v. State of Indiana:
NYTs: “Tribal Nations Face Most Severe Crisis in Decades as the Coronavirus Closes Casinos”
Here.
New Fletcher Paper: “The Rise and Fall of the Ogemakaan”
Please check out my new paper, “The Rise and Fall of the Ogemakaan,” now available on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Anishinaabe (Odawa, Bodewadmi, and Ojibwe) legal and political philosophy is buried under the infrastructure of modern self-determination law and policy. Modern Anishinaabe tribes are rough copies of American governments. The Anishinaabeg (people) usually choose their ogemaag (leaders) through an at-large election process that infects tribal politics with individualized self-interest. Those elected leaders, what I call ogemaakaan (artificial leaders) preside over modern governments that encourage hierarchy, political opportunism, and tyranny of the majority. While modern tribal governments are extraordinary successes compared to the era of total federal control, a significant number of tribes face intractable political disputes that can traced to the philosophical disconnect from culture and tradition.
Anishinaabe philosophy prioritizes ogemaag who are deferential and serve as leaders only for limited purposes and times. Ogemaag are true representatives who act only when and how instructed to do so by their constituents. Their decisions are rooted in cultural and traditional philosophies, including for example Mino-Bimaadiziwin (the act of living a good life), Inawendewin (relational accountability), Niizhwaaswii Mishomis/Nokomis Kinoomaagewinawaan (the Seven Gifts the Grandfathers or Grandmothers), and the Dodemaag (clans). I offer suggestions on how modern tribal government structures can be lightly modified to restore much of this philosophy.
Pokagon Band Potawatomi Tribal Court Open House
Today is 25th Anniversary of Pokagon Band Potawatomi, Little Traverse Odawa, and Little River Ottawa Federal Acknowledgment Statutes
public-law-103-323.pdf [Pokagon Band Restoration Act]
public-law-103-324-2.pdf [LTBB/LRB Reaffirmation Act]
1993-house-committee-hearing.pdf
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