From the AP:
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama believes Congress should let the judicial system do its work before getting involved in a dispute over Cherokee citizenship.
Obama says an injunction is in place protecting the rights of Cherokee freedmen, and Congress should not undermine the legal process.
Cherokee citizens voted last year to [...]
From Indianz:
The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians is facing pressure to make sure its commercial casino in Detroit complies with state law.
The tribe has fallen behind on construction of a permanent Greektown Casino. Revenues have dropped and the facility’s debt-to-earnings ratio isn’t meeting state requirements. In hopes of resolving the [...]
From the AP:
DETROIT (AP) — If smoking is banned in Detroit bars, restaurants and workplaces, Betty Gilbert says it will hurt the city’s casinos.
Gilbert, who was smoking a cigarette Friday with members of her bowling team on a sidewalk near Greektown Casino downtown, should know. The 69-year-old from Cape May County, N.J. — who said [...]
NPR’s Morning Edition is running a two-part piece on boarding schools.
For the government, it was a possible solution to the so-called Indian problem. For the tens of thousands of Indians who went to boarding schools, it’s largely remembered as a time of abuse and desecration of culture.
The government still operates a handful of off-reservation boarding [...]
From Indianz:
An attorney for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians says a lawsuit challenging the Michigan tribe’s land-into-trust lawsuit is “fruitless.”
The tribe wants about 22 acres placed in trust. A group of property owners, however, claims the land belongs to them. Tribal attorney William Rastetter said the plaintiffs [...]
From the Billings Gazette:
The Crow Tribe recently signed an innovative agreement with Montana and the federal government that will make it easier for banks to offer secured loans on the reservation. Essentially, it provides for seizure of personal property used as collateral when a loan is in default. (It does not apply to land held [...]
From the Billings Gazette:
Despite court rulings that slice away at tribal sovereignty, Indian law specialist Tom Fredericks of Boulder, Colo., believes “tribal governments are stronger than ever.”
They have to be. Retreating federal budgets place ever more burden on Indian governments to provide basic services.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs for years has been turning more federal [...]
From the Salt Lake Tribune:
Federal appeals court judges have said a Navajo tribal court can’t force the San Juan County-owned Montezuma Creek Clinic to rehire employees who alleged they were wrongfully terminated.
But three former employees won’t take no for an answer.
In March, they asked the Navajo Supreme Court to instruct tribal courts to ignore that [...]
From the GR Press:
LANSING — Legislative opponents of a Wayland Township casino may be ready to fold their cards after last week’s federal appeals court ruling in favor of the Gun Lake tribe.
Republicans who control the state Senate will meet this week to discuss whether to continue their block on a gaming compact between the [...]
From the Detroit News (H/T Indianz):
Owners of the Greektown Casino may sidestep a potential state-ordered sale after a group of suburban businessmen announced Tuesday it will invest $100 million in the struggling downtown Detroit gambling operation.
The casino’s owners, Greektown Holdings LLC, already had missed an April deadline from the state to bring its financial performance [...]
