Indian Country Today Great Lakes

LANSING, Mich. – Another showdown is brewing over whether Michigan horse racetracks should be allowed to open casinos in an effort to revive their struggling businesses.

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) – Duluth architectural firm is betting on the future of its business with American Indian tribes.

WASHINGTON – Some Alaskan politicos say that Todd Palin, the husband of Gov. Sarah Palin, has held unprecedented power over her decision-making process during her two years in the state’s highest office. Since he’s Alaska Native, some Indians can’t help but wonder if his spousal sway could result in more tribal influence in the White House if Sen. McCain were elected.

WASHINGTON – As Gov. Sarah Palin worked overtime at the Republican National Convention to make her views better known, Native Republicans began to speak out on their admiration for the governor from Alaska.

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) – Can “Minnehaha” save Duluth?
Maybe, if the 115-year-old Tiffany window depicting a fictional American Indian princess draws the bids experts say it might.

INTERLOCHEN, Mich. – Jessica A. Rickert became the nation’s first American Indian woman dentist in 1975. Nominated by her brother Levi Rickert in 2008 to the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame, she will be inducted during a benefit dinner Oct. 21 in East Lansing, along with nine other women being honored for their contributions to society.

LARAMIE, Wyo. – A $200,000 National Science Foundation grant will help create a database of the Eastern Shoshone language for the University of Wyoming’s American Indian Studies Program.

XENIA, Ohio – A Native American company is shooting to become a major player in the bow manufacturing business.

MADISON, Wis. – In olden days, Clarissa Welds, an elder of Lake Superior, as she calls herself, never worried about how many fish she ate.

MINNEAPOLIS – The General Mills Champions for Healthy Kids Program, in partnership with the American Dietetic Association, has awarded $500,000 in grants to community-based organizations across the U.S. for programs that support young people living healthy, active lifestyles.

Virginia Margaret Shorey Williams passed away Sunday, Aug. 9, 2009 in the company of her family.

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Something has long seemed amiss in the spacious halls of the University of Michigan’s Exhibit Museum of Natural History.

PRIOR LAKE, Minn. – The smell of burning sage and sweetgrass hovered in the air as the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community and the University of Minnesota held a dedication ceremony for the Minnesota Tribal Nations Plaza at TCF Bank Stadium Aug. 17. The SMSC Business Council, community members, tribal leaders, university officials and invited guests attended.

BRADLEY, Mich. – Less than a month after the Interior’s Assistant Secretary of Indian Affairs Larry EchoHawk signed a proclamation officially declaring the existence of the Gun Lake Tribe’s 147-acre reservation, the tribe scheduled a ground-breaking ceremony for its long awaited Gun Lake Casino.

PERHAM, Minn. (AP) – Authorities say human remains found near Perham appear to be the old remains of a Native American.

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. – A new $300 million Las Vegas style casino has incorporated the four elements – fire, air, earth, water – showcasing the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians’ heritage while creating an innovative modern design. The FireKeepers Casino opened to the public Aug. 5 after more than 10 years of planning, vision and determination.

FLINT, Mich. (AP) – Excavation has begun on land in Flint where Native American remains were found.

CINCINNATI (AP) – A claim by the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma that it should be given commercial fishing rights on Lake Erie without government restrictions was rejected, a federal appeals court in Ohio said in a ruling released Tuesday.

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) – The city of Duluth says it plans to go to court to force the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to keep sharing revenue from its downtown casino.

Leech Lake Tribal College in north central Minnesota has a new president, and she is dedicated to helping the college grow, prosper and continue to provide an accessible, affordable education to a predominantly Native American student body wherever they are in their lives and careers.