Tea and teachings class put on by the Cultural Division and Traditional Medicine for Monday, Nov. 19, is moved to the Cultural Learning Center and Library adjacent to administration. Scheduled time frame remains the same, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. —A regular meeting of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Board of Directors will be held at the Hessel Tribal Center starting at 6 p.m. on Nov. 20. The meeting will be preceded by “Matters Raised by the Membership” from 4 to 6 p.m. 

Resolutions are Budgets: Education-TED Grant, Buildings-Est. 2018 Budget, ACFS Family Violence, and ACFS Funeral Asst., Elder Transportation and Elder Health; DeMawating Development Property Management; Authorization to Purchase Property; Lease Modification; USDA-Rural Development-Odenaang Water; USDA-Rural Development-Odenaang Sewer; Indian Health-Bemar Project Funding; Est. New Wage Grid-Health Division; Am. Res. 2018-185-Adding One Parcel; Appointments and Tribal Transportation-TIP.

Under New Business, the board will consider Committee Request, Interim Employee Appt., EDC Director and Board Concerns.

November 20 Meeting Resolutions

All invited to the EUP annual Giving Thanks Food Distribution on Nov. 21 from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., LSSU Norris Center – Bud Cooper Gymnasium, 1000 Meridian in Sault Ste. Marie. This no cost food distribution was developed to help local families in need. Please bring your own boxes or bags to carry out food.

Food Distribution Flyer

Say NO to Line 5 tunnel!

Dear Tribal Members:

Our Sault Tribe Board of Directors has asked me to send this letter to you to help in stopping Michigan Senate Bill 1197 introduced on Thursday, November 8, to grant the Mackinac Bridge Authority, “to acquire a bridge connecting the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan, including causeways, tunnels, roads and all useful related equipment and facilities…” 

While our Ogichidaa Anishinaabe Kwe were holding a water ceremony on the northern shore of the Straits of Mackinac and I was giving public comment opposing a foreign oil company’s continued exploitative practices and the state’s dereliction of our natural resources, legislation was introduced to grant this authority to the Mackinac Bridge Authority, an authority for which it was never intended. Their plan is to enact this legislation during lame duck before January 1 so incoming Michigan Governor-Elect Gretchen Whitmer and Attorney General-Elect Dana Nessel have no say in how to handle this impending disaster. 

The recently retired Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA) Chair William Gnodtke opposed the proposal at the November 8 meeting, saying, “The MBA is working just fine…It makes no sense to fundamentally alter its mission to try to fix another, completely unrelated problem.” Further, he and seven other retired MBA members attest, “We strongly urge all those in Lansing and elsewhere to protect the Mackinac Bridge and to end attempts to significantly expand the Authority’s role by assigning it responsibilities that have absolutely no relationship to the fundamental mission it has successfully carried for 68 years.” 

Each day, Line 5 carries over nearly 20 million gallons of oil under the Straits. The pipeline was intended to last only 50 years and is 15 years beyond safe operations. Recall the nearly 1 million gallons of oil that Enbridge spilled from Line 6 at the Kalamazoo River in 2010! It will take 100 years to return to the pre-spill ecology and took seven years of litigation to cover just some of the liability. Line 5 is estimated to cause $2 billion in damage and will decimate our tourism and whitefish fishery forever. This is too great a risk to destroy our fishing tradition we have participated in for thousands of years. 

Please join me, our tribal board, fellow Sault Tribe citizens, tribal people and friends all across the state to write to your State Senator and Representative to tell them to oppose any legislation or action other than one to shut down Line 5! Attached is a letter for your state senator and representative.

Find your state representative here: http://house.michigan.gov/mhrpublic/frmFindaRep.aspx.
Find your state senator here: http://www.senate.mi.gov/fysbyaddress.html. 

Then, just sign your name and mail it. If you prefer, you can also call your representatives, using your letter as a script. 

Please contact me at 906‑635‑6050 or email me should you wish to further discuss our request.

Chi Miigwech,
 
Aaron A. Payment

Line 5 tunnel Letters

Michigan Attorney General-elect Dana Nessel has recruited a team of experts to assist her with the transition as she prepares to take office as Michigan’s 55th Attorney General on Jan. 1, 2019, according to a Nov. 13 press release.

Top on the list is long-time former Attorney General Frank Kelley, who served as Michigan’s AG for 37 years—the longest serving Attorney General in U.S. history. Mike Hodge and Kelly Keenan, from Mr. Kelley’s administration, were also named.

“I’m honored to have the wisdom, the experience and the candor of Mr. Kelley as I prepare to take office,” said Nessel in a press release. “His leadership is invaluable to me, to the office and to the residents of Michigan.”

Nessel also brought Sault Tribe Chairperson Aaron Payment onboard. He has participated in state-tribal court forums, worked on state certification of tribal law enforcement officers and the Michigan Indian Family Preservation Act, hosted the US Attorney’s annual meeting with the Sault Tribe and acted as the Tribal Judicial Branch Division Director. 

“I believe in the rule of law to protect all citizens,” Payment said. “This means ensuring there are no holes in civil and criminal jurisdiction. Through open dialog, on going communication and articulation of mutual aid agreements and judicial MOU’s, we can ensure the safety and due process of all.  I am happy to serve on AG Nessel’s transition team in an advisory capacity.”

Nessel said they are to prepared to hit the ground running. “Together we will work closely with the current AG’s team to ensure a smooth transition and set up an effective Office of the Attorney General so that on Day One we can get right to work for the people of the state of Michigan,” said said. “There are tens of thousands of cases pending before the Attorney General and this team will closely look at the status of those cases and others the Attorney General-elect my want to pursue. This will be a careful, methodical review to ensure a smooth transition between administrations.”

Rounding out Nessel’s transition team are: Marseille Allen with UAW 6000, Traverse City environmental lawyer Tracy Andrews, Okemos lawyer Robert Baldori, Ms. Nessel’s campaign manager Alexandra Borngesser, former Wayne County general counsel Zenna Faraj Elhasan, Detroit lawyer and former Michigan Democratic Party co-chair Butch Hollowell, Grand Rapids lawyer Traci Kornack, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Tribal Chairperson Aaron Payment, former Truscott-Rossman CEO and Senate candidate Kelly Rossman-McKinney and Dearborn City Councilmember Michael Sarenini.

Keith Smith, traditional healer, availability for December.

Sault Ste. Marie—Dec. 3, 4, 5, 10, 11, 17 and 18. Call Lori Gambardella at 906‑632‑0236 or Laura Collins‐Downwind at 906-632‐5268 for program information.

Manistique—Dec. 12. Call 906‑341‑8469 or 866‑401‑0043.

St. Ignace—Dec. 19. Call 906‑643‑8689 or 877‑256‑0135.