Chippewa, Feds Fight State Motion to Void Land Claim Under 1877 Law
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Hooch and a nag are involved in legal cases being cited in federal court here.
Last minute jockeying in a Chippewa Indian suit is enlivening the atmosphere in U.S. District Court in Bay City before Judge Thomas L. Ludington.
The federal government is using a case in which soldiers seized whiskey while the state relies on a case involving a horse named "Captain Fudge."
It appears that the fate of the Indian claim to control over 138,000 acres in Isabella County now may rest in the judge's hands.
The Indian suit against the state over the status of the 1855 Isabella Reservation nearing trial, is set to start on Aug. 10 barring a settlement or a judge's ruling.
The Chippewa, flush with casino cash and "lawyered up" with Indian law experts from Minnesota, want control of their old reservation back.
That claim extends to seven townships and half the city of Mt. Pleasant.
Dozens of expert witnesses are on alert to fly into Bay City to testify on one side or the other in the momentous lawsuit.
The U.S. Justice Department is supporting the Chippewa defense against the state, filed last week, claiming an 1877 decision that only those Indian lands that retained their aboriginal title were "Indian Country."
On June 25 the state filed a motion asking the court to "take judicial notice" of the case of Bates vs. Clark.
The state relies on Rodic v. Thistledown Racing Club that federal courts may take judicial notice of proceedings from other courts of record. "The Rodic Court took judicial notice that plaintiff attended a horse race in 1972 and bet on Captain Fudge who finished second."
Bates was an Army captain in command of Fort Seward in Dakota Territory who seized 43 gallons of whiskey from defendant Clark.
The U.S. Supreme Court upheld Bates' claim that it was his duty to seize the hooch under an 1834 act to regulate trade with the Indians and preserve peace on the frontier.
The key point of the Bates case came down to the same issue in question in the current matter of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe vs. Jennifer Granholm as governor of the state of Michigan. -- what is Indian Country?
"As soon as they parted with the title, it ceased to be Indian country and the statute did not apply," the defendant claimed.
The Chippewa point out in a response to the state claim that the Bates decision was nullified by a Supreme Court decision in 1913 and upheld by another ruling in 1948.
Minneapolis Attorney William Szotkowski and his posse, backing up Sean Reed of Mt. Pleasant, general counsel for the Chippewa, contend the state's motion should be denied because Bates is irrelevant.
They also argue that the Captain Fudge case should be ignored, asserting "it is reversible error for a court to take judicial notice of a legal conclusion."
It soon may be learned whether Judge Ludington will ride Captain Fudge across the finish line or whether the 43 cases of whiskey will decide the matter.
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