Former Bureau of Indian Affairs official Aurene Martin has been hired by the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe of Michigan, one of the tribes at the center of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

Martin, of the Holland & Knight firm, was hired last month. She is working with Larry Rosenthal, of Ietan Consulting, a firm owned by Wilson Pipestem, to develop the tribe's lobbying strategy.

As part of the effort, Martin and Rosenthal sent a memo to tribal leaders that proposes the tribe make more than $300,000 in campaign contributions to members of Congress and national and state parties. The memo, reported by The Hill newspaper, was published on a website run by Saginaw Chippewa members who oppose the current council.

The memo [Link] encourages donations to lawmakers who have supported tribal issues, including $7,000 to Rep. Richard Pombo (R-California), $5,000 to Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) and $5,000 to Rep. Dale Kildee (D-Michigan) It also encourages donations to lawmakers who are opposed to off-reservation gaming, such as $1,000 to Rep. Wayne Gilchrest (R-Maryland), $1,000 to Rep. Steve Pearce (R-New Mexico) and $3,000 to Rep. Denny Rehberg (R-Montana).

According to The Hill, the donations, if all are made, would put the tribe among the top spenders. The paper says the tribe made $478,000 on political donations in 2002, $501,000 in 2003 and $269,000 in 2004.

In related Saginaw Chippewa news, tribal member Delores Jackson is still refusing to take a drug test in her bid for council, saying her civil rights will be violated. She opposes the current tribal leadership.

Get the Story:
Tribe continues political largesse (The Hill 10/12)
Jackson still on ballot (The Morning Sun 10/8)

Indianz.Com Lobbying Reports:
McCain seeks to close 'revolving door' in Washington (06/28)
Lobbying Report: The revolving door in Washington (06/06)
Lobbying Report: The Holland & Knight firm (05/23)

Relevant Links:
Saginaw Chippewa Tribe - http://www.sagchip.org
Saginaw Chippewa Voices - http://www.scitmembervoices.com

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Recall of anti-Abramoff Sag Chip leaders debated (4/28)
Saginaw Chippewa Tribe gave $25K to GOP tax group (4/25)
Editorial: Saginaw Chippewa feud needs to end (4/25)
Abramoff and Scanlon 'still hounding' Sag Chips (4/22)
Recall papers certified against anti-Abramoff leaders (4/19)
Sag Chip members target anti-Abramoff leaders (04/06)
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Documents detail lobbyists' role in tribal elections (10/04)
More hearings slated in tribal lobbyist scandal (09/30)
Senate hearing on tribal lobbying probe set (8/26)
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