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WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28, 2002

A federal judge on Monday returned the federal recognition case of a Michigan tribe to the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

U.S. District Judge Richard W. Roberts said the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians failed to exhaust its administrative remedies. "A direct suit in federal court seeking federal recognition," he wrote in an order dismissing the case, "is not appropriate relief." dismissing the case.

The tribe said in its lawsuit that it was previously recognized by two treaties. The tribe also said the BIA has unreasonably delayed a decision on its petition.

Roberts refuted the first charge by saying "historical recognition by the Executive Branch does not allow a defendant to bypass BIA, even if the recognition occurred in a treaty."

He also said the Burt Lake Band failed to ask for the proper remedies to the BIA delay. Other tribes, he pointed out, have sought to impose a time-table on the recognition process.

Rep. Bart Stupak (D-Mich.) has introduced a bill to recognize the Burt Lake Band legislatively.

Get the Case:
Burt Lake Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians v. Gale Norton (8/26)