Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Court Embraces 'Spirit of Collaboration' Inside and Outside of the Tribal Community

By MSC Public Information Office

As the issue of substance abuse—opioid, in particular—has grown across the country and state to epidemic proportions, it also has grown within sovereign nations, and Michigan’s Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe is no exception. 

One major way that the Tribe has targeted addiction is through its Tribal Court’s Healing to Wellness program, which has made its presence known on a regional and national scale during the last year.

Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Court staff. Front row (l to r): Jeannie Robinson, Deputy Court Clerk; Cathy Matthews, Probation Officer; Kelly Smith, Deputy Court Clerk; Jennifer Wassegijig, Probation Officer; Luann Louch, Deputy Court Clerk/Appellate Court Clerk; Christina Delacruz, Deputy Court Clerk; Estella Halliwill, Deputy Court Clerk; and Joseph Sowmick, Healing to Wellness Coordinator. Back row (l to r): Chief Judge Shannon; Carol Jackson, Magistrate; Prentiss Brown, Senior Judge. (Not pictured: Joe Hudson, Bailiff; and Aaron Graveratte, Business Manager.)

During the Michigan Association of Treatment Court Professionals annual conference in March, for example, the Tribal Court delegation presented a workshop entitled, “Tribal Community Health and Opioid Abuse: An Integrative Approach.”

“It was the first opportunity for our Tribal Court to speak about some of the collaborative efforts we have done within the tribal community,” explained Tribal Court Chief Judge Patrick Shannon. “We demonstrated the support we had from the tribal community to form the Healing to Wellness program, to establish a Families Against Narcotics chapter, to broaden alternatives to pain management, and to embrace cultural teachings.”

Tribal Chief Frank Cloutier and Tribal Council asserted the issue of opioid addiction and its effect on health care remain a priority for their administration.

“We are willing to embrace opportunities like this in the spirit of collaboration,” Chief Cloutier said. “Even at our Tribal Summit with Gov. Snyder last year, we were planting the seeds of combining resources to bring in all our tribal departments.”

On a national level, the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe embraced an opportunity earlier this year to participate as one of six tribes across Indian Country to receive an assessment of its Tribal Court by the U.S. Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs. Chief Cloutier, Tribal Council, Judge Shannon, and the Tribal Court staff met with Chief Judge Eric Mehnert, of the Penobscot Nation Tribal Court of Indian Island, Maine.

“Our Tribal Council was pleased to be one of the few selected and invited to take an active role in the program,” Chief Cloutier said.

Judge Mehnert, who also sits on the bench as wellness judge for the Hopi Tribe of Arizona, was joined by Chief Judge Mark Esqueda, of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, and the Supreme Court Judge Shannon Edwards, of the Oklahoma Osage Nation.

The judges conducted individual interviews with Tribal Court personnel, the Healing to Wellness Court Committee members, and several departments – Nimkee Memorial Wellness Center, Behavioral Health, and Tribal Police – that interact with Tribal Court on a regular basis.

“The assessment is really a chance for Tribal Members and stakeholders of the system to offer their thoughts on what the court does well, where it has some challenges, and where it can make some improvements so it can better serve the community,” Chief Judge Shannon said. “When the information all comes together and is shared, we can see a lot of growth toward what is being done within the Tribal Court.”

He added, “It is truly an innovative process and, according to what we have heard from the assessment team, we are on the cutting edge of what is being done with Tribal Healing to Wellness courts across the country.”

This summer, Tribal Court Magistrate Carol Jackson, Prosecutor Graham Leach, Healing to Wellness Case Manager Aubree Gross, and other team members attended the National Association of Drug Court Professionals annual conference in Washington, D.C. This year’s conference marked the first year when NADCP offered a special track of curriculum for tribal court professionals.

“The conference highlighted important and relevant factors pertaining to treatment courts across the nation,” Gross said. “Attending conferences such as the NADCP is important in ensuring Healing to Wellness team members are up-to-date on the latest information.”

Healing to Wellness Court is completing many of the key components highlighted in successful treatment courts, Gross added.

According to NADCP, Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Court’s program is one of 82 Tribal Healing to Wellness courts across the country.

Chief Judge Shannon is proud the Tribe is making its voice heard on so many levels.

“This conference provided our Healing to Wellness court personnel to interact with other tribal and state court professionals who are facing the opioid crisis in their judicial systems. Invariably, the participants each obtained ideas for solutions to work with our clients,” he said.  “Whether the meeting is tribal, local, state, regional or national in context, such meetings benefit what we do here to save lives and promote a healthy lifestyle.”