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February 20, 2005WCMU award to fund tribal historyStation worried about editorial control of showByRecord-Eagle staff writer SUTTONS BAY - The biggest individual chunk of $1 million in gambling revenue payouts from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians will pay for a documentary about the tribe that may or may not air on television. The tribe awarded $151,000 to WCMU Public Broadcasting in Mount Pleasant to produce a documentary about the tribe's history and for digital upgrades at the public television station. Whether WCMU broadcasts the documentary depends on whether it winds up with editorial control over the project - a determination that has yet to be negotiated between the tribe and the station, said Ed Grant, general manager of CMU Public Broadcasting. "They'll be involved with it, but they're fully aware of the fact that in order for us to broadcast it, we're required by the FCC to have editorial control of the project," Grant said. The tribe may have other ideas. "We will work closely with Central Michigan University on this project," tribal chairman Robert Kewaygoshkum said. "We will have input on editing." Kewaygoshkum said the documentary would be shown at local schools to educate children about the tribe's history. Grant acknowledged he is concerned that the subject of a documentary is financing the work. He said he also worries the finished product could be considered more a tribal infomercial than a documentary. "That's the entire issue," Grant said. "That's why we have to have editorial control" if the finished work is to be broadcast on WCMU. The money for the project comes from a biannual "2-percent" distribution of slot machine revenue the tribe makes to area governments, nonprofits and schools in lieu of property taxes. The payments were negotiated as part of a 1993 consent decree between American Indian tribes and the state of Michigan. In January, the Grand Traverse Band announced payments totaling $1,045,882 to 64 of 106 funding applicants. Kewaygoshkum defended the payment to WCMU, which is nearly 10 times the average payment awarded in the latest distribution, saying that all requests are first examined by a local government before they come before the tribal council. "If it looks bad, they can put their stamp of disapproval on the project at that level," Kewaygoshkum said. "I don't think people know the real story (of the Grand Traverse Band) and I think it will be a good project for everybody in the six-county service area." The WCMU distribution - which includes $101,000 for the production of the documentary and $50,000 for WCMU's digital upgrade project - was approved by a 2-1 vote by Suttons Bay Township. Township trustee Ronald Send voted against the proposal. "We had set a precedent that all requests had to be in by a certain date and this one came in to us a few days before the money was to be given out," Send said. Send said he also thought the proposal sets a bad precedent by sending 2-percent money out of jurisdictions affected by the casino. "I think this 2-percent money should first of all go to the township where the casino is," Send said. "We are the ones who have to take care of the roads, all the extra traffic." Trustee Richard Catton voted for the project. He said the proposal turned up after the deadline because of uncertainty between WCMU and the tribe over whether the project needed to be approved by a local government. Although the tribal council rejected a request this round to fund $35,000 for gear for a fire rescue unit in Suttons Bay Township, Catton said the tribe has been good to the township in the past. "The tribe has been very supportive of Suttons Bay Township in different ventures," Catton said. "I think it's very important that the tribal elders have their chance to get their history out to the people."
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