Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Tribal Rights Towing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Tribal residents ask Detroit council for forum after reports of towed vehicles and confusion over tribal plates
Summary
A Detroit resident representing the League of Indian Nations asked the council to recognize tribes who live in the city and to convene talks after reports that tribal members' vehicles were seized when traveling with tribal reservation plates and IDs.
Tanya Trowell, who identified herself as an assistant to the League of Indian Nations, told the Internal Operations Committee on April 30 that tribes living in Detroit have experienced vehicle seizures and confusion with police and towing companies when tribal residents travel with reservation plates and tribal ID.
“I am Tanya Trowell, 1 of the assistants to the League of Indian Nations in the city of Detroit,” she said during the public-comment period. “Our automobiles keep getting confiscated, because we are expressing our rights according to the treaties to travel with our reservation plates and our reservations ID.”
Trowell asked the council to “put the city on notice” that tribes reside in Detroit and requested a forum with the city and the mayor to address the recurring issues. She said the state of Michigan has recognized the tribes but, she added, municipalities have not held official meetings to resolve disputes about travel and recognition of tribal documents.
Council staff asked Trowell to leave contact information so the city could follow up; the transcript does not record whether a meeting was scheduled.
Trowell’s remarks came during the committee’s public-comment period; the committee did not take any formal action on the topic during the session recorded in the transcript.
