A rich history, a proud people
The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians is a modern expression of
the Anishinabeg who lived in this region of the Great Lakes for more than
500 years. The roots of the Tribe's modern government extend to the 1940s,
when a group of Sugar Island residents gathered to talk about their common
history. At first, these gatherings were small — no more than two or three
residents sharing thoughts over coffee in the kitchen of a neighbor's home.
Over time, as discussions turned to action plans, the meetings grew larger
and more formal.
These Sugar Island residents were descendants of the Anishinabeg who for
hundreds of years had made their homes near the rapids of the St. Mary's
River, which they called Bawating — the Gathering Place. This area would
later become the City of Sault Ste. Marie. In 1665, their ancestors greeted
the French who traveled from Montreal to the Sault to obtain beaver pelts
for the growing fur trade. When French sovereignty ended a century later in
1763, the English moved into the area and took over the wealthy fur trade.
By 1820, the British had been replaced by Americans, and the Anishinabeg
ceded 16 square miles of land along the St. Mary's River to the United
States to build Fort Brady. In 1836, a second treaty was signed that ceded
northern lower Michigan and the eastern portion of the Upper Peninsula to
the United States. In return, the Anishinabeg received cash payments and
ownership to about 250,000 acres of land. But over the next 20 years, the
Anishinabeg watched as the terms of the treaty were violated by white
settlers moving into northern Michigan. So in 1855, the chiefs signed
another treaty with the Americans that allotted lands to Anishinabeg
families.
The Sugar Island residents came to understand that while the treaties
granted large tracks of land to the federal government, the documents did
not end their sovereignty, or terminate their ancestral right to hunt and
fish on the ceded lands and waters of the Anishinabeg.
A New Name
On December 24, 1953, the residents became the "Sugar Island Group of
Chippewa Indians and Their Descendants." At that time, Sault Ste. Marie and
Sugar Island contained no lands for their people, and the federal government
considered them members of the Bay Mills Indian Community. The Descendants
did not feel part of the Bay Mills Community, located 30 miles west of Sugar
Island. Bay Mills had not extended services to the Sugar Island residents
and had not represented their needs at Tribal council meetings. As a result,
the Sugar Island Group pushed for recognition as a separate Tribe. Their
actions were motivated by the impoverished community in which they lived.
Many of their friends and family members lacked jobs and lived in inadequate
homes, along unlit and unpaved streets.
Federal Recognition
Federal recognition would let the Tribe contract with the federal
government for basic services. Gaining recognition was not easy. The
Descendants had no financial resources, no political support, and little
information on how to present their claims to the federal government. They
were fortunate, however, because the U.S. government had recently changed
its policy toward Indian tribes with the passage of the Indian
Reorganization Act of 1934. The Act ended an era of Indian assimilation
policies by creating laws to encourage tribes to reorganize their
traditional economies and communities into self-governing nations. Most
important, the Descendants saw the Act as a way to improve their Indian
community. Federal recognition would restore their sovereignty as a separate
nation within the United States, give focus to their land claims, open the
door to elect a government able to take land into trust, and lead to the
recognition of their treaty rights to hunt and fish.
Federal recognition took more than 20 years to complete. The Descendants
built their case by searching archives, gathering historical documents,
census rolls, church records, and military records. Piece by piece, year by
year, their research made clear that the Sugar Island Indians were a
distinct Indian community entitled to federal status, In the mid 1960s, the
Descendants changed their name to the Original Bands of Chippewa Indians and
Their Heirs to include members living in other eastern Upper Peninsula
communities in the recognition process. In the early 1970s, the leaders of
the Original Bands of Chippewa Indians traveled to Washington and
successfully submitted their historical findings and legal argument to the
Secretary of Interior, who granted federal status in 1972. Once recognized,
the Original Bands became the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
Land was taken into trust in March 1974, and our Constitution — the final
step in this long process — was adopted by our members in fall 1975.
Tribal Leaders
Joseph K. Lumsden took office in 1973. A graduate of Lake Superior State
College, and a trained teacher, he played a leading role in the creation of
the Tribe's first housing, education and health programs. Under his tenure,
the Tribe developed courts and police departments, and won the right to fish
in the ceded waters of the Great Lakes. Since recognition, other leaders
have stepped forward.
A Bright Future
Today, the Tribe is a fully recognized Indian community with 29,000
enrolled members living throughout Michigan and the United States. Its
sovereign status is recognized by Michigan, the U.S. government, and Canada.
The Tribe operates under a Constitution and Bylaws approved in November 1975
by the Secretary of Interior.
It is governed by an elected 12-member Board of Directors representing
five geographic election units in the eastern Upper Peninsula. The
chairman's position is elected at large. Board members serve four-year
terms, which are staggered, putting half the Board up for election every two
years.
The powers of the Tribe's Board of Directors are set forth in the
Constitution. They include the power to enact and enforce ordinances to
govern Tribal lands, to establish businesses and to expend funds for the
betterment of the community. The Tribe's government is headquartered in
Sault Ste. Marie, where it administers 50 membership services and directs
the operation of 22 businesses.
In 1984, the Board of Directors voted to open the Tribe's most successful
business — Kewadin Casinos. Kewadin's rapid success provided the funds to
expand the Tribe's business holdings from one to five casinos and take
ownership of 15 non-gaming businesses, including Sawyer Village. In 1998,
these businesses employed nearly 2,500 people, making the Tribe northern
Michigan's largest employer.
Revenues from the Tribe's casino and non-gaming businesses are spent to
better its community. They have purchased lands to increase reservation
holdings, finance the construction of new health centers, and pay for added
housing. And, they support satellite offices in St. Ignace, Manistique,
Escanaba, Munising, Sawyer and Hessel extending membership services
throughout the Tribe's seven-county service area of the eastern Upper
Peninsula.
For more information about The Sault Tribe, go to
www.saulttribe.com
