The L'Anse Indian Reservation is the land owned by the federally recognized Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (Ojibwe: Gakiiwe’onaning), which is part of the historic Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community was officially defined in 1934 by the Indian Reorganization Act as the legal continuation of the L’Anse and Ontonagon bands. The reservation is mainly located in two separate areas on either side of Keweenaw Bay in Baraga County, Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The Keweenaw Bay Community also manages the Ontonagon Indian Reservation separately.

As of 2020, the L'Anse reservation covered 91.98 square miles (58,870 acres; 238.2 km²), including land held in trust outside the reservation. The 2020 census reported 3,396 people living on the reservation. Most of the village of Baraga and part of the village of L'Anse are located on reservation land. In 1999, tribal enrollment was 3,159 according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs 1999 Labor Force Report.

History

This area was once the home of the L'Anse Band of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians, a group made up of many smaller bands that weren't all connected, living near southern Lake Superior.

The European-American town of L'Anse grew around a French fur trading post built in colonial times at a location where an Ojibwa village once stood on the bay. This development continued after the British took control of New France following the Seven Years' War. After the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States, agreements settled the border with Canada, and this area became part of the United States.

As European-American settlers moved into Michigan in the early 1800s, the United States pushed the Lake Superior Band of Ojibwa to give up their land to allow more development. The Treaty of 1842, in which the Chippewa gave land to the federal government, was one of the largest land agreements ever made between the U.S. government and Native American tribes. This treaty included rules that allowed the Chippewa to continue fishing, hunting, and gathering on the land they gave up.

The L’Anse Reservation is both the oldest and largest reservation in Michigan. It was created under the Chippewa Treaty of 1854. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that this treaty established permanent homes for the Chippewa (Ojibwa Anishnaabeg) bands who signed it. The U.S. later acquired land and set up other reservations in Michigan for Chippewa people based on this treaty, such as the Bay Mills Indian Community.

In 2024, 760 acres (310 hectares) of forestland was transferred from The Nature Conservancy to the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. This land, located within the boundaries of the 1842 reservation, was bought from a private landowner in 2021.

Geography

The reservation includes land on both sides of Keweenaw Bay in Baraga County, Michigan. It covers about one-third of Baraga County’s total area. The largest part of the reservation is located in northern L'Anse Township and western Arvon Township on the east side of Keweenaw Bay. A smaller part is located in northern Baraga Township on the west side of Keweenaw Bay. There is also a very small section (43.07 acres) of the reservation in northern Chocolay Township in northeastern Marquette County.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the L'Anse reservation and off-reservation trust land together cover 110.06 square miles (285.1 km²). Of this total area, 91.98 square miles (58,870 acres; 238.2 km²) is land, and 18.08 square miles (46.8 km²) is water. Of the total area, 0.14 square miles (90 acres; 0.36 km²) is off-reservation trust land.

Because of the historic distribution of land under the Dawes Act of 1886, only about 36% of the reservation’s land is owned by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. The remaining 64% is owned by individuals (including Tribal members and non-members), businesses, and other local governments.

Reservation demographics

According to the 2020 census, the population of the L'Anse Reservation (including off-reservation trust land) was 3,396. The number of people per square mile was 36.9 (14.2 per square kilometer). There were 1,844 housing units, with an average of 20.0 per square mile (7.7 per square kilometer). The racial makeup of the reservation and off-reservation trust land included 58.6% White, 29.3% Native American, 0.1% Black or African American, 0.6% from other races, and 11.3% from two or more races. Ethnically, 1.1% of the population identified as Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Government

The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community started its tribal government again in 1934 under the Indian Reorganization Act. Its constitution for an elected government was adopted in 1936. The community elects members to a tribal council and an executive group.

The Act encouraged tribes to reorganize their governments and required the Ontonagon and L'Anse bands of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians to join as the federally recognized Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. This group is considered the next group to take over from these two historic bands. Each band had reservations in Michigan created through treaties with the federal government in the 19th century.

The Keweenaw Bay Community was one of four founding tribes of the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Inc., created in 1966 during a time of growing Native American activism in the United States and Canada. The other founding tribes were the Bay Mills Indian Community, Hannahville Indian Community, and Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. All were federally recognized at the time. These tribes worked together to share resources, protect shared land, improve living conditions for their people, and strengthen relationships with state and federal governments. As a group, the tribes qualified for grants from the Community Action Program, which helped fund improvements in living conditions. Today, the council represents 11 of the 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan.

The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community sets its own rules for who can be a member of the tribe.

Economy

The Keweenaw Indian Community runs a fish hatchery at Pequamining Bay on Lake Superior. This hatchery helps improve and keep the lake's water clean to support fish and other living things in the area.

The tribe also manages two casinos. One, called Ojibwa I, is located on reservation land in Baraga County. The other, Ojibwa II, is in a neighborhood where people live in Chocolay Township, Marquette County. A land agreement from the year 2000 required the tribe to move the second casino. The tribe suggested relocating it to the old Marquette County Airport. As of December 2012, the new location had not been decided yet.