The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (Ojibwe: Gichi-wiikwedong Odaawaag miina ojibweg) is a federally recognized Native American tribe located in northwest Michigan on the Leelanau Peninsula. Sandra Witherspoon is the current tribal chairperson, elected in May 2024 for a four-year term after taking over from David Arroyo, who served one term from 2020 to 2024.
The tribal offices are in Peshawbestown, Michigan. As of June 2024, the current GTB Tribal Council includes: Chairperson Sandra Witherspoon, Vice-Chair Jane Rohl, Treasurer Tina A. Frankenberger, Secretary Anna Miller, Councilor Brian S. Napont, Councilor Angelina M. Raphael, and Councilor Donna M. Swallows. The tribe owns and operates the Leelanau Sands Casino, the Turtle Creek Casino and Hotel, and the Grand Traverse Resort & Spa.
It is one of three federally recognized tribes of Odawa peoples in Michigan. The others are the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, both recognized in 1994.
Names
The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians refers to itself as Anishinaabeg or the Three Fires Confederacy. It includes people from the Odaawaa/Odawa (Ottawa), the Ojibwe (Ojibwa/Chippewa), and the Boodewaadami/Bodéwadmi (Potawatomi) groups. These people were part of the confederacy in the past.
Federal recognition
Under the Indian Reorganization Act, the tribe asked the federal government for official recognition in 1934 and 1943, but their requests were denied. In 1978, Dodie Harris Chambers worked to get recognition for the tribe. On May 27, 1980, the tribe was officially recognized. The Grand Traverse Band became the first Odawa tribe in Michigan to be officially recognized by the federal government. They were among the first tribes in the United States to own a casino, under new gaming laws from the 1980s.
History
Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomi Indians are groups of people who speak Algonquian languages. They slowly moved from the Atlantic coast to the Great Lakes region in Canada and the Midwest of the United States, which includes states like Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Today, these groups have officially recognized lands only in Canada, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. In the 19th century, they were forced to give up most of their land to the governments of Canada and the United States because of pressure from European-American and Canadian settlers.
The name "Ottawa," also called "Odawa" or "Odawu," is thought to come from an Algonquian word meaning "trader." It was mistakenly recorded as meaning "people of the bulrush," but the Odawa have a specific word for a group of people that refers to a particular band.
Historically, members of this tribe are descendants of and political successors to nine Ottawa bands that signed treaties in 1836 and 1855. These treaties are connected to a total of 19 bands listed as the Grand River Band Ottawa. After the 1855 Treaty, all Ottawa Bands living from the Manistee River south to the Grand River, near or on the eastern shores of Lake Michigan, were moved to reservation lands in Mason and Oceana counties.
The permanent villages of the Grand River bands of Ottawa, including the nine bands whose descendants form the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, were located along the Grand, Thornapple, Flat, White, Père Marquette, and Big and Little Manistee rivers in Michigan's western Lower Peninsula.
The Ottawa and Chippewa Treaty of Detroit was signed in 1855. This treaty created an Ottawa/Chippewa nation to help them settle on a reservation.
The Chippewa, also known as Ojibwe, Ojibway, Chippeway, or Anishinaabe, are the largest Native American group north of the Rio Grande. Their population is divided between Canada, where they are called the Ojibwe, and the United States. The Bay Mills Indian Community is located on the land of the Sault Ste. Marie band of Chippewa, which originally lived on both sides of what became the US-Canada border. After the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 was passed, the Bay Mills Indian Community organized to create a new form of government.
Today
Members of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians are descendants of the nine historic Ottawa (Odawa) bands and Chippewa (Ojibwe) bands that lived in northern Michigan and signed treaties with the federal government. These groups are the successors to the 19 bands that were recorded as living in this area before them.
The tribe’s government includes a group of leaders chosen by the people. This group consists of a tribal chair and six tribal council members. However, most members of the Grand Traverse Band are not allowed to vote in elections. Most other tribes in Michigan let all members vote. The council has authority over programs, money, and daily operations. It also appoints judges who work with state courts to handle criminal, family, and civil cases.
The water resources on the 1855 reservation include Grand Traverse Bay, the eastern shore of Michigan, Lake Leelanau, Elk Lake, and their watersheds. Other important natural resources are forests that are not developed and areas used for traditional hunting, fishing, and gathering plants.
The Grand Traverse Band’s Natural Resources Department includes a manager, game wardens, Great Lakes fishery biologists and technicians, fish and wildlife biologists and technicians, environmental and water quality staff, and an office manager.
Reservation
The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians has a reservation called the Grand Traverse Indian Reservation, located at 45°01′13″N 85°36′22″W (45.02028°N 85.60611°W). This reservation was officially established by the United States Secretary of the Interior on May 27, 1980, and includes lands that the Band owns. The reservation’s area is based on the 1836 Treaty, which covers land in a line from the Grand River to the Alpena area north and the eastern part of the Upper Peninsula from the Chocolay River east. Most of the reservation, about 55 percent, is in several separate areas in eastern Suttons Bay Township, Leelanau County, Michigan.
The reservation also includes five smaller land parcels in four other counties: one in southern Benzonia Township, Benzie County; two in southern Helena Township, Antrim County; one in eastern Acme Township, Grand Traverse County; and one in southwestern Eveline Township, Charlevoix County. The total land area of the reservation and off-reservation trust land is 2.539 km² (0.9804 square miles or 627.46 acres). According to the 2000 census, the reservation had 545 residents, and 80 percent of them identified as fully Native American.
The reservation’s service area includes six counties: Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Grand Traverse, Leelanau, and Manistee. The Band’s federal land base, which is land owned by the federal government, covers about 1,100 acres (4.5 km²) across these counties. The Band has a total of 3,985 members, with approximately 1,610 living in the tribal areas.
Eyaawing Museum
The Eyaawing Museum and Cultural Center is located in Peshawbestown, Michigan. It was opened in 2009 by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians to help people learn about the traditions and culture of the tribe. The museum has a gift shop that sells art and crafts made by tribal artists and craftspeople. It also offers educational materials, maps, and books for visitors to explore.
Anthropological study
A major study about the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians was conducted by Jane Willetts Ettawageshik. She spent about two years living in the community to learn about their culture. During this time, she collected Anishinaabe stories that describe how the Anishinaabe people connected to their land, their relationships with others, and the ways they shared their values, beliefs, and history in Northern Michigan. These stories were later translated into a book titled "Ottawa Stories from the Springs, Anishinaabe dibaadjimowinan wodi gaa binjibaamigak wodi mookodjiwong e zhinikaadek" by Howard Webkamigad.
Notable tribal members
- Pun Plamondon: White Panther activist and storyteller
- Kathleen R. Johnson: geologist and paleoclimatologist
- Derek Bailey: tribal chairman