The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians (Ojibwe: Gaaching-Ziibi Daawaa Anishinaabe) is an officially recognized Native American tribe of the Odawa people in the United States. It is located in Manistee and Mason counties in northwest Michigan. The tribe was officially recognized on September 21, 1994.
It is one of three officially recognized tribes of Odawa people in Michigan. The other two are the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. Other groups with official recognition include the Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma and several First Nations in Ontario, Canada. These groups used to speak the Odawa language, which is a type of Anishinaabemowin (also called Ojibwe), but fewer people speak it now.
History
The area near the Manistee River was home to groups of Ottawa and Chippewa (Ojibwe) people long before Europeans arrived. French traders who sold fur visited these villages during the 1700s and 1800s.
In 1836, the United States government gave the Ottawa people a reservation along the Manistee River through a treaty. This land was part of the tribe’s traditional territory. The treaty provided land for five years and included plans to move tribal members west of the Missouri River. However, the agreement was changed in 1855. The new treaty gave the tribe a reservation that included Custer and Eden townships in Mason County and Crystal and Elbridge townships in Oceana County.
Some of this land returned to tribal ownership in August 2000 when the Little River Band purchased about 740 acres in Mason County.
The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians is one of 567 Native American tribes officially recognized by the United States government. On September 21, 1994, the federal government confirmed the tribe’s status by having President Bill Clinton sign Senate Bill 1357 into law. This law also confirmed the status of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians.
Since January 1994, the Little River Band has published a monthly newspaper called Currents. All issues are available on the tribe’s official website.
Tribal government
The Band is the next in line to nine of the 19 historical Grand River Bands of Ottawa peoples who lived along the Thornapple, Grand, White, Pere Marquette, Manistee, and Little Manistee rivers. The Little River Band has its own government based on a constitution. This government has three parts: the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. The Band holds regular elections to choose a nine-person legislative council and an Ogemakaan, which means the elected chief. There is also a separate but equal judicial branch that is elected. The government has 28 departments that handle different programs and tasks needed to run a modern government.
The Tribal Council has created rules for membership based on blood quantum and descent from people listed in historic bands of the region. A person is eligible if they are 25% Native American, with at least 12.5% from Grand River Ottawa or Michigan Ottawa. They must also be a direct ancestor of a Native American from Manistee, Mason, Wexford, or Lake counties in Michigan, or be listed on the "Durant Roll of 1908" for Grand River Ottawa. They may also be a direct ancestor of someone listed on the "1870 Annuity Payrolls of Chippewas and Ottawas of Michigan" under certain Ottawa chiefs. A person must not be enrolled in another tribe. The Tribe also allows children under 18 years old who meet the membership rules in Section 1 to join, even if they were adopted.
Language
The Little River Band's original language, Anishinaabemowin, is an Algonquian language. It is classified as "critically endangered" by the 2010 Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Only a few elders and members can still speak the language completely. The Band lives far from their reservation, in areas where most people speak English. The language is not often used.
Little River Casino Resort
On December 3, 1998, Governor John Engler signed an agreement between the Little River Band and the State of Michigan that allowed gaming on reservation land. Tribal Member Robert Guenthardt led these efforts and later became the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians' first elected Ogema. In 1999, the Band opened the Little River Casino Resort on its Manistee Reservation. Since its opening, the resort has grown in several stages to more than 23,000 square feet of space. The complex includes a 292-room luxury hotel, a 1,700-seat event center, and an expanding collection of slots and table games. The tribe has used income from its gaming operations to support economic development and improve the well-being of its people.