Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi

Last updated
Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi
Flag of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi Indians.PNG
Tribal Flag
Total population
About 1500
Regions with significant populations
Michigan
Languages
English, formerly Potawatomi
Religion
Christianity, traditional tribal religion
Related ethnic groups
Other Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Odawa

The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi (NHBP) is a federally-recognized tribe of Potawatomi in the United States. The tribe achieved federal recognition on December 19, 1995, and currently has approximately 1500 members. [1]

Contents

The Pine Creek Indian Reservation is located at 42°06′18″N85°15′40″W / 42.10500°N 85.26111°W / 42.10500; -85.26111 in Athens Township in southwestern Calhoun County in southwestern Michigan. It has a land area of a little over 199 acres. It has purchased an additional 230 acres of land for its use and operates a gaming casino in Battle Creek.

Name

Despite the name, this band of Potawatomi has no direct connection with the unrelated Huron people. Rather, both "Nottawaseppi" and "Huron" refer to the band's historical location along the Clinton River in southeastern Michigan. This river was formerly known as the Nottawasippee River or the Huron River of St. Clair . The root Nottawa in Nottawasippee is an Ojibwe ethnic slur meaning "like rattlesnakes", referring to the Huron people, who inhabited the area prior to the arrival of the Potawatomi, Odawa and Ojibwe. [2] [3] [4]

History

In the 19th century, especially, the Potawatomi people and closely related tribes of Odawa and Ojibwe peoples of the Anishinaabe were affiliated as the Council of Three Fires. All these peoples were highly decentralized and bands operated independently. During the 17th and 18th centuries, numerous bands moved into what is now Michigan.

The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi signed a treaty with the United States to cede much of its land in 1820, and was assigned a smaller portion of land as its reservation. It is located at 42°06′18″N85°15′40″W / 42.10500°N 85.26111°W / 42.10500; -85.26111 in Athens Township in southwestern Calhoun County.

In the 20th century, the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act was intended to encourage tribes to set up self-government. The nine historic bands of Odawa, Ojibwe and Potawatomi in Michigan were not covered by this act and later had to achieve federal recognition or reaffirmation as tribes independently, a process that continues.

The band organized to regain self-government, gaining reaffirmation of its status as a tribe in 1995 by Congressional legislation. Their homeland headquarters are in Wakeshma Township, near Athens, in the southwestern region of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. This is about 17 miles southwest of Battle Creek (about 22 miles by vehicle route). [5] Athens Township is within the major city's metropolitan area. The Band also maintains satellite offices in Grand Rapids, about 74 miles north of Fulton/Athens. [6] The service area of the tribe includes the reservation as well as members living in Kalamazoo, Calhoun, Ottawa, Kent and Allegan counties. [7]

Government

The NHBP is governed by a written constitution and an elected 5-member tribal council. This includes the following executive officers: Chairperson, Vice-chairperson, Secretary, Treasurer and Sergeant-at-Arms.

Tribal Court

The NHBP Tribal Court was established in 2006. It is run by a Tribal Chief Justice.

Tribal departments

The NHBP administration is divided into departments for Administration, Bkedé O Mshiké, Communications, Culture, Finance, Environmental, Government Records, Human Resources, Information Technology, Legal, Membership Services, Planning, Public Works, Social Services and Tribal Historic Preservation Office. [8]

Economy

The NHBP own FireKeepers Casino, a 236,000-square-foot (21,900 m2) casino with an attached 2,078-space parking garage on 78 acres (320,000 m2) located in Battle Creek, Michigan. This operation is governed by a compact with the state of Michigan. The NHBP also owns Waséyabek Development Company, LLC, to foster economic self-sufficiency through non-gaming business acquisitions, developments and investments.

Tribal timeline of events

See also

Related Research Articles

Athens Township is a civil township of southwest Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Michigan, about 15 miles (24 km) south of Battle Creek. It is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the township population was 2,444. The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi is based in Athens Township.

Wakeshma Township is a civil township of Kalamazoo County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2010 census recorded a population of 1,301, down from 1,414 at the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ojibwe</span> Group of indigenous peoples in North America

The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. They are Indigenous peoples of the Subarctic and Northeastern Woodlands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Potawatomi</span> Native American people of the Great Plains

The Potawatomi, also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie, are a Native American people of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a member of the Algonquin family. The Potawatomi call themselves Neshnabé, a cognate of the word Anishinaabe. The Potawatomi are part of a long-term alliance, called the Council of Three Fires, with the Ojibway and Odawa (Ottawa). In the Council of Three Fires, the Potawatomi are considered the "youngest brother" and are referred to in this context as Bodéwadmi, a name that means "keepers of the fire" and refers to the council fire of three peoples.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Odawa</span> Indigenous people of North America

The Odawa, believed to derive from an Anishinaabe word meaning "traders", are an Indigenous American ethnic group who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, commonly known as the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. They have long had territory that crosses the current border between the two countries, and they are federally recognized as Native American tribes in the United States and have numerous recognized First Nations bands in Canada. They are one of the Anishinaabeg, related to but distinct from the Ojibwe and Potawatomi peoples.

The Council of Three Fires is a long-standing Anishinaabe alliance of the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi North American Native tribes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians</span>

The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians is a federally recognized Native American tribe located in northwest Michigan on the Leelanau Peninsula. Sam McClellan is the current tribal chairman, elected in June 2016 to a four-year term after succeeding Al Pedwaydon, who served from 2012 to 2016.

Spurr may refer to:

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The Hannahville Indian Community is a federally recognized Potawatomi tribe residing in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, approximately 15 miles (24 km) west of Escanaba on a 8.5755-square-mile (22.210 km2) reservation. The reservation, at 45°46′59″N87°25′23″W, lies mostly in Harris Township in eastern Menominee County, but a small part is located in northeastern Gourley Township, also in Menominee County, and another in Bark River Township in adjacent southwestern Delta County.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">FireKeepers Casino Hotel</span> Casino and hotel

FireKeepers Casino Hotel is a 236,000-square-foot (21,900 m2) casino and hotel in Emmett Charter Township, Michigan, between Battle Creek and Marshall. It is owned and operated by the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi. Construction began May 7, 2008, and the casino opened to the general public on August 5, 2009. Construction was a joint venture between Shingobee Builders and Clark Construction. The hotel and other additions opened in December 2012.

The Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan is a federally recognized tribe of Potawatomi people in Michigan named for a 19th-century Ojibwe chief. They were formerly known as the Gun Lake Band of Grand River Ottawa Indians, the United Nation of Chippewa, Ottawa and Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan, Inc., and the Gun Lake Tribe or Gun Lake Band. They are headquartered in Bradley, Michigan.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pine Creek Indian Reservation</span> United States historic place

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The Treaty of Detroit of 1855 was a treaty between the United States Government and the Ottawa and Chippewa Nations of Indians of Michigan. The treaty contained provisions to allot individual tracts of land to Native people consisting of 40-acre (16 ha) plots for single individuals and 80-acre (32 ha) plots for families, outlined specific tracts which were assigned to the various bands and provided for the severance of the government consolidation of the Ottawa and Chippewa.

The FireKeepers Casino Hotel Championship is a tournament on the Epson Tour, the LPGA's developmental tour. It has been a part of the tour's schedule since 2014.

References

  1. ↑ "About NHBP" . Retrieved May 26, 2021.
  2. ↑ "Child of the ice age: The Clinton River". MSU Extension. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  3. ↑ Leeson, Michael A. (2005) [1882]. "Organization". History of Macomb County. Ann Arbor, Mich.: University of Michigan Library. p. 297. Retrieved 2006-10-01.
  4. ↑ "History of Macomb County, Michigan : containing ... biographical sketches, portraits of prominent men and early settlers : the whole preceded by a history of Michigan ..." umich.edu. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  5. ↑ Fulton, MI to Battle Creek, MI, Distance between Cities Website, accessed 2 January 2016
  6. ↑ Fulton, MI to Grand Rapids, MI, Distance between Cities website, accessed 2 January 2016
  7. ↑ "Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi", Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, 11 October 2012, accessed 2 January 2016
  8. ↑ "About NHBP" . Retrieved September 23, 2022.
  9. ↑ "Laura Spurr, tribal chairwoman of Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi dies in California". Kalamazoo Gazette . Mlive.com. 2010-02-19. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
  10. ↑ Hicks, Mark (2010-03-01). "Laura Spurr, Grosse Pointe Park, Leader gave 'whatever it took' to support her tribe". Detroit News . Retrieved 2010-03-09.
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