The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians (pronounced "Soo Saint Marie", Ojibwe: Baawiting Anishinaabeg), commonly shortened to Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians or the more colloquial Soo Tribe, is a federally recognized Native American tribe in what is now known as Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The tribal headquarters is located within Sault Ste. Marie, the major city in the region, which is located on the St. Marys River.
Originally a part of the homelands of the Oc̣eṭi Ṡakowiƞ (Dakota, Lakota, Nakoda, or Sioux), who were pushed westward by the Anishinaabe Migration from the east coast, this location became known as Bawating by the Anishinaabe (the Ojibwe or Chippewa), who arrived there before Europeans showed up in the mid-to-late 16th century. Bawating, sometimes seen written as Baawiting or Bahweting, is an Ojibwe word meaning "The Gathering Place."[3] The Chippewa participated in trading with other tribes, and later with the French, British and American traders here in turn.
The Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians is the largest federally recognized tribe in Michigan, outnumbering the next largest tribe, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, by a scale of about 10 to one. It was recognized in 1972 with five units in seven counties. In 1979 the tribal council included the Mackinac Band as members, nearly doubling its enrollment. The tribe's revenues from its Kewadin Casinos has enabled it to establish health centers and invest in education for its members.
Government
The Sault Tribe operates its own government, with regular elections for chairperson and council members. Council members represent the tribe's five units throughout seven counties in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.[1] Over one half of the tribe's enrolled members reside outside the five units, but vote within those established units. They vote in a unit where they have significant ancestral or historic ties.
In 2012 the current chairman Aaron A. Payment was elected by the largest majority in the tribe's modern history. He had first been elected to the Tribal Council in 1996. He was elected as chairman in 2004, defeating a 17-year incumbent. In 2008 he lost his race for re-election to Joe Eitrem, but was re-elected in 2012, 2016 and 2020.[4]
The tribe operates its own police department [5] and tribal court.[6]
History
For hundreds of years preceding modern European contact, the Sault (Soo) Band ancestors were part of the large Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians. The Ojibwe (known as Chippewa in the United States) were known to have migrated over centuries from the Atlantic Coast. They historically spoke the Ojibwe language, one of numerous Algonquian languages.
Chiefs whose signatories identified them as members of the Sault (Soo) Band and other bands were among those in the region signing treaties with the United States in 1820. Ancestors of the tribe are believed to have lived in the Great Lakes region since about 1200CE.[7] They were part of a wide trading network.
The modern Sault Tribe is descended from Ojibwe ancestors who lived on Sugar Island in the St. Mary's River between the U.S. state of Michigan and the Canadian province of Ontario, and in the area.
The Sault Tribe gained federal recognition by the United States Commissioner of Indian Affairs on September 7, 1972.[8] The tribe did not have a historic reservation from a previous treaty. As part of the process, the federal government took land in trust for the tribe by deed dated May 17, 1973, and approved by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on March 7, 1974.[8]
Since formal recognition in 1972, the tribe has increased in number of members. It has approximately 40,000 members on its rolls.[9] In the 21st century, many Sault Tribe members live off-reservation in the Upper and Lower Peninsulas of Michigan, about one third live throughout the United States and Canada, and on other continents. At any given time, significant numbers are serving in the military.
In 1979 the Tribal Council passed a resolution allowing Mackinac Band members to enroll in the tribe, which doubled the number of enrolled members. In the 21st century, the Sault Tribe consists of more than 20 bands. There is also a significant and historic relation with Garden River First Nation, also known as Ketegaunseebee (Gitigaan-ziibi Anishinaabe in the Ojibwe language), an Ojibwa band located at Garden River 14 near Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada.
Based on a 1993 compact with the state, the tribe operates five casinos under the Kewadin Casinos name in Sault Ste. Marie, St. Ignace, Manistique, Christmas and Hessel. The tribe also owns and manages hotels at the Christmas, Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace casino sites. These tribal enterprises operate at a profit, generating revenues for the tribe.
The tribe formerly operated Detroit's Greektown Casino, where they held a majority interest. They filed for bankruptcy protection in 2008, during the Great Recession. In June 2010 the Michigan Gaming Control Board voted 4–0 at a special meeting to transfer ownership from the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians to new investors.[11] The tribe's participation in the Greektown Casino created state support for authorization of three casinos in Detroit. These have provided the region and state with employment and income.
In 2011 the tribe said it was considering development of additional downstate casinos in Romulus and the state capital of Lansing.[12] These were proposed to be built on land the tribe owned but which had not yet been put in trust by the federal government.
Both projects were challenged in court cases. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette contended that the Lansing project violated the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act and the 1993 compact which the tribe had made with Gov. John Engler when it established its first casinos.[4] In September 2015 a judge dismissed the state's lawsuit seeking to block a casino in downtown Lansing.[13] The mayor of Lansing has publicly supported the project, saying that the casino "would bring thousands of good-paying jobs to Lansing and fully fund the Lansing Promise to provide college scholarships for graduates of the city's schools."[13] The casino is proposed to be built next to the Lansing Center, blocks from the state capitol building.[13] The Department of Interior will take the land into trust which the Sault Tribe bought from Lansing.
Services
The tribe has reinvested revenues from the casino/hotel operations to build infrastructure for the welfare and education of its people. It operates six health centers for its members, with locations in Sault Ste. Marie, St. Ignace, Manistique, Munising, Newberry, and Hessel.[14] The tribe also has emphasized education for its youth, offering several college scholarships for members.[15]
The tribe helped found the Joseph K. Lumsden Bahweting Anishnaabe Public School Academy in Sault Ste. Marie.[16] This is operated independently as both a Bureau of Indian Affairs school and a Michigan charter school. It was founded to offer an alternative to Sault Ste. Marie Area Schools, from which "Chippewa County" Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians</ref> students had a high drop-out rate. The school was renamed in 1998 to honor Lumsden, a late tribal leader who helped develop the tribe's first housing, education, and health programs.[3]
Open to all students in the community, Bahweting has achieved progress. It offers an introduction to the Anishnaabe language, culture and values. The school was awarded the Governor of Michigan's Gold Apple Award for outstanding student performance in the ‘Most Improved’ category on the Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) tests. The U.S. Department of Education gave it a Title I Distinguished School Award; it was one of 95 schools honored among the 48,000 Title I schools nationwide.[17]
Other tribal endeavors include building the Chi Mukwa (Big Bear) Recreation Center in Sault Ste. Marie. It offers Olympic and NHL-size ice rinks, a basketball court, a volleyball court, aerobics room, and fitness areas.[18]
The Tribe publishes a monthly newspaper, Win Awenen Nisitotung, which in Ojibwe means "he/she/or one, who well or fully understands."[19] The newspaper is commonly referred to as the WAN.
The tribe operates two Midjim convenience stores, one in Sault Ste. Marie and the other located in St. Ignace. These offer discounted gasoline and cigarettes for tribal members.[20]
Native Americans in Michigan Databases, Mainly Michigan website, includes "Durant Roll of 1908" and "Mt. Pleasant Indian School Register (1893 to 1932)"
Mackinac County is a county in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,834. The county seat is St. Ignace. Formerly known as Michilimackinac County, in 1818 it was one of the first counties of the Michigan Territory, as it had long been a center of French and British colonial fur trading, a Catholic church and Protestant mission, and associated settlement.
Chippewa County is a county in the eastern Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the population was 36,785. The county seat is Sault Ste. Marie. The county is named for the Ojibwe (Chippewa) people, and was set off and organized in 1826. Chippewa County comprises the Sault Ste. Marie, MI micropolitan statistical area.
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Chippewa County and is the only city within the county. With a population of 13,337 at the 2020 census, it is the second-most populated city in the Upper Peninsula, behind Marquette. It is the primary city of the Sault Ste. Marie, MI Micropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all of Chippewa County and had a population of 36,785 at the 2020 census. Sault Ste. Marie was settled by mostly French colonists in 1668, making it the oldest city in Michigan.
Sugar Island Township is a civil township of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 653 at the 2020 census. The township consists of Sugar Island, several smaller islands, and the surrounding waters in the St. Marys River.
St. Ignace is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Mackinac County. The city had a population of 2,306 at the 2020 census. St. Ignace Township is located just to the north of the city; the two are administered separately.
Mackinaw City is a village at the northernmost point of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, United States. Divided between Cheboygan and Emmet counties, Mackinaw City is located at the southern end of the Mackinac Bridge, which carries Interstate 75 over the Straits of Mackinac to St. Ignace, in the Upper Peninsula. Mackinaw City and St. Ignace also serve as access points for ferries to and from Mackinac Island. For these reasons, Mackinaw City is considered one of Michigan's most popular tourist attractions.
The Ojibwe are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and throughout the northeastern woodlands. The Ojibwe, being Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands and of the subarctic, are known by several names, including Ojibway or Chippewa. As a large ethnic group, several distinct nations also consider themselves Ojibwe, including the Saulteaux, Nipissings, and Oji-Cree.
The Odawa are an Indigenous American people who primarily inhabit land in the Eastern Woodlands region, now in jurisdictions of the northeastern United States and southeastern Canada. Their territory long preceded the creation of the current border between the two countries in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The Bay Mills Indian Community (BMIC), is an Indian reservation forming the land base of one of the many federally recognized Sault Ste. Marie bands of Ojibwe.
H-63 is a county-designated highway (CDH) in the Upper Peninsula of the US state of Michigan. The highway parallels the Interstate 75 (I-75) corridor between St. Ignace and Sault Ste. Marie. The road is called Mackinac Trail after the Upper Peninsula branch of an Indian trail used before European settlers reached the area. Originally, the roadway was built as a section of US Highway 2 (US 2) before being added to the CDH system in the 1970s.
The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, also known as the Leech Lake Band of Chippewa Indians or the Leech Lake Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe is a federally recognized Ojibwe band located in Minnesota and one of six making up the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. The band had 9,426 enrolled tribal members as of March 2014. The band's land base is the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, which includes eleven communities aggregated into three districts, as defined in the tribal constitution.
The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians 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 to a four-year term after succeeding David Arroyo, who served a single term from 2020 to 2024.
The Lake Superior Chippewa are a large number of Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) bands living around Lake Superior; this territory is considered part of northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota in the United States. They migrated into the area by the seventeenth century, encroaching on the Eastern Dakota people who had historically occupied the area. The Ojibwe defeated the Eastern Dakota, who migrated west into the Great Plains after the final battle in 1745. While they share a common culture including the Anishinaabe language, this highly decentralized group of Ojibwe includes at least twelve independent bands in the region.
Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is a federally recognized band of the Lake Superior Chippewa, many of whom reside on the Lac Vieux Desert Indian Reservation, located near Watersmeet, Michigan. It is approximately 45 miles southeast of Ironwood, Michigan in Gogebic County.
Little River Band of Ottawa Indians is a federally recognized Native American tribe of the Odawa people in the United States. It is based in Manistee and Mason counties in northwest Michigan. It was recognized on September 21, 1994.
The Mackinac Bands of Chippewa and Ottawa Indians is a non-profit organization for people who self-identify as being of Ojibwe and Odawa descent, based in the state of Michigan. The organization is headquartered in St. Ignace, Mackinac County and has around 4,000 members. Today most members live in Mackinac, Chippewa, Emmet, Cheboygan, and Presque Isle counties, however many members are also located throughout the state of Michigan and the United States. The organization is not recognized by the State of Michigan or by the US federal government.
The Kewadin Casinos are a set of casinos located in the US state of Michigan. The casinos are owned by the federally recognized Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The primary property is located in Sault Ste. Marie, with additional locations on tribal lands in Christmas, Hessel, Manistique, and St. Ignace.
Kewadin Casino, Hotel and Convention Center is a casino, hotel, and convention center in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan which opened in November 1985. It is one of the Kewadin Casinos, which are all owned and operated by the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
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.
Joseph K. Lumsden Bahweting Anishnabe School is a Bureau of Indian Education (BIE)-affiliated tribal school and an affiliated charter school in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is a K-8 school.
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