The Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan is a federally recognized tribe of Potawatomi people in

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

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.,Petition for Federal Acknowledgment of Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan
William L. Church, May 16, 1994. and the Gun Lake Tribe or Gun Lake Band."Tribal Council"
''Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi.'' (retrieved 18 Dec 2009) They are headquartered in Bradley, Michigan.

History

Ancestors of this mixed band belonged to the

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

(Chippewa), Ottawa, and Pottawatomi peoples, who lived around the Great Lakes in what became Canada and the United States. The tribes tended to be highly decentralized, with most people living in bands. Under pressure and encroachment by Europeans, there were substantial population losses among the tribes, and some of their people moved west into Minnesota. Others remained in rural areas of Michigan and Wisconsin. They all spoke

Algonquian languages The Algonquian languages ( or ; also Algonkian) are a subfamily of indigenous American languages that include most languages in the Algic language family. The name of the Algonquian language family is distinguished from the orthographically simi ...

, part of a large language family extending from the Atlantic Coast and around the Great Lakes, and had some cultural similarities. Original members of the Gun Lake Band were survivors of these three tribes who gathered together in community near Gun Lake, Michigan.

Government

The tribe was recognized by the US federal government on August 23, 1999. It has a written constitution and elected democratic government, consisting of six tribal council members and a chairperson. The current (4/12/2019) tribal council is as follows: *Bob Peters, Chairperson *Ed Pigeon, Vice-Chair *Jeff Martin, Secretary *Open, Treasurer *Jodie Palmer, At-Large Councilperson *Phyllis Davis, At-Large Councilperson *Nicole Overbeck, Salem District Councilperson

Membership

The tribal council voted on rules for enrollment or membership in the tribe. As of 2009, the tribe's enrollment is open only to babies born to current tribal members."Member Services."
''Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi.'' (retrieved 18 Dec 2009) The tribe says they are "a body of mixed-blood Chippewa, Ottawa, and

Pottawatomi The Potawatomi , also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American people of the western Great Lakes region, upper Mississippi River and Great Plains. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, a me ...

" who trace their descent from the principal chief Match-e-be-nash-she-wish. Under the

Treaty of Chicago The Treaty of Chicago may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in the settlement that became Chicago, Illinois between the United States and the Odaawaa (anglicized Ottawa), Ojibwe (anglicized Chippewa), and Bodéwadmi (anglicized ...

in 1821, the US government provided him and his followers with a reserve near

Kalamazoo Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropoli ...

Reservation

The Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Reservation () is located in Wayland Township, south of the city of

Wayland, Michigan Wayland is a city in Allegan County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 4,079 at the 2010 census. The city is located at the northwest corner of Wayland Township, but is politically independent. The city has also incorporated a p ...

. Since being recognized, the tribe was assigned land in trust by the federal government in 2005."Overview P.L. 113-179"
Congress; accessed 27 November 2016 In 2009 under '' Carcieri v. Salazar,'' the

US Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point of ...

ruled that the government could not take land into trust for tribes that were recognized after the passage of the

Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of June 18, 1934, or the Wheeler–Howard Act, was U.S. federal legislation that dealt with the status of American Indians in the United States. It was the centerpiece of what has been often called the "Indian ...

. Congress in 2014 passed Public Law No: 113-179 (09/26/2014), a law to clarify that the Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band's land trust assigned to them in 2005 could not be challenged in court under the United States Supreme Court decision of '' Carcieri v. Salazar.''

Tribal enterprises

The primary tribal enterprise is the Gun Lake Casino. The first phase was built in 2009 on part of the 147 acres in

Allegan County, Michigan Allegan County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 120,502. The county seat is Allegan. The name was coined by Henry Rowe Schoolcraft to sound like a Native American word. Alle ...

that the tribe was given in January 2009 as a land base by the federal government."Ground broken on casino that Station will manage"
''Las Vegas Sun'', Amanda Finnegan, Sept. 18, 2009 It generated 750 jobs during construction. The tribe estimated that it would attract 60,000 guests annually to area hotels. The tribe did not plan to build and operate a hotel. Further, they estimated the enterprise would bring 600 casino jobs. The tribe publishes a newspaper, called ''The Tribal Tribune.'' They provide cultural workshops on traditional practices, such as cradle fire from flint, tapping and processing maple sugar, creating basswood and

hemp dogbane ''Apocynum cannabinum'' (dogbane, amy root, hemp dogbane, prairie dogbane, Indian hemp, rheumatism root, or wild cotton) is a perennial herbaceous plant that grows throughout much of North America—in the southern half of Canada and through ...

cordage,

snowsnake Snow snake is a Native American winter sport traditionally played by many tribes in the Great Lakes region, including the Ojibwe, Sioux, Wyandotte, Oneida and other Haudenosaunee people. Play A game of snow snake is played by four teams, calle ...

s or ''zhoshke'nayabo'', and black ash basketry, a traditional art form among Michigan tribes."Language/Culture."
''Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi.'' (retrieved 18 Dec 2009)

Education

The reservation is served by

Wayland Union Schools Wayland may refer to: Computers * Wayland (display server protocol), a graphical display system for Unix-like computers Fiction * Jace Wayland, a character in the ''Mortal Instruments'' book series * Wayland (''Star Wars''), a planet in the ''S ...

Notable members

Kelly Church Kelly Jean Church ( Match-e-benash-she-wish Potawatomi/Odawa/Ojibwe) is a black ash basket maker, Woodlands style painter, birchbark biter, and educator. Background Kelly Church, a fifth-generation basket maker, was born in 1967. She grew up ...

, basket maker, birchbark bite, and Woodlands school painter * Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish, 18th- and 19th-century Ojibwe chief * Cherish Parrish, basket maker, birchbark biter

References

External links

Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi
official website
Potawatomi language materials provided by the tribeGun Lake Casino websiteNative Americans in Michigan Databases
Mainly Michigan website, includes "Durant Roll of 1908" and "Mt. Pleasant Indian School Register (1893 to 1932)" {{authority control Allegan County, Michigan American Indian reservations in Michigan Anishinaabe communities in the United States Anishinaabe reservations and tribal-areas in the United States Federally recognized tribes in the United States Great Lakes tribes Indigenous peoples in the United States Native American tribes in Michigan Potawatomi