Bay Mills Indian Community
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The Bay Mills Indian Community (BMIC) (
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 ...
: Gnoozhekaaning, lit. "Place of the Pike"), is an
Indian reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...
forming the land base of one of the many federally recognized Sault Ste. Marie bands of Chippewa (aka Ojibwa). The largest section of the reservation is located in
Chippewa County, Michigan Chippewa County is a county in the 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 a ...
, approximately 15 miles (25 km) west-southwest of Sault Ste. Marie. The tribe has land in both Bay Mills and Superior townships. A smaller section lies southeast of Sault Ste. Marie and encompasses Sugar Island, all contained within the boundaries of Sugar Island Township.


History

The Ojibwa are a large tribe with numerous bands who have occupied territory for centuries around the Great Lakes, particularly Lake Superior and Lake Michigan. Their territories are now divided between the nations of Canada and the United States (where the people are commonly known as the Chippewa). Numerous bands have historically occupied areas around the cities of
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 13,337 at the 2020 census, it is the second-most populated city in the Upper Peninsula after Marquette. It i ...
and Ontario. The city developed along both sides of the St. Mary's River, established first during the colonial era as a French and then British
fur trading The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of a world fur market in the early modern period, furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most ...
post. A settled community gradually developed around the post, cosmopolitan in its varied cultures of Native American tribes, Métis people, and French and Anglo ethnic Europeans. In the 19th century, the Ojibwa/Chippewa bands in Michigan were forced to cede large amounts of territory to the United States, and many bands became landless. Nonetheless, they persisted in maintaining their cultural communities. Bay Mills people are Ojibwa or Chippewa who have lived for hundreds of years around the
Whitefish Bay Whitefish Bay is a large bay on the eastern end of Lake Superior between Michigan, United States, and Ontario, Canada. It is located between Whitefish Point in Michigan and Whiskey Point along the more rugged, largely wilderness Canadian Shield o ...
, the falls of the St. Marys River, and the bluffs overlooking Tahquamenon Bay, all on Lake Superior and southwest of Sault Ste. Marie. The Bay Mills Indian Community was officially established by an Act of Congress on June 19, 1860."Bay Mills Indian Community"
Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan Indians, 2012
After passage of the federal
Indian Reorganization Act 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 ...
(IRA) of 1934, during the administration of President
Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
, the Bay Mills Indian Community (BMIC) created a new form of government under a written constitution, adopted on November 27, 1937. This was approved and recognized by the federal government, which purchased land for the community to establish a reservation land base. Its territory was one of the four reservations established in Michigan under the 1934 act. These lands, along with the original Bay Mills Mission and a small area on Sugar Island, occupied by its people at least since the late 18th century, comprise the majority of the current reservation land holdings in Chippewa County. In 1966, BMIC was one of the four founding members of the Inter-Tribal Michigan Indian Council, established to share developments and to improve relations of tribes with the state and federal governments. Other founding members were the Keweenaw Potawatomie Indian Community,
Hannahville Indian Community The Hannahville Indian Community is a federally recognized Potawatomi tribe residing in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, approximately west of Escanaba on a reservation. The reservation, at , lies mostly in Harris Township in eastern Menominee Cou ...
, and the
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan ( oj, Ziibiwing Anishinaabek) is a federally recognized band of Ojibwe, Chippewa (a.k.a. Ojibwe) located in central Michigan in the United States. The tribal government offices are located on the Isabella ...
. The Council now represents 11 of the 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan.


Reservation

The area within the reservation boundaries is in U.S. trust status and is divided into two separate areas. As of the 2000 census, the majority of the land base, , lies northwest of
Brimley, Michigan Superior Township is a civil township of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,337 at the 2010 census. The federally recognized Bay Mills Indian Community has part of its land base reservation in Superior Township, ...
, in the eastern parts of Bay Mills and Superior townships. The remaining 1.032 square miles (2.674 km2 or 660.67 acres) is located on Sugar Island in the St. Marys River southeast of Sault Ste. Marie and within US boundaries. The tribe's total land area at the time of organization in 1937 was , on which a population of 812 persons resided. Since the late 20th century, the Tribe has acquired additional land, and now has a land base of approximately 3,494 acres (5.46 sq mi; 14.14 km2), of which 3,109 acres (4.86 sq mi; 12.58 km2) are held in trust by the federal government.


Government

The BMIC consists of approximately 1,309 enrolled members. It is governed by the General Tribal Council, which consists of all voting-age members of the tribe. Daily decisions are made by the Executive Council, which consists of five elected officials (president, vice-president, treasurer, secretary, and councilperson). The tribe operates
Bay Mills Community College Bay Mills Community College (BMCC) is a public tribal land-grant community college in Brimley, Michigan. It is chartered by the federally recognized Bay Mills Indian Community of Michigan with a total enrollment of approximately 500 on-campu ...
, an accredited
tribal college In the United States, tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) are a category of higher education, minority-serving institutions defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965. Each qualifies for funding under the Tribally Controlled Colleges and Un ...
, and Bay Mills Resort & Casino.


Environment


Biological Services Department

The Biological Services Department strives to enhance, protect, and restore fish, wildlife, and plant communities, and bodies of water. Staff participate in research and monitoring of the environment on both tribal trust lands and the surrounding region. Major programs include Great Lakes fisheries assessments, inland fish and wildlife assessments, forest management, invasive species management, beach health monitoring, water quality assessments, and some recycling programs to reduce hazardous chemical entering the environment. Biological Services also provides outreach and education to the community in both public events and printed publications.


Recycling Initiatives

Bay Mills Biological Services Department seeks to prevent hazardous chemicals from entering the environment by supporting recycling and waste collectio


Law Support

Clean water is essential to the Bay Mills Indian Community. The Clean Water Act authorizes the
EPA The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it be ...
to provide assistance to tribes to protect and maintain the waters in and around their land. The EPA awarded a grant of $124,400 to the Bay Mills Indian Community of Michigan to implement water resource and non-point source programs to protect human health and the environment. The funding allows the tribe to continue efforts that establish and implement ongoing water pollution control programs. It also supports water quality monitoring, and community education and outreach.


Economy

Following changes in state and national laws to allow gaming casinos on tribal reservations, in the mid-1990s, the tribe started working with casino syndicator Michael J. Malik, Sr. and Detroit businesswoman
Marian Ilitch Marian Bayoff Ilitch (born January 7, 1933) is an American billionaire businesswoman, and the co-founder of Little Caesars Pizza with her late husband, Mike Ilitch. As of March 2018, Ilitch was one of the world's seven richest women, according t ...
to develop a casino. It wanted to generate jobs and revenue for reinvestment in education and welfare of tribal members. Originally Malik and his partners had proposed that the tribe, in partnership with
Harrah's Harrah's Entertainment (later named Caesars Entertainment Corporation, previously The Promus Companies) was an American casino and hotel company founded in Reno, Nevada, and based in Paradise, Nevada, that operated over 50 properties and seven go ...
, build a casino in the area of Downtown
Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...
referred to as Foxtown. In 1996 Michigan voters narrowly approved a ballot measure permitting three larger commercial casinos in Detroit, which would have provided too much competition. For almost a decade BMIC and its partners worked to pursue land claims in the Hay Lake/Charlotte Beach area on the eastern shores of Michigan's northern peninsula, believing that it had been denied adequate compensation from the federal government for lands it was forced to cede in the 19th century. BMIC wanted to trade such land in settlement agreements with the government for potentially more lucrative casino sites closer to population centers, such as
Port Huron Port Huron is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of St. Clair County. The population was 30,184 at the 2010 census. The city is adjacent to Port Huron Township but is administered separately. Located along the St. Clair ...
or elsewhere. BMIC representatives testified in hearings in Congress on this proposal in 2004. The voters of Port Huron approved the proposal for Bay Mills casino in 2001. While the agreements were signed by the Governor of Michigan and approved by the legislature, they stalled in Congress. Representative
Candice Miller Candice Sue Miller ( née McDonald; born May 7, 1954) is an American politician serving as the Public Works Commissioner of Macomb County, Michigan since 2017. A member of the Republican Party, Miller previously served as the U.S. representati ...
(MI-10th) has introduced HR. 831 and Michigan Senator
Debbie Stabenow Deborah Ann Stabenow ( ; née Greer, born April 29, 1950) is an American politician serving as the senior United States senator from Michigan, a seat she has held since 2001. A member of the Democratic Party, she became the state's first female ...
had previously introduced S.2986 to support this project. The tribe later gained approval for a land deal at
Brimley, Michigan Superior Township is a civil township of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,337 at the 2010 census. The federally recognized Bay Mills Indian Community has part of its land base reservation in Superior Township, ...
, on Waiska Bay west of Sault Ste. Marie. Its Bay Mills Resort & Casino has 17,000 sq feet of casino space with 695 slots and 13 table games, 3 restaurants and 144-room hotel.


Religion

In Chippewa life, religion is an essential part. They believe that man is a part of the great natural cycle. They purse to get in touch with the spirits and get protection from evil. In their religion, everything in the universe has a soul, no matter animate or inanimate, and they all should be respected. Every child experienced a fasting period in a sacred place to seek a vision and spirit, which became the child's lifelong guardian. In their opinion, land and water should be shared for common use, not privately owned. They do not have the conception of the land ownership because of their religious views. In May 2021, the
Kateri Tekakwitha Kateri Tekakwitha ( in Mohawk), given the name Tekakwitha, baptized as Catherine and informally known as Lily of the Mohawks (1656 – April 17, 1680), is a Catholic saint and virgin who was an Algonquin–Mohawk. Born in the Mohawk village of ...
church in
Bay Mills, Michigan Bay Mills Township is a civil township of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the township population was 1,477. Communities *Bay Mills is an unincorporated community in the township on Bay Mills Point, which s ...
, was destroyed by a fire. It was the second time that the same church had been burned, which had been built in her honor.U.P. Church Named After American Saint Destroyed for Second Time
(May 5, 2021)
MLive MLive Media Group, originally known as Booth Newspapers, or Booth Michigan, is a media group that produces newspapers in the state of Michigan. Founded by George Gough Booth with his two brothers, Booth Newspapers was sold to Advance Publication ...
.


Law


Legalization of Marijuana

After Michigan legalized the recreational use and sale of marijuana, the Bay Mills Indian Community voted to approve the legalization as well. They officially adopted the ordinance allowing individuals to cultivate, possess, and use marijuana on April 8, 2019. The Bay Mills Indian Community became the first tribe in the State of Michigan to legalize the recreational use of marijuana on the reservation. And under the tribe's law, tribal members who have previous convictions in the tribal court for marijuana-based offenses can move to have those convictions vacated.


References

Michigan, Bureau of Employment and Training, and Bay Mills Indian Community, Michigan. Bay Mills Indian Community Comprehensive Plan. The Bureau, 1977. Web.


External links


Bay Mills Indian Community''Bay Mills News''
Bay Mills Official Website, dead link

(a portion of this article is based on this public domain information)
Bay Mills Indian Community: Historical background
ITCMI

* ttp://www.mainlymichigan.com/nativedata/ Native Americans in Michigan Databases Mainly Michigan website, includes "Durant Roll of 1908" and "Mt. Pleasant Indian School Register (1893 to 1932)" {{authority control American Indian reservations in Michigan Anishinaabe communities in the United States Anishinaabe reservations and tribal-areas in the United States Chippewa County, Michigan Federally recognized tribes in the United States Native American tribes in Michigan Ojibwe in the United States