The Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi (NHBP) is a

federally-recognized tribe This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

Potawatomi 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 m ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. The tribe achieved federal recognition on December 19, 1995, and currently has approximately 1500 members. The Pine Creek Indian Reservation is located at 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 Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which e ...

Name

Despite the name, this band of Potawatomi has no direct connection with the unrelated

Huron people The Wyandot people, or Wyandotte and Waⁿdát, are Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands. The Wyandot are Iroquoian Indigenous peoples of North America who emerged as a confederacy of tribes around the north shore of Lake Ontario wi ...

. Rather, both "Nottawaseppi" and "Huron" refer to the band's historical location along the

Clinton River The Clinton River is a river in southeastern Michigan in the United States. It is named in honor of DeWitt Clinton, who was governor of New York from 1817 to 1823. The main branch of the river rises from wetlands and coldwater tributaries from ...

in southeastern Michigan. This river was formerly known as the ''Nottawasippee River'' or the ''Huron River of St. Clair''. The word ''Nottawasippee'' is an

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 ...

ethnic slur meaning "like rattlesnakes", referring to the Huron people, who inhabited the area prior to the arrival of the Potawatomi, Odawa and Ojibwe.

History

In the 19th century, especially, the Potawatomi people and closely related tribes of

Odawa The Odawa (also Ottawa or Odaawaa ), said to mean "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 h ...

and Ojibwe peoples of the Anishinaabe were affiliated as the

Council of Three Fires The Council of Three Fires (in oj, label=Anishinaabe, Niswi-mishkodewinan, also known as the People of the Three Fires; the Three Fires Confederacy; or the United Nations of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Potawatomi Indians) is a long-standing Anishina ...

. 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 in Athens Township in southwestern Calhoun County. In the 20th century, the 1934

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 ...

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 Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates a ...

, in the southwestern region of Michigan's Lower Peninsula. This is about 17 miles southwest of

(about 22 miles by vehicle route).Fulton, MI to Battle Creek, MI
Distance between Cities Website, accessed 2 January 2016 Athens Township is within the major city's metropolitan area. The Band also maintains satellite offices in

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is the ...

, about 74 miles north of Fulton/Athens. The service area of the tribe includes the reservation as well as members living in Kalamazoo, Calhoun,

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

and Allegan counties."Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi"
Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, 11 October 2012, accessed 2 January 2016

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.

Economy

The NHBP own FireKeepers Casino, a casino with an attached 2,078-space parking garage on located in

Battle Creek, Michigan Battle Creek is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan, in northwest Calhoun County, at the confluence of the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek rivers. It is the principal city of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), which enc ...

. 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

* 1970 – The Tribe is incorporated in the state of

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

. Government by a written constitution and an elected Tribal Council is established. * 1995 – The United States government restores federal recognition to the tribe on December 19. * 1998 – The Tribe purchases a property on Q Drive near Fulton, Michigan. * 2000 – An administration building is constructed. * 2003 – A multi-use trail system is constructed. * 2004 – Road construction begins. On August 7, the Athens Arch is dedicated by the Athens Superintendent of Schools at Athens High School. The arch commemorates the history of the Huron Potawatomi and the cordial relations between the tribe and the town of

Athens, Michigan Athens is a village in Calhoun County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 1,024 at the 2010 census. The village is located in southern Athens Township, and is part of the Battle Creek, Michigan Metropolitan Statistical Area. It wa ...

. * 2005 – The tribe constructs its first group of single family, energy-efficient homes on the Reservation. * 2006 – A Tribal court is established. * 2007 – A Community Center and Health Center are constructed. A parcel of property in Emmett Township is placed into Federal trust on behalf of the Tribe. The Tribe places of the Q Drive property into the USDA

wetland A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (Anoxic waters, anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in t ...

reserve program. * 2008 – Construction begins on FireKeepers Casino in

. * 2009 – FireKeepers Casino opens on August 5, 2009. * 2010 – Nottawaseppi Huron Band chairwoman Laura Spurr, who had served in that position since 2003 and helped to develop the FireKeepers Casino, dies on February 19, 2010.

References

Huron Potawatomi Reservation, Michigan
United States Census Bureau

Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi

External links

Official Website of the Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi
Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan {{authority control 1970 establishments in Michigan American Indian reservations in Michigan Anishinaabe communities in the United States Anishinaabe reservations and tribal-areas in the United States Calhoun County, Michigan Federally recognized tribes in the United States Great Lakes tribes Indigenous peoples in the United States Native American tribes in Michigan Potawatomi