Keweenaw Bay Indian Community - Definition and Overview

The L'Anse Indian Reservation is the land base of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community of the Lake Superior Bands of Chippewa Indians (successor of the L’Anse, Lac Vieux Desert, and Ontonagon Bands). It is located in two non-contiguous sections on either side of the Keweenaw Bay in Baraga County in the Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan.

In 1999, tribal enrollment was 3,159 according to the Bureau of Indian Affairs 1999 Labor Force Report.

The L’Anse Reservation is both the oldest and largest reservation in Michigan. It was established under the Chippewa Treaty of 1854. The United States Supreme Court has interpreted this treaty as creating permanent homelands for the Chippewa (Ojibwa Anishnabek) signatories to the treaty. The Treaty of 1842, which ceded lands to the federal government, was one of the largest land cession agreements ever made between the U.S. federal government and Indian tribes. It includes provisions and stipulations that the Chippewa retain their rights to fish, hunt and gather on these ceded lands.

The L’Anse Reservation consists of 54,000 acres (219 km²) with approximately 14,000 acres (57 km²) owned by the tribal community. Two thirds of the land is held in tribal common ownership and the remaining third is owned by Indians in fee, restricted fee, or allotted lands status. The entire reservation encompasses nearly one third of the area of Baraga County.

External links

• Background from the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan (http://www.itcmi.org/thehistorytribal4.html)
• Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Online (http://www.kbic-nsn.gov/)
• Constitution and By-Laws of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (http://www.edwards1.com/rose/native/kbconst.htm)