This area was historically the territory of the L'Anse Band of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians, a large, decentralized group of loosely associated bands around southern Lake Superior. The European-American community of L'Anse developed around a French fur trading post set up in colonial times at the site of an Ojibwa village on the bay. It continued to develop after the British took control of New France following the Seven Years' War. After the War of 1812 between Britain and the United States, negotiations settled the border with Canada, and this area became part of the United States. As European-American settlers moved into Michigan in the early 19th century, the United States increased pressure on the Lake Superior Band of Ojibwa to cede their lands to allow unrestricted development. The Treaty of 1842, by which the Chippewa 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 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 band signatories to the treaty. The US ultimately acquired land and set up other reservations in Michigan for Chippewa based on this treaty, for instance for the Bay Mills Indian Community. The L’Anse Reservation consists of 54,000 acres with approximately 14,000 acres 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.
Government
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community re-established its tribal government under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, with its constitution for elected government adopted in 1936. It elects members to a tribal council and executive. The Act, which encouraged tribes to reorganize their self-governments, also required that the Otonagon and L'Anse bands of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians be brought together as the federally recognized Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, defining it as the successor apparent of these two historic bands. Each had reservations in Michigan established through 19th-century treaties with the federal government. The Keweenaw Bay Community was among the four founding tribes of the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Inc. established in 1966 during a period of rising Indian activism in the United States and Canada. Others were the Bay Mills Indian Community, Hannahville Indian Community, and Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe; all were federally recognized at the time. They worked to pool resources, preserve communal land, improve the welfare of their peoples, and improve relations with state and federal governments. Working as a group, the tribes qualified for Community Action Program grants that helped fund improvements in living conditions for their peoples. The Council now represents 11 of the 12 federally recognized tribes in Michigan.
Membership
The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community establishes its own membership rules for the tribe.
Economy
The Keweenaw Indian Community operates a fish hatchery at Pequamining Bay on Lake Superior. It works to improve and preserve water quality in the lake to support fish and other natural populations. The tribe also operates two casinos, the Ojibwa I on reservation land in Baraga County, and the Ojibwa II in a residential neighborhood in Chocolay Township, Marquette County. A 2000 land claims settlement with the state required the tribe to relocate the latter casino. The tribe proposed moving it to the defunct Marquette County Airport. As of December 2012 the location remained unsettled.
