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Tribal nation

Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians

Also GTB · Grand Traverse Band

Draft — sources verified, prose evolving

TypeTribal nation
Founded1980
Coordinates45.0208° N, 85.6048° WGoogle MapsDownload KML
ErasIndigenous eraModern era
On this page
Tribal nation
Founded
1980
Coordinates
45.0208° N, 85.6048° WGoogle MapsDownload KML
Eras
Indigenous eraModern era
Concepts
anishinaabe-odawacommunitygovernancetreaty-rightsconservationfishing

Summary

The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB) is a present-day sovereign tribal government whose official history dates federal recognition to 1980. Its public history describes treaty-grounded sovereignty and a service area extending across six Michigan counties.

GTB’s current Great Lakes Management program provides a direct Beaver Island connection: the tribe says it operates a commercial marina on Beaver Island, licenses and monitors commercial fishing, conducts lake assessments, and maintains fishery data. This is present-day institutional evidence, not proof that GTB and the treaty-era Beaver Island Band are the same legal entity.

Open questions

  • What tribal-authored and legal sources define GTB’’s specific relationship to Beaver Island and to the 1836 and 1855 treaties?
  • Which current fishery, marina, and cultural-resource records can be cited at a useful level without exposing protected information?
  • How should GTB and LTBB relationships be represented where their treaty rights or service areas overlap?

Sources

  1. The tribe's own timeline states that federal recognition was granted in 1980, describes treaty-grounded sovereignty and self-government, and says its service area extends over six Michigan counties.
  2. Current tribal program page says GTB licenses and monitors commercial fishing, conducts Great Lakes assessments, operates a commercial marina on Beaver Island, and maintains fishery data. It is direct evidence of a present-day Beaver Island institutional relationship.
  3. Identifies tribal administration at 2605 N. West Bay Shore Drive, Peshawbestown, Michigan 49682. The coordinate above is a headquarters address point, not the extent of the Grand Traverse Band service area, reservation, or Beaver Island marina property.
  4. Returned the address-level point at longitude -85.604827658089, latitude 45.020765389791; this is retained here rounded to eight decimal places.
  5. Community newspaper capture supplies local context on the two sister tribes and directs readers to their public histories; it is corroborating context rather than the primary authority.
    internet_archive · northern_light_2025
  6. Land Information Access Association, *Beaver Island Master Plan 2023*.
    Current planning source describes GTB treaty rights and consultation in Beaver Island planning, while distinguishing tribal governance from local township government. No public copy of this file is known; the archive holds one and can provide it on request.
    internet_archive · beaver-island-master-plan-20231113

Added 31 July 2026 · revised 6 August 2026. Recent changes

Cite this article

Beaver Island Archive, “Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians”, https://beaverislandarchive.org/organizations/grand-traverse-band-of-ottawa-and-chippewa-indians/, accessed [date], citing Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, “Sovereignty and History,” official website, retrieved 2026-07-31. (and 5 further sources listed on the page).

Last revised 2026-08-06. Fill in [date] with the date you read it — this page is static and cannot know that.

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