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Spring Institute for Youth Services 2025 Land Acknowledgment & Resources

Land Acknowledgment Statement

As those in the library profession gather to learn and work together today, we wish to recognize the Anishinaabe people whose traditional land we are gathered upon today and the land on which the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe (composed mainly of the Saginaw, Black River and Swan Creek Ojibwe bands) have resided on for over 200 years.

To recognize the land is an expression of gratitude and appreciation, and also a way of honoring the elders and native inhabitants, both past and present, who have lived and worked on the land - beyond memory or recall. We recognize the painful history of genocide, displacement, migration and settlement that brings us together.

MLA is dedicated to improving community relationships and making our organization a more supportive and inclusive place for Native and Indigenous voices and perspectives. We encourage everyone to learn the histories of this land, to look at who has and does not have access to its resources, and to examine your own place, abilities, and obligations within this process of reparative work that is necessary to promote a more equitable and socially just world.

Resources

Please note information shared is compiled from the following websites:

Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan: http://www.sagchip.org/

Ziibiwing Center website: http://www.sagchip.org/ziibiwing/aboutus/history.htm

Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Libraries: https://saginaw.ploud.net

What does Anishinabe mean?

The first one lowered from above and placed on Mother Earth.

Books with more information about Native Peoples

• The Mishomis Book: The Voice of the Ojibway by Edward Benton-Banai, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
• Diba Jimooyung by the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe
• E'Aawiyaang (Who We Are) by the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe and the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture and Lifeways
• Anishinaabe Ways of Knowing and Being by Lawrence William Gross, White Earth Band of Minnesota Chippewa
• Living in Harmony by Basil Johnston, Chippewas of the Nawash Unceded First Nation
• The Good Path by Thomas D. Peacock, Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa Indians
• Ojibwe Waasa Inaabidaa: We Look in All Directions by Thomas D. Peacock, Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa Indians
• As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Alderville First Nation
• My Life: Growing Up Native in America edited by IllumiNative
• Native Mascots, Myths, and Misrepresentation: Battling Indigenous Stereotypes by Cayla Bellanger DeGroat, White Earth Band of Minnesota Chippewa
• Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America by Matika Wilbur, from the Swinomish and Tulalip peoples of coastal Washington
• An Indigenous Peoples' History of the United States for Young People adapted by Debbie Reese, Nambé Owingeh, and Jean Mendoza
• Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer
• Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask Young Readers’ Edition by Anton Treuer, Ojibwe
• Onigamiising: Seasons of an Ojibwe Year by Linda LeGarde Grover, Bois Fort Band of Chippewa

Anishinabe Language Resources

http://ojibwe.lib.umn.edu/

http://www.ojibwe-language.com/

http://www.anishinaabemdaa.com/

http://www.native-languages.org/ojibwe.htm

http://www.umich.edu/~ojibwe/

http://www.youtube.com/user/anishinabemowin/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaDcg5-K1Oo

http://www.freelang.net/dictionary/ojibwe.php

http://www.languagegeek.com/algon/ojibway/anishinaabemowin.html

http://www.indianaffairs.state.mn.us/documents/2011%20Dakota% 20and%20Ojibwe%20Language%20Report%20to%20the%20Legislature-final.pdf

http://www.bemidjistate.edu/airc/resources/ojibwe/

http://www2.nau.edu/~jar/Ojibwe.pdf

http://imp.lss.wisc.edu/~jrvalent/ais301/grammar.html

http://anishinaabemodaa.com/

http://www.native-languages.org/ojibwe_animals.htm

https://www.proquest.com/docview/865313844/previewPDF

Timeline

10,000+ Years ago
Anishinabek lived along the Atlantic seaboard from what is now Nova Scotia to the Carolinas.

900 AD
Anishinabek began the Great Walk to the Great Lakes area and beyond.

1200-1300s
The Anishinabek established the Three Fires Confederacy throughout the Great Lakes. The Three Fires Confederacy includes the Ojibway (Chippewa), Odawa (Ottawa), and Odawatomi (Potawatomi).

1640s
First Europeans (French) made contact with Anishinabek in Baawaating (Sault Ste. Marie).

1785-1864
The U.S. Government began making treaties with the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. Sixteen treaties were made between 1795-1864. The Saginaw Chippewa signed treaties with the United States ceding almost all of their land.

1855 and 1864
The Saginaw Chippewa signed two treaties with the United States, which established the Isabella Indian Reservation.

1924
Indian Citizenship Act established.

1937
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe is reorganized under the Indian Reorganization Act.

1996
Soaring Eagle Casino opened.

1998
Soaring Eagle Resort opened.

2000
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe became largest employer in Isabella County.

2004
Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways opened.

2007
Andahwod Continuing Care Community & Elder Services opened.

2008
Saganing Eagles Landing Casino opened.

2010
Federal Court upheld Isabella Reservation historical boundaries.

2012
Soaring Eagle Waterpark & Hotel and Hideaway RV Park opened.

History of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan is comprised of three bands of Ojibway (Saginaw, Black River, Swan Creek), who lived primarily in the Eastern region of what is now Michigan. Our ancestors lived in this area for hundreds of years prior to the appearance of European settlers. Two hundred years after their arrival, they claimed all but a few acres of the land where our ancestors had made their homes. The last treaties we signed with the United States in 1855 and 1864, established the Isabella Indian Reservation. Totaling over 130,000 acres, this land was divided into privately-owned allotments establishing a permanent home for our tribal membership.

When our people moved to the Isabella Indian Reservation the conditions were extremely grim and our annuity payments were delayed, causing many of our people to succumb to hunger and sickness. During this time, Isabella County had some of the best stands of white pine in the whole state of Michigan and lumbermen were eager to swindle us out of our lands. Many of our people sold their allotments to lumber sharks for a small fraction of their value. For many, selling their allotment was the only way to feed their families. This, coupled with numerous shoddy deals between Indian Agents and timber barons, led to a rapid dispossession of our land base. Of the more than 1,500 allotments issued to our ancestors in the late 1800s, only a handful of these were owned by tribal members by 1934.

In 1934 the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) was passed, which sought to improve conditions for tribes in the United States. The IRA required tribes to adopt a constitution and elect a tribal council in order to be a federally-recognized tribe. We elected our first tribal council and adopted our constitution in 1937. At this time, our tribe acquired 500 acres east of Mt. Pleasant to establish a land base for our people.

Through the resiliency of our ancestors we have endured and overcome many obstacles that were placed before us.

The recent success of our gaming and entertainment operation has enabled us to better provide for the needs of our community. Housing, health care, and educational opportunities have greatly improved in the past 20 years for the tribal membership. Our economic success has also given us the means to begin to reclaim the history of our people and share it with the rest of the world.

The tribe also provides opportunities for our non-Native neighbors as the largest employer in Isabella County. Our economic success has also given us the means to reclaim the history of our people and share it with the rest of the world. The 34,349 sq. ft. Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways was established in May of 2004 with that goal in mind.

Our cultural center and tribal museum honors the ancestors, who against tremendous odds, protected and passed down the cultural knowledge, language, and teachings of our people.

Brochures

Check out these brochures and publications and more at sagchip.org/ziibiwing/aboutus/brochures.htm.

Seven Grandfathers Teachings
Part 1 of Kinoomaagewin Mzinigas (Little Teaching Books). We need to know the teachings of our Grandmothers and Grandfathers to give us direction and balance. Download

Clan Systems Teachings
Part 2 of Kinoomaagewin Mzinigas (Little Teaching Books). Anishinabek family groups were assigned the role and responsibilities of a particular animal that lived in their region. This then became their clan. Download

The Sugarbush Teaching
Part 3 of Kinoomaagewin Mzinigas (Little Teaching Books). Anishinabek stories tell us long ago of when the Anishinabe spirit uncle, Nenaboozhoo, found the Anishinabek people lying in a grove underneath a maple tree letting the maple syrup drip into their mouths. Download

Wild Ricing Teaching
Part 4 of Kinoomaagewin Mzinigas (Little Teaching Books). When the Anishinabe ancestors came to the Great Lakes region they found manoomin (wild rice) growing in the inland lakes. Download

Birchbark Teaching
Part 5 of Kinoomaagewin Mzinigas (Little Teaching Books). Read about the story of the Anishinabe spirit uncle, Nenaboozhoo, and how the birch tree came to be protection to benefit the people. Download