Tribal Governments
Portal from the State of Michigan Website.
Indian Tribal Courts in Michigan
There are 12 federally recognized Tribes in Michigan: 5 in the UP and 7 downstate.
Michigan State University's Native American Institute
The mission of the Native American Institute is to work with tribes, American Indian organizations and various Michigan State University units to enhance the sovereignty, cultural continuity and wellbeing of tribes, Indian communities and Indian people. Included on this website are statistics and publications.
Fisheries Division Tribal Coordination website from the Michigan DNR
The mission of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division Tribal Coordination Unit is to lead the coordination of activities between the State of Michigan and Tribal entities with regards to fishery resources.
Michigan Gaming Control Board: Tribal Casinos
The State of Michigan does not have general regulatory authority over Indian casinos, although the State does have oversight authority over compliance with the State-Tribal Compact provisions.
Michigan Census
State-level liaison office for the Census, with custom tables just for Michigan. National data can be found at DATA.CENSUS.GOV. Part of NMU’s Census Guide, which itself contains links to data, explains tabulating Native American population totals.
Intertribal Council of Michigan
This group acts as a forum for member tribes, advocates for member tribes in the development of programs and policies which will improve the economy, education, and quality of life for Michigan’s Native Americans, and provides technical assistance to member tribes, assisting in the development of tribal regulations, ordinances, and policies applicable to health and human services.
Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC)
Representing eleven Ojibwe tribes who reserved hunting, fishing and gathering rights in the 1837, 1842, and 1854 Treaties. As a tribal resource management agency, GLIFWC strives to provide opportunities for tribal members to exercise treaty rights during well-regulated, off-reservation seasons throughout the treaty ceded territories.
Chippewa Ottawa Resource Authority (CORA)
Established to ensure the conservation and wise utilization of the natural resources reserved to the Tribes in the Treaty of March 28, 1836 (Bay Mills Indian Community, the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians, and the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians).
Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes.
The Midwest Alliance of Sovereign Tribes, (MAST), founded in 1996, represents the 35 sovereign tribal nations of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan. Altogether, MAST represents nearly 134,000 American Indian people. MAST's mission is to "advance, protect, preserve, and enhance the mutual interests, treaty rights, sovereignty, and cultural way of life of the sovereign nations of the Midwest throughout the 21st century." The organization coordinates important public policy issues and initiatives at the state, regional and federal levels, promotes unity and cooperation among member tribes and advocates for member tribes.
Tribal Government and Native American Resources from USA.gov
USA.gov indexes all government websites (federal, state, local) regardless of their domain (not just .gov and .mil). The tribal resources here are just a small portion of this website.
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Midwest Regional Office serves Michigan.
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Congressional documents from this committee back to the 1950s are available from Govinfo. You will find Hearings (a meeting or session of a Senate, House, joint, or special committee of Congress, usually open to the public, to obtain information and opinions on proposed legislation, conduct an investigation, or evaluate/oversee the activities of a government department or the implementation of a Federal law), Prints (publications issued by congressional committees on topics related to their legislative or research activities; the subjects of the committee prints vary greatly), and Reports (these originate from congressional committees and deal with proposed legislation and issues under investigation. There are two types of reports, House and Senate Reports and Senate Executive Reports).
Subcommittee for Indian and Insular Affairs
This is a subcommittee (the name of which changes when different parties control the house) of the House Natural Resources Committee and is responsible for all matters regarding Native Americans, including the 562 federally recognized tribes and Alaska Native Corporations, and nearly 1.9 million American Indians.
General Services Administration Native American Affairs
GSA offers a range of services available to federally recognized Native American Tribes, from surplus property donations to vehicle purchases. In addition, recognized tribes can use this page to receive notice of GSA actions and policies that affect tribes, as well as provide comment.
Indian Claims Commission
The Commission, which was in existence from 1946 to 1978, was established to hear and determine claims against the United States on behalf of any Indian tribe, band or other identifiable group of American Indians residing within the United States. Digitized volumes from Oklahoma State University.
American Indian Law
Although this web resource from Cornell is linked to off of the USA.gov page, this portion of American Indian Law is not linked directly (and it is not that easy to find).
Global Indigenous Law Portal from LLMC. Digitized material from tribes in the Continental US, Alaska, Canada, Mexico, North America, Central America, and Circumpolar.
Office of Indian Education from the Department of Education
Supports the efforts of local educational agencies, Indian tribes and organizations, postsecondary institutions, and other entities to meet the unique educational and culturally related academic needs of American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Office of the Special Trustee (OST) for American Indians
Established by the American Indian Trust Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 (Public Law 103-412), the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians (OST) was created to improve the accountability and management of Indian funds held in trust by the federal government.
American Indian and Alaska Native Records in the National Archives
Researchers can find information relating to American Indians and Alaska Natives from as early as 1774 through the mid-1990s at National Archives locations throughout the country.
Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA)
NAGPRA provides a process through which lineal descendants, Indian tribes, Native Alaskan villages and corporations (also referred to as "Indian tribes" in NAGPRA), and Native Hawaiian organizations may claim culturally affiliated human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony.
Tribal Treaties Database
From Oklahoma State University. "This database includes agreements between tribal nations and the United States (1778-1886) published in the 1904 work “Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties” (Volume II), compiled and edited by Charles J. Kappler....Updates to this evolving database will continue into early 2022 as we build contemporary connections to present-day tribes."
Catalog of Government Publications
From the Government Publishing Office (GPO).
ANSWER Catalog and the Library of Michigan Digital Collections
Two resources here: The Library of Michigan's Online Catalog, and connected to it, the electronic archive of digitized and born-digital state government publications. If the ANSWER Catalog doesn't open nicely, go to the Library of Michigan website and open it from there, from the upper left-hand area of the page.
Federal Register
The official daily publication for rules, proposed rules, and notices of Federal agencies and organizations, as well as executive orders and other presidential documents. Search for your tribe or zip code or locality--there could be something that relates to your area. The State of Michigan equivalent to this is the Michigan Register.
Congress.gov, from the Library of Congress
Track bills and legislation currently in Congress (and from specific committees) on an issue of importance to your tribe. At the state level is the Michigan Legislature website.
Google books and the University of Michigan Library Catalog
Full-text of older Michigan publications (as well as a host of others) can be found here.
Government Documents (GODORT) of Michigan Resources for New Documents Librarians
Everyone can be a documents librarian in this age of electronic documents.
Free U.S. Government Databases
A list from Northern Illinois University; the topics cover everything.