Anii,

Latest news about GRBOI: Ron Yob called me at home on Wednesday April 2, 2003 around 9:30 pm, and we talked for about an hour and a half. Our conversation was about 50-50 business to getting to know each other a little bit. We covered several topics, including but not limited to: the petition, lobbyists and historians, tribal enrolment, council meetings, web sites, and Pow-wows. I will attempt to convey as much information as possible, in a short amount of time.

First the petition: As many of you know the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians has always existed. Our Grandfathers were signatories to many treaties, starting in the mid to late 1700’s. Of these treaties 36 contained provisions for education and several were signed specifically with the Ottawa of Michigan; more on this later. The petition that everyone is so anxious to have a copy of is contained in 21 (twenty-one) boxes, is located at the GRBOI tribal offices and a copy has been delivered to the Bureau of Indian Affairs- Bureau of Acknowledgement and Research. The latter being the ones who make the decision. This petition was delivered on December 8th, 2001; the ball is in their court. The contents of the petition include all the required documents listed in 25 CFR part 83 with specific reference to 83.7, mandatory requirements for recognition of a group as a tribal entity. If you want a copy of the petition you will need a Xerox machine, approximately 252 reams of paper, and about three months to copy it all. Ron said that at one point in time we were the 144th entry on a list of those who have waited the longest for this process to complete. Enough said I suppose!

Second the Lobbyists and Historians of GRBOI: We do have a lobbyist in Washington D.C. and her name is Virginia Boilan, I do not know how to contact her as of yet but will keep you informed as the information becomes available. Our tribe’s historian is James McKlurken; he has done historian work for Little River Band of Ottawa Indians, Little Traverse Band of Odawa Indians, and the Pokagon band of Potawatomi Indians. According to Ron he is the premiere historian that D.C. looks to for information about the Great Lakes Indians. Again, I don’t know how to contact him but I am sure that if you had any questions for him they could be directed through the GRBOI office, Ron Yob, or me (I will contact whoever is necessary).

As for our part in the recognition process, we are all lobbyists! It is up to each and every one of us to do our part in contacting our Senators and Congressmen. Ron did tell me that when he was in D.C. the only Senator who did talk to him personally was Debbie Stabenow (the other Senators let their aids take the meetings that were set for them). We are in agreement that it is our right to contact these people, and let them know that we (constituents) require action. It will take a barrage of e-mails on our behalf but I believe this is a doable operation. Click here to send e-mails to various Senators, the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, and your state Representatives (This will be a point and click form mailer in time).

Third, tribal enrollment: Currently there are approximately 1,000 Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians on the enrollment list. There are a few that trickle in from time to time, but not like the barrage of applications in the previous years. The enrollment researchers are all volunteers so this process is dependant on their availability (time and money are their responsibility not the tribes).

Fourth, council meetings: Currently the tribal council meets on the 2nd Monday of the Month at the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians, Inc. office located at 1251 Plainfield NE, Grand Rapids Michigan 49501, the phone number is (616) 458-8759. I didn’t think to ask for a time…sorry.

Fifth, websites and pow-wows: Ron has agreed with me that we have an advantage in this day and age. With the continued popularity of computers we have the opportunity to keep in constant contact with our tribal members electronically. There are many people out there who have access to a computer, but don’t know we exist on the web, and we need to do a mailing or something to inform them. If you know a GRBOI tribal member, please let them know we are here. This is a costly endeavor, newsletters take printing and postage; in the future we should work on putting together a donation fund so that we can keep information flowing.

I put the last two items together to save some space and time…again I apologize. The GRBOI traditional pow wow is on June 14th and 15th in Grand Rapids. If you can make it there, it should be a good time.

In conclusion, Ron and I touched base on just a few of the items that are of importance to our future. He agreed with me that communication is a very key item for our survival, and that he is willing to work with me on developing an e-mailing list. The word casino came up once or twice, but we both agree that is a conversation that should take place in the future. We also agreed that there needs to be a clear line of communication between tribal members, council and our Senators and Representatives. We briefly mentioned other items of interest but no detail was pursued (hunting and fishing rights, land trust, language, and traditional knowledge). I propose that as we gain more momentum with the web site, we incorporate into our daily lives an e-mail to the Senate on Indian affairs and our Senators. They don’t have to be from Michigan, as all Senators will be voting and viewing this case…

Gitchii Miigwetch Kawaubmego gaye

Ossokeh Ninii

04/02/2003