Little River Band of Ottawa Indians

Hally Dixon

Introduction

There are 562 federally recognized tribes in the United States, and countless others awaiting recognition (Indian Nations in the United States, 2016). These tribes have lived in the Unites States for thousands of years and are a diverse group of people. Each tribe has their own unique set of issues and resources to deal with these issues. However some overarching issues apply to all tribes with differing intensity. All tribes have a unique relationship with the government, and a few are technically still at war with the United States. The US government has played a large role in the changing atmosphere tribes must deal with. This role has grown and evolved throughout the years from one of absolute authority to sometimes helpful guardian. This journey is not even close to being over, and the effects of some of the worst events are still being felt. The U.S. government has a history of enacting legislation that can be seen as paternalistic and condescending to Native Americans. These attempts at “knowing what’s best” have created a complex cycle of poverty for many Native communities. This cycle started with the reservation systems and continues today with attempts to further edge out tribal sovereignty. Each tribe has attempted to address the issue of poverty in a different way, however each attempt has similarities. Most tribes have programs designed to aid all of the community, including members who do not live on the reservation. These programs range from food assistance, to bill assistance, and even education and business assistance. This case study will look at the government’s role in native poverty and focus in on the Little River Band of Ottawa Indian’s causes of poverty, rates of modern day poverty, and what programs they have put in place to better their member’s futures.

History of Native Poverty and the Government's Role

Native American communities are historically some of the nation’s poorest residents. Much of this has resulted from the United States government legislating them into poverty. The government has been trying to control tribes from the moment of its conception, and in doing so has hurt millions of native people. This issue began long ago when the reservation system was created. At this time, Native peoples were allowed a small area of land on which to place permanent settlements. Hunting and gathering grounds were taken away, and forced assimilation began. Native American people were placed in areas away from fertile land, population centers, water supplies, and other vital resources (The Poverty Cycle, 2016). This isolation along with the lack of resources created a dependency on the government. In 1831, Chief Justice John Marshal made this situation even worse with his majority opinion, when he wrote that tribes were domestic dependent nations and their relationship with the government was “that of a ward to his guardian.” Because of this ward-ship relationship, it was assumed that tribes were unable to manage and regulate their own land. This land was put in trust-ship with the federal government, and the government is the legal owner and manager of Native land. At one point the government wanted to give up its guardian relationship, and put the 1887 Dawes Act into place. The Dawes Act, also known as the Allotment Act, allowed for “the President to break up reservation land, which was held in common by the members of a tribe, into small allotments to be parceled out to individuals. Thus, Native Americans registering on a tribal "roll" were granted allotments of reservation land.”(Our Documents, Dawes Act, 2016). While the act was meant to protect native rights it ended up doing the opposite. Some men were deemed incompetent because they did not want to farm their land, and it was then taken from them. Sometimes multiple people inherited a piece of land, which when split, was far too small to work. Non-native people soon began to buy allotments from the natives, which greatly reduced the size of many reservations, absolutely decimating some. When Allotment began to threaten the need for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, trust-ship was brought back. In 1953 the Federal Government adopted the Termination policy. This policy turned federal responsibility and jurisdiction over to state governments. Millions of acres of trust land was removed from protected status, and thousands of natives lost tribal affiliation and sovereignty. This meant that natives were not given their rights clearly stated in the treaties, reservation land was again sold off to non-natives, and the federal government even put claims to the few resource rich areas. Native children were sent to boarding schools away from families and reservations for, according to the government, their own well-being. At these schools, they learned about God and they learned a trade. However, many of the trades the children learned while at these schools were made useless by technology by the time they graduated, further setting them back (Johnston, 1988). Today this trust-ship has made it nearly impossible for modern reservation people to become prosperous. Because reservation land is held communally, no one can get a title to the land where there house is. This makes it nearly impossible for Natives get credit or be able to borrow money to improve their homes, as the land cannot be held as collateral (PERC, 2012). Today Natives are still struggling with the cycle of poverty. In Michigan in 2009, 30% of Native families lived below the poverty line (Adults and Children in Poverty, 2011). Native American students are also the least likely of any ethnic group to be academically prepared for higher education, with less than 10% of native students meeting all four ACT College readiness benchmarks (Bidwell, 2014). This creates a less prepared college student who is less likely to graduate, furthering the cycle of poverty. 70% of native students have a high school diploma or GED and only 11.5% have a bachelor’s degree, compared to 80% diploma and 25% bachelor’s degree in the general population. This lack of education creates an issue when it comes to joining the workforce. Native family unemployment rates range from 14.4% overall to as high as 35% on some reservations (Sarche and Spicer, 2009). These symptoms of poverty have also created widespread health problems for many natives. Obesity and diabetes are extremely prevalent in reservation communities, due to food insecurity. Many families rely on commodities, or food provided by the government in exchange for ceded lands. Commodities are not nutritionally dense and may be the root cause of these problems (Gohdes, 2016). Native American tribes have been dealing with poverty for many years and each tribe has designed their own ways of dealing with this. Many tribes have turned to casinos for help with revenue, while other own chain companies or farms. Overall tribes understand the roots of their problems and actively work to help their people. This stands true for the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians.

Little River Band and Poverty

The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians is a Native Sovereign Nation based out of Manistee, Michigan. “The Little River Ottawa descend from members of certain Grand River Ottawa Bands who lived in villages located on the Manistee River, Pere Marquette River, and at several villages on the Grand River system in Michigan.” (Little River Band Website, 2016). Little River is the successor of nine of the original nineteen historic bands of the Grand River Ottawa. The Little River people moved to the western shore of Michigan, and their settlements ranged from the Manistee River in the north, to the Grand River in the south. The Tribe lived there for many years (Little River Band Website, 2016). Little River had its status as a federally recognized Indian tribe reaffirmed and restored by the United States in 1994 (Little River Band Website, 2016), Little River never held status until this time. Poverty has been an issue in the tribe for a very long time. The Great Depression while hard for all, was especially trying on the Ottawa. “They no longer owned title to any significant amount of land, and the few properties they did hold title to were the crowded home sites of entire extended families, leaving no room for farming beyond planting small garden plots (McClurken, 2009)” The Ottawa had been earning small wages in lumbering and farming but they were lost as jobs became scarce and any available wage labor was given to the Americans over the Indians. In order to survive, the Ottawa continued to live in the traditional hunter-gatherer lifestyle, but this became dangerous when the state of Michigan began enforcing game and conservation laws in the territory used for food. The Ottawa could not afford to be arrested and could not pay even the smallest fine. The Ottawa received no aid from the Bureau of Indian Affairs and very little from local and state government (McClurken, 2009). Without the traditional knowledge used by the Tribe, they would not have survived. Things got a little better when Franklin D. Roosevelt became president and introduced the New Deal policies. The Wheeler-Howard Indian Reorganization Act in 1934 was put into law and was intended to reverse the policy of assimilation and help strengthen communities. However, congress refused to adequately fund the projects, and attempted to group all Ottawa in Michigan together, causing economic progress to halt. The only option for young Ottawa men was to go away to work in the Civilian Conservation Corps camps, where they worked to repair damage caused by the logging industry. The men planted trees to stop soil erosion, repaired infrastructure, and created many parks (McClurken, 2009). However the Ottawa’s issues would only continue. “The Ottawas’ prospects for creating a new federally recognized, constitutionally guided government and receiving federal assistance under the Indian Reorganization Act died in 1939.(McClurken, 2009)” Enos Pego, who had worked tirelessly to establish IRA programs for the Ottawa died, and an extremely destructive investigative report titled “The Holst Report” was published. This reported described the Ottawa culture and way of life as dead, and stated the Ottawa were no different than any other American, and did not need any additional assistance. This report barred the Ottawa from IRA reorganization and from any federal aid. The Ottawa and the Potawatomis to the south were the only tribes in Michigan barred from reorganization (McClurken, 2009). World War II brought its own slew of issues. During the war, many Ottawa enlisted in the United States Armed Services. However the women, children and the few men who stayed continued to live in poverty, receive poor educations and still had no federal aid. The largest issues in the Ottawa communities were lack of money, education, and welfare services. The BIA investigated these issues, but couldn’t decide what to do about them. The organization of the Northern Michigan Ottawa Association in 1947 made a large impact on the Ottawa communities. The NMOA was organized into units, with the Little River Band being Unit Seven. The NMOA attained legal counsel and was able to file claims before the Indian Claims Commission. These claims led to the Michigan Ottawas being eligible for financial aid for education, employment, and medical care. The NMOA also gained trust land rights, and fought for the payment for lands ceded. While the NMOA was not able to gain federal recognition for the Michigan Ottawa as a whole, each tribe pursued recognition separately. Due to a lack of resources, the Little River Band was unable to start the paperwork until much later. In 1991 a grant was given to hire a director, enrollment officer, and secretary. These people worked tirelessly to provide all necessary documentation, and even travelled to Washington D.C. to speak to Congress. On September 21, 1994 the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians was reaffirmed as a Distinct Federally Recognized Tribe (McClurken, 2009). This reaffirmation allowed the tribe access to many new resources and the ability to help its people itself. The Ottawa lived in poverty for many years, and many still do today. However, today the tribe has many programs to help the members get on their feet and further their education.

Programs

Elder Programs

Little River provides low income rental housing for elders on tribal grounds. The Elder Chore Services program is in place to help disabled elders keep up on chores around the house and yard. A food program offers elders hot meals three times a day, free of charge. Dependents who reside with the elder are also given free meals. Discounted meals are offered to the tribal community.

Housing Programs

Little River has many programs aimed at easing the costs of buying and maintaining a home. For first time home buyers, the tribe will contribute 10% of their house cost for their down payment up to $12,000. Assistance is available for low income families to be able to pay their electricity bill, as well mortgage assistance. There is a fund that helps with home repair, as well as home budget planning. Two companies provide low cost heating and cooling, and well and septic care for tribal members. There are also a plethora of low income housing available both on and off reservation. While some are reserved for elders, many are available to families.

Education Progams

The Little River Band takes the education of its members seriously and has many programs to aid in higher education. A “Higher Education Scholarship” is offered, which helps to meet unmet need for tribal students attending any nonprofit college or university. A “College Book Stipend” program is also in place which provides members money for books depending on how many credits they take. The stipend ranges from $200 to $500. A “Vocational Educational Assistance” program is offered to students who attend a state agency approved or accredited vocational/technical program, who has unmet need. This program provides up to $4,000 per semester. While the Michigan Indian Tuition Waiver is not a tribal program, the tribe does process the member’s applications for it. The MITW provides free tuition to tribal members at public colleges/universities in Michigan as long as they maintain a 2.0 grade point. The tribe also maintains a “Tutoring Assistance” program which provides up to $500 to help pay for a tutor for elementary and middle school kids who function at least one grade level below the one they are enrolled in.

Student Services

Little River has a special set of programs especially for grade school children from preschool to twelfth grade. These services include school clothing, activities, senior expenses, driver’s training, and a grade incentive program. The school clothing assistance provides $300 each school year for kids to buy new clothes. The activities provides parents with $100 reimbursement to offset the cost of sports, dance, etc. Senior expenses provides graduating members with $425 to pay for senior pictures, announcements, cap and gown, and class ring. Driver’s training assistance is available for one time use and up to $250. The grade inventive program is designed to motivate young tribal members to do their best in school. Students receive a certain amount of money for each perfect grade they receive.

Other Programs

Little River has a program to help encourage tribal members to start their own businesses. The tribe will provide small business loans to members. They also offer Health Services in the form of a Physician, registered Nurse, and a CNA free of charge to enrolled members. Emergency transportation is available to all members. Legal assistance is available. An Attorney is available to give legal advice on many matters, however the attorney can only represent elders in court about matters that do not involve the tribe. The biggest program involved in distribution of wealth is the per-capita distribution. Each tribal member above the age of 18 receives a certain amount of money based on the profit of the tribally owned casino. Each elder receives double the amount of the distribution. Employment opportunities are available at the casino, with preference going to tribal members, as well as positions in the tribal government and natural resources department.

Conclusion

Image 1 - Little River Casino, source of per-capita payments

Native Americans are a strong and resilient people. They have dealt with hardship for a very long time, and have managed to always overcome it. Natives fought through removal, termination, and forced assimilation. The will of the people alone shows the dedication they have to their way of life and their future. The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians has created a large network of programs aimed at helping its members have a bright future. Whether it’s relieving the direct effects of poverty, or furthering education, the tribe is creating a way for its people to reach their goals. However, what works for one community may not work for the next; as each tribe is diverse and unique, each community will need a unique solution to its problems. If the United States government continues to enact legislation on Native American’s without their consent, the same issues will most likely persist. Thus, tribes and the governments must work together to prevent more harmful legislation from passing. While the tribes do offer their own programs and solutions to the issues, if more problems are created, it will only put more stress on the tribal governments. While the government cannot legislate Native communities into prosperity, it can help to put a stop to the cycle of poverty. The government has done so much harm to native communities over the years, it is time for it to start working together with tribes, to fix the issues it has created. Native communities have survived through the hardest of times, and many now have the resources to help their members flourish.

Works Cited

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