Indigenous Peoples of Michigan

The name Michigan come from a Chippewan Indian word "Michigana" meaning "great or large lake"

Tribes and Bands of Michigan
The following list of tribes is compiled from:


 * Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico.  Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of Ethnology, Bulletin #30 1907.
 * Swanton, John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. Smithsonian Institution Bureau of Ethnology, Bulletin #145

Chippewa, Croix Band of Chippewa, Delaware, East Saginaw, Foxes, Huron, Kickapoo, Menominee, Miami, Neutrals, Noquet, Ottawa, Potawatomi, Sauk, Winnebago, Wyandot

Bands: Saginaw - Chippewa, Keweenaw Bay, L'Anse, Ontonagon, Lac Vieux Desert, Lax Vieux, Deseret Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa

Indian Reservations
As identified in the National Atlas of the United States of America, the following reservation names in bold are current federally-recognized reservations. Others are state reservations or are those historically associated with Michigan.

Bay Mills Reservation (Federal, under jurisdiction of Michigan Agency, Tribe: Chippewa)

Chippewa Reservation

Grand Traverse Reservation(State, under jurisdiction of Michigan Agency, Tribe:

Hannahville Community (Federal, under jurisdiction of Michigan Agency, Tribe: Potawatomi)

Isabella (Saginaw) Reservation (Federal, under jurisdiction of Michigan Agency, Tribe: Saginaw Chippewa)

L'Anse (Keweenaw Bay) Reservation (Federal, under jurisdiction of Michigan Agency, Tribe: Lake Supior Band Chippeewa)

Michigan Reservation 1837-1848

Ontonagon Reservation 1854

Sault Ste. Marie Reservation (State, under jurisdiction of Michigan Agency, Tribe:

Indian Agencies
Michigan Agency, Federal Square Office Plaza, P.O. Box 884, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783

See Also

Michigan History -- for a calendar giving important dates pertaining to Indians

Michigan Military -- for a list of forts