Tribal nation in Gogebic County

Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians Reservation

County: Gogebic County

The Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians (Gete-gitigaaning) is a federally recognized Ojibwe tribe near Watersmeet in southeastern Gogebic County, Michigan's western Upper Peninsula, restored to independent recognition apart from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community when President Reagan signed the Lac Vieux Desert Band Act on September 8, 1988. Its federal reservation land base is small (about 0.419 square miles / 268 acres) and held 221 residents in the 2020 Census, but the band's reach is large: it governs through an elected Tribal Council chaired by James Williams Jr. and runs the Northern Waters Casino Resort, the Lac Vieux Desert Health Center, Big Picture Loans, and the Wild Glow Cannabis Company. The band's namesake, Lac Vieux Desert lake, straddles Michigan and Wisconsin and is the headwaters of the Wisconsin River, and the band's signature annual event is the Traditional Getegitigaaning Powwow held the second weekend of August.

The record

13 records name Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians Reservation

What the records show

47 of 53 independently verified

Authoritative data

Gogebic County holds 291 named lakes and flowages via prd-tnm.s3.amazonaws.com

Overview

Name: Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians via lvd-nsn.gov
Ojibwe: Gete-gitigaaning via en.wikipedia.org
Type: federally recognized 1988 (H.R. 3697) via en.wikipedia.org
Kbic: restored as independent tribe (formerly under Keweenaw Bay Indian Community) via en.wikipedia.org
County: Gogebic County, Michigan (Watersmeet Township) via en.wikipedia.org
Coords: 46.269, -89.178 via en.wikipedia.org
Area: 0.419 via en.wikipedia.org
Location: about 45 miles southeast of Ironwood, MI via en.wikipedia.org

Population and demographics

2020: 221 via en.wikipedia.org
Native share: 85.5 via en.wikipedia.org
Enrolled: None unverified via lvd-nsn.gov We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
Income: None unverified via en.wikipedia.org We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.
Tourism: None unverified via lvd-nsn.gov We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.

Government and civic

Form: elected Tribal Council via lvd-nsn.gov
Chair: James Williams Jr. via lvd-nsn.gov
Vicechair: Samuel Klingman via lvd-nsn.gov
Secretary: Roxann McGeshick via lvd-nsn.gov
Treasurer: Patrick Garrison via lvd-nsn.gov
Council members: Jeffery McGeshick Sr., Keith Williams, Henry Smith, Tyrone McGeshick, Patrick Hazen II via lvd-nsn.gov
Meetings: regular Tribal Council meetings (posted on lvd-nsn.gov) via lvd-nsn.gov
Site: https://lvd-nsn.gov/ via lvd-nsn.gov

Schools

District: Watersmeet Township School District (K-12, 1 school) via nces.ed.gov
Enrollment: 130 via nces.ed.gov
Native share: about 70 percent American Indian/Alaska Native via nces.ed.gov
Site: N4720 Highway US-45, Watersmeet, MI 49969 via nces.ed.gov

Economy and employers

Casino: Northern Waters Casino Resort (Dancing Eagles Hotel, Lac Vieux Desert golf course) via lvd-nsn.gov
Casino detail: about 25,000 sq ft; nearly 500 slot machines via northernwaterscasino.com
Bigpicture: Big Picture Loans via lvd-nsn.gov
Cannabis: Wild Glow Cannabis Company via lvd-nsn.gov
Tourism: gaming, hospitality, and tourism (casino resort + tribal government as principal employers) unverified via lvd-nsn.gov We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.

Institutions and anchors

Health: Lac Vieux Desert Health Center (opened August 2015) via en.wikipedia.org
Health expansion: about 10,000 sq ft Health Center expansion via yourdailyglobe.com
Forest: Ottawa National Forest (near Sylvania Wilderness) via en.wikipedia.org
Postoffice: 49969 via itcmi.org
Library: None unverified via lvd-nsn.gov We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.

Business and commerce

Chamber: served by regional chambers (Lake Gogebic Area, Ironwood Area, Eagle River Area) via northernwaterscasino.com
Identity: tribal-enterprise commercial campus along US-45/US-2 via lvd-nsn.gov

Media

Globe: The Globe (yourdailyglobe.com) via yourdailyglobe.com
Tribe: lvd-nsn.gov (official notices) + LVDTribe Facebook via lvd-nsn.gov

Recreation and natural assets

Lake: 4,260 via en.wikipedia.org
Lake detail: max depth about 40 ft; elevation 1,680 ft via en.wikipedia.org
Wisriver: source of the Wisconsin River via en.wikipedia.org
Fish: walleye, musky, bass, northern pike (tiger musky record) via en.wikipedia.org
Heritage: traditional wild-rice, hunting, and fishing grounds via en.wikipedia.org

Events and seasonal rhythm

Powwow: Traditional Getegitigaaning Powwow (2nd weekend of August) via allevents.in
Season: summer-peak seasonal identity via en.wikipedia.org

Infrastructure and access

Highways: US-2 and US-45 junction at Watersmeet via en.wikipedia.org
Us45: US-45: 46 mi N to Ontonagon, 26 mi S to Eagle River WI via en.wikipedia.org
Us2: US-2: 30 mi SE to Iron River, 41 mi NW to Wakefield via en.wikipedia.org
Airport: Gogebic-Iron County (IWD) about 53 mi; Rhinelander (RHI) about 56 mi via travelmath.com
Hub: Eagle River about 26 mi; Ironwood about 53 mi; Rhinelander about 56 mi via en.wikipedia.org
Broadband: None unverified via lvd-nsn.gov We could not confirm this against a primary public record, so we are telling you rather than hiding it.

Every figure here traces to a primary public record, linked at the fact. We gather and cite; we do not author. See something off? Tell us.

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