American Indian Tribal Nations
and the Great Lakes Region

American Indian Tribal Nations and the Great Lakes Region

Political boundaries complicate a “one size fits all” definition for the Great Lakes Region. The Great Lakes are located in the middle of the United States and along the Canadian border. Within the United States, the Great Lakes are skirted by the states of Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York.

Historically, tribal nations were not restricted by any of these political boundaries and their traditional territories spanned across present day country and state borders. While some tribal nations continue to reside within or near their homelands , many do not. The ceding of lands through treaties, the forced removal of tribal nations by the federal government, and the federally endorsed relocation programs of American Indians from reservations to urban areas has created great distances between many tribal nations, their peoples, and their traditional territories.
Political boundaries and political actions, such as the Dawes (Allotment) Act of 1887, have severed traditional territories of many tribal nations into a complex web of land ownership and property rights, creating significant barriers to access homelands, resources, and sacred places. Despite this, significant cultural ties between tribal nations, their peoples, and their traditional territories remain.
Federally recognized tribal nations reserved rights within treaty territories specifically for access to traditional lands and resources with perpetuity in mind. However, as mentioned in the government-to-government relationships tab, treaties have not always been honored by the federal government and tribal nation recognition status, whether federal, state, or unrecognized, can greatly affect which tribal nations are included in Government-to-Government relationships. In general, American Indians continue to exercise, advocate for, and protect traditional and cultural practices that were born from and are bound to their traditional territories.

Working regions within federal government departments and agencies further muddle the political landscape. Working regions are a distinct way to break up the country for the distribution of funds and resources in order to meet institutional goals. Because of these variances across the federal government, understanding which working region a tribe falls under is not always straightforward and can create hurdles in communication with and inclusion of tribal nations in working relationships.

For state agencies and land grant universities, institutional and funding limits may restrict focus and projects to within the borders of their states. This can lead to excluding partnerships with tribal nations who have been removed from their traditional territories within the Great Lakes Region to other parts of the country.

Questions to consider: Whose traditional territory/territories do I reside and work on? What treaties apply to the lands I reside and work on and who were the signatories? Which tribal nations are currently living within the region I reside and work within? Which tribal nations have been removed from these lands and where do they currently reside? What is the status of each tribal nation’s recognition (federal, state, unrecognized)? Are there any organizations that have a formal representative role for any of the tribal nations?

American Indian Tribal Nations and the Great Lakes Region

American Indian Tribal Nations and the Great Lakes Region

Recommended further reading & resources

American Indian Tribal Nations
and the Great Lakes Region