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.
Who are the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe?
The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe is a federally recognized political union of six Ojibwe bands, including the Mille Lacs Band, Bois Forte Band, Fond du Lac Band, Grand Portage Band, Leech Lake Band, and White Earth Band. There are Ojibwe communities in both Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the second-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by the Cree. In the United States, they have the fourth-largest population among Native American tribes, surpassed only by the Navajo, Cherokee and Lakota.
Ancestors of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians were Anishinaabeg fishing tribes whose settlements dotted the upper Great Lakes around Lake Superior, Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, throughout the St. Marys River system and the Straits of Mackinac. Anishnaabeg legends recall the ice packs breaking on Lake Nipissing and archeologists have found Anishinaabeg sites from 3000 B.C. Legends speak of immigrations to and from the Great Lakes over the centuries.