By SCOTT MCKIE B.P.
One Feather Asst. Editor
A bill has been introduced into the 119th Congress of the United States that would grant federal acknowledgment to a state-recognized group in Michigan. H.R. 3255 (Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians Restoration Act of 2025) was introduced by Congresswoman Hillary Scholten (D-Mich.) and Congressman John James (R-Mich.) on Thursday, May 8.
Rep. Scholten said in a statement, “The Grand River Bands are a central part of our state’s history, culture, and community, and it’s long overdue that we officially recognize them as a sovereign tribe. They are foundational to the identity of west Michigan, and for nearly 30 years, the Grand River Bands have been advocating for federal recognition. I’m committed to ensuring they get the resources and respect they deserve.”
The group received state recognition from the State of Michigan on Feb. 2, 1996.
On its website, the Grand River Bands writes, “The Grand River Bands have lived on lands in west Michigan for hundreds of years. Our ancestors survived on these lands, and in 1821 and 1836, our chiefs signed treaties recognizing the ancestral homelands of our people. These lands are still sacred to the Grand River Bands today. The Grand River Bands were also signatories to the 1795 Treaty of Greenville; 1807 Treaty of Detroit; 1821 Treaty of Chicago; 1836 Treaty of Washington and the 1855 Treaty of Detroit.”
Ron Yob, Grand River Bands chairman, said in a statement following introduction of the bill, “For more than three decades, we have advocated for acknowledgment by the federal government to give our tribal members access to resources they have long deserved. This bill brings us a step closer to recognition, which will help us continue to grow and preserve our traditions for generations to come.”
The Grand River Bands did attempt to go through the Department of the Interior’s Office of Federal Acknowledgement (OFA) process to achieve their goal. According to a document on the Federal Register entitled “Proposed Finding Against Federal Acknowledgment of the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians”, the group filed a letter of intent to petition for federal acknowledgement as the Grand River Band Ottawa Council on Nov. 16, 1994. On Nov. 14, 1997, the group filed a petitioner update changing its name to the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians. It submitted its first materials for their petition in December 2000.
Following years of back-and-forth requests for additional materials and subsequent submissions by the Grand River Bands, the DOI issued its finding against giving the group federal acknowledgment on Feb. 27, 2023.
That document states, “While the Petitioner’s members appear to descend from these historic Grand River-area bands…the Petitioner has not determined that its members comprise a distinct community that has existed as a community through time.”
It goes on to state, “In sum, although the claims of Petitioner #146 stem from descent from a group of historic bands, the Petitioner has not documented any activities since the treaty era that reflect a continuously existing distinct community. Rather, the evidence shows that the Petitioner came together beginning in 1995 from several independent groups. The absence of a distinct community among the Petitioner’s ancestors in earlier evaluation periods is reflected in the continued lack of many characteristics of a distinct community among the current membership. Evidence since 1995 shows that there is a very small group of members, often those in leadership positions, who are active as members, but the overwhelming majority of members are not present and do not participate in Petitioner-sponsored events and activities.”
H.R. 3255 has been referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources. There are no hearings scheduled for this legislation as of press time.
