Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians is a federally recognized Indian tribe based in Michigan's Eastern Upper Peninsula, with over 50,000 citizens. Land was taken into trust in March 1974 and members adopted the tribe’s Constitution in fall 1975. When the tribe adopted its Constitution, it had fewer than 10 employees, almost no outside funding and no revenues of its own. It gradually opened member service programs such as health, housing and education that were funded by the federal government and the state of Michigan. But member needs far outstripped those meager funding sources. Marie in 1984 and has since opened Kewadin Casinos in St. Ignace, Hessel, Manistique and Christmas. The tribe owns two convenience stores, real estate developments, a commerical and retail furniture, bedding and flooring businesses, land holdings, and other concerns. It has six health centers and two health clinics across its seven-county service area in the Eastern Upper Peninsula of Michigan along with nine reservations/trust land sites. The tribe's programs for its membership include social services, elders, health, education, housing, conservation, law enforcement, natural resources and recreation. For more information about the tribe please see www.saulttribe.com.
