> > Does anyone know the modern day difference between The Little River Band > and the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians? I am confused because they both > trace to the same chiefs. In the early 19th c. there were a dozen or more Odawa villages in the Kalamazoo, Grand / Thornapple, & Muskegon river systems, each an independent band; under terms of the 1836 Washington treaty they ceded claims to land north of the Grand (lands south were previously ceded by 1821 Chicago treaty). As the land north of the Grand was subsequently surveyed and offered for sale, many (most?) of the bands migrated north (where most of them had roots proceeding their southern habitation) or expatriated themselves into Canada. The 1855 treaty effected the removal of the remaining bands by withdrawing from public sale designated tracts of land which would be allotted to their members. Although that treaty dealt with other bands as well, the lands salient to the modern Grand River / Little River bands were four townships in Oceana & Mason County to which the remaining peoples then migrated. I can't comment on whatever modern political issues may be, but in the historical sense there was no schism or split behind the modern differentiation between the Little and Grand River polities -- the significant difference is, as noted, that Little River band achieved federal recognition while those attempting to achieve recognition as a distinct Grand River band have not. Thus anyone wanting full benefit of 'tribal' membership is likely to have opted into Little River rather than taken a chance on eventual fulfillment of another petition.. As a final note, it isn't descent from the 'chiefs' themselves but from members of each ogema's band [from those treaties] that determines relationships to Little & Grand River bands as currently constituted. Regards - rdw

Thanks rdw this does help explain the difference. Jenni ----- Original Message ----- From: R D Winthrop To: NISHNAWBE-L@rootsweb.com Sent: Monday, September 01, 2003 7:21 AM Subject: Re: [NISHNAWBE] Grand River Band vs Little River Band > > Does anyone know the modern day difference between The Little River Band > and the Grand River Band of Ottawa Indians? I am confused because they both > trace to the same chiefs. In the early 19th c. there were a dozen or more Odawa villages in the Kalamazoo, Grand / Thornapple, & Muskegon river systems, each an independent band; under terms of the 1836 Washington treaty they ceded claims to land north of the Grand (lands south were previously ceded by 1821 Chicago treaty). As the land north of the Grand was subsequently surveyed and offered for sale, many (most?) of the bands migrated north (where most of them had roots proceeding their southern habitation) or expatriated themselves into Canada. The 1855 treaty effected the removal of the remaining bands by withdrawing from public sale designated tracts of land which would be allotted to their members. Although that treaty dealt with other bands as well, the lands salient to the modern Grand River / Little River bands were four townships in Oceana & Mason County to which the remaining peoples then migrated. I can't comment on whatever modern political issues may be, but in the historical sense there was no schism or split behind the modern differentiation between the Little and Grand River polities -- the significant difference is, as noted, that Little River band achieved federal recognition while those attempting to achieve recognition as a distinct Grand River band have not. Thus anyone wanting full benefit of 'tribal' membership is likely to have opted into Little River rather than taken a chance on eventual fulfillment of another petition.. As a final note, it isn't descent from the 'chiefs' themselves but from members of each ogema's band [from those treaties] that determines relationships to Little & Grand River bands as currently constituted. Regards - rdw ============================== To join Ancestry.com and access our 1.2 billion online genealogy records, go to: http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=571&sourceid=1237