STAFF

The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians are descendants from members who lived in villages on the Manistee, Pere Marquette, and Grand Rivers. They are a tribe of members who have persevered and fought to survive because of the 1836 Treaty of Washington and the Treaty of 1855. 

The 1836 Treaty of Washington – permitted the Ottawas to stay in Michigan, although not indefinitely. It created a number of reservations, including one 70,000-acre reservation on the Manistee River for the Grand River Ottawas, and several others located in such a way that Ottawa bands could continue living in the villages they had occupied for most of the 18th and 19th centuries. In addition to creating reservations, the 1836 treaty also preserved the Ottawas’ hunting and fishing rights on the lands they had old throughout western Michigan. After the treaty negotiations, the United States Senate amended the original treaty language in such a way that, upon its ratification, the Ottawas were promised only five years of secure tenure on their Michigan reserves. After five years, they could decide to move west, or the United States could allow them to remain on their reservations for a longer time. The Federal Government had two major goals for the 1836 Treaty of Washington: to secure a large land cession, and to develop a plan to “civilize” the Ottawas. However, amendments made to the 1836 treaty all but guaranteed the failure of this plan. In January of 1855, the Ottawas, who wished to “make known our unanimous wish and mind” expressed their desires in a petition to the commissioner of Indian Affairs in Washington. The Ottawas had two simple goals for their new treaty: to secure definite tenure over their lands, and to settle their outstanding financial affairs with the United States. In the summer of 1855 several Michigan tribal leaders formed a council and met with the United States Government in Detroit to negotiate the treaty of 1855.

After much discussion, the Ottawas agreed to a ten-year trust fund, on the condition that its terms would be renegotiated at the end of its term. And the federal treaty commissioners achieved three of their major objectives: elimination of a permanent trust fund, continuation of government services to the Ottawas and Chippewas, and selection of reservations that would be divided into allotments for individual families. Despite its good intentions, the 1855 treaty would prove disastrous for the Ottawa Tribe. The failure of the 1855 treaty strengthened Ottawa polity as the people and their leaders faced the challenges of the coming decades. They fought for what was rightfully theirs in distinctly Ottawa ways. 

Both treaties were filled with broken promises, ignored by the United States Government, land was stolen, and lives were lost. The members who make up the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians fought until 1944 to gain federal recognition. In 1999, The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians opened the Little River Casino and Resort to take advantage of gaming and to provide for the Tribe. 

Long before Little River Holdings, LLC was formed in 2018, Tribal leaders recognized the need to diversify their revenue to continue providing for the Tribe and build generational wealth. Tribal leaders formed the Commerce Department. The Commerce Department eventually became Little River Holdings, LLC.  

Little River Holdings learned quickly that building a wealth generating an economic development entity that is sustainable for many generations was not easy. Little River Holdings leaned on its Real Estate Development expertise to generate early profits to continue its diversification efforts. Little River Holdings eventually created Little River Development in 2018 which is responsible for building and developing Odeno in Fruitport, Michigan. Odeno is a custom home development that sits on 120 acres. Little River Development has grown into one of Little River Holdings’ strongest companies. In 2020, Little River Holdings was the first tribal entity in Michigan history to be awarded a Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Project off trust land. Branching out and creating diversification of revenue Little River Holdings, LLC created Little River Government Contracting, Little River Health Technologies and Little River Capital Management in 2018.   Little River Government Contracting is another one of Little River Holdings’ strongest companies. John Baily and his team have successfully been awarded several contracts throughout the United States.  

Currently, Little River Holdings, LLC is the owner of nine subsidiaries. Ziibi Property Management, Little River Health Technologies, Little River Government Contracting, Little River Capital Management, Little River Development, Native Source Procurement Services, Native Source Restaurant Group, Native American Utility Company, and Little River Entertainment. These subsidiaries diversify in their industries and provide diversified wealth to The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians for the next seven generations and beyond.