Indigenous
History in
Michigan
Indigenous history and contemporary contributions are often missing in K-12 public school narratives. The Confederation of Michigan Tribal Education Departments (CMTED) and the Michigan Department of Education’s Indigenous Education Initiative (IEI) are in collaboration to design, implement, and evaluate learning experiences and curricular materials.
Indigenous History in Michigan is designed for K-12 teachers, administrators, and students, to learn about Tribal Nations and Indigenous communities who share geography with Michigan. Our mission is to fulfill the need for real people telling stories from Indigenous perspectives. The perspective of the project is from the Anishinaabek or the Three Fires: Ojibwe (Chippewa), the Odawa (Ottawa), and the Bode’wadmi (Potawatomi ). Layered and intersecting stories from Anishinaabe Peoples, and fellow Indigenous relatives, can be complex. Indigenous History in Michigan will include often overlooked history, with a particular emphasis on privileging the voices of our boarding school survivors. Our vision is for educators and learners to develop better connections with our relatives.
Our mission is to fulfill the need for real people telling stories from indigenous perspectives.
Our vision is for educators and learners to develop better connections with our relatives.
The Approach
There are key ways of knowing and being that hold true over community layers of relationships, stories, and experiences. Indigenous History in Michigan is informed by how the Anishinaabek understand and interact with the world. We call these the Essential Understandings for Michigan. The Essential Understandings for Michigan are fundamental to understanding Anishinaabek People's ways of knowing and being.
Experience and service will be the ways we teach and learn these understandings. We emphasize relationships and knowledge that may challenge each other's ways of knowing, the roles of educators and learners, and our shared responsibilities as Michigan citizens. Indigenous History in Michigan teaches us all to hold multiple, simultaneous truths.
Why This Matters
By leaning into what we have in common, the project is a collection of meaningful learning experiences and materials. Collectively, Indigenous History in Michigan aims to build better relationships between Anishinaabe People, educators, and learners across the State who share mutual commitments, communities, and families. The goal of Indigenous History in Michigan is to truthfully cultivate the stories–past, present, and future– of Tribal Nations & Indigenous Communities living, working, and sharing geography with the State of Michigan.
The goal of Indigenous History in Michigan is to truthfully cultivate the stories–past, present, and future– of Tribal Nations & Indigenous Communities living, working, and sharing geography with the State of Michigan.
Federally Recognized Tribal Nations in Michigan
Bay Mills Indian Community
Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
Hannahville Potawatomi Indian Community
Huron Potawatomi-Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi
Keweenaw Bay Indian Community
Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians
Little River Band of Ottawa Indians
Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians
Match-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of Michigan
Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe
Sault Ste Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians
