New community center opens in Arenac County

The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe celebrated a grand opening of a new community center. The 7,800 sq. ft. facility is south of Standish and sits on Saganing Indian property not far from the Bay County border.

Tribal leaders say this will be a community center and not a casino, despite persistent talk in the area that it will become a gaming operation one day.

Hundreds of people came out for friday's grand opening.

Past tribal leaders have talked about putting a casino in the Chippewa Saganing District, but those plans have changed. The tribe owns Soaring Eagle Casino in Mt. Pleasant, and money made from that operation helped build the center.

The center has been in the works for generations. The total cost for the project is a little more than $2 million.
By Terry Camp, ABC-12, January 19th, 2007

Chippewa tribe to open community center for Standish branch

Saginaw Chippewa tribal leaders have talked of building their Saganing members a community center near Standish for a dozen years. This month, the Mount Pleasant-based tribe's vision becomes reality.

The Chippewa's Saganing branch moves from its current center, a double-wide trailer in Standish Township, to a lodge six-times its size, near the Saganing Indian Church at Whites Beach. Though members consider their rural center homey, its quality can't compare with the carefully-chosen, specially-crafted timber, stone, tile, and elk antlers built into their new home. The new Saganing Community Center is the pride and joy of the Arenac County branch, members say.

"We just want an outreach center where we can give our members more access, more of the services we offer in Mount Pleasant," said Frank Cloutier, Saginaw Chippewa public relations manager.

It's been 13 years since the tribe's economic plight shifted dramatically with the opening of Soaring Eagle, its Mount Pleasant casino. But the gaming operation, while successful, is a means towards self-determination, Cloutier said. "The whole purpose behind Native American gaming is to make tribal members more self-sufficient," he said.

Among the programs the tribe plans to expand are its health care and fitness for members. Also envisioned are educational workshops for Saganing elders and children, improved tribal police presence, and more social and cultural gatherings for members and the community.

The Saganing district has 56 tribal members, said Don Nelson, Saganing Community Center Director. "We're ecstatic," Nelson said. "It's overwhelming for us. We'll be better able to serve our members better and have more opportunity to connect with the larger community."

The Saginaw Chippewa Tribe runs the largest, Indian-owned gaming operation in Michigan, the fifth-largest nationally, Cloutier said. The tribe still has more than enough overhead to manage in Mount Pleasant without considering operations elsewhere, he added.
By Helen Lounsbury, The Bay City Times, January 4th, 2007

"We are disappointed by the ruling," said Henry Duro, Chairman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians. "We believe that these gaming projects help tribes fulfill essential governmental functions by providing education, health care, housing, senior care and other key programs. Those are basic governmental obligations that could be impacted by this decision."
By Mark Ranzenberger, The Morning Sun and Associated Press, February 10th, 2007

Lawmakers address problems facing American Indians

Senate Indian Affairs Committee Chairman Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and former Senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO) spoke about problems facing American Indians at a breakfast co-sponsored by the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) and The Hill.

The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will focus on healthcare, law enforcement and other issues that spring from a "trust responsibilty" between the U.S. Government and Indian peoples.

This year could mark changes for Indian peoples, Campbell said. "As you know, for the last couple of years, I think we were really sidetracked. Things that are really important to us, like education and housing and nutrition and jobs. Those are very important issues."

Campbell, who served as committee chairman from 1997-2001, and again from 2003-2004, said American Indians have not had adequate political power. However, he said "That's changing. We have very strong leadership. We're on the move, and we're gonna make sure we stay on the move."

Dorgan will be holding a series of listening sessions across the country, at which he will meet with Indian tribes and representatives to listen to their concerns, and "try to understand the agenda of the committee that I shall now chair."

NCAI Executive Director Jacqueline Johnson and Ietan Consulting Managing Partner Wilson Pipestem also joined the discussion, which was moderated by The Hill's editor-at-large, Albert Eisele.

"It's a special honor and signifcant responsibility to be able to chair a committee in Congress that deals with our special relationship with Indian people and tribes: the First American people," Dorgan concluded.
By Kelly McCormack, The Hill, January 30th, 2007

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