Who We Are
The Burt Lake Band is federally recognized by treaty. Our ancestors were among those who signed the 1836 Treaty of Washington and the 1855 Treaty of Detroit. We, the descendants, are still here in Brutus, Michigan.
Read Our History:
Traditional Foods Project
Our band is exploring and learning about our history through traditional foods. This two-year project involves teachings from knowledgeable native instructors about topics such as spear-fishing, making maple syrup, using indigenous plants for food and medicine, and much more.
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Recent Articles
We walk to honor our ancestors and memorialize the day in 1900 when the village on Chickigami Trail was burned to the ground and taken. This unlawful act affected those living in the village that day and changed the course of the future for every descendent since...
Chronicling the 1900 Burt Lake Burnout
This article was originally posted at Norther Express, https://www.northernexpress.com/news/feature/missing-history-burt-lake-burnout/ On a gloomy morning in 1900, members of the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians watched in horror as their homes and...
A Struggle For Justice
This podcast originally published on Points North. October 15, 1900 was a dark day for a small group of Native Americans near the tip of Michigan’s lower peninsula. It’s the day a group of white men burned their village to the ground, leaving many families homeless....