Harbor Springs Historical Society: “A Cloud Over the Land”

As the tribal historian of the Burt Lake Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Deborah Richmond brings a wealth of knowledge and dedication to preserving the rich cultural heritage of her community. Together with historian and author Rick Wiles, the Burt Lake Band recently published a book, “A Cloud over the Land,” about a historic and tragic event in the band’s history – the Burt Lake Burnout of 1900.

In this presentation, Richmond will discuss the difficult story of how the Native American village at Burt Lake in Brutus, Michigan, was mercilessly reduced to ashes, rendering families homeless and stripping them of their ancestral lands, by a wealthy land developer and the local sheriff.