Boozhoo! We are happy you have arrived. This is intended to be a space to access what may be difficult to find, Anishinabe records, held in national as well as local collections. This is not to say that all information is open to the public. If you believe you should have access to more information please send us an email at ZiibiwingQuestions@sagchip.org We are open to accepting suggestions, corrections and additional information from our community. This is a teaching and learning space, we are grateful for what you would like to share with others.
The Research Center is open Monday thru Friday, 9am to 4:30pm with exceptions of tribal holidays.
Please contact the Ziibiwing Research Center 989-775-4748 or 989-775-4733 to schedule an appointment to visit. This will make providing the service you deserve a lot easier .
You can also drop in and we will offer the time we have available.
Ziibiwing Mission Statement:
The Ziibiwing Center is a distinctive treasure created to provide an enriched, diversified and culturally relevant educational experience. This promotes the society's belief that culture, diversity and spirit of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan and other Great Lakes Anishinabek must be recognized, perpetuated, communicated and supported.
Tribal Sovereignty Defined:
An Indian Tribe is a distinct political community. A Tribe retains its inherent powers of self-government absent action by Congress to limit those powers. A State cannot limit the powers of a Tribe.
The source of Tribal powers rests in its people. Tribes have had the inherent right to govern themselves "from time immemorial". See Worchester v. Georgia, 515, 558 (1832). Tribal governments have the same powers as the federal and state governments to regulate their internal affairs, with some exceptions. For instance, the Tribes have the power to form a government, to decide their own membership, the right to regulate property, the right to maintain law and order, the right to regulate commerce, and so on.
However, over the history of the Tribes' relations with the United States, Tribes have been economically devastated. Most have not had the financial means to effectively exercise their governmental powers. For some Tribes, Gaming has provided the only successful means to raise funds to be able to exercise their inherent powers of self-government.
Without Tribal sovereignty, and the financial means to exercise powers of self-government, Tribes would not survive as Indian Nations.
Public Relations Mission Statement:
The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan is a progressive sovereign entity dedicated to the preservation of its rich cultural history while striving to protect the interest of its indigenous community for the next seven generations. The Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Leadership will define and promote its National Interest by embracing the highest ethical principles, promoting integrity and understanding as well as establishing and enforcing fiscal responsibility. The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan will honor and protect its cultural identity by asserting its sovereign and economic right within the global market place of ideas in order to ensure its continued prosperity.