Leaders of the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians in Michigan. Chairwoman Regina Gasco Bentley is seated, second from left. Photo from LTBB

The Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians in Michigan are talking with federal, state and local officials about the boundaries of the tribe's reservation.

The tribe was restored to federal recognition through an act of Congress in 1994. The law makes reference to the 1836 Treaty of Washington and the 1855 Treaty of Detroit, the latter of which promised a 336 square-mile reservation, according to the tribe's history.

"We have our reservation's boundary, all we're asking for is recognition of those boundaries," Chairwoman Regina Gasco Bentley told The Petoskey News-Review.

The tribe has hired a law firm to work on the issue, the paper said. The effort is not without precedent in Michigan -- in 2010, a federal judge approved a settlement that resolved the boundaries of the reservation of the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe.

Get the Story:
Tribe seeking affirmation of territorial boundaries (The Petoskey News-Review 4/29)