Post by Okwes on Jan 13, 2008 18:34:07 GMT -5
Tribe keeps name the same
The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe has gone back to calling itself the
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.
The Tribe recently ended a brief experiment with calling itself the Saginaw
Chippewa Tribal Nation, according to Chief Fred Cantu. The (Tribal)
Council felt that the Tribe, through its constitution, is named the
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan, Cantu said, and that s what
we wanted to stick with.
The Tribe s official name, since its organization during the 1930s under
the Indian Reorganization Act, always has been the Saginaw Chippewa
Indian Tribe. But earlier this year, the Tribe began to identify itself
as the Tribal Nation, dropping the words Indian and of Michigan and
emphasizing the word nation.
A public relations task force originally proposed the use of the term
Tribal Nation as an alternative to the official name. Members said it
emphasized the Tribe s inherent sovereignty, pride in nationhood, and
the fact that the Tribe is separate from the state of Michigan.
The Tribe began using the term Tribal Nation to identify itself in some
press releases and announcements.
But some council members said using multiple names for the same
organization could be confusing.
There was no change, Cantu said. We are a nation within a nation.
That was the whole intent of the people who made the recommendation.
Cantu noted that many tribes use the term tribal nation to describe
themselves. Among the most prominent are the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal
Nation, which runs the Foxwood Resort casino in Massachusetts, the
210,000-member Navajo Nation, the Cherokee Nation and the Choctaw
Nation.
An official change in name for the Saginaw Chippewas would involve a
constitutional amendment. Amending the Tribal constitution requires a
so-called secretarial election, run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Cantu said there has been no discussion of doing that.
The Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe has gone back to calling itself the
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.
The Tribe recently ended a brief experiment with calling itself the Saginaw
Chippewa Tribal Nation, according to Chief Fred Cantu. The (Tribal)
Council felt that the Tribe, through its constitution, is named the
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan, Cantu said, and that s what
we wanted to stick with.
The Tribe s official name, since its organization during the 1930s under
the Indian Reorganization Act, always has been the Saginaw Chippewa
Indian Tribe. But earlier this year, the Tribe began to identify itself
as the Tribal Nation, dropping the words Indian and of Michigan and
emphasizing the word nation.
A public relations task force originally proposed the use of the term
Tribal Nation as an alternative to the official name. Members said it
emphasized the Tribe s inherent sovereignty, pride in nationhood, and
the fact that the Tribe is separate from the state of Michigan.
The Tribe began using the term Tribal Nation to identify itself in some
press releases and announcements.
But some council members said using multiple names for the same
organization could be confusing.
There was no change, Cantu said. We are a nation within a nation.
That was the whole intent of the people who made the recommendation.
Cantu noted that many tribes use the term tribal nation to describe
themselves. Among the most prominent are the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal
Nation, which runs the Foxwood Resort casino in Massachusetts, the
210,000-member Navajo Nation, the Cherokee Nation and the Choctaw
Nation.
An official change in name for the Saginaw Chippewas would involve a
constitutional amendment. Amending the Tribal constitution requires a
so-called secretarial election, run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
Cantu said there has been no discussion of doing that.