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Odawa artist extends deceased animals’ purpose “in a good way”

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On a wall in Hank Bailey’s bedroom is a can’t-miss photographic print on a large canvas. Bailey, an Odawa (Ottawa) elder of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, is the unmistakable subject. He’s in his powwow dancing regalia in a “bending of the knees” pose, as the Anishinaabe word for powwow—Jingtamok—translates. Bailey wrote in the Sun in 2017, “I can say without being ashamed that I have been brought to tears during dances. I have felt so good while dancing it seemed like my feet were not even touching the ground.”

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‘Big, beautiful bill’ scraps $20M conservation project in northwest Michigan. Now what?

A tribe and several conservation groups were gearing up to remove old culverts and rehabilitate 29 streams across northwest lower Michigan: shelling out for contracts with county road commissions, hiring construction crews and prepping sites. Now, more than $20 million set aside for that work has been clawed back by Congress, leaving those involved $450,000 poorer and halting the project. The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians received the award in 2023 as part of a US Department of Agriculture program called the Regional Conservation Partnership Program, or RCPP. It was the only project in Michigan to receive money that year. A supplemental pot of money created by then-President Joe Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act in 2022 was largely rescinded when President Donald Trump signed the One Big Beautiful Bill Act on July 4, leaving places like northwest lower Michigan caught in the crosshairs.

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The Anishinaabek: Michigan’s original people

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Tim Mulherin, author of “This Magnetic North: Candid Conversations on a Changing Northern Michigan” includes an excerpt of his book that features JoAnne Cook, chief appellate court judge for the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and an outreach educator. Cook sometimes teaches an adult education course at Northwestern Michigan College, “The History of the Anishinaabek.” Her historical overview incorporates cultural and spiritual aspects of the band, and she covers the legal issues involving treaties (which are still ongoing) leading up to tribal life in modern time and the efforts to restore and advance Native traditions.

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Tribal fisherwoman Cindi John recovering after stabbings at Traverse City Walmart

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Cindi John, who owns and operates Treaty Fish Co. in Leelanau County together with her husband Ed, is recovering after being attacked on Saturday, July 26, at the Traverse City Walmart. Their daughter Ruby posted the news on Facebook early Sunday morning. Click on the story for a link to donate to support the John family during this difficult time. Eleven people were stabbed by the alleged perpetrator Bradford James Gille, who was subdued by fellow shoppers in the parking lot and is currently in police custody in Grand Traverse County. He may face charges of terrorism and assault with intent to murder. All 11 victims are expected to survive.

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Glen Lake Association launches treatment to eradicate Invasive Eurasian Watermilfoil

This summer, the Glen Lake Association, in collaboration with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians (GTB), will deploy a targeted, nonchemical treatment to eradicate three colonies of invasive Eurasian watermilfoil, or EWM, discovered in the deep basin of Little Glen Lake last year. These efforts aim to protect Glen Lake’s ecological integrity by preventing the spread of EWM and supporting the return of native plant species to affected areas.

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Marking Anishinaabe trails

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The Leelanau County and Grand Traverse communities, led by members of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, gathered on May 15 at Clinch Park in Traverse City to celebrate the Anishinaabe Cultural Marker Project. Seven markers celebrating spots along “Old Indian Trails” have already been installed in Suttons Bay near the library, in Leland near the museum, at Northport’s Peterson Park, at Omena beach park, at Hannah Park and Clinch Park in Traverse City, and at the Brown Bridge canoe launch in Grand Traverse County. Two more, in Northport’s marina park and West End Beach in Traverse City, will soon receive their installations, bringing the total to nine.

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Leelanau’s influencers of 2024

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With 2024 in the rearview mirror and 2025 upon us, we’re recognizing 25 “influencers” we covered in the Glen Arbor Sun this past year who are making a meaningful impact on Leelanau County communities, commerce, and culture. Read below about those 25 local influencers, who include everyone from the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, to Leelanau Investing for Teens, to Empire’s polar dippers, to popular new destinations River Club Glen Arbor, the Sleeping Bear Inn, and the Lively’s NeighborFood Market.

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Grand Traverse Band, New Community Vision, re-acquire Mashkiigaki on former Timber Shores property

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The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians and the New Community Vision (NCV) nonprofit have reacquired land historically known as “Mashkiigaki” (formerly called Timber Shores)—which totals more than 200 acres along West Grand Traverse Bay between Suttons Bay and Northport. The Band gets more than 188 acres, including 1,800 feet of pristine shoreline; NCV gets 24 acres along M-22. The transfer deed was recorded on Dec. 26. New Community Vision has worked for two years to acquire and preserve the former Timber Shores property, which developers unsuccessfully tried to turn into an RV park until they were stopped by a ballot referendum in 2022. NCV is collaborating with Peninsula Housing to develop attainable housing on its portion of the land. Mashkiigaki is one of the largest undeveloped coastal properties in the Grand Traverse region.

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Sleeping Bear applies brakes on controversial Heritage Trail extension along Little Traverse Lake

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Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is putting the brakes on its planned 4.5-mile extension of the Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail, which was to run near Little Traverse Lake and conclude at Good Harbor Trail. National Lakeshore superintendent Scott Tucker announced the news today during a press conference at Park headquarters in Empire. (Click here to watch a livestream of the news conference.) The National Lakeshore is pausing the design of Segment 9 following months of conversations with the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, which opposes the route of the extension and which sent a letter of concern on Aug. 26 to Secretary of the Interior Debra Haaland and U.S. Senators Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow.

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Goodbye culverts, hello timber bridge over the Crystal River

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“Shooting the tube” through the Crystal River culverts under County Road 675 is now an experience of the past. This month the Grand Traverse Engineering & Construction will remove the three culverts and replace the road above them with an 80-foot timber bridge. The work should be complete by the end of November, according to GTEC construction manager Ken Ockert. S. Dunns Farm Road will be closed to thru traffic and rerouted around Big Glen Lake for the duration of the project. Labor Day Monday, Sept. 2, was the last day for kayakers, canoers and paddleboarders to float through the culverts. Their removal is bittersweet for the staff at Crystal River Outfitters, which has sent thousands of people down the river in the past three decades. “It’s fun to look back at the last 30 years and think that the term ‘shoot the tube’ has become synonymous with Crystal River Outfitters kayak trips down the Crystal River,” said Katy Wiesen, who co-owns the business together with her husband Matt. “Shooting the tube became not only an annual family tradition but also led to many variations on stickers, hats, t-shirts and more that are soon to be a piece of history.”

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