The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians will host a Company K Memorial Highway Dedication on Wednesday, May 27, at 1 pm at the Leelanau Sands Casino Showroom in Peshawbestown. The event will bring together community members, Tribal leaders, veterans, elected officials, and regional partners to honor the Anishinaabe soldiers of Company K of the 1st Michigan Sharpshooters for their service and sacrifice during the Civil War.
It’s that time of year again as many in northern Michigan, including here in Leelanau County, begin tapping the maple trees to reap their golden harvest. As Old Man Winter fades, maple trees offer us the first gift of the season—a pure, golden sap which through lots of hard work is transformed into the rich, sweet syrup beloved by many. The 2025, U.S. maple syrup industry produced 5.7 million gallons according to the USDA statistics service. Tapping Maple trees for their sap began long before Europeans settled in America. Early origins of maple sugaring are preserved in oral traditions of Anishinaabeg and other tribes of northern Michigan and northeastern North America. The Anishinaabe people began the deep connection to the tradition and referred to the season as Ziinzibaakwadoke Giizis (Sugar Moon). “We are celebrating a tradition that started with indigenous groups in the American Northeast and Great Lakes that included the Anishinaabe,” said William Derouin, Agricultural Manager at the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians. This program has grown to include the GTB Sugarbush camp, which will be held in Peshawbestown on March 13-14 and March 20-21.
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.
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.
Jane Rapin, a community nutrition instructor with Michigan State University Extension, offered a food demonstration that featured fresh asparagus and quinoa salad earlier this spring at Leelanau Christian Neighbors’ food pantry in Lake Leelanau. May and early June are asparagus season in northwest Michigan, and LCN received a donation of locally grown stalks. “It was very well received. People were inspired by it,” said Rapin. “We did a short presentation about why this is nutritious and how cook with it. It’s important that we reach people who may not be familiar with asparagus.” Rapin’s work at the food pantry and other Leelanau locations including Northport high school and the Benodjenh tribal Head Start preschool in Peshawbestown is funded by the Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Grant Program, or commonly known as SNAP-Ed. The national nutrition education program is slated for elimination under the budget bill passed on May 22 by a single vote by the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. The Senate will pass its own bill in the coming weeks.
The League of Women Voters Leelanau County invites you to participate in a virtual “Celebrate Women’s History Month Forum” on Wednesday, March 3 at noon. Click here to register in advance for this webinar.
A few days before she died of the Coronavirus on November 23, Maryan Rochel Petoskey sat up in her bed on the COVID-19 ward at Munson Medical Center in Traverse City and looked in both directions. Through a clear greyish tarp that separated her from others, Maryan told her sister Donna that she could see rows and rows of beds on either side. A member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians who lived on the Peshawbestown reservation, Maryan Rochel Petoskey was 30 years young. She was the third victim of COVID-19 in Leelanau County, and the first person under age 60 to die of the pandemic.
What is Native American Dancing? This question was put to me and I was asked to explain it. What I will speak of is the Hank Bailey version of Pow Wow Dancing. … The Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians holds their annual pow wow Aug. 19-20 in Peshawbestown. Visit GTBIndians.org for more information.
Leelanau County has long been known as “the land of delight,” but for many of its people, the terrain leading to a place called home appears more difficult. For at least the past 25 years, homes and land have been bought and sold dearly, but a confluence of circumstances has brought the issue of affordable housing to a crisis state today. These include the start of the Great Recession in 2008, a severe tightening of lending practices, a lack of permanent, full-time jobs in a growing tourism and service region, and the refusal of government and some community leaders to recognize and act on long-term solutions to the county’s housing challenges.
Here are some reasons you may not want to come to Leelanau County: It’s out of your way. No matter where you are going, Leelanau County is not on the way unless you are in Leelanau County already, in which case you must either go back the way you came or get seriously wet. This has to do with the nature of peninsulas and there is nothing to be done about it.