The Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Inc. is a state chartered 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization consisting of twelve federally recognized tribes in Michigan. It offers a variety of program services, each having their own eligibility requirements and includes all or part of the 12 member ITC tribes, depending on the particular program.

The Mission of The Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Inc. is: (1) to act as a forum for member tribes, (2) to advocate for member tribes in the development of programs and policies which will improve the economy, education and quality of life for Michigan Native Americans and (3) to provide training, technical assistance, research and coordination to member tribes that include but are not limited to: the formulation of specific program service design, goals, objectives and evaluation methodologies, potential funding sources, collaboration and networking assistance and the preparing of tribal laws and regulations for program augmentation.

The ITC currently offers a myriad of program services such as Families First, Kinship Care Model, Future Leaders Conference (annually), Teen Parent Program, Chippewa County Homemakers Program, Title VI-Elderly, Low Income Energy Assistance Program, Child Care Assistance Program all under the Child and Family Services umbrella.

In Education and Employment the ITC offers Head Start, Early Head Start and Early On Programs and administer the Michigan Indian Tuition Waiver Program, as well as EDA (Economic Development Assistance) for member tribes.

Health Programs include: Helping Hands (Substance Abuse), Health Education, Healthy Start, Circles of Care, Mental/Behavioral Health Services, as well as support system programs in Management Information and Business Office Coordination, Healthy Native Families, Diabetes Surveillance, Tobacco Education, Breast and Cervical Cancer Care, Tribal Wetlands Management, Environmental Health, Sanitation & Clean Air Monitoring and Water Loss Activities.

The Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Inc. was initially founded as Michigan I-CAP in 1966, by the four charter member tribes being: Bay Mills Ojibwa Indian Community, Hannahville Potawatomi Indian Community, Keweenaw Bay Ojibwa Indian Community and the Saginaw Chippewa (Ojibwa) Tribe of Michigan and it was located in St. Ignace, MI.

In 1968 the named was changed to The Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Inc., and in 1972 the agency was relocated to Sault Ste. Marie, MI, the historical gathering place of the Anishnabek, Algonquian speaking Ojibwa, Ottawa and Potawatomi Indians among other nations.

The historic roots for such an inter-tribal council in Michigan can traces its origins to the mid 1400s, when the fairly new to Michigan Anishnabek, had relocated here from originally along the Atlantic coast of southeastern Canada. While in Michigan they separated into three groups, being the Ojibwa (Those Who Make Picture Writing), considered the Elder Brothers, the Ottawa (Traders or At Home Anywhere People), referred to as the Middle Brothers and the Potawatomi (People or Keepers of the Sacred Fire), addressed as the Younger Brothers.

For mutual protection, commerce, social interactions and cultural and spiritual exchange, they formed the Council of The Three Fires, which is the logo today adopted by the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan.

The Philosophy of the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, Inc. continues to emphasize that “all your strength is in your union, all your weakness is in discord” and that “without hope and vision, the People perish”, and as such, we continue to turn to the past to perpetuate the Anishnabek culture, languages, traditions, social mores and religious practices while at the same time, promoting and designing programs and services that will improve the memberships’ quality of life and enable the tribes and people to persevere in modern society entering the 21st century under their own terms.