The Match-Be-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians, commonly referred to as the Gun Lake Tribe, received their federal recognition of tribal status from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, pursuant to such determination prescribed under the Federal Acknowledgement Process of 1978, with the Final Determination be published in the Federal Register on October 23, 1998.

They are headquarter in Dorr, Michigan in Allegan County, about 20 miles south of Grand Rapids in the southwestern part of the Lower Peninsula. When they received their federal status, they had an enrollment of 127, with an unemployment rate of 27% and none of those employed living below established poverty guidelines.

They have recently announced plans for a casino operations in Allegan County, and as has become the norm in Michigan in recent years, are facing opposition from local and state-wide anti-gaming forces.

They are in the process of cementing their tribal infrastructure, expanding tribal program services to members and ready to adopt their tribal constitution, bylaws and corporate charter. These processes are all requirements of federal recognition. Additionally, they will establish an elected tribal council, including the position of tribal chairperson and determine what their tribal service area will be.

The Gun Lake Band Pottawatomi have established that they have successorship in interest to a particular treaty or other rights, as required by the federal acknowledgement process. Specifically, it was determined that Shop-quo-ung was a signatory to the 1855 Treaty of Detroit and that the Shop-quo-ung Band of Pottawatomi received annuity payments under said treaty until 1870.

They were also able to substantiate their continual existence as a distinct band through their long associations with the Methodist churches in both Bradley and Salem, Michigan.

Gun Lake further demonstrated with BIA and other federal records that they were identified as a special Indian population schedules, pursuant to records of 1900 and 1910. Additionally, records provided by the Methodist Church, and by a sequence of local and regional historical writings from the 1880s to present times, were able to indicate the maintenance of this distinct Pottawatomi Band.

The Indian Mission Church at Bradley, MI in Allegan County and its daughter church in the hamlet of Salem, MI, were clearly tied to a continuously existing Indian entity prior to 1870. It has been established that a historical community centered at Bradley had existed since at least 1838-39 with the founding of the Griswold Mission.

Over the years, the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Pottawatomi have had close ties, relationships and intermarriages with the Grand River Ottawa to the north of them as well as the regional Huron Band Potawatomi and to a lesser degree, the Pokagon Band Potawatomi. However, they were able to dismiss the claim, that their initial 127 members of Gun Lake Tribe were enrolled elsewhere in any significant numbers.

They look forward to a productive and fruitful future in Allegan County and for the opportunity to interact and cooperate with other Michigan Anishnabek tribal groups. The Gun Lake Tribe is not yet a member tribe of the Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan. However, we say, Welcome Aboard and Congratulations!