MANISTEE -- The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians celebrated their official ground-breaking for their new government center.
There was a pipe ceremony to honor the life taken away by making changes, music and singing, a presentation of the colors by veterans, and comments made by the Tribal Leader and elders. One of the elders said they were not blessing the ground, but that the ground blesses us, and we're thanking the ground. Shovels lifted the first few patches of dirt, and the celebration ended with a cake and light refreshments while people talked about the project.
The center will be located at the intersection of US 31 and M 22 in Manistee Twp., and will be 54,000 square feet. The building is costing 10.2 million dollars.
The Little River Band serves tribal members from nine counties in Michigan, and the tribe with it's businesses and government is the first and fourth largest employer in Manistee County.
The primary objectives of the center are to:
-Honor the traditions of the Anishnaabek by integrating culturally appropriate artistic and design applications
-Reduce operating costs and environmental impacts by implementing energy efficient design principles
-Offer accessible facilities that provide opportunites for future growth and the improved health and human services
-Create a centralized location for the tribal government's operations
Virgil Johnson, a member of the task force overseeing the project and the LRBOI Tribal Council, said the project was started three years ago. He said the process has been slow and meticulous because of the need to work with many government agencies to insure they're meeting their needs and requirements.
Johnson stated, "We want to create jobs, we want to generate the economy- it's one of our goals here to make sure that as much as possible the equipment, the material, the resources, labor- comes from Michigan. So, we're keeping the money here in Michigan."
The hope is to have the new center finished in eighteen months, and under budget!
