Newsroom

The Sault Tribe Election Commission is holding its next regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. This meeting is scheduled to start at 1 p.m. for Zoom only. The meetings of the Sault Tribe Election Commission are open to tribal members, via Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83451696095 as view-only attendees.

Agenda

Christmas with the Nelsons starring Matthew and Gunnar Nelson Dec. 11, 2026, 6 p.m., DreamMakers Theater, Kewadin Casino Sault Ste. Marie.

Take a sleigh ride through time at Kewadin Casino Sault Ste. Marie with Christmas with the Nelsons starring Mathew and Gunnar Nelson, presented by Oldies 93.

Christmas with the Nelsons celebrates family Christmases across three eras—from their father Ricky Nelson's 1950s childhood with Ozzie and Harriet, to the twins' 1970s upbringing, and through to modern-day celebrations with the newest generation.

Tickets are on sale now at tickets.kewadin.com or at the Box Office.

Tickets are $46 | $36 | $26 USD*
Doors: 5 p.m. / Show: 6 p.m.
*Includes convenience and handling fees.

Celebrate Christmas early with an overnight stay. Hotel packages are available! Call the Sault Hotel or Box Office at 1-800-KEWADIN before buying tickets.
• One night stay in a newly renovated room at Kewadin Sault Ste. Marie Hotel
• Two tickets to Christmas with the Nelsons
• $20 Kewadin Credits per person
• $20 gas voucher
• $275.80
*Once booked, a non-refundable deposit of $92 USD is due at the time of booking for tickets. Package is based on double occupancy, night of the show, Friday, Dec. 11, 2026. Value of the tickets is $46 USD per ticket.

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Board of Directors will hold a regular meeting Aug. 18, 2026, beginning 5 p.m. at Sault Kewadin Casino Whitefish Point Room, in person or via Zoom, https://zoom.us/j/83640619761.

“Membership Participation” will be held at 5 p.m. in person or by virtual attendance. The link is available at the Sault Tribe website saulttribe.com under membership assistance for the meeting link and Membership Form that must be completed. The deadline to submit a form is 1 p.m. on meeting day. The link is https://zoom.us/j/83640619761. Those who have already registered for Zoom meetings need not register again unless they have a matter for the board.

To attend the scheduled workshop, except for closed session or items, go to https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84149623333. Those who have already registered to Zoom Board of Directors meetings need not register for workshops.

Those who have already registered for Zoom meetings need not register again.

On the agenda under Resolutions is:
FY27 Budget Doc 002 (Schedule B - No Health)
Continuing Funding Gov FY27 Schedule B Budgets
Continuing Funding Health FY27 Schedule B Budgets
Broadband Reconnect4 Est. of FY26 Budget
Sanitation – BE-26-N93 Est. of FY27 Budget
NRD EPA Indoor Air Quality Est. of FY27 Budget
NRD White-Nose Syndrome Est. of FY27 Budget
Elder Services Meal Additions Est. of FY27 Budget
Marquette Community Center FY26 and FY27 Budget Modifications
Lodge of Hope FY26 Budget Modification and Est. of FY26 Budget
Emergency Conditions Policy Amendment
Rural Health Transformation Program Approve Contract – ACC Gladstone Project
Health Division Stand Strong Youth Initiative
Negotiate/Accept Donation Donaldson Trust Property
Amending Resolution 2012-245
Creation of the Legislative Attorney Office

Under New Business, the board will consider Oct. 6, 2026, Meeting Date Change – Escanaba, Committee Appointment, and Board Concerns.

Agenda

The Sault Tribe Enterprise Authority meeting agenda for Aug. 18, 2026, is the following:

07.21.26 Minutes
R-Authorize Use of Assumed Name EDC

The meeting is being held at the Kewadin Casino Whitefish Point Room in Sault Ste. Marie at 11:30 a.m. or at the conclusion of the EA Workshop.

Tribal members may attend the workshop except for closed sessions or items or attend by Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84149623333. Those who have already registered to Zoom Board of Directors meetings need not register for workshops.

Agenda 

There will be a JKL Fiduciary Committee Meeting Aug. 18, 2026, at 9 a.m. in the Kewadin Casinos Whitefish Point Room.

On the agenda under School Reports:

Sault Tribe Education
JKL Bahweting Anishnabe School
Special Education Additional Needs
2026-27 Draft Budget Summary
Special Fiduciary Requests
Malcolm High School

Tribal members may attend the workshop except for closed sessions or items or attend by Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84149623333. Those who have already registered to Zoom Board of Directors meetings need not register for workshops.

Agenda

Yesterday was a dark day for Tribal Nations across the Midwest. It is a dark day for the Great Lakes, the environment, and all those who hold a special place in their hearts for the Straits of Mackinac.

Oaths have been broken. Tribal sovereignty ignored. The federal government’s Indian trust responsibility disregarded.

The United States Army Corps of Engineers has approved a key permit Enbridge needs to construct a tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac. A tunnel that threatens to unearth and violate the bodies and spirits of our ancestors who have been at rest since long before colonization.

And all this betrayal for what? The benefit of a Canadian mega-corporation worth billions of dollars? Under the guise of a national energy emergency?

Thankfully, construction cannot begin at this time. The Michigan Supreme Court recently vacated permits issued by the Michigan Public Service Commission. Enbridge must reapply and go through that permitting process again.

So, despite the Corps’ decision, this project has by no means been given the green light to begin construction.

Enbridge also has a long history of broken promises and spilling millions of gallons of oil. Let us not forget the disasters near Kalamazoo, Mich., and Grand Rapids, Minn. Two of the largest inland oil spills in United States history occurred under Enbridge’s supervision, spilling nearly 2 million gallons of oil combined.

Is this the fate that awaits Line 5 and the Great Lakes tunnel project?

We can only pray to the Creator that it is not.

The Straits of Mackinac have been sacred since time immemorial.

Anishinaabe people see the Straits as multidimensional. It is home to both the physical and the superphysical. The two are interwoven as one. We cannot have one without the other. It has been this way since Creation.

Our stories tell of Mackinac Island being the first land to appear after the Great Flood receded. As far back as we can trace our oral histories, the Straits have held significant cultural meaning to Anishinaabe people. For centuries, the area was a hub of trading networks and a place for ceremony.

The water, plant and animal life, spirits, and our ancestors and their belongings buried there are not simply resources to be disposed of to fulfill a government permit.

We must care for our ancestors and protect the Straits. This is integral to our way of life.

If Enbridge begins boring a 4-mile-long tunnel beneath the Straits of Mackinac, it will disturb and uproot venerated areas. For us, these are the bones and spirits of our grandparents, our Ogemmag, our leaders, and honored Ogichidaag, our warriors.

For Enbridge, it may be another load of earth moved during construction.

For us, it is our ancestors.

And when people visit Lake Michigan during the summer if construction is ever underway and hear the constant hum and feel the vibration of industrial equipment for months on end, we will know what lies beneath it.

Our ancestors.

The Straits, and all the Great Lakes, should never have been threatened by Line 5 to begin with. The irreversible harm that could be caused to the Straits of Mackinac, and the physical, mental, and spiritual burden tribal communities would bear while recovering our resting relatives, cannot be dismissed as another cost of construction.

We do not trust Enbridge.

And we are deeply disappointed by the Corps’ decision to grant Enbridge the permit needed to take the next step toward construction.

That disappointment is made greater by the process that brought us here.

On Monday, following short notice, the Sault Tribe was granted one hour of virtual consultation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Our subject experts voiced concerns about the tunnel, the permitting process, treaty rights, our ancestors, and the cultural and environmental consequences of this project.

Following that consultation, we were given just 24 hours to submit written comments.

We made our position clear.

There should not be oil pipelines underneath the Straits of Mackinac.

We know the coming years may be difficult for everyone who values the Great Lakes. But we are not done fighting.

In fact, if there is a silver lining throughout this process, it is that Michigan’s 12 federally recognized tribes have never been more united. Just this Tuesday, leaders and representatives from all 12 tribes assembled at Bay Mills to discuss our shared concerns and strategies for responding if the Corps issued Enbridge’s permit.

On Wednesday, we received that answer.

And we cannot overstate how shortsighted we believe this decision is.

In 1836, our ancestors signed the Treaty of Washington. That treaty is federal law. The record, including the Corps’ own findings, shows that construction and operation of Enbridge’s tunnel would diminish treaty-protected fishing, access, cultural practices, ceremonies, ancestral relationships, and the resources and conditions that make those rights meaningful.

Consultation does not supply tribal consent.

Our treaty rights are not expendable.

The United States made a promise in 1836. The Army Corps had an opportunity and a responsibility to uphold that promise.

With this decision, the Corps has failed to honor its treaty obligations.

But this decision is not the end.

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians will continue to stand with our sister tribes. We will continue to protect our treaty rights. We will continue to protect our ancestors. And we will continue to defend the Straits of Mackinac and the Great Lakes for the generations yet to come. 

The Sault Tribe Conservation Committee will meet Monday, Aug. 17, 2026, at the Kewadin Casino Whitefish Point Room in Sault Ste. Marie beginning at 5 p.m. Sault Tribe members are welcome to attend in person or via Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83098945787.

Agenda 

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians participated in government-to-government consultation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) today regarding Enbridge's proposed Line 5 tunnel project beneath the Straits of Mackinac.

The Sault Tribe requested consultation on Thursday, Aug. 6, and was offered a virtual meeting on Monday, Aug. 10, providing a limited timeframe for consultation before the USACE reaches its permitting decision.

During the one-hour meeting, Sault Tribe subject matter experts outlined concerns to Lt. Col. Donald Lew and USACE staff regarding the environmental, cultural, and legal impacts of the proposed multi-year project.

The Tribe urged the USACE to complete a thorough treaty rights analysis and completely deny Enbridge's permit application. The Sault Tribe maintains that the federal government has a trust responsibility to Tribal Nations and an obligation to uphold and respect treaty rights throughout the permitting process.

The Sault Tribe expects the USACE to consider the concerns raised during consultation as it reaches its decision. The Tribe will provide additional updates as the federal permitting process moves forward.

The following Sault Tribe Committees have vacant seats or upcoming vacancies. Sault Tribe members interested in filling these vacancies should submit one letter of intent and three letters of recommendation (forms available online or contact Lona) from other members to Lona Stewart at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., 523 Ashmun Street, Sault Ste. Marie, MI 49783, or call 906‑635‑6050 with any questions.

Anishinaabe Cultural Committee - Two vacancies - male - one 4-year term, one term expires October 2028
Child Welfare Committee - Two vacancies - one 4-year term, one term expires May 2029
Conservation Committee:
Non-Commercial Fisher - Two vacancies (4-year terms)
Education Committee - One vacancy (4-year term)
Elder Advisory Committee
Unit I - Sault - One regular vacancy (4-year term); two alternate vacancies (4-year term)
Unit II - Newberry - One regular vacancy, term expires July 2029; one alternate vacancy (4-year term)
Unit III - St. Ignace - One regular vacancy - term expires October 2029; two alternate vacancies (4-year terms)
Unit IV - Manistique - One regular vacancy (4-year term)
Unit V - Marquette - One alternate vacancy (4-year term)
Elder Subcommittees
Unit I - Sault - Two regular vacancies - one term expires September 2029, one 4-year term
Unit II - Hessel - One alternate vacancy (4-year term)
Unit II - Naubinway - Two regular vacancies - one term expires May 2027, one 4-year term; one alternate vacancy (4-year term)
Unit II - Newberry - Two regular vacancies, one term expires March 2028, one 4-year term; one Alternate vacancy, term expires August 2028
Unit III - St. Ignace - One alternate vacancy - term expires March 2028
Unit IV - Escanaba - Four regular vacancies (4-year terms); one alternate vacancy (4-year term)
Unit IV - Manistique - One regular vacancy (4-year term)
Unit V - Munising - One alternate vacancy (4-year term)
Unit V - Marquette - Two regular vacancies (4-year terms); one alternate vacancy (4-year term)
Food Sovereignty Committee - Three vacancies (4-year terms)
Health Board – Two vacancies - one term expires May 2027, one term expires September 2027
Sault Tribe Election Commission - Four vacancies, 3 terms expiring November 2030 and one term expiring November 2028 (please indicate which length of term you are seeking)

The Sault Tribe Board of Directors’ Workshop Agenda for Aug. 11, 2026, is the following:

Agenda: 9 a.m. JKL Fiduciary Committee Meeting, 10 a.m. Kewadin Casinos CFO Introduction, 10:30 a.m. Budget (CLOSED), 10:45 a.m. Government Executive Reports: General Counsel, Govt. CEO and CFO, CIO (CLOSED), 2 p.m. Long Term 2% Discussion (CLOSED), 3 p.m. Employee Health Insurance Plan.

The workshop is being held at the Sault Kewadin Casino Whitefish Point Room. Tribal members may attend the workshop except for closed sessions or items, or attend by Zoom at https://us06web.zoom.us/j/84149623333. Those who have already registered to Zoom Board of Directors meetings need not register for workshops.

Agenda