Newsroom

SAULT STE. MARIE, Mich. —On March 17, 2020, the Sault Tribe Board of Directors voted to declare a Tribal State of Emergency to govern the tribe’s activities to protect tribal citizens, employment team members and patrons during the COVID-19 pandemic. The tribal board also voted to provide for participation of tribal board meetings virtually.

While the tribal board attend meetings through a combination of virtual and in person, a recent tribal board poll showed near unanimous consent for reopening 5 p.m. tribal board meetings and 4 p.m. tribal citizen input sessions.

Beginning at the June 1, 2021, tribal board meeting to be held at Kewadin Casino Convention Center in Sault Ste. Marie, tribal citizens will be invited to attend in person. Protocols for social distancing, mask wearing and limited capacity will be observed.

For several years, the Sault Tribe board has provided a Livestream link for tribal citizens to attend tribal board meetings which are held on the first and third Tuesday of each month at 5 p.m. Before the pandemic, tribal citizens were invited to address the board with any issues at the 4 p.m. hour prior to the business portion of the meetings which begins at 5 p.m.

The tribal board decided several months ago to migrate to a Zoom meeting platform and recently decided to transition out of the use of Livestream, which has consistently been of poor audio quality. Beginning at the July 6 tribal board meeting, meetings will no longer be broadcast via Livestream but will be held through in-person participation, via Zoom video link or by phone for those who wish to participate via phone only.

To ensure full awareness of and access to the tribal board meeting calendar and links to attend and participate in the 4 p.m. tribal citizens input session, or to attend the 5 p.m. tribal board meeting, a new easy-to-find and use tab will be included as the first link on the top left under “Quick Access” of the Sault Tribe website at www.saulttribe.com.

Finally, the following formal statement is provided by the Sault Tribe Board of Directors:
“While the Sault Tribe board continues to encourage Sault Tribe citizens to participate in tribal board meetings virtually, beginning in June, we will reopen our meetings for Sault Tribe citizens to attend in person if they chose. Social distancing and mask wearing will be required. Meetings will be held in the Grand Island Room at Kewadin Casino Convention Center in the Sault. If the number who wish to attend in person grows, we will migrate to a larger venue. Your safety during a pandemic remains our top priority.”