The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians is an American Indian group that is part of the people of Odawa. Its headquarters are in the northwest Michigan counties of Mason and Manistee. On the 21st of September 1994, it was recognized by the state. Since that day, it has expanded its reach and influence, and now the Little River Band has plans for a casino to be built beyond the reservation of the tribe.

There are three tribes of Odawa in Michigan, and this is one of them. The other two are the Ottawa Indians Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians and the Grand Traverse Band of Chippewa. The Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma and a number of Canadian First Nations in Ontario are two other bands with federal recognition. The language of Odawa, the Anishinaabemowin’s dialect, was once used by the tribes, but the language is now declining in use.

Little River Band’s Headquarters
Northern Michigan had long known about the Sovereign Nation of the Ottawa Indians. The Little River Band had been operating its government out of downtown Manistee, but they had always yearned for a place that would honor their history and customs. The Little River Band of Ottawa Indians moved into their 59,000-square-foot HQ in the summer of 2013 with Wieland's assistance. Hooker DeJong was the architect for the $12.1 million project.

With striking wood beams and local, natural stone on the inside and exterior, the center pays respect to Native American history and culture. Visitors of the second floor may gaze down into the interior via a two-story, vaulted aperture that is decorated with Native American art. The LRBOI's council rooms are where decisions about governance and policy are actually made.

The Government Center has administrative offices, council chambers, and a medical facility with rooms for radiography, dentistry, and medicine. A raised floor system on the first and second floors enables HVAC and technology to be concealed underground for efficiency and aesthetic value.

Brief History of Little River Band
Before European colonization, bands of Ottawa and Chippewa lived around the Manistee River for a considerable amount of time. The villages were visited by French fur merchants.

A treaty with the United States government in 1836 gave the Ottawas a reservation by the Manistee River, which was a part of their traditional territory. The treaty stipulated that tribal members could move away from the Missouri River and into reservation lands for five years; however, a new treaty was ratified in 1855. The tribe was granted a reservation by the new treaty, which included the townships of Crystal and Elbridge in Oceana County, as well as Custer and Eden in Mason County. When the Little River Band purchased about 740 acres in Mason County in August 2000, a portion of that land was once again under tribal control.

There are 567 Native American tribes federally recognized in the United States, including the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians. When President B. Clinton signed Senate B1357 into law on September 21, 1994, the federal government once again recognized the Little River Band's tribal status.

The Little River Band has been putting out a newspaper called Currents every month since January 1994. The official website of the tribe offers all the editions of the newspaper.