Tribal Petition Invalid
Fails To Get Tribal Referendum on Fort de Buade Donation; Project Moves Ahead
By Karen Gould

A petition challenging a decision by the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians board to grant $700,000 to St. Ignace for the purchase of the Fort de Buade Museum has been declared invalid by the tribe's legal counsel and the tribal registrar. That means both the language on the petition and the required number of signatures failed review, and the tribe's resolution to support this St. Ignace project will continue to move forward.

"The only thing to stop the resolution would have been a valid petition followed by a referendum vote, and since the petition was found not to qualify, the funds will still be distributed as planned," said Cory Wilson, director of communications for the tribe, Tuesday, February 13. "If the city would like to use this money for that project, the tribe has pledged its support."

Calling it "a lengthy process" to set up the funding mechanism for the Fort de Buade purchase, Mr. Wilson said the city and tribe are continuing to work together on the project. An ad hoc committee of the City Council recommended that the city pursue the tribe's offer of funding for the museum, and Council accepted the recommendation Monday, February 5.

During the tribal board's Tuesday, February 6, meeting in Sault Ste. Marie, the legal department advised that the petition was not valid because it did not specify the date of the board resolution it was protesting. The legal department went no further with the petition in the review process, however, during the meeting, the tribal board asked the tribal registrar for a validation of the petition's signatures.

A minimum of 100 signatures was required for the petition, and on Wednesday, February 7, the tribal registrar ruled that the petition did not have 100 valid signatures, Mr. Wilson said.

The petition protested a January 2 resolution to give the City of St. Ignace $118,398 a year for six years ($710,388) from the tribe's two-percent gaming revenue distribution. The tribe is required to distribute two percent of its slot machine revenue to local municipalities under a state compact.

Tribal members protesting the resolution said the grant was made illegally because the board did not follow application procedures for two-percent money grants, and because the intended use was to purchase the Fort de Buade Museum and the building that houses it, even though not all the artifacts are significant to tribal culture. Tribal officials countered that the board does have the authority to grant money directly, without application. Tribal culture is not a requirement for two-percent grants.

The Fort de Buade Museum contains local and regional artifacts, including quill boxes, spearheads and arrowheads, baskets, and Native headdresses. The collection also includes Civil War-era pieces, including rifles and pistols.

The museum has been operated since last summer by the Michilimackinac Historical Society under an agreement with owner Marylan Benson. Mrs. Benson's husband, the late Dr. Donald Benson, collected the artifacts and both he and Mrs. Benson had hoped they could find a way to keep them in St. Ignace. Mrs. Benson, is asking $500,000 for the 9,500-square-foot State Street building and the collection.

The city and the Michilimackinac Historical Society have been exploring ways in which the museum can be operated.