Secretarial Election on the Horizon

The Big Bear Arena has a big anniversary this month as the recreation facility celebrates 30 years of serving the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians community. To mark this milestone anniversary, the Big Bear is hosting a community fun day on Sunday, Sept. 27, from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m.

This free-to-the-public event invites guests of all ages to learn about all the Big Bear Arena has to offer. Whether it’s your first time visiting the arena or you’re a seasoned vet, there will be something for everyone.

“This community fun day is our way of saying thank you to all those who have helped create memories at Big Bear Arena. Whether you visited for a hockey tournament or attended a youth program as a child, we’re thankful you visited the arena,” Recreation Director Tammy Graham said. “Over the years, the Big Bear has grown beyond recreation and has become an important part of not just the Sault Tribe community, but the Eastern Upper Peninsula as a whole. We’re hoping everyone who has enjoyed spending time at the Big Bear over the past three decades has the chance to visit our community fun day. Without all the support from organizations throughout the EUP, the Big Bear would never have been able to grow into what it is today.”

Sunday, Sept. 27, marks 30 years to the day that the Chi-Mukwa (Big Bear) Community Recreation Center opened in 1996. With the opening, the Big Bear brought a 150,000 square foot, state-of-the-art facility to the Sault Tribe community, which made it one of northern Michigan’s largest sports and fitness venues as well as the only ice arena in the Upper Peninsula with two ice rinks. Over the following three decades, numerous sports teams have called the facility home with many more individuals visiting and enjoying the complex.

From the All-In-One-Fitness Club to being a hub for multiple Sault Tribe’s departments including Health, Education, Language and Culture, to hosting various youth programs and social events, the Big Bear Arena has been the Sault Ste. Marie area’s ultimate destination for recreation, fitness, and family fun.

The Sept. 27 Community Fun Day will pack an afternoon full of games, bouncy house fun, skating, vendors, and a chance to learn about tribal and community organizations and resources.

To stay up to date on the Big Bear Arena’s 30th anniversary be sure to follow along on Facebook at Big Bear Arena- Chi Mukwa.

On Sept. 10, the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians along with sister tribes Bay Mills Indian Community, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, and Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians joined together to petition state regulators for a contested case to challenge a pair of permits that authorized Canadian company Enbridge to build its proposed Line 5 oil pipeline tunnel below the Straits of Mackinac.

The tribes, with over 60,000 collective enrolled citizens, seek to overturn the wetlands and bottomlands permits that Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) approved for Enbridge in July. The proposed project would require a massive disturbance of land and involve construction activities that will destroy recognized cultural and historic properties within the Straits area. This project would threaten the Anishinaabe way of life as well as treaty-protected interests and public trust resources.

On Sept. 9, the future of the permits issued by EGLE also came under question from Governor Gretchen Whitmer and the EGLE Director Phil Roos. The pair cited the Michigan Supreme Court’s decision overturning a separate permit for the tunnel later in July after EGLE issued its permits as a reason to revisit the initial EGLE permits.

“There is no way this tunnel project can or should move forward. It would disrupt our ancestors’ burial sites and cause irrevocable harm to this area,” said Sault Tribe Chairman Austin Lowes. “Getting to this point has taken tireless work from our sister tribes, tribal citizens, partners, and everyone who loves and values the Great Lakes. When the next seven generations ask what we did to protect the Great Lakes, I want them to know that our people stood together, spoke with one voice, and got that pipeline out of the Straits.”

The new challenge was filed on the heels of the annual Mackinac Bridge Walk. On Labor Day, around 1,000 people from all 12 Anishinaabe tribal nations in Michigan walked across the bridge to demonstrate opposition to the Line 5 tunnel in response to a unified call to action by the ancestral Three Fires Confederacy.

For more on the petition to state regulators please read Earthjustice’s press release available here.

Sault Tribe Traditional Medicine Program is holding October clinic hours for the following dates and locations. Any questions, or to book an appointment, please call the Traditional Medicine Program at 906‑632‑0236 or 906‑632‑5268.

Gerard Sagassige
Sault Ste. Marie Health Center—Oct. 5, 6, 19, 20, 26, 27
906‑632‑0236

St. Ignace Health Center—Oct. 7
906‑643‑8689 or 877‑256‑0135

Manistique Health Center—Oct. 21
906‑341‑8469 or 866‑401‑0043

Munising Health Center—Oct. 28
906‑387‑4721 or 800‑236‑4705

Flyer

The Sault Tribe Enterprise Authority meeting agenda for Sept. 15, 2026, is the following:
Aug. 18, 2026, meeting minutes, R-Sawyer Village Residential FY26 Budget Mod, R-Midjim SSM and St. Ignace FY26 Budget Mod, R-Amending Team Member Manual: PTO Accrual & Holidays, R-Authorization to Transfer Funds to Sault Tribe General Fund, R-Authorization to Service Marquette Midjim Debt Obligation, and R-Waiver of Immunity Cavco Manufacturing

The meeting is being held at the Munising Tribal Center in Munising, beginning at 10:45 a.m. (or upon conclusion of 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

The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians Board of Directors will hold a regular meeting Sept. 15, 2026, beginning 5 p.m. at the Munising Tribal Center, 622 W. Superior, Munising, 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:
Health Primary Substance Use Prevention Services
Establish FY26 Budget
Youth Facility Recruit/Retain/FY26 Budget Mod
Juvenile Probation Officer Establish FY27 Budget
Accept 2027 Indian Housing Plan
NRD Application for GLFWRA Grant
NRD Application for NRCS EQIP Program
Salmon Removal from Nunns Creek Weir Program
Authorization to Apply for NIH Grant
Approval to Apply for 2026-27 OST Grant
Waiver of Immunity PNC Bank
105(l) Facility Lease Program
Accepting Resignation of Appellate Judge
Appointment of Chief Appellate Judge
Constitution Implementation Plan
Authorizing of Unit Redistricting

Under New Business, the board will consider Committee Appointments/Reappointments, Conservation Committee Appointment and Board Concerns.

Resolutions 

The Sault Tribe WIOA Department is currently accepting applications for the Work Experience Program. Eligibility Requirements: Must be Native American between the ages of 14 to 21 and reside within the seven-county service area (Marquette, Alger, Chippewa, Luce, Mackinaw, Delta and Schoolcraft counties). If you are interested in applying for after school employment, applications may be picked up at the WIOA office located at 2 Ice Circle, Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. or by contacting Brenda Cadreau at 906‑635‑4767 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Applications are also available on the Sault Tribe website at https://saulttribe.com/membership-services/education/download-files. Deadline to apply is Oct. 16, 2026.