P.O. Box 249
Watersmeet, MI 49969
906-358-4577
The Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians are also known by some other several other names like the "Ga-ta-ge-te-gaun-ing", the "Katikitegon" and sometimes even by the name "Lac Vieux Desert". These names were also used to identify the large lake where settlers get their resources. The Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians is known to be quiet, peace-loving people and reserved. They are the inhabitants of their homeland since the start of time. They have long settled along in the lake and along its three other islands but most of the time, they are found dwelling along the Wisconsin River Watershed which is near the Lake Superior Chippewa and the Lake Michigan Watersheds as well. Aside from these lands, the tribe also has dwellings in the Lac Vieux Desert. Part of these lands provided trails for the Whites and access to the Keweenaw Bay Band at the Lake Superior, in Lac du Flambeau Band up to the southwestern area as well as that of the Mile Lake Band in the southeast. The tribe belongs to the Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa. Despite all the other influences, the tribe has maintained their heritage all throughout these years. They have also maintained the solitude of their area unlike the other bands who have given to the industriousness during the treaty-making period of the United States in the middle of the eighteenth century. The tribe has long been classified as a member of the Keweenaw Bay Band and has settled in the Watersmeet area until in the sixties when the tribe slowly began striving for independence. The seventies brought fifteen units of low-priced housing to the northern part of the Village of the Watersmeet while another twenty housing units were built in the eighties. These additional twenty hosuing units are where most of the band members are currently residing. The Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians was formally recognized in 1988 as part of the L’Anse or the Keweenaw Bay Community. In September 8 of the same year, they were recognized by President Ronald Reagan as a distinct tribe from the Keweenaw Bay. This is in accordance with the “Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians Act”. The tribe has since then held a respected seat in the social hierarchy of the community. The tribe nowadays is in keen management of their business enterprises the most common of which is the Lac Vieux Desert Resort Casino which has a built in golf course. The tribe is also the owner of the Dream Catcher Import Export which is a company that specializes in the building products, commercial decorations and municipal construction materials.
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