BAY MILLS

Region: Sault Ste. Marie

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Once Bay Mills was a bustling, smoky factory village of 1,200 at the tip of the long point extending out into Waishkey Bay. Around 1900 it handled huge amounts of timber, turning logs into boards, doors, and boxes. By the 1920s the timber was exhausted and the town had pretty much shut down. (Incidentally, the Dollarville place name down the road was for a lumberman named Dollar who was active in the area, and not named for American currency.)
Today the town of Bay Mills no longer exists, though the much older historic center of the Bay Mills Ojibwa community can still be seen. It's at the Mission Church and Bay Mills Indian Cemetery on Lake Shore Drive, right at the base of Bay Mills Point and not far from the small King's Club Casino, now a kind of branch casino. The tribe's illustrated history, Place of the Pike, by Michigan State anthropology professor Charles Cleland ($19) is sold at the Bay Mills Community College store.

The township of Bay Mills, home of the Bay Mills Indian Community of Chippewas, is thriving. In 2000 its population almost doubled from that of 1990, to over 1,200 residents. The tribe's resident population has grown to over 400 when its lucrative casino provided jobs for younger tribal members. The Bay Mills Casino and Resort (888-422-9645), on the shore of Waishkey Bay, has taken the lead among Michigan tribes in developing its casino complex as a destination for non-gamblers, too. Its 18-hole championship golf course, Wild Bluff (888-44BAY MILLS) has distant lake views and a beautiful clubhouse and lounge. The 144-room casino hotel has views of Waiskey Bay from many rooms and from its popular Sacy's restaurant. It's the only hotel with a restaurant between Sault Ste. Marie and Grand Marais, and the only one on the water as well.

As in Sault Ste. Marie, gambling revenues have fueled tribal self-sufficiency, with social services and a community college that are tribally funded and controlled. "Gambling today is our whitefish," comments one tribal member.

The two-year Bay Mills Community College (906-248-3354) serves tribal members and others. It has an open admissions policy and about 400 students, about 60% tribal members. It offers courses in applied fields like accounting, computer graphics, and medical billing. Its native studies classes include Ojibwa language, tribal government and economic issues, and Native American art. (Mackinac Island's chamber of commerce director Mary McGuire raves over the Ojibwa culture distance learning course she took here. It's only offered occasionally, and it's free to Native Americans wherever they are.) A multi-million-dollar building now provides more courses in skilled trades like construction and auto maintenance. Students who complete two years at tribal colleges like Bay Mills have a 90% completion rate at four-year colleges, compared to 10% who don't receive this initial preparation.
The college library houses James O'Keene's outstanding collection of vintage beadwork, buckskin clothing, headdresses, and other traditional art from many Indian cultures from the Pacific Northwest and Great Plains to the Eastern Woodlands.

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PLACES AROUND BAY MILLS TO

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