You’d Be Surprised How Much Of Michigan Is Native American Reservations

I grew up in Hopkins, a small town located near the Match-E-Be-Nash-She-Wish Band of Potawatomi Indians. However, most people in West Michigan know this area because of what is located in it: Gun Lake Casino (though the casino wasn't there yet when I lived in Hopkins).

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Currently, there are 12 federally recognized tribes spread around the state, with the largest (and oldest) tribe being the L'Anse Reservation in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. About one percent of Michigan's population identifies as Native American, but only around 5% of the Native American population lives in tribal areas. Many have moved to city living.

Most of Michigan's land as we know it today was gained through treaties between 1795 and 1842, but how much of Michigan's land still belongs to Native American reservations?

READ MORE: SHOULD MICHIGANDERS REALLY BE WORRIED ABOUT QUICKSAND?

Michigan's Land Totals

The US Census Bureau shows Michigan has a land area of 56,591 square miles, making it the 22nd largest state by area. However, it is difficult to estimate the exact land area of the reservations in Michigan due to most of the totals being subject to change based on tribal land acquisitions, transfers, and other legal changes. It is safe to bet that less than 1% of the state's land is reserved for Native American tribes.

Across the entire US, reservations cover 56.2 million acres. That pales in comparison to the nearly 2 billion acres of land that make up the entire US. Many Native Americans no longer live on reservations due to little police protection, a lack of jobs, and generally poor living conditions.

All in all, the amount of reservation land in Michigan, despite it being so heavily influenced by Native Americans, is minuscule in the grand scheme of themes.

**WGRD/Grand Rapids is located on the ancestral land of the Anishinaabe: the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Bodéwadmi people, also known as the People of the Three Fires.