We will be celebrating Halloween and benefiting Michigan Indian Legal Services operations through the ATJ Fund, on October 27, 2017, at the Top of the Park in Traverse City (6:30 p.m. food and drink) and we would love for you to attend.

In September, 1975, a small but visionary group of Michigan Indians and attorneys met at Ranch Rudolf, south of Traverse City, to organize Michigan Indian Legal Services. MILS was created to  provide legal services to low income Indian individuals and tribes to further sustainable economic development and self-government, protection of tribal cultures and religious freedoms, overcome discrimination, and preserve Indian families. MILS offices were initially housed in a small cinder block building on Garfield Road, only a few miles south of the present location.

Over the years, MILS has helped a number of the tribes in Michigan obtain federal recognition. MILS filed the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa’s petition for federal recognition and, in 1980, they became the first tribe in the U.S. to be recognized under the Bureau of Indian Affair’s regulations. In the 1980s, MILS worked with Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa to gain separate federal recognition, which was achieved in 1988. MILS also worked with Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa, Little River Band of Ottawa, and the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi to gain legislative affirmation in 1994.

As the tribes in Michigan have gained federal recognition and achieved economic self-sufficiency, MILS’s focus has turn from federal recognition projects and tribal governance development to direct representation of individuals to defend the rights of native peoples and families. MILS attorneys represent parents at all levels of the Michigan court system in Indian Child Welfare Act and Michigan Indian Family Preservation Act cases. MILS has also provided representation for individuals in 11 of the 12 tribal courts in Michigan. MILS handles a variety of tribal court cases, such as child welfare, juvenile delinquency, garnishment, eviction, and criminal defense.

Please join us and please consider become a sponsor by returning the enclosed sponsorship form with your check payable to the Access to Justice Fund by September 1, 2017. We hope to see you in October at this wonderful event!