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Michigan Indian
UM Symposium “Living with Treaties: The 1817 Project, the University of Michigan, and the Western Expansion of the United States Conference,” April 9-11, 2026 — Registration Now Open
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Join us April 9-11, 2026, for Living with Treaties: The 1817 Project, the University of Michigan, and the Western Expansion of the United States. This conference will explore the role of treaties in the development of both the University of Michigan and the state of Michigan, while considering how their effects continue to resonate locally, regionally, and nationally today for an Indigenous present and future.
The conference will bring together members of Anishinaabe Tribal communities; U-M faculty, staff, and students; K-12 educators; scholars; tribal historians; and community activists for roundtable discussions, panels, and workshops that aim to inform and connect with non-specialist audiences.
Conference sessions will focus on key themes that include the role of treaties in the founding and development of the University of Michigan, such as the 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs; the ongoing impact of 19th-century treaty agreements on tribal communities in the region; and the ways in which these treaties continue to shape contemporary Native activism and legal efforts. Discussions will also explore the broader histories of colonization and Indigenous dispossession across what is now the state of Michigan and the Midwest region of the U.S, with an eye to how local and regional histories provide valuable insights into broader national patterns.
The conference is free and open to all, and will be livestreamed and recorded. Registration is encouraged but not required. We will send out reminder emails and event updates when you register.
The Living with Treaties: The 1817 Project, the University of Michigan, and the Western Expansion of the United States Conference is part of The 1817 Project: Land, Culture, Memory, and Repair, one of the major research initiatives of the University of Michigan’s Inclusive History Project. Led by Eric Hemenway, Bethany Hughes, and Michael Witgen, The 1817 Project is a multi-disciplinary examination of the foundational land transfer by the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Boodewaadamii nations in the 1817 Treaty of Fort Meigs (also known as the Treaty of the Maumee Rapids), which was part of the University of Michigan’s 1817 origins in Detroit and subsequent relocation to Ann Arbor, as well the university’s ongoing connections to Indigenous land and contemporary issues of Native American student experience. Learn more about The 1817 Project.
The Living with Treaties: The 1817 Project, the University of Michigan, and the Western Expansion of the United States Conference is presented by the Inclusive History Project in partnership with the Eisenberg Institute for Historical Studies (EIHS) and with the support of the Bentley Historical Library, Clements Library, the Department of American Culture, the Department of History, the Native American Student Association, the Native American Studies Program, Rackham Graduate School, Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design, and the University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA).
The conference logo was designed by Eva Oldman.
For questions or more information, contact inclusivehistory@umich.edu.
Schedule & Panel Descriptions
2026 MLaw Indian Law Workshop: Bryan Newland and Kyle Whyte
Michigan Boarding Schools Report
2026 MLaw Indian Law Workshop — First Two Speakers
Fletcher on the Michigan Anishinaabeg
“The Michigan Anishinaabeg” has been published in Contemporary Anishinaabe Art: A Continuation (Detroit Institute of Art 2025).
America 250: Native American Nations and the Making of the United States — City Club of Cleveland
Throughout 2026, and in partnership with the America 250-Ohio Commission, the City Club will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the United States by exploring all the ways that Ohio has contributed to U.S. history for 250+ years. In January, our state will recognize the unique contributions of Ohio’s firsts and originals.
Since day one, and throughout the entirety of our country’s formation, Native Americans served as defining threads – and participants – in U.S. politics. Article 1, Section 8 (also known as the “Indian Commerce Clause”) in the U.S. Constitution establishes a unique federal-tribal relationship, acknowledging tribal sovereignty and self-governance. Today, it serves as the backbone for federal Indian law, which spans hundreds of years, impacting both tribal and non-tribal communities. What are the landmark moments in history that influenced the trajectory of our nation, particularly in the Great Lakes region? And how are modern Native Nations influencing the growth of the United States today?
Matthew L.M. Fletcher is a leading tribal law expert, and is the Harry Burns Hutchins Collegiate Professor of Law and Professor of American Culture at the University of Michigan. He teaches and writes in the areas of federal Indian law, American Indian tribal law, Anishinaabe legal and political philosophy, constitutional law, federal courts, and legal ethics. He sits as the chief justice of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, and the Poarch Band of Creek Indians; as well as an appellate judge for many other tribal nations. Fletcher also co-authored the sixth, seventh, and eighth editions of Cases and Materials on Federal Indian Law and three editions of American Indian Tribal Law, the only casebook for law students on tribal law.
Join us as we kick off our year-long America 250 series with University of Michigan Law Professor Matthew L.M. Fletcher. He will sit down in conversation with the City Club’s own Cynthia Connolly for an honest conversation on prior and continued contributions of Native American Nations and the making of the United States.
Martorello v. Williams Cert Petition [tribal sovereign lending]
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Questions presented:
1. Whether the Indian Commerce Clause preempts state regulation of loans made on an Indian reservation, by an arm of a tribe, when the borrower contracts via the internet.
2. Whether a violation of the unlawful debt prohibition of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1962, requires scienter for civil liability.
Lower court materials here.
SCOTUS Denies Cert in Michigan Treaty Rights and Alaska Subsistence Rights Challenges
Here is the order list.
Case tag for Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians v. Michigan is here.
Case tag for Alaska v. United States is here.
Turtle Talk 
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