The Wyandotte Nation is a federally recognized Native American tribe in northeastern Oklahoma. They are descendants of the Wendat Confederacy and Native Americans with territory near Georgian Bay and Lake Huron. Under pressure from Haudenosaunee and other tribes, then from European settlers and the United States government, the tribe gradually moved south and west to Michigan, Ohio, Kansas, and finally Oklahoma in the United States. The Huron-Wendat Nation has a reserve at Wendake, Quebec, Canada. Government The headquarters of the federally recognized Wyandotte Nation is in Wyandotte, Oklahoma, and their tribal jurisdictional area is in Ottawa County, Oklahoma. Billy Friend is the elected Chief, currently serving a four-year term. The Wyandotte Nation issues its own tribal vehicle tags and operates its own housing authority. It has a ten-man police department providing 24-hour law enforcement response to the Nation and surrounding area. In 2022, 6,883 people are enrolled members of the nation. Only about 25 percent of the tribe lives within the state of Oklahoma. In 2011, that was 1,218 of 4,957 members. Enrollment is based in lineal descent; that is, the tribe has no minimum blood quantum requirement. Economic development The tribe operates the Bearskin Fitness Center, the Wyandotte Nation Environmental Department, and the Bearskin Health and Wellness Center. The Turtle Speaks is the tribal newspaper. The tribe owns the Wyandotte Nation Casino in Wyandotte, Oklahoma. It owns a truck stop, a fuel station, and a smoke shop. They issue their own tribal vehicle tags. It owns the 7th Street Casino in the former Scottish Rite Masonic Temple in Kansas City, Kansas. It has legal control of the nearby Wyandot National Burying Ground. In 2010, the Wyandotte Nation acquired land in Park City, Kansas, with the stated intention of building a gaming casino and hotel. Events The tribe's annual powwow is held in Oklahoma during the first weekend of September and features contest dancing, gourd dancing, and a social stomp dance. History In its own language, the tribe is called Wendat, renamed Wyandotte after merging with other related groups. It consists of Iroquoian-speaking Indians from the eastern woodlands. The name is thought to mean "dwellers on a peninsula" or "islanders". The first Wendat Confederacy was created around 1400 CE, when the Attignawantan (Bear Nation) and Attigingueenongnahac (Cord People) combined forces. They, in turn, were joined by the Arendaronon (People of the Rocks), Ataronchronon (People of One Lodge), and the Tahontaenrat