Apart from Michigan’s three main branches of government (the Executive Branch, the Judicial Branch, and the Legislative Branch), the state is also home to a total of twelve federally-acknowledged Indian tribes that enjoy special status under federal law and treaties.Federally acknowledged tribes are not merely organizations of citizens who happen to be of Native American descent. Rather, they are sovereign governments that exercise direct jurisdiction over their members and territory and, under some circumstances, over other citizens as well. Tribal governments provide a wide array of governmental services to their members including lawmaking, tribal police and court systems, health and education services, and many more.The state generally does not have legal authority over tribal governments or tribal members when they are inside the tribe’s territorial lands designated as the tribe’s reservation or trust lands. Instead, the state interacts with tribes on a government-to-government basis.This has lead in recent years to a number of formal government-to-government agreements on a variety of subjects including such matters as treaty fishing rights, taxation, water quality issues, economic development, and casino gaming.Following is a list of the twelve tribal governments (in no particular order):Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa IndiansSaginaw Chippewa Indian TribePokagon Band of Potawatomi IndiansMatch-e-be-nash-she-wish Band of Pottawatomi Indians of MichiganLittle River Band of Ottawa IndiansBay Mills Chippewa Indian CommunityLac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa IndiansKeweenaw Bay Indian CommunityHuron Potawatomi-Nottawaseppi Huron Band of PotawatomiHannahville Potawatomi Indian CommunityGrand Traverse Bay Band of Ottawa and Chippewa IndiansLittle Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians