SOUTH BEND — Leaders with The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians, along with national and regional dignitaries, hosted a media tour Thursday morning at its new tribal village in South Bend.

Members of the media were invited to walk through recently finished housing units located in the tribal village. Joining Pokagon Tribal Council members, Chairman John P. Warren and other Pokagon Band leadership were the administrator of the U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Developmen ’s Eastern Woodlands Office of Native American Programs, Mark Butterfield, and Bryan Hewitt, of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Also present were South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, along with other city and St. Joseph County officials.

The village, located at 3115 Locust Road in South Bend, consists of a duplex that contains two 2-bedroom homes, and a townhome building, which includes two 2-bedroom townhomes and two 3-bedroom townhomes. Eventually, the site could have 44 housing units, a community center and facilities for health services and tribal government programs.

“Two centuries ago, there were several Potawatomi villages in this area of Indiana. In fact, we Potawatomi called South Bend Zenba Odanek,” Warren said. “But today marks the beginning of a new era for a South Bend Pokagon community. Today we celebrate tribal land and a tribal village in Indiana once again.”

Tribal members performed drum songs as part of the grand opening celebration, and tribal veterans posted flags, prior to an invocation and remarks by invited guests. The media were then able to walk through the houses in the village.

The tribal village sits on 167 acres, which will also house a tribal police substation and the Four Winds Casino South Bend, opening in early 2018.

The Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians’ sovereignty was reaffirmed under legislation signed into law by President Clinton in September of 1994. The Pokagon Band is dedicated to providing community development initiatives such as housing, education, family services, medical care and cultural preservation for its approximately 5,000 citizens.

The Pokagon Band’s 10-county service area includes four counties in southwestern Michigan and six in northern Indiana. Its main administrative offices are located in Dowagiac, with a satellite office in South Bend.

In 2007, it opened Four Winds Casino Resort in New Buffalo, followed by Four Winds Hartford in 2011 and Four Winds Dowagiac in 2013. Four Winds South Bend will open in early 2018.

It owns and operates a variety of business via Mno-Bmadsen, the tribe’s non-gaming investment enterprise.

More information is available at pokagonband-nsn.gov, fourwindscasino.com and mno-bmadsen.com.