072109 press release

6650 E. Broadway • Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
Phone: 989-775-4750 • Fax: 989-775-4770
Hours Of Operation

Contact:
Stefanie Dombrowski, Sales & Events Coordinator • sdombrowski@sagchip.org
Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways
6650 E. Broadway • Mt. Pleasant, MI 48858
Phone 989.775.4744 • Fax 989.775.4770 • www.sagchip.org/ziibiwing

For Immediate Release - July 21, 2009

Mt. Pleasant, Michigan The Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Council was joined by members from the Ziibiwing Center's Board of Directors and staff as they celebrated the launch of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan's first e-commerce website, www.NativeDirect.com. A Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony took place on July 21 at 11am in the Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Council chambers located in the Tribal Operations Building.

In the late 90s the NativeDirect.com domain was purchased and the website was started, but remained in a conceptual phase. In 2007, Ziibiwing's Commercial Services team began outlining a work plan with the Tribe's I.T. Department to create a new webstore.

NativeDirect.com will serve as the new online retail outlet for the Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways, providing virtual and world market exposure for many different facets of the Tribe. The site will sell gift shop merchandise with a strong focus on American Indian fine art and specialty products. For more information about this exciting new webstore, contact Chris Tata, Ziibiwing's Commercial Services Manager, at (989) 775-4732.

The Ziibiwing Center of Anishinabe Culture & Lifeways in Mount Pleasant, Mich. is the Midwest's Premier American Indian Museum. Established in 2004, the Ziibiwing Center is a distinctive treasure created to provide an enriched, diversified, and culturally relevant educational experience through its award-winning Diba Jimooyung (Telling Our Story) permanent exhibit, changing exhibits, research center, Ojibwe language immersion room, gift shop, Wi-Fi coffee & media lounge, and meeting rooms. The Ziibiwing Center is a non-profit cultural learning center and museum belonging to the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan who also own Michigan's only four diamond casino resort, the Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort, and the Saganing Eagle Landing Casino located in Standish, Mich.