Bois Forte Band of Chippewa (

Ojibwe language Ojibwe , also known as Ojibwa , Ojibway, Otchipwe,R. R. Bishop Baraga, 1878''A Theoretical and Practical Grammar of the Otchipwe Language''/ref> Ojibwemowin, or Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of North America of the Algonquian la ...

: ''Zagaakwaandagowininiwag'', "Men of the Thick Fir-woods"; commonly but erroneously shortened to ''Zagwaandagaawininiwag'', "Men of the Thick Boughs") are an

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

Band located in northern

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the List of U.S. states and territories by population, 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minne ...

, along the border between the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

and

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

.J. Mooney and C. Thomas. "Sugwaundugahwininewug" in ''Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico'', edited by Frederick Webb Hodge (Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 30. GPO: 1910. Their landbase is the

Bois Forte Indian Reservation Bois Forte Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation formed for the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa (or ''Zagaakwaandagowininiwag'' (Men of the Thick Woods) in the Ojibwe language). Sections The reservation is composed of three sections in north ...

, of which the Nett Lake Indian Reservation holdings are the largest of their reservation holdings. The Bois Forte Band is one of six constituent members of the

Minnesota Chippewa Tribe The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (MCT) is the centralized governmental authority for six Chippewa (Ojibwe or Anishinaabe) bands in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The tribe was created on June 18, 1934; the organization and its governmental powers are ...

. In 2007, the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe reported having 3,052 people enrolled through the Bois Forte (Nett Lake) Reservation as members of the Bois Forte Band.

History

The Bois Forte Band is an amalgamation of three separate groups, of which the ''Zagwaandagaawininiwag'' was the largest component, also known on some documents as ''Zoongaatigwitoonag'' ("Strong-wooded Ones", reflected in French as "Les Songatikitons"). Others now considered part of the Bois Forte Band includes the Lake Vermilion Band of

Lake Superior Chippewa The Lake Superior Chippewa (Anishinaabe: Gichigamiwininiwag) are a large number of Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) bands living around Lake Superior; this territory is considered part of northern Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota in the United States. They ...

and the southern half of the Little Forks Band of Rainy River Saulteaux. Due to their very peaceful existence, Warren reports they were called the "Rabbit" (Ojibwe language: ''Waabooz''). Under the

Treaty of Paris (1783) The Treaty of Paris, signed in Paris by representatives of King George III of Great Britain and representatives of the United States of America on September 3, 1783, officially ended the American Revolutionary War and overall state of conflict ...

and the Webster-Ashburton Treaty (1842), the Little Forks Band of Rainy River Saulteaux were divided in half, with the southern half living about the

Little Fork River The Little Fork River (French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and e ...

being in the United States. The Lake Vermilion Band went into a treaty relationship with the United States in 1854. In 1866, the Bois Forte Band entered into a treaty with the United States, which also began the amalgamation process of these three historical bands into a single Band of today.

Ethnonyms

The Bois Forte Band are named after their location of thick conifer forest of northern Minnesota. ''Handbook of North American Indians'' record other variations of their names. * Boise Forte — ''Indian Affairs Report'', 332, 1873. * Bois Forts — Warren (1852) in ''Minnesota Historical Society Collections'', V, 85, 1885. * Hardwoods — Warren (1852) in ''Minnesota Historical Society Collections'', V, 85, 1885. * Sagantwaga-wininiwak — Gatschet, Ojibwa Manuscript. BAE 1882 * Sagwandagawinini — Baraga, ''English-Otchipwe Dictionary'', 109, 1879 * Sạgwāndạgāwininiwạg — William Jones, information, 1905. * Sakâwiyiniw — Baraga, ''English-Otchipwe Dictionary'', 109, 1879 * Sug-wau-dag-ah-win-in-e-wug — Warren (1852) in ''Minnesota Historical Society Collections'', V, 85, 1885. * Sug-waun-dug-ah-win-ine-wug — Warren in Schoolcraft, ''Indian Tribes'', II, 139, 1852 * Sug-wun-dug-ah-win-in-e-wug — Ramsey in ''Indian Affairs Report'', 90, 1850. * Thick Woodsmen — Warren in Schoolcraft, ''Indian Tribes'', II, 139, 1852 * Waub-ose — Warren (1852) in ''Minnesota Historical Society Collections'', V, 86, 1885.

Band-owned businesses and enterprises

The band operates the Nett Lake Wild Rice cooperative, owns and operates the Powerain carwash products, Fortune Bay Resort and Casino, WELY AM & FM in

Ely, Minnesota Ely ( ) is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,268 at the 2020 census. Located on the Vermilion iron range, Ely once had several iron ore mines. It is an entry point for campers and canoers into the B ...

, and KBFT FM in Nett Lake, Minnesota. It established a

credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including deposit accounts, provision ...

, Northern Eagle Federal Credit Union, in 2013.

Notable Bois Forte citizens

* Joe Geshick, artist * Linda LeGarde Grover,

University of Minnesota, Duluth The University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) is a public university in Duluth, Minnesota. It is part of the University of Minnesota system and offers 16 bachelor's degrees in 88 majors, graduate programs in 25 different fields, and a two-year pr ...

, American Indian Studies professor and Duluth Budgeteer columnist, author of ''The Dance Boots'' (2010) * Keith Secola (b. 1957), musician, singer

References

External links