The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, also known as the Leech Lake Band of Chippewa Indians or the Leech Lake Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (

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 ...

: ''Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag Ojibweg'') is an

band located in

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 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

and one of six making up 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 ...

. The band had 9,426 enrolled tribal members as of March 2014. The band's land base is the

Leech Lake Indian Reservation The Leech Lake Reservation (''Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag'' in the Ojibwe language) is an Indian reservation located in the north-central Minnesota counties of Cass, Itasca, Beltrami, and Hubbard. The reservation forms the land base for the federally ...

, which includes eleven communities aggregated into three districts, as defined in the tribal constitution,

Government

As a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, which also includes the bands of Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Mille Lacs, and White Earth, the Leech Lake Band is governed by a tribal constitution, written following the 1934

Indian Reorganization Act The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of June 18, 1934, or the Wheeler–Howard Act, was U.S. federal legislation that dealt with the status of American Indians in the United States. It was the centerpiece of what has been often called the "Indian ...

. The tribe's constitution established a corporate system of governance with "reservation business committees," also referred to as "Reservation Tribal Councils", as the governmental body. The committees are composed of a chairperson, a secretary-treasurer, and three district representatives. The representatives are elected for four-year terms. Their elections are staggered. The current Tribal Council is as follows (with the year of next election for the position in parentheses): * Chairman Faron Jackson Sr. (2024) * Secretary/Treasurer Leonard Fineday (2026) * District I Representative Kyle Fairbanks (2026) * District II Representative Steven White (2026) * District III Representative LeRoy Staples-Fairbanks III (2024)

Socioeconomic initiatives

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe operates three casinos: Cedar Lakes Casino and Hotel in Cass Lake on the Leech Lake Reservation; Northern Lights in

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

; and

White Oak The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera '' ...

in Deer River. The Band's Business Development Division also operates the Che-We-Ka-E-Gon Complex in Cass Lake, which consists of a convenience store and gas station, a gift shop, and an office supply store. Additionally, the Band operates the Northern Lights Express, a gas station near the Northern Lights Casino. The Palace Casino and Hotel was replaced by the new Cedar Lakes Casino Hotel, which opened on August 8, 2019 in Cass Lake, MN. In addition to economic initiatives, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe has founded two major educational initiatives: the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School, an open enrollment K-12 school, and

Leech Lake Tribal College Leech Lake Tribal College (LLTC) is a public tribal land-grant community college in Cass Lake, Minnesota. It was established in 1990 and designated a land-grant college in 1994. The college includes approximately 70 faculty, staff, administrator ...

, which grants associate degrees. Like the Red Lake and White Earth Bands, the Leech Lake Band is known for its tradition of singing

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

in the

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 lan ...

Education

The tribal schools are

Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School is a K-12 tribal school in unincorporated Cass County, Minnesota, near Bena. It is affiliated with the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE). Located on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, it serves the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe ...

an
Leech Lake Tribal College

Notable citizens

Dennis Banks Dennis Banks (April 12, 1937, in Ojibwe – October 29, 2017) was a Native American activist, teacher, and author. He was a longtime leader of the American Indian Movement, which he co-founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1968 to represent urb ...

American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is a Native American grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues of poverty, discrimination, and police ...

co-founder, writer, and Indigenous issues advocate *

Skip Finn Harold Raymond "Skip" Finn (October 27, 1948 – May 17, 2018) was an American politician, who represented Minnesota's 4th district in the state's senate for the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. Biography Born in Cass Lake, Minnesota, to a Norweg ...

(1948–2018), state senator and Ojibwe attorney *

Elaine Fleming Elaine Fleming is a former mayor of Cass Lake, Minnesota, a position to which she was elected in 2003. Cass Lake—officially a city, but with a population under 1000—is located within the reservation boundaries of the Leech Lake Band of ...

, First Anishinaabe mayor of Cass Lake, Minnesota, and Chair of Arts and Humanities at

Ozaawindib ''Ozaawindib'' ("Yellow Head" in English, recorded variously as Oza Windib, O-zaw-wen-dib, O-zaw-wan-dib, Ozawondib, etc.) (Ojibwe) was an early 19th century (fl. 1797-1832) male-bodied warrior. He had several husbands, at times wore attire typic ...

Ayaakwe Two-spirit (also two spirit, 2S or, occasionally, twospirited) is a modern, , umbrella term used by some Indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender (or other gender-variant) ...

, served as a guide to

Henry Rowe Schoolcraft Henry Rowe Schoolcraft (March 28, 1793 – December 10, 1864) was an American geographer, geologist, and ethnologist, noted for his early studies of Native American cultures, as well as for his 1832 expedition to the source of the Mississippi R ...

* John Smith, chief, reportedly lived 137 years *

Anton Treuer Anton Treuer is an American academic and author specializing in the Ojibwe language and American Indian studies. He is professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University, Minnesota and a 2008 Guggenheim Fellow. Early life and education Anton Treue ...

, Bemidji State University assistant professor of Ojibwe language and author of Ojibwe histories *

David Treuer David Treuer (born 1970) (Ojibwe) is an American writer, critic and academic. As of 2019, he had published seven books; his work published in 2006 was noted as among the best of the year by several major publications. He published a book of essays ...

, author * Delina White, artist, activist, clothing designer

References

External links

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
- Official LLBO tribal government website
Leech Lake News
- Official LLBO News website
Leech Lake Tribal College
- Official LLTC website
Cass Lake/Leech Lake Community Internet
- Contains Leech Lake community journalism, blogs, calendars, classifieds and more
Cass Lake Leech Lake Issues Forum
- Online Discussion {{DEFAULTSORT:Leech Lake Band Of Ojibwe Ojibwe governments Federally recognized tribes in the United States Native American tribes in Minnesota Minnesota Chippewa Tribe