Marjorie Ann "Marge" (née Davis) Anderson (April 21, 1932 – June 29, 2013) was 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 ...

Elder and politician for the

Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe ( oj, Misi-zaaga'igani Anishinaabeg), also known as the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians, is a federally recognized American Indian tribe located in east-central Minnesota. The Band has 4,302 members as of 2012. ...

, located in east-central

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 ...

."Mille Lacs Ojibwe Leader Marge Anderson Dies at 81" ''Red Lake Nation News'', July 1, 2013 (Vol. 9, No. 214)
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Biography

Mille Lacs Band Elder Marge Anderson was born on the

Mille Lacs Reservation Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is the popular name for the land-base for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Central Minnesota, about 100 miles (160 km) north of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The contemporary Mille Lacs Band reservation has significant ...

, was fluent 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 ...

, and had served more than 30 years in the Band's tribal government. Anderson began her public service in 1976 as District I Representative. She then served as Secretary/Treasurer from 1987 to 1991 before being appointed Chairman of the

Mille Lacs Band The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe ( oj, Misi-zaaga'igani Anishinaabeg), also known as the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians, is a federally recognized American Indian tribe located in east-central Minnesota. The Band has 4,302 members as of 2012. ...

in 1991 after Arthur Gahbow died while in office. She was elected to the post in 1992 (with the post changing its title from Chairman to the Chief Executive) and elected again in 1996. In 2000 Melanie Benjamin replaced her as Chief Executive until December 2008, when Anderson won the post back in a special election."Mille Lacs Ojibwe leader Marge Anderson dies at 81"
''

Star Tribune The ''Star Tribune'' is the largest newspaper in Minnesota. It originated as the ''Minneapolis Tribune'' in 1867 and the competing ''Minneapolis Daily Star'' in 1920. During the 1930s and 1940s, Minneapolis's competing newspapers were consolida ...

'', July 1, 2013 Then in 2012 Benjamin again won the post from her in another election. As the Chief Executive, Anderson was the first woman to lead the

, and indeed the first woman to lead any Minnesota Indian tribe. During her tenure as Chief Executive, Anderson had led the development of Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley and the rebuilding of the reservation through new schools, clinics, community centers, housing, a water treatment plant, and other infrastructure. Her efforts to strengthen tribal self-governance and increase American Indians’ self-sufficiency had received national recognition. She died in the small Minnesota city of Onamia.

References

External links

The official website of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
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Biographies of Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe's elected and appointed officials
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Marge Anderson elected Mille Lacs Band leader again
By Joe Kimball in December 18, 2008, edition of

MinnPost ''MinnPost'' is a nonprofit online newspaper in Minneapolis, founded in 2007, with a focus on Minnesota news. Funding ''MinnPosts initial funding of $850,000 came from four families: John and Sage Cowles, Lee Lynch and Terry Saario, Joel and ...

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Marge 1932 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Native Americans 21st-century Native Americans Chief Executives of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Female Native American leaders Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe politicians Native American women in politics Ojibwe people People from Mille Lacs County, Minnesota Women in Minnesota politics 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women