The Leech Lake Reservation (''Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag'' 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 la ...

) is an

Indian reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

located in the north-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 t ...

counties of

Cass Cass may refer to: People and fictional characters * Cass (surname), a list of people * Cass (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Big Cass, ring name of wrestler William Morrissey * Cass, in British band Skunk Anansie * Ca ...

, Itasca, Beltrami, and

Hubbard Hubbard may refer to: Places Canada *Hubbard, Saskatchewan *Hubbards, Nova Scotia Canada/United States * Mount Hubbard, a mountain on the Alaska/Yukon border *Hubbard Glacier, a large freshwater glacier in Alaska and Yukon Greenland *Hubbard Gla ...

. The reservation forms the land base for the federally recognized

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe 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: ''Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag Ojibweg'') is an Ojibwe band located in Minnesota and one of six making up the ...

, one of six bands comprising the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, organized in 1934. The Leech Lake Reservation has the second highest population of any reservation in Minnesota with White Earth Nation being the largest Minnesota Ojibwe tribe, Leech Lake Nation has a resident population of 11,388 indicated by the 2020 census. 1940R Leech Lake Reservation Locator Map

1940R Leech Lake Reservation Locator Map

History

The Leech Lake Reservation was not established in a single act, but came about as the cumulative result of treaties, executive orders, and legislation spanning many decades. The core areas of the reservation were established by the 1855 treaty of Washington, which formed three smaller reservations for the Pillager Band of Chippewa Indians at Leech Lake, Cass Lake, and Lake Winnibigoshish. These reservations were reshaped and consolidated by new treaties in 1864 and 1867, when the United States sought with little success to concentrate Ojibwes from other reservations together at a single location. The reservation was further modified by several

executive order In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of t ...

s in the 1870s, one of which created the White Oak Point reservation of the Mississippi Band. Under the

Dawes Act The Dawes Act of 1887 (also known as the General Allotment Act or the Dawes Severalty Act of 1887) regulated land rights on tribal territories within the United States. Named after Senator Henry L. Dawes of Massachusetts, it authorized the Pres ...

of 1887 and the

Nelson Act of 1889 An act for the relief and civilization of the Chippewa Indians in the State of Minnesota (51st-1st-Ex.Doc.247; ), commonly known as the Nelson Act of 1889, was a United States federal law intended to relocate all the Anishinaabe people in Minnesot ...

, the United States allotted tribal land on the Ojibwe reservations into private parcels. Some parcels were held by individual tribal members, but much of the reservation was alienated into the ownership of timber companies and white settlers. In addition, the United States established what became the Chippewa National Forest in the early twentieth century on the remaining unallotted tribal land. As a result, by 1934, less than 5% of the reservation was still in Ojibwe ownership. Following the

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 ...

of 1934, the present "Greater" Leech Lake Indian Reservation was formed from the merger of the Leech Lake, Cass Lake, and Lake Winnibigoshish reservations of the Pillager Band, the Chippewa Indian Reservation of the Lake Superior Band, and the White Oak Point reservation of the Mississippi Band. A minimal percentage of reservation land is owned by citizens of the Band; additionally, most of the reservation remains within the Chippewa National Forest, making settlement expansion extremely difficult.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of th ...

, the Leech Lake Reservation has a total area of , of which is land and is water. In addition, the Leech Lake Band held

off-reservation trust land In the United States, off-reservation trust land refers to real estate outside an Indian reservation that is held by the Interior Department for the benefit of a Native American tribe or a member of a tribe. Typical uses of off-reservation trust ...

with a land area of in 2020. About one-fourth of the reservation is covered by lakes. The largest lakes on the reservation are

Leech Lake Leech Lake is a lake located in north central Minnesota, United States. It is southeast of Bemidji, located mainly within the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, and completely within the Chippewa National Forest. It is used as a reservoir. The lake ...

Lake Winnibigoshish Lake Winnibigoshish is a body of water in north central Minnesota in the Chippewa National Forest. Its name comes from the Ojibwe language ''Wiinibiigoonzhish'', a diminutive and pejorative form of ''Wiinibiig'', meaning "filthy water" (i.e., "b ...

, and Cass Lake. The band uses 40 lakes for the production of

wild rice Wild rice, also called manoomin, Canada rice, Indian rice, or water oats, is any of four species of grasses that form the genus ''Zizania'', and the grain that can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both ...

, and the community produces more rice than any other reservation in the state. The reservation is the second-largest in Minnesota (after the

White Earth Indian Reservation The White Earth Indian Reservation ( oj, Gaa-waabaabiganikaag, "Where there is an abundance of white clay") is the home to the White Earth Band, located in northwestern Minnesota. It is the largest Indian reservation in the state by land area. T ...

) in terms of land area, and the largest in terms of total area.

Communities

The reservation consists of eleven villages; two additional communities have a substantial number of Leech Lake Band members. Nearly all Leech Lake communities are located in or near the woods of the Chippewa National Forest. The largest community is Cass Lake, situated on the southwestern shores of the eponymous lake. The next largest settlements are Ball Club, Onigum, Inger, and Bena. In some communities, housing is located along only one road, with each side lined with homes. * Ball Club * Bena * Cass Lake * Deer River (part) * Inger * Longville (part) * Mission * Oak Point * Onigum * Pennington * Smokey Point * Squaw Lake * Sugar Point * Whipholt

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, the population of the Leech Lake Reservation was 11,388. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was . There were 7,229 housing units at an average density of . The Leech Lake Reservation has a significant non-native population due in part to the allotment and sale of reservation lands in the late nineteenth century. In 2020, the racial makeup of the reservation was 49.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White ...

, 43.8% Native American, 0.1%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.1% Asian, 0.4% from other races, and 6.3% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 1.7%

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties for ...

or Latino of any race.

Education

There are tribal schools, Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School and Leech Lake Tribal College.http://www.lltc.edu

History

Geography

Communities

Demographics

Education

See also

References

External links

Further reading