The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe is the centralized governmental authority for six
Ojibwe
The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...
bands in
Minnesota
Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
. The tribe was created on June 18, 1934; the organization and its governmental powers are divided between the tribe, and the individual bands, which directly operate their
reservations. The bands that make up the tribe are:
*
Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
Bois Forte Band of Chippewa (, "Men of the Thick Fir-woods"; commonly but erroneously shortened to , "Men of the Thick Boughs") are a federally recognized Ojibwe Band located in northern Minnesota, along the border between the United States and C ...
*
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (or Wayekwaa-gichigamiing Gichigamiwininiwag in the Ojibwe language, meaning "Lake Superior Men at the far end of the Great Lake") is an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) band located near Cloquet, Minnesota. Their l ...
*
Grand Portage Band of Chippewa
*
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 a federally recognized Ojibwe band located in Minnesota and one ...
*
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Mille can refer to:
People
* Constantin Mille, Romanian journalist and politician
* Mathieu Mille, French ice hockey player
Places
* Mille Lacs County, Minnesota
* Mille Lacs Lake in Minnesota.
* Mille River, a tributary of the Awash River ...
*
White Earth Band of Ojibwe
The White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, also called the White Earth Nation (, "People from where there is an abundance of white clay"), is a federally recognized Native American band in northwestern Minnesota. The band's land base ...
As of July 2003, the six bands have 40,677 enrolled members. The White Earth Band is the largest, which had more than 19,000 members. According to the 2010 US Census, the Leech Lake Band had 10,660 residents living on
its reservation, the most of any single reservation in the state.
It is projected that the tribe will experience a gradual population decrease in the coming decades, unless it lowers its current membership requirement of at least
25% Native ancestry, as a consequence of tribal members having children with non-Native Americans (nationwide, 54-61% of all Native Americans
marry non-Natives).
Notably, the
Red Lake Band of Chippewa
The Red Lake Indian Reservation () covers in parts of nine counties in Minnesota, United States. It is made up of numerous holdings but the largest section is an area around Red Lake, in north-central Minnesota, the largest lake i ...
is not part of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. In 1934 it declined to participate, as its citizens did not want to give up the band's system of hereditary chiefs. The Red Lake Band developed its constitution in the 1950s, electing its first chairman in 1959. The Chippewa nation predates the European colonization of the Americas.
Services
The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe provides basic services to each of its six-member Bands, unless the individual Band has signed a compact to provide these services themselves. The services are provided through their offices located in
Cass Lake, Minnesota
Cass Lake is a city in Cass County, Minnesota, United States, located within the boundaries of the Leech Lake Indian Reservation. It is surrounded by Pike Bay Township. Cass Lake had a population of 675 in the 2020 census. It is notable a ...
.
*Administration
**Executive Direction
**Tribal Operations
***Enrollment
**Accounting & Liquor Licenses
**Human Resources
*Education
**Scholarship Information
**Johnson O’Malley
**Indian Boarding Schools
*Finance Corporation
**Home Loans
**Business Loans
**Homes for Sale
*Human Services
**Senior Services
**Investment, Employment and Welfare
**Food Stamp Nutrition Education
References
External links
Minnesota Chippewa Tribe– Official website
Bois Forte Band of ChippewaFond du Lac Band of Lake Superior ChippewaGrand Portage Band of Lake Superior ChippewaLeech Lake Band of OjibweMille Lacs Band of OjibweWhite Earth Indian Reservation Tribal Council
{{authority control
Ojibwe in Minnesota
Ojibwe governments
Native American tribes in Minnesota
Federally recognized tribes in the United States
Cass County, Minnesota