Minnesota Chippewa Tribe

The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe is the centralized governmental authority for six Ojibwe bands in Minnesota. 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
• Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
• Grand Portage Band of Chippewa
• Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
• Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
• White Earth Band of Ojibwe

Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
Motto: Nimaamawiinomin We Come Together
Member bands of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
Administrative headquarters	Cass Lake, Minnesota
Type	Tribal governmental authority
Enrolled membership	40,677
Leaders
• President	Michael LaRoque
• Vice President	Faron Jackson, Sr.
• Executive Director	Joel Smith
Establishment
• Establishment	June 18, 1934
• Recognized by the United States Department of the Interior	July 26, 1936

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,^[1][2] as a consequence of tribal members having children with non-Native Americans (nationwide, 54-61% of all Native Americans marry non-Natives^[3]).

Notably, the Red Lake Band of Chippewa 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.

• 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

1. https://www.mnchippewatribe.org/pdf/MCT%20Population%20Projections.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
2. https://www.mnchippewatribe.org/pdf/MCT%20Methodology%20Report.pdf ^{[bare URL PDF]}
3. "Interracial marriage: Who is 'marrying out'?". 12 June 2015.

External links

• Minnesota Chippewa Tribe – Official website
• Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
• Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
• Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
• Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
• Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
• White Earth Indian Reservation Tribal Council