1355R Grand Portage Reservation Locator Map

The Grand Portage Indian Reservation (

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 languages of the Americas, indigenous la ...

: Gichi-onigamiing) is the

Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land land tenure, held and governed by a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States#Description, U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose gov ...

of the Grand Portage Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, a

federally recognized tribe A federally recognized tribe is a Native American tribe recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs as holding a government-to-government relationship with the US federal government. In the United States, the Native American tribe ...

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 reservation is in

Cook County Cook County is the most populous county in the U.S. state of Illinois and the second-most-populous county in the United States, after Los Angeles County, California. More than 40 percent of all residents of Illinois live within Cook County. ...

near the tip of

's Arrowhead Region in the extreme northeast part of the state. Historically, the community was considered part of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa but is not a party to the

treaties A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

that group signed. The reservation was established as part of the 1854 Treaty of La Pointe. The unincorporated community of Grand Portage is located within the Grand Portage Indian Reservation. Since 1934, Grand Portage has been one of the six bands of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, which wrote a constitution and initiated its new government in 1936. In the federal 2020 census, the reservation had a population of 618. The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe reported in July 2007 that Grand Portage had 1,127 people enrolled in the band.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the Grand Portage reservation has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The Grand Portage Band also had of

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 trus ...

as of 2020.

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, the total population living on the reservation was 618. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), 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 geog ...

was . There were 328 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the reservation was 63.1% Native American, 24.3%

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

, 0.8% Asian, 0.2%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, and 11.5% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 1.8%

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race.

Economy

The community operates a

casino A casino is a facility for gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shops, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos also host live entertainment, such as stand-up comedy, conce ...

, th
Grand Portage Lodge and Casino
The

Grand Portage National Monument Grand Portage National Monument is a U.S. National Monument, United States National Monument located on the north shore of Lake Superior in northeastern Minnesota that preserves a vital center of fur trade activity and Anishinaabeg Ojibwe herita ...

is located on the reservation and managed by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

. The site includes a reconstructed

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

which is authentic for the 18th century. In 2000, Minnesota returned ownership of the Grand Portage State Park to the Chippewa Band, which was lost more than 50 years ago in a tax forfeiture. In a unique arrangement in the state, this is the only state park to be managed jointly by the state and an American Indian band. The park includes a 120-foot high waterfall, which has been a landmark for centuries. The band employs its members as staff of the park.

Notable people

* Ruth A. Myers (1926–2001), activist, "Grandmother of American Indian Education in Minnesota" * George Morrison (1919–2000), painter, sculptor

References

External links