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 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 ...

: ''Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag Ojibweg'') is a federally recognized

band located 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 ...

and one of six making up the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. The band had 9,426 enrolled tribal members as of March 2014. The band's land base is the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, which includes eleven communities aggregated into three districts, as defined in the tribal constitution.

Government

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe-04-Flags atTribal Justice Center

As a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, which also includes the bands of Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Mille Lacs, and White Earth, the Leech Lake Band is governed by a tribal constitution, written following the 1934

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 ...

. The tribe's constitution established a corporate system of governance with "reservation business committees," also referred to as "Reservation Tribal Councils", as the governmental body. The committees are composed of a chairperson, a secretary-treasurer, and three district representatives. The representatives are elected for four-year terms. Their elections are staggered. The current Tribal Council is as follows (with the year of next election for the position in parentheses): * Chairman Faron Jackson Sr. (2024) * Secretary/Treasurer Leonard Fineday (2026) * District I Representative Kyle Fairbanks (2026) * District II Representative Steven White (2026) * District III Representative LeRoy Staples-Fairbanks III (2024)

Socioeconomic initiatives

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe operates three casinos: Cedar Lakes Casino and Hotel in Cass Lake on the Leech Lake Reservation; Northern Lights in

Walker Walker or The Walker may refer to: People *Walker (given name) *Walker (surname) *Walker (Brazilian footballer) (born 1982), Brazilian footballer Places In the United States *Walker, Arizona, in Yavapai County *Walker, Mono County, California * ...

; and

White Oak ''Quercus'' subgenus ''Quercus'' is one of the two subgenera into which the genus ''Quercus'' was divided in a 2017 classification (the other being subgenus ''Cerris''). It contains about 190 species divided among five sections. It may be calle ...

in Deer River. The Band's Business Development Division also operates the Che-We-Ka-E-Gon Complex in Cass Lake, which consists of a convenience store and gas station, a gift shop, and an office supply store. Additionally, the Band operates the Northern Lights Express, a gas station near the Northern Lights Casino. The Palace Casino and Hotel was replaced by the new Cedar Lakes Casino Hotel, which opened on August 8, 2019 in Cass Lake. In addition to economic initiatives, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe has founded two major educational initiatives: the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School, an open enrollment K-12 school, and Leech Lake Tribal College, which grants associate degrees. Like the Red Lake and White Earth Bands, the Leech Lake Band is known for its tradition of singing

hymns A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' ...

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 languages of the Americas, indigenous la ...

Education

The tribal schools are Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School and Leech Lake Tribal College. File:Wild rice harvest on Mud Lake.jpg, Wild rice harvest on Mud Lake File:20171027 FS-Chippewa MR-Tribal Relations Training.jpg, Tribal members perform drum ceremony File:Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe-03-Tribal Justice center.jpg, Tribal Justice Center File:LLTC 2009 NSTI Aerial Shot.jpg, Leech Lake Tribal College

Notable citizens

Leech Lake Chippewa delegation to Washington 1899

Dennis Banks Dennis J. Banks (April 12, 1937 – October 29, 2017) was a Native American activist, teacher, and author. He was a longtime leader of the American Indian Movement, which he co-founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1968 to represent urban Indian ...

American Indian Movement The American Indian Movement (AIM) is an Native Americans in the United States, American Indian grassroots movement which was founded in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July 1968, initially centered in urban areas in order to address systemic issues ...

co-founder, writer, and Indigenous issues advocate * Skip Finn (1948–2018), state senator and Ojibwe attorney * Elaine Fleming, First Anishinaabe mayor of Cass Lake, Minnesota, and Chair of Arts and Humanities at Leech Lake Tribal College * Ozaawindib, Ayaakwe, served as a guide to Henry Rowe Schoolcraft * Wayne Reyes, Ojibwe member and Bena resident who was killed by Minneapolis Police officer

Derek Chauvin Derek Michael Chauvin ( ; born 1976) is an American former police officer who Murder of George Floyd, murdered George Floyd, a 46-year-old African Americans, African American man, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. On May 25, 2020, Floyd was arrest ...

in October 2006 * John Smith, chief, reportedly lived 137 years * Anton Treuer,

Bemidji State University Bemidji State University (BSU) is a public university in Bemidji, Minnesota, United States. Founded as a preparatory institution for teachers in 1919, it provides higher education to north-central Minnesota. It is part of the Minnesota State Coll ...

assistant professor of Ojibwe language and author of Ojibwe histories * David Treuer, author * Delina White, artist, activist, clothing designer * Irene Folstrom, activist, former girlfriend of

Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in List of golfers with most PGA Tour wins, PGA Tour wins, ranks second in List of men's major championships winning golfers, men's m ...

References

External links

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
- Official LLBO tribal government website
Leech Lake News
- Official LLBO News website
Leech Lake Tribal College
- Official LLTC website
Cass Lake/Leech Lake Community Internet
- Contains Leech Lake community journalism, blogs, calendars, classifieds and more
Cass Lake Leech Lake Issues Forum
- Online Discussion {{DEFAULTSORT:Leech Lake Band Of Ojibwe Ojibwe governments Federally recognized tribes in the United States Native American tribes in Minnesota