Marjorie Ann "Marge" (née Davis) Anderson (April 21, 1932 – June 29, 2013) was an

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 ...

Elder and politician for the

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 ...

, located in east-central

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 ...

."Mille Lacs Ojibwe Leader Marge Anderson Dies at 81" ''Red Lake Nation News'', July 1, 2013 (Vol. 9, No. 214)
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Biography

Mille Lacs Band Elder Marge Anderson was born on the Mille Lacs Reservation, was fluent 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 ...

, and had served more than 30 years in the Band's tribal government. Anderson began her public service in 1976 as District I Representative. She then served as Secretary/Treasurer from 1987 to 1991 before being appointed Chairman of the Mille Lacs Band in 1991 after Arthur Gahbow died while in office. She was elected to the post in 1992 (with the post changing its title from Chairman to the Chief Executive) and elected again in 1996. In 2000 Melanie Benjamin replaced her as Chief Executive until December 2008, when Anderson won the post back in a special election."Mille Lacs Ojibwe leader Marge Anderson dies at 81"
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Star Tribune ''The Minnesota Star Tribune'', formerly the ''Minneapolis Star Tribune'', is an American daily newspaper based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. As of 2023, it is Minnesota's largest newspaper and the List of newspapers in the United States, seventh- ...

'', July 1, 2013 Then in 2012 Benjamin again won the post from her in another election. As the Chief Executive, Anderson was the first woman to lead the

, and indeed the first woman to lead any Minnesota Indian tribe. During her tenure as Chief Executive, Anderson had led the development of Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley and the rebuilding of the reservation through new schools, clinics, community centers, housing, a water treatment plant, and other infrastructure. Her efforts to strengthen tribal self-governance and increase American Indians’ self-sufficiency had received national recognition. She died in the small Minnesota city of Onamia.

References

External links

The official website of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
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Biographies of Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe's elected and appointed officials
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Marge Anderson elected Mille Lacs Band leader again
By Joe Kimball in December 18, 2008, edition of

MinnPost ''MinnPost'' is a nonprofit online newspaper in Minneapolis, founded in 2007, with a focus on Minnesota news. Content and format The site does not endorse candidates for office or publish unsigned editorials representing an institutional posit ...

, - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Anderson, Marge 1932 births 2013 deaths 20th-century Native American people 21st-century Native American politicians Chief executives of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Women Native American leaders Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe politicians Native American women in politics People from Mille Lacs County, Minnesota Women in Minnesota politics 20th-century Native American women 21st-century Native American women