Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is the popular name for the land-base 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 ...

in Central Minnesota, about 100 miles (160 km) north of Minneapolis-St. Paul. The contemporary Mille Lacs Band reservation has significant land holdings in Mille Lacs,

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

, Aitkin and Crow Wing counties, as well as other land holdings in Kanabec,

Morrison Morrison may refer to: People * Morrison (surname), people with the Scottish surname Morrison * Morrison Heady (1829–1915), American poet * Morrison Mann MacBride (1877–1938), Canadian merchant Places in the United States * Morrison, Colorad ...

, and Otter Tail Counties. Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is also the name of a formal

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 ...

established in 1855. It is one of the two formal reservations on which the contemporary Mille Lacs Band retains land holdings. The contemporary Mille Lacs band includes several aboriginal Ojibwe bands and villages, whose members reside in communities throughout central Minnesota.

Reservations

Mille Lacs Lake Indian Reservation

2270R Mille Lacs Reservation Locator Map

The main reservation of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is the Mille Lacs Lake Indian Reservation (''Misi-zaaga'iganiing'' 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 ...

), at , and commonly referred to as the "Mille Lacs Indian Reservation", at the southern end of Mille Lacs Lake and composes about of land (commonly rounded in citations as "61,000 acres"), consisting of

Township A township is a form of human settlement or administrative subdivision. Its exact definition varies among countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, this tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Canad ...

42 North, Ranges 25, 26 and 27 West, and Township 43 North, Range 27 West, and islands in the southern part of Mille Lacs Lake. Before the raising of the lake level, ''United States v. Mille Lac Band of Chippewa Indians'' (229 U.S. 498 (1913)) cites the reservation as being of land. It was initially established in 1855 under the Treaty of Washington () for the Mille Lacs Indians and other Mississippi Chippewa (Ojibwe) Bands of Indians, but was later ceded back to the U.S. Government under later treaties. Under later treaties and statutes the reservation was reserved for the exclusive occupancy of the Mille Lacs Band, and was later opened to non-Indian timber harvesting and settlement following the protocol of the General Allotment Act. The

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

designates this reservation as part of "2270: Mille Lacs Indian Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land". This reservation contains the communities of ''Neyaashiing'' ( Vineland) and ''Chi-minising'' ( Isle). ''Neyaashiing'' houses the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Government Center, Nay-Ah-Shing Lower and Upper Schools and the Ne-Ia-Shing Clinic. It hosts

Minnesota Historical Society The Minnesota Historical Society (MNHS) is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Educational institution, educational and cultural institution dedicated to preserving the history of the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was founded by the Minnesota Terr ...

's Mille Lacs Indian Museum.

Grand Casino Mille Lacs Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), ...

is also located in ''Neyaashiing''. The central offices for Woodland National Bank, which is owned by the Mille Lacs Band, and the offices of the Band's Circle of Health supplementary Health Insurance, are both located in Onamia, Minnesota, within the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation. ''Chi-minising'' houses the Chiminising Community Center and District IIa Government Services Center. The reservation is located in Kathio Township, South Harbor Township, and Isle Harbor Township in Mille Lacs County. Other lands held in trust by the United States on behalf of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe are contiguous to the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation in southwest corner of Idun Township in Aitkin County. In March 2022, the

United States District Court for the District of Minnesota The United States District Court for the District of Minnesota (in case citations, D. Minn.) is the United States district court, federal district court whose jurisdiction is the state of Minnesota. Its two primary courthouses are in Minneapolis ...

reaffirmed that the territory set aside in the Treaty of 1855 still has federal reservation status, ruling in favor of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in a boundary dispute with Mille Lacs County.

Sandy Lake Indian Reservation

The contemporary Mille Lacs Indian Band also has land holdings with the Sandy Lake Indian Reservation (''Gaa-mitaawangaagamaag'' in the

) in Aitkin County, which surrounds

Big Sandy Lake Big Sandy Lake is a lake in Aitkin County, Minnesota, approximately nine miles north of McGregor. The lake is considered fertile walleye ground with several habitat types, including the open main basin, the deep, cold eastern basin, and a sha ...

and comprises about of land. Like ''Misi-zaaga'iganiing'', it too was initially established in 1855 under the Treaty of Washington for the Mississippi Bands of Chippewa Indians. Under a later treaty it was reserved for the exclusive occupancy of the

Sandy Lake Band Sandy Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa (Ojibwe: ''Gaa-mitaawangaagamaag-ininiwag'') are a historical Ojibwa tribe located in the upper Mississippi River basin, on and around Big Sandy Lake in what today is in Aitkin County, Minnesota. Though ...

, and it was later opened to non-Indian settlement. The US Census Bureau designates this reservation as "2385: Sandy Lake Indian Reservation". Today, nearly all of the land within this reservation is non-Native American owned. The ''Gaa-mitaawangaagamaag'' community of the historical Sandy Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa is located adjacent to and within the northern portion of the reservation. The ''Chi-manoominikaang'' community of the historical Rice Lake band of Mississippi Chippewa is located adjacent to the reservation on the southern portion of the reservation. The

United States Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wo ...

operate a small flood-control dam within this Indian Reservation. The reservation is located in parts of Libby,

Shamrock A shamrock is a type of clover, used as a symbol of Ireland. The name ''shamrock'' comes from Irish (), which is the diminutive of the Irish word and simply means "young clover". At most times'', Shamrock'' refers to either the species ...

Turner Turner may refer to: People and fictional characters * Turner (surname), a common surname, including a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Turner (given name), a list of people with the given name *One who uses a lathe for tur ...

, and Workman Townships in Aitkin County.

Other reservation holdings

Aggregated as part of the US Census Bureau designated "2270: Mille Lacs Indian Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land", Mille Lacs Indian Reservation have scattered trust parcels less than each in

, Kanabec, southern Aitkin, Crow Wing and

Counties, Minnesota. In addition, Mille Lacs Indian Reservation maintains the land upkeep on the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe ricing parcel at Star Lake. Furthermore, each Minnesota Chippewa Tribe member reservation, including the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, hold equal one-sixth (¹/₆) interest on all Minnesota Chippewa Tribe member reservations, though asserting jurisdiction only on their own reservation.

Districts

Due to the large territorial spread of the contemporary

, the Mille Lacs Band's statutes divide its territory into three administrative districts and one special services district.

District I

The ''Neyaashiing'' District (District I) serves the Band members living in the western two-thirds of the ''Misi-zaaga'iganiing'' and service area from that portion of the reservation. In addition, any requested services outside of the pre-defined service districts are coordinated though this district. Its administrative center is located in ''Neyaashiing'' Community (Vineland, Minnesota), a Census-designated community located approximately north of Onamia, Minnesota.

District II

''Gaa-mitaawangaagamaag'' District (District II) serves the Band members living in the eastern one-third of the ''Misi-zaaga'iganiing'' Reservation, all of ''Gaa-mitaawangaagamaag'' Reservation, the ''Chi-manoominikaang'' Community and the ''Minisinaakwaang'' Community and service area from those locations. This district is further sub-divided into two sub-districts: Districts IIa and IIb. District IIa is associated with the ''Chi-minising'' Community (Isle, Minnesota). District IIb comprises the rest of District II. The ''Minisinaakwaang'' Community (East Lake, Minnesota) is located approximately south of McGregor, MN. ''Minisinaakwaang'' Community houses the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation District II Community and Government Services Center, serving primarily District IIb.

District III

''Aazhoomog'' District (District III) of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is located primarily in

County, comprises the ''Ne-zhingwaakokaag'' ( Pine City- Rock Creek-Pokegama Lake) community of the historical Snake and Knife Rivers Band of the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Minnesota, ''Gaa-zhiigwanaabikokaag'' (

Hinckley Hinckley is a market town in south-west Leicestershire, England, administered by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council. Hinckley is the third largest settlement in Leicestershire, after Leicester and Loughborough, and is about halfway between L ...

) and ''Asiniikaaning'' (

Sandstone Sandstone is a Clastic rock#Sedimentary clastic rocks, clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of grain size, sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate mineral, silicate grains, Cementation (geology), cemented together by another mineral. Sand ...

) communities of the historical Kettle River Band of St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Minnesota, and the ''Aazhoomog'' ( Lake Lena) Village of the historical St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Minnesota, and service area from those locations. Though historically forming the western half of the St. Croix Chippewa Indians, these communities associated with the Mille Lacs band since the 1800s and are a part of today's contemporary Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. The contemporary St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, located east of the St. Croix River, is considered a federally recognized tribe, which is not associated with the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, located west of the St. Croix River. ''Aazhoomog'' Village houses the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation District III Community and Government Service Center and the Aazhoomog Clinic of the Ne-Ia-Shing Health Clinic system. Operating out of ''Gaa-zhiigwanaabikokaag'' is Grand Casino Hinckley and their various enterprises, including a golf course, RV park and a concert hall.

Urban Area

The Urban Area of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is a special services district serving the large number of

living in the

Twin Cities Twin cities are a special case of two neighboring cities or urban centres that grow into a single conurbation – or narrowly separated urban areas – over time. There are no formal criteria, but twin cities are generally comparable in stat ...

urban area. Originally in the Band's statutes, the urban area was established and defined as being Anoka, Hennepin and Ramsey Counties, providing

TANF Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF ) is a federal assistance program of the United States. It began on July 1, 1997, and succeeded the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, providing cash assistance to indigent Ame ...

services to Band members in those three counties. While TANF services are still at the core for services provided to Band members living in the urban area, the Urban Area has grown in providing other tribal supportive services, before available only on the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation proper. With a cooperative agreement with the city of

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

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 Urban Area provides affordable rental housing units to eligible low-income Band members.

Demographics

As of the census of 2020, the combined population of Mille Lacs Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land was 4,767. 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 3,208 housing units at an average density of . The reservation has a significant non-native population due in part to the allotment and sale of Ojibwe lands in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. In 2020, the racial makeup of the reservation and off-reservation trust land was 60.6%

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 ...

, 31.8% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.3%

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 ...

, 0.9% from other races, and 6.2% from two or more races. Ethnically, the population was 2.7%

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.

Communities

Though only nine communities are cited in the Band's statutes, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe has ten formal communities and additional six informal communities. Ten formal communities: * Vineland,

(Nay-ah-shing 'Neyaashiing'' * Isle,

(Chi-mini-sing 'Chi-minising'' * East Lake,

(Mi-ni-si-na-kwang 'Minisinaakwaang'' * Minnewawa,

(''Chi-manoominikaang'') * Sandy Lake,

(Ga-me-ta-wa-ga-gi-mog 'Gaa-mitaawangaagamaag'' *

(A-sin-ni-ga-ning 'Asiniikaaning'' * Lake Lena,

(Ah-sho-moog 'Aazhoomog'' *

(Ga-shi-gwa-na-bi-go-gog 'Gaa-zhiigwanaabikokaag'' * Pine City,

(Ne-shi-gwa-go-gog 'Ne-zhingwaakokaag'' *The

(''Gichi-oodenaang'') Six informal communities: *

Brainerd, Minnesota Brainerd ( ) is a city and the county seat of Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. Its population was 14,395 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Brainerd straddles the Mississippi River several miles upstream from its confluen ...

(''Oshki-oodenaang'') * Onamia, Minnesota (''Gibaakwa'igaansing'') * Cove, Minnesota (''Wiikwegamaang'') * Wahkon, Minnesota (''Zaagawaamikaag-wiidwedong'') *

Moose Lake, Minnesota Moose Lake is a city in Carlton County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 2,789 at the 2020 census. Interstate 35, State Highways 27 and 73, County 10, and County 61 are the main routes in Moose Lake. Moose Lake State Park i ...

(''Mooz-eskani-zaaga'iganiing'') *

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

(''Onigamiinsing'')

Education

The tribal school is Nay Ah Shing School, with the Abinoojiiyag School (Nay Ah Shing Lower School) and Nay Ah Shing Upper School at the Vineland Campus, and Pine Grove Academy at the Lake Lena Campus. In East Lake, the tribe operates Minisinaakwaang Leadership Academy, a Minnesota charter school. Significant number of tribe's children also attend public schools in communities in and around the Indian Reservation.

References

External links

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
{{authority control Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe American Indian reservations in Minnesota Anishinaabe reservations and tribal-areas in the United States Ojibwe reserves and reservations Populated places in Aitkin County, Minnesota Populated places in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota Populated places in Pine County, Minnesota Populated places in Kanabec County, Minnesota Populated places in Crow Wing County, Minnesota Populated places in Morrison County, Minnesota Populated places in Otter Tail County, Minnesota