The St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin (or the St. Croix Band for short) are a

federally recognized tribe This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

people located in northwestern Wisconsin, along the St. Croix River valley and watershed. The band had 1,054 members as of 2010.

History

St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin is the eastern half of the historic

St. Croix Chippewa Indians The St. Croix Chippewa Indians (Ojibwe language: ''Manoominikeshiinyag'', the "Ricing Rails") are a historical Band of Ojibwe located along the St. Croix River, which forms the boundary between the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The majo ...

who lost federal recognition in 1854. St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin re-gained their federal recognition under the

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 western half of the historical tribe, the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Minnesota, are non-Federally recognized component of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Due to loss of Federal recognition in 1854, as one of two successors apparent of the historical St. Croix Chippewa Indians, the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin do not have a contiguous

Indian Reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

Government

The St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin is a federally recognized tribe governed by a five-member council elected for two-year terms. The Tribal Council is responsible for the general welfare of tribal members and the management of day-to-day tribal business. The Council is governed by the tribal constitution and by-laws, which were originally ratified in 1934 under the Indian Reorganization Act. The tribal headquarters is located on the Sand Lake Reservation Community, which is one mile (1.6 km) west of the unincorporated community of Hertel, Wisconsin.

Economic enterprises

The Tribe operates the ''St. Croix Casino'' enterprise of three casinos. "St. Croix Casino Turtle Lake", formally known as St. Croix Casino & Hotel in Turtle Lake, Wisconsin, "St. Croix Casino Hertel", formally known as "Little Turtle" Hertel Express Casino in Hertel, and "St. Croix Casino Danbury", formally known as ''St. Croix Casino and Hotel Danbury'' in Danbury. As of 2010, the St. Croix Band was the largest employer in

Burnett County, Wisconsin Burnett County is a county located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census, the population was 16,526. Its county seat is Siren, with the majority of county governmental services located at the Burnett County Government Center. T ...

Reservation

The St. Croix Indian Reservation is not a contiguous

Indian reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

in the typical sense, but instead consists of small disconnected tracts of land placed into federal reservation or off-reservation trust land status. The tracts represent communities made up of families who have frequently lived in the same vicinity for generations. The reservation communities are scattered, with about being the longest distance between any two of them. The five major communities are Sand Lake,

Danbury Danbury is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located approximately northeast of New York City. Danbury's population as of 2022 was 87,642. It is the seventh largest city in Connecticut. Danbury is nicknamed the "Hat City ...

, Round Lake, Maple Plain, and Gaslyn. They occupy land in Barron, Burnett, and

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places *Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missouri ...

counties. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the band's combined reservation and off-reservation trust land have a total area of 3.81 square miles (9.86km²), of which 3.71 square miles (9.6km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26km²) is water. The combined population of St. Croix Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land was 765 at the 2020 census, including 442 in Burnett County, 185 in Polk County, and 138 in Barron County.

Notes

References

* Warren, William W. ''History of the Ojibway People''. Borealis Books (St. Paul, MN: 1984).
St. Croix Reservation and Off-Reservation Trust Land, Wisconsin
United States Census Bureau * Treuer, Anton
Living Our Language: Ojibwe Tales & Oral Histories.
St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2001.

External links

St. Croix Chippewa Indians of WisconsinSt. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
information regarding the fisheries operated by the St. Croix Band
St. Croix Band Demographics
{{authority control Ojibwe in the United States Saint Croix Chippewa Saint Croix Chippewa Saint Croix Chippewa Saint Croix Chippewa Saint Croix Chippewa Saint Croix Chippewa Saint Croix Chippewa Saint Croix Chippewa da:Chippewa-indianere hr:Manoominikeshiinyag