Leach Lake Ojibwe

Ojibwe Leech Lake

1. Historical information about the culture

Livelihoods were holistic for the Indians before the arrival of Europeans (Graves & Ebbott, 2006). There was a strong belief in the interconnectedness of the spiritual and physical worlds and groups operated by consensus. They were and are sovereign. Graves and Ebbott (2006) in their book about Indians in Minnesota state: “Indians lived life at a deliberate, patient pace, synchronized with the rhythms of nature….Sharing and stressing the group over the individual were necessary to maintain the group’s existence” (p. 1). This affected the Indian’s relationship to the land.
Europeans had a different outlook about property. For them it is about ownership, and so the treaty processes began because the newcomers wanted vast quantities of acreage. Predating the U.S. Constitution, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 regulated settlement in the northern Midwest, which included a major portion of Minnesota. It stated, “…the utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians…” (Graves & Ebbott, 2006, p. 13). Article IX of the Constitution gave Congress the rights in 1789 to manage affairs with the Indians.
The government thought it would be more efficient to make a few treaties with a band of native peoples instead of with each individual autonomous village. Indians did not look at themselves as smaller groups within a band and did not use a word for that concept, however in Minnesota, the U.S. government “summoned numerous chiefs from many villages in a given area to a treaty conference and called them the chiefs of a certain band” (Treuer, 2012, pp. 11-12).
In 1855 a reservation was created in north central Minnesota for the villagers at Cass and Leech Lake, and Lake Winnibigoshish. The Indians ceded land and compensation came in the forms of goods such as powdered shot and lead, twine, tobacco, grubbing hoes and tools, adjustment settlement fees, and funds towards improvement and welfare of the tribe and for road construction (www.accessgenealogy.com/native/treaty-of-february-22-1855.htm).
In 1864 the Leech Lake Reservation was established, then further treaties nine and ten years later expanded and consolidated the reservation (Graves & Ebbott, 2006). It is fifty-three miles west of Grand Rapids and fourteen miles east of Bemidji.
Enrollment in the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe stood at 8,219 in 1999. Statistics for that same year showed it owned 16,640 acres of tribal Land, 10,916 of individual lands, and nearly four acres of government land. This tribe holds the smallest percentage of its reservation of any of Minnesota’s tribes; county, state, and federal governments own well over half of the original reservation” (Graves & Ebbott, 2006, p. 36).
In 1971 the band was involved in one of the first major wild rice, hunting, and fishing cases in Minnesota. The federal judge determined that tribal members retained hunting and fishing rights within its boundaries (www.llojibwe.org). Another case confirming hunting and fishing rights occurred in 1999 when the court decided in favor of the Indians in Minnesota et al. v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians et al (Graves & Ebbotts, 2006).

References

Graves, K.D., & Ebbott, E. (2006). Indians in Minnesota. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press.

“The White Earth Reservation was created to be the home of all Ojibwa people” www.llojibwe.org/drm/subnav/llbohisotyr.html [Retrieved February 9, 2015].

Treuer, A. (2012). Everything you wanted to know about Indians but were afraid to ask. St. Paul, MN: Minnesota Historical Society Press.
www.accessgenealogy.com/native/treaty-of-february-22-1855.htm [Retrieved February 9, 2015].

2. Colonial experience of the culture

The first documented contact of the Ojibwe people was in the Relation of 1640 which was a report by French Jesuit Catholic missionaries exploring the Midwest. Soon after contact, amicable relations developed between the Jesuits and Ojibwe. The two groups established trade which led to the procurement of guns by the Ojibwe. At this point in time, the Ojibwe were enemies of Lakota, Fox and Souix tribes. With the European weapons, the Ojibwe managed to drive their enemies out and expand their territory from much of Ontario to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Northern Minnesota. (self.gutenberg.org)
               Eventually European settlers from the British colonies began to migrate west; encroaching upon the Ojibwe territory. Attempts were made on the part of the settlers to promote peace with the Natives. Treaties were drawn up which were called “Peace and Friendship Treaties”. Quickly, the Ojibwe realized that these treaties were actually meant to prevent their use of lands that were previously theirs. Subsequent treaties and agreements further disillusioned with the treatment by Europeans and by the time of the 1754 Seven Years War, the Ojibwe elected to unite with the French against the British. The British were victorious and ultimately gained control over nearly the entire territory of the Ojibwe. (Calloway 32)
Predating the U.S. Constitution, the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 regulated settlement in the northern Midwest, which included a major portion of Minnesota. It stated, “…the utmost good faith shall always be observed towards the Indians…” (Graves & Ebbott, 2006, p. 13). Article IX of the Constitution gave Congress the rights in 1789 to manage affairs with the Indians.
               The United States quickly broke its promise and with the Indian Removal Act of 1830 attempted to remove all Ojibwe from their settlements and transplant them to areas of Minnesota. In the Sandy Lake Tragedy several hundred Ojibwe perished. The Leech Lake Ojibwe are survivors who the government successfully lreocated to Leech Lake, MN. (self.gutenberg.org)
               Towards the middle part of the 1800’s tensions seemed to have cooled between the Ojibwe and negotiations over land and resource rights commenced. The government thought it would be more efficient to make a few treaties with a band of native peoples instead of with each individual autonomous village. Indians did not look at themselves as smaller groups within a band and did not use a word for that concept, however in Minnesota, the U.S. government “summoned numerous chiefs from many villages in a given area to a treaty conference and called them the chiefs of a certain band” (Treuer, 2012, pp. 11-12). The first treaty signed between Ojibwe bands and the United States was the Chippewa Treaty of 1837. This treaty was essentially a bill of sale of a large tract of land from the now State of Wisconsin. Seven treaties were subsequently signed with the Ojibwe until 1867, the latter few fine-tuning terms of the 1855 treaty creating the reservation. (Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe History)

References

"Chippewa." Chippewa. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://self.gutenberg.org/articles/Chippewa>.

Calloway, Colin G. The Scratch of a Pen: 1763 and the Transformation of North America. Oxford, England: Oxford UP, 2006. Print.

"Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe History." Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe History. Web. 12 Mar. 2015. <http://www.llojibwe.org/drm/subnav/llbohistory.html>.

3. Contemporary developments or issues

In the past the Leech Lake Ojibwe Tribe had its language and culture heavily suppressed by forcing Ojibwe youth off to a boarding school. Schooling for children served as an assimilation tool. They were sent far enough from home so that they could not run away and find their way back. Their clothing was burned and their hair was cut (Treuer, 2012). And just like Swedish immigrants to Minnesota in the last half of the 19th century, they were forbidden to speak their own language. Three generations of Indian children were removed from their families, sometimes for six years at a time, so that when they returned home they did not recognize their parents (Treuer, 2012). The Ojibwe are working to reverse some of the effects of this schooling by promoting their language because without their language they would lose a part of who they are. Some new parents are only speaking in Ojibwe to their children to help them learn (http://www.ojibwe.org/home/pdf/A_Treuer_Ojib_lang_Outtake.pdf). The Leech Lake band has also made learning the language part of the mission of their local radio station KOJB. On the KOJB website they have several language learning modules with important phrases for people to listen to and learn (http://www.kojb.org/learnOjibwe2.html). Furthermore, the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School was mainly created to be a language immersion school for the Ojibwe youth. The language is not taught at school like English may be, it is taught by its use as the main teaching language. As a result, students learn how to speak the language like they would have learned without writing it down and memorization (http://www.bugonaygeshig.org/niigaane). Finally, the Leech Lake Band is supporting its people to attend college because people with a “post-secondary education are more qualified to attain better paying jobs, increasing their standard of living which helps them raise their kids in a healthier environment with less poverty.” The Post Secondary Grant Program gives the Ojibwe funding if they want to attend a college (http://www.llojibwe.com).

The Leech Lake Band gets its money from the three casinos that it runs, private grants and almost 40% of it is government grants. The government grants are often the result of federal lobbying and it has made many projects possible like the Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School, road works, and many other wide reaching projects. The Northern Lights casino is working on an agreement with the Canterbury Park Holding Corporation to set up a horse race live broadcast station where they will be able to accept wagers on the races. They are anticipating that this will increase their revenue (http://www.llojibwe.com).

Health and human services are all carried out according to the philosophies and traditions of the Ojibwe Band. They have a wide variety of services that are provided with 25 different programs. The programs serve all members of the band. They are very active with their Diabetes Fitness Center because the disease affects many of them. There is a new Elder Assisted Living building that is being put up with the help of the Shakopee Mdwakanton Sioux Community (http://www.llojibwe.com).

References

http://www.bugonaygeshig.org/niigaane [retrieved March 11, 2015].

http://www.ojibwe.org/home/pdf/A_Treuer_Ojib_lang_Outtake.pdf [retrieved March 11, 2015].

http://www.kojb.org/learnOjibwe2.html [retrieved March 11, 2015].

http://www.llojibwe.com [retrieved March 11, 2015].