General Information about the Leech Lake Reservation

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The Greater Leech Lake Reservation was established through several treaties and Executive Orders. The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe (LLBO) was organized pursuant to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and is a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. Jurisdiction over reservation matters is vested in the five-member Reservation Tribal Council (RTC), which includes the Chairman, Secretary/Treasurer and a Representative from three political districts.

Located in rural north central Minnesota, the Leech Lake Reservation is approximately 1,050 square miles covering an area of 677,099 acres, nearly all of which is covered by the Chippewa National Forest. Today, only 7% of the original acreage remains in Indian ownership.

Located in Minnesota’s northwoods, the Leech Lake Reservation offers an oasis of resplendent natural beauty. Towering pines fringe the many lakes of the Reservation. Wild rice beds, deep forests, and shimmering lakes, two of which are among the largest in the state, abound within the Reservation. Winter is the longest season in this region with snow cover evident from October to April. The other seasons exist for varying lengths of time with temperatures ranging from 95+ degrees to close to –100 with wind chill.

Tar and gravel roads link all of the 14 scattered communities that are separated by distances of 20 to 80 miles. Our communities include: Cass Lake, Sugar Bush/Ten Lake, Mission, Cass River, Oak Point, Kego Lake/Smokey Point, Onigum, Bena, Sugar Point, Ball Club, Winnie Dam, Inger, “S” Lake, and Deer River. The reservation’s rural location, climate and size contribute to the difficulty encountered in the delivery of services to residents.

The majority of reservation members live on or near the town site of Cass Lake, where the RTC Administrative offices are located. Cass Lake is also home to the Leech Lake Tribal College, Cass Lake Service Unit-Indian Health Service hospital/outpatient clinic, and headquarters of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. The Bureau of Indian Affairs-Minnesota Agency is located 14 miles away in Bemidji, Minnesota.

A total of 17 Local Indian Councils (LICs), including one that represents our Minneapolis/St. Paul urban population, serve in an advisory capacity to the Tribal Council. The Local Indian Councils operate under a common set of By-laws and are comprised of elected board members. Eleven communities have Community Centers for meetings and other events. The RTC also offers a wide range of services within the outlying communities, particularly health care services and a wide range of services to the elderly.

Currently, the LLBO employs 2,265 individuals within the RTC Administrative, Tribal Businesses, Housing Authority and Gaming Divisions. LLBO owns and operates three casinos. Casino shuttle service provides integral support reservation-wide by providing a no-cost commuter service for their employees and community members in outlying areas.

Our current enrollment as of August 2004 is 8,855, The 2000 Census states that within the boundaries of the Leech Lake Reservation: Native Americans comprise 45% of the entire reservation population or 4,849 of 10,205 residents.

On the Leech Lake Reservation there are 1,450 Native American households with an average of 3.35 household members; 28% of Native American children and 22% of all Native Americans on the reservation live below poverty. The Census further describes that 310 of those in the work force have no vehicle, 49 households lack complete plumbing facilities, and 255 do not have a telephone (2000 Census Bureau). In 1990, 40% of our reservation population over the age of 25 had no high school diploma (Northwest Area Foundation).

The Reservation communities have been characterized by a high percentage of low and moderate-income families, high unemployment, significant alcoholism and drug related crime and family abuse; a high birth rate and a growing population base that can be directly traced to Indians moving back to the Reservation from metropolitan areas.

DEMOGRAPHICS FOR LEECH LAKE

In 2000, 20% of the children living in Cass County were living in poverty, 21% in Beltrami County and 14% in Itasca County. In 2002, 49% of the children in Cass County received free/reduced price lunch with 47% in Beltrami County and 36% in Itasca County. In 2002, 7% of the children dropped out of school in Cass County, 4% in Beltrami County and 5% in Itasca County (According to the Cass Lake-Bena school district, in the 1970’s the district drop out rate among Indian children was 60% or more). In 2002, 10 out of 1,000 children were arrested for a serious crime in Cass County, 26 out of 1,000 in Beltrami County. To properly meet a minimum cost of living for a family of four, an income of $41,000 is necessary in all counties. In 2002, there were 870 children in out of home placements within the Cass, Beltrami and Itasca Counties (Minnesota Kids County 2004).

Research has shown that a woman giving birth to a FASD child is 70% more likely to give birth to another FASD child and about 10% of birth mothers have them in their care (MN Organization on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome 2004).

According to the Cass County Children’s Service in 2003-2004, they have been seeing children as young as 7 years old addicted to drugs and alcohol. No treatment program in the State offers services to children that young.

In the Cass Lake-Bena School District, one half of the 2002 graduating class received help for problems with grades, behavior or substance abuse.

According to a 2003 report published in the Journal of American Medical Association, children on a Cherokee reservation in North Carolina behave better as the reservation rose out of poverty. Over time they stole less, bullied less and demonstrated fewer psychological problems.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs lists the Leech Lake unemployment rate at 26% and it is said that this rate climbs higher during the winter months.

According to Tom Heffelfinger, U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, that if you are an Indian on a reservation, your chances of being a victim of violent crime are two a half times greater than the general population. He has found that drugs, people and guns were moving back and forth between Minnesota’s 11 reservations and the Twin Cities.