Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
Encyclopedia
Ojibwe language
Ojibwe , also called Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of the Algonquian language family. Ojibwe is characterized by a series of dialects that have local names and frequently local writing systems...
, meaning "Lake Superior Men at the far end of the Great Lake") is an Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe
Anishinaabe or Anishinabe—or more properly Anishinaabeg or Anishinabek, which is the plural form of the word—is the autonym often used by the Odawa, Ojibwe, and Algonquin peoples. They all speak closely related Anishinaabemowin/Anishinaabe languages, of the Algonquian language family.The meaning...
(Ojibwa
Ojibwa
The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...
) band located near Cloquet, Minnesota
Cloquet, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,201 people, 4,636 households, and 2,967 families residing in the city. The population density was 317.9 people per square mile . There were 4,805 housing units at an average density of 136.4 per square mile...
. Their land-base is the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation
Fond du Lac Indian Reservation
The Fond du Lac Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in northern Minnesota near Cloquet in Carlton and St. Louis counties, with off-reservation holdings in Douglas County in Wisconsin...
(Ojibwe language: Nagaajiwanaang), located mainly in Carlton
Carlton County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 31,671 people, 12,064 households, and 8,408 families residing in the county. The population density was 37 people per square mile . There were 13,721 housing units at an average density of 16 per square mile...
and St. Louis County, Minnesota
St. Louis County, Minnesota
St. Louis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 200,226. Its county seat is Duluth. It is the largest county by total area in Minnesota, and the second largest in the United States east of the Mississippi River; in land area alone, after Aroostook...
, 20 miles west of Duluth.
History
Originally located along the lower-courses of the St. Louis RiverSaint Louis River
The St. Louis River is a river in the U.S. states of Minnesota and Wisconsin that flows into Lake Superior. The largest U.S. river to flow into the lake, it is 179 miles in length and starts near Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota. The river's watershed is in area...
where the cities of Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
and Superior, Wisconsin
Superior, Wisconsin
Superior is a city in and the county seat of Douglas County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 26,960 at the 2010 census. Located at the junction of U.S. Highways 2 and 53, it is north of and adjacent to both the Village of Superior and the Town of Superior.Superior is at the western...
now stand, the Wayekwaa-gichigamiing controlled the river access to the both the St. Louis River and the Nemadji River
Nemadji River
The Nemadji River is a river rising in Pine County, Minnesota, United States, which flows through Carlton County, Minnesota and Douglas County, Wisconsin to Lake Superior...
, both a major trade-route during the Fur Trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
. In the same area is Spirit Island of the "Sixth Stopping Place", one of the former seven Anishinaabe administrative centers.
The Fond du Lac Band's regional economic influence helped establish the American Fur Company
American Fur Company
The American Fur Company was founded by John Jacob Astor in 1808. The company grew to monopolize the fur trade in the United States by 1830, and became one of the largest businesses in the country. The company was one the first great trusts in American business...
's trading post in what now is the Fond du Lac neighbourhood of Duluth
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
. Two different Treaties of Fond du Lac
Treaty of Fond du Lac
The Treaty of Fond du Lac may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in Duluth, Minnesota between the United States and the Ojibwe Native American peoples.-1826 Treaty of Fond du Lac:...
were hosted by the Fond du Lac Band.
Today
Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is one of six members of the Minnesota Chippewa TribeMinnesota Chippewa Tribe
The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe is a centralized government for six Chippewa bands in the U.S. state of Minnesota. It was created on June 18, 1934, and the organization and its constitution were recognized by the Secretary of the Interior two years later on July 24, 1936...
(MCT). The tribal government has its own license plates. In the 2000 census
United States Census, 2000
The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...
, the reservation recorded a population of 3,728 people and in July, 2007, MCT reported 4,044 people enrolled through Fond du Lac. The largest community on the reservation is the city of Cloquet
Cloquet, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,201 people, 4,636 households, and 2,967 families residing in the city. The population density was 317.9 people per square mile . There were 4,805 housing units at an average density of 136.4 per square mile...
, although only the relatively sparsely populated western half of the city is on reservation land; that part has a population of 1,204 persons out of the city's total of 11,201. The only community completely on the reservation is Brookston
Brookston, Minnesota
Brookston is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States; located along the Saint Louis River, opposite the mouth of the Artichoke River. It serves as one of three administrative centers for the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation. The population was 141 at the 2010 census.Brookston is...
, at the reservation's northern end.
The tribe operates two casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
s, the Fond du Luth Casino in Duluth (profits are shared with the city), and the Black Bear Casino and Hotel on the reservation.
Government
The revised Constitution and By-Laws of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe were approved by the Secretary of Interior on March 3, 1964. The governing body of the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation is the Reservation Business Committee, which is composed of a Chairman, Secretary-Treasurer, and three Representatives: one from District I (CloquetCloquet, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 11,201 people, 4,636 households, and 2,967 families residing in the city. The population density was 317.9 people per square mile . There were 4,805 housing units at an average density of 136.4 per square mile...
), one from District II (Sawyer
Sawyer, Minnesota
Sawyer is an unincorporated community in Atkinson Township, Carlton County, Minnesota, United States.The community is located between Carlton and Cromwell on Minnesota State Highway 210. Sawyer is located within the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation...
) and one from District III (Brookston
Brookston, Minnesota
Brookston is a city in Saint Louis County, Minnesota, United States; located along the Saint Louis River, opposite the mouth of the Artichoke River. It serves as one of three administrative centers for the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation. The population was 141 at the 2010 census.Brookston is...
). All are elected to four-year terms on a staggered basis with the Chairman and Secretary-Treasurer also serving as members of the Executive Committee of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
The current members of the Reservation Business Committee are:
- Chairwoman: Karen R. Diver
- Secretary/Treasurer: Ferdinand Martineau Jr.
- District-I Representative: Wally Dupuis
- District-II Representative: Sandy Shabiash
- District-III Representative: Mary Northrup
Official Address
- Address: Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa
1720 Big Lake Road
Cloquet, MN 55720 - Phone: (218) 879-4593
- Fax: (218) 879-4146
- Website: http://www.fdlrez.com
Notable Fond du Lac Citizens
- Esther Nahgahnub Grandmother, Activist, Writer
- Jim NorthrupJim Northrup (writer)Jim Northrup is an Anishinaabe newspaper columnist, poet, performer and political commentator from the Fond du Lac Indian Reservation in Minnesota...
- Author, "Fond du Lac Follies" columnist, and Vietnam War veteran - Jeff Savage - Artist
- Karen Savage Blue - Artist
- Thomas David PetiteThomas David PetiteThomas David Petite is an American inventor and is best known for being one of the five early key inventors of Wireless ad hoc network or Wireless Mesh, Technology. He is Native American and a member of the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa tribe...
- Inventor
External links
- Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa - Official tribal government website
- Bemaadizing: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Indigenous Life (An online journal)