St. Croix Chippewa Indians
Encyclopedia
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. state
s of Wisconsin
and Minnesota
. Majority of the St. Croix Band are divided into two groups: the Federally recognized St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
, and the non-Federally recognized St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Minnesota that forms one of four constituent members forming the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
.
peoples. In turn, the Biitan-akiing-enabijig were a sub-Nation of the Gichigamiwininiwag (Lake Superior Men)
.
The St. Croix Band arrived in the area nearly 600 years ago when directed to move southward from Lake Superior
to "the place where there is food upon the waters." In establishing a presence in the St. Croix River valley and its tributaries, the St. Croix Band entered into fierce territorial dispute with the Dakota
and the Fox, though eight other Native American Tribes were located in the St. Croix River Valley. To this day in the Ojibwe language
, the headwaters of the St. Croix River is called "Manoominikeshiinyag-ziibi" (Ricing Rail River), the St. Croix River below the confluence of the Namekegon River as "Gichi-ziibi" (Big River) and below the confluence of Trade River as "Jiibayaatigo-ziibi" (Grave-marker River). The name "St. Croix River" was based on the "Jiibayaatigo-ziibi" name of the river.
St. Croix Band was originally divided into the following sub-bands:
Due to the inter-relationship to the Dakota
peoples, the Knife, Rice, Rush, Snake, Sunrise and Apple River Bands were considered equally Dakota as Ojibwe. Consequently, citizens from these Bands may have had Dakota names, many were of the Ma'iingan (Wolf) Doodem, and Chiefs, such as Shak'pi
signed treaties both as Ojibwe and as Dakota.
(1837), also known as the "White Pine Treat" that paved the way for lumbermen to access the great number of White pine
growing along the St. Croix River
watershed. This treaty assured the signatory Tribes would be able to continue to enjoy traditional hunting, fishing and gathering practices. After the Sandy Lake Tragedy
in the autumn and winter of 1850, the St. Croix Band and other Ojibwe bands, with public support and outcry through-out the United States
, were spared from the Indian removal
policy. Instead, the St. Croix Band and other bands again went into treaty negotiations for establishing a reservation
for each of the Ojibwe bands. Confident that the Tribe could maintain exercising their hunting, fishing and gathering rights in the area ceded to the United States in 1837, St. Croix Band did not agree to being located onto a reservation. Instead, the St. Croix Band found themselves losing their federal recognition in 1854 when omitted from the Treaty of La Pointe
. As a non-recognized tribe, the St. Croix Band was not allowed to exercise the rights protected under the Treaty of St. Peters.
In order to be paid annuities, the St. Croix Band members of Wisconsin were strongly urged to relocate to the Lac Courte Oreilles Indian Reservation; though many did relocate, just as many remained in the St. Croix valley. With the establishment of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation
in 1855, the remaining St. Croix Band members in Minnesota were also urged to relocate, and many did, but just as many remained.
With tensions between the lumbermen and the St. Croix Band, several St. Croix Band villages were removed to the Gull Lake Reservation near Brainerd, Minnesota
. The Rice River Band of the St. Croix Band was then absorbed by the Rice Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa.
in 1862 in what is now referred as the "Dakota War of 1862
." Many Ojibwe bands, including the St. Croix Band members relocated onto the Gull Lake Reservation and the St. Croix Band members living with the Rice Lake Band members awaiting for the establishment of an Indian Reservation
joined the Dakota people to support their efforts. However, the Dakota peoples were defeated by the United States and the allies to the Dakota were severely punished by the United States
. The St. Croix Band members living in the St. Croix River valley watched their removed counterparts first relocated to the vicinity surrounding the Leech Lake Indian Reservation
, then to a more distant place now known as the White Earth Indian Reservation
.
returned to east-central Minnesota
, settling about on the south side of Sandy Lake, just north of McGregor, Minnesota
. A small group of Rice River Band of St. Croix Band who returned with them established the Minisinaakwaang Village at East Lake, Minnesota located south of McGregor, Minnesota
.
In 1934, under the Indian Reorganization Act
, St. Croix Band in Wisconsin re-gained their full federal recognition, under the name St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
. The Minisinaakwaang Village, Lake Lena Village, Kettle River and Snake River communities of the St. Croix Band in Minnesota became part of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
when the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
was established. Today, the St. Croix Band communities in Minnesota form the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation
District III, located primarily in Pine County, Minnesota
, while the Minisinaakwaang Village serves as the government center for the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation
District II.
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...
: Manoominikeshiinyag, the "Ricing Rails") are a historical Band of Ojibwe located along the St. Croix River
St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota)
The St. Croix River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The lower of the river form the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota. The river is a National Scenic Riverway under the protection of the National Park Service. A...
, which forms the boundary between the U.S. state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
s of Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
. Majority of the St. Croix Band are divided into two groups: the Federally recognized St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
The St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin are a Federally recognized Indian Tribe, located in northwestern Wisconsin, along the St. Croix River valley and watershed.-History:...
, and the non-Federally recognized St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Minnesota that forms one of four constituent members forming the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe , also known as the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians or the Mille Lacs Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, is an Ojibwa tribe located in Minnesota. The tribe boasts 3,942 tribal members as of July, 2007...
.
History
The Manoominikeshiinyag were one of the three major Bands forming the Biitan-akiing-enabijig (Border Sitters) due to their proximity to the DakotaSioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
peoples. In turn, the Biitan-akiing-enabijig were a sub-Nation of the Gichigamiwininiwag (Lake Superior Men)
Lake Superior Chippewa
The Lake Superior Chippewa were a historical band of Ojibwe Indians living around Lake Superior in what is now the northern parts of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.-Origins:...
.
The St. Croix Band arrived in the area nearly 600 years ago when directed to move southward from Lake Superior
Lake Superior
Lake Superior is the largest of the five traditionally-demarcated Great Lakes of North America. It is bounded to the north by the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of Minnesota, and to the south by the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Michigan. It is the largest freshwater lake in the...
to "the place where there is food upon the waters." In establishing a presence in the St. Croix River valley and its tributaries, the St. Croix Band entered into fierce territorial dispute with the Dakota
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
and the Fox, though eight other Native American Tribes were located in the St. Croix River Valley. To this day in the Ojibwe language
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...
, the headwaters of the St. Croix River is called "Manoominikeshiinyag-ziibi" (Ricing Rail River), the St. Croix River below the confluence of the Namekegon River as "Gichi-ziibi" (Big River) and below the confluence of Trade River as "Jiibayaatigo-ziibi" (Grave-marker River). The name "St. Croix River" was based on the "Jiibayaatigo-ziibi" name of the river.
St. Croix Band was originally divided into the following sub-bands:
- Apple River Band
- Clam River Band
- Kettle River Band
- Knife River Band
- Rice River Band
- Rush River Band
- Snake River Band
- Sunrise River Band
- Tamarack River Band
- Totogatic River Band
- Wolf River Band
- Wood River Band
- Yellow River Band
Due to the inter-relationship to the Dakota
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
peoples, the Knife, Rice, Rush, Snake, Sunrise and Apple River Bands were considered equally Dakota as Ojibwe. Consequently, citizens from these Bands may have had Dakota names, many were of the Ma'iingan (Wolf) Doodem, and Chiefs, such as Shak'pi
Chief Shakopee
Chief Shakopee may refer to any of the three Mdewakanton Dakota chiefs who lived in the early 19th century. The name comes from the Dakota Shák'pí meaning "Six".-Shakopee I:...
signed treaties both as Ojibwe and as Dakota.
Division
The St. Croix Band are signatories to the Treaty of St. PetersTreaty of St. Peters
Treaty of St. Peters may be one of two treaties conducted between the United States and Native American peoples, conducted at the confluence of the Minnesota River with the Mississippi River, in what today is Mendota, Minnesota....
(1837), also known as the "White Pine Treat" that paved the way for lumbermen to access the great number of White pine
Eastern White Pine
Pinus strobus, commonly known as the eastern white pine, is a large pine native to eastern North America, occurring from Newfoundland west to Minnesota and southeastern Manitoba, and south along the Appalachian Mountains to the northern edge of Georgia.It is occasionally known as simply white pine,...
growing along the St. Croix River
St. Croix River (Wisconsin-Minnesota)
The St. Croix River is a tributary of the Mississippi River, approximately long, in the U.S. states of Wisconsin and Minnesota. The lower of the river form the border between Wisconsin and Minnesota. The river is a National Scenic Riverway under the protection of the National Park Service. A...
watershed. This treaty assured the signatory Tribes would be able to continue to enjoy traditional hunting, fishing and gathering practices. After the Sandy Lake Tragedy
Sandy Lake Tragedy
The Sandy Lake Tragedy was the culmination of a series of events centered in Sandy Lake, Minnesota, that resulted in the deaths in 1850 of several hundred Lake Superior Chippewa. Officials of the Zachary Taylor Administration and Minnesota Territory sought to relocate several bands of the tribe to...
in the autumn and winter of 1850, the St. Croix Band and other Ojibwe bands, with public support and outcry through-out the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, were spared from the Indian removal
Indian Removal
Indian removal was a nineteenth century policy of the government of the United States to relocate Native American tribes living east of the Mississippi River to lands west of the river...
policy. Instead, the St. Croix Band and other bands again went into treaty negotiations for establishing a reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
for each of the Ojibwe bands. Confident that the Tribe could maintain exercising their hunting, fishing and gathering rights in the area ceded to the United States in 1837, St. Croix Band did not agree to being located onto a reservation. Instead, the St. Croix Band found themselves losing their federal recognition in 1854 when omitted from the Treaty of La Pointe
Treaty of La Pointe
The Treaty of La Pointe may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in La Pointe, Wisconsin between the United States and the Ojibwe Native American peoples...
. As a non-recognized tribe, the St. Croix Band was not allowed to exercise the rights protected under the Treaty of St. Peters.
In order to be paid annuities, the St. Croix Band members of Wisconsin were strongly urged to relocate to the Lac Courte Oreilles Indian Reservation; though many did relocate, just as many remained in the St. Croix valley. With the establishment of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation
Mille Lacs Indian Reservation
Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is the land-base for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Central Minnesota, about 100 miles north of Minneapolis-St. Paul...
in 1855, the remaining St. Croix Band members in Minnesota were also urged to relocate, and many did, but just as many remained.
With tensions between the lumbermen and the St. Croix Band, several St. Croix Band villages were removed to the Gull Lake Reservation near Brainerd, Minnesota
Brainerd, Minnesota
Brainerd is a city in Crow Wing County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 13,590 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Crow Wing County and one of the largest cities in Central Minnesota...
. The Rice River Band of the St. Croix Band was then absorbed by the Rice Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa.
Dispersal
Due to repeated broken promises by the United States, the Dakota peoples voiced their anger toward the United States. With no sympathy given by their Indian Agent, the Dakota peoples declared war against the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1862 in what is now referred as the "Dakota War of 1862
Dakota War of 1862
The Dakota War of 1862, also known as the Sioux Uprising, was an armed conflict between the United States and several bands of the eastern Sioux. It began on August 17, 1862, along the Minnesota River in southwest Minnesota...
." Many Ojibwe bands, including the St. Croix Band members relocated onto the Gull Lake Reservation and the St. Croix Band members living with the Rice Lake Band members awaiting for the establishment of an Indian Reservation
Indian reservation
An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...
joined the Dakota people to support their efforts. However, the Dakota peoples were defeated by the United States and the allies to the Dakota were severely punished by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The St. Croix Band members living in the St. Croix River valley watched their removed counterparts first relocated to the vicinity surrounding the Leech Lake Indian Reservation
Leech Lake Indian Reservation
The Leech Lake Indian Reservation or Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag in the Ojibwe language, is an Native American reservation located in the north-central Minnesota counties of Cass, Itasca, Beltrami, and Hubbard. It is the land-base for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe...
, then to a more distant place now known as the White Earth Indian Reservation
White Earth Indian Reservation
The White Earth Indian Reservation is the home to the White Earth Nation, located in northwestern Minnesota. It is the largest Indian reservation in that state...
.
Re-establishment
By 1902, the Rice Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa removed to the White Earth Indian ReservationWhite Earth Indian Reservation
The White Earth Indian Reservation is the home to the White Earth Nation, located in northwestern Minnesota. It is the largest Indian reservation in that state...
returned to east-central Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, settling about on the south side of Sandy Lake, just north of McGregor, Minnesota
McGregor, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 404 people, 182 households, and 105 families residing in the city. The population density was 205.5 people per square mile . There were 199 housing units at an average density of 101.2 per square mile...
. A small group of Rice River Band of St. Croix Band who returned with them established the Minisinaakwaang Village at East Lake, Minnesota located south of McGregor, Minnesota
McGregor, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 404 people, 182 households, and 105 families residing in the city. The population density was 205.5 people per square mile . There were 199 housing units at an average density of 101.2 per square mile...
.
In 1934, under the Indian Reorganization Act
Indian Reorganization Act
The Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 the Indian New Deal, was U.S. federal legislation that secured certain rights to Native Americans, including Alaska Natives...
, St. Croix Band in Wisconsin re-gained their full federal recognition, under the name St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin
The St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin are a Federally recognized Indian Tribe, located in northwestern Wisconsin, along the St. Croix River valley and watershed.-History:...
. The Minisinaakwaang Village, Lake Lena Village, Kettle River and Snake River communities of the St. Croix Band in Minnesota became part of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe , also known as the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians or the Mille Lacs Band of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, is an Ojibwa tribe located in Minnesota. The tribe boasts 3,942 tribal members as of July, 2007...
when the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe
Minnesota 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...
was established. Today, the St. Croix Band communities in Minnesota form the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation
Mille Lacs Indian Reservation
Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is the land-base for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Central Minnesota, about 100 miles north of Minneapolis-St. Paul...
District III, located primarily in Pine County, Minnesota
Pine County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 26,530 people, 9,939 households, and 6,917 families residing in the county. The population density was 19 people per square mile . There were 15,353 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile...
, while the Minisinaakwaang Village serves as the government center for the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation
Mille Lacs Indian Reservation
Mille Lacs Indian Reservation is the land-base for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in Central Minnesota, about 100 miles north of Minneapolis-St. Paul...
District II.