White Earth Indian Reservation
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...
) is the home to the White Earth Nation
White Earth Band of Ojibwe
The White Earth Band of Ojibwe, or Gaa-waabaabiganikaag Anishinaabeg, is a Native American tribe located in northwestern Minnesota. The tribe's land-based home is the White Earth Indian Reservation...
, located in northwestern 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...
. It is the largest 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...
in that state
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...
. The reservation stretches across all of Mahnomen County
Mahnomen County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,190 people, 1,969 households, and 1,366 families residing in the county. The population density was 9 people per square mile . There were 2,700 housing units at an average density of 5 per square mile...
, plus parts of Becker
Becker County, Minnesota
Becker County is a county located in the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 32,504. Its county seat is Detroit Lakes. A portion of the White Earth Indian Reservation extends into the county.-History:...
and Clearwater
Clearwater County, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 8,423 people, 3,330 households, and 2,287 families residing in the county. The population density was 8 people per square mile . There were 4,114 housing units at an average density of 4 per square mile...
counties in the northwest part of the state, along the Wild Rice
Wild Rice River (Minnesota)
The Wild Rice River is a tributary of the Red River of the North in northwestern Minnesota in the United States. It is long. Via the Red River, Lake Winnipeg and the Nelson River, it is part of the watershed of Hudson Bay...
and White Earth
White Earth River (Minnesota)
The White Earth River is a tributary of the Wild Rice River of northwestern Minnesota in the United States. Via the Wild Rice River, the Red River of the North, Lake Winnipeg, and the Nelson River, it is part of the Hudson Bay watershed...
Rivers. It is about 225 miles (362 km) from Minneapolis-St. Paul and roughly 65 miles (105 km) from Fargo-Moorhead
Fargo-Moorhead
Fargo-Moorhead is a common name given to the metropolitan area comprising Fargo, North Dakota, Moorhead, Minnesota, and the surrounding communities. These two cities lie on the North Dakota-Minnesota border, on opposite banks of the Red River of the North...
. Community members often prefer to self-identify themselves as 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...
instead of Ojibwe or Chippewa. The reservation's land area is 1,093 sq mi (2,831 km²), which held a population of 9,192 residents as of 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 White Earth Indian Reservation is a member of 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...
. The reservation issues its own license plates to vehicles.
Chief White Cloud
Wabanquot (Chippewa chief)
Wabanquot, Wabonaquod, Wah-bon-ah-quot, Wau-bon-a-quat or Wa-bon-o-quot was an Ojibwa chief.-Biography:Wabanquot was born at Gull Lake, Minnesota, around 1830...
, a Gull Lake Mississippi Chippewa, and Chief Fine Day of the Removable Mille Lacs Indians
Mille Lacs Indians
The Mille Lacs Indians are a Band of Indians formed from the unification of the Mille Lacs Band of Mississippi Chippewa with the Mille Lacs Band of Mdewakanton Sioux...
, were among the first people to move to White Earth in 1868.
The reservation originally covered 1,300 square miles (3,400 km²), but much of the community's land was improperly sold or seized by outside interests, including the U.S. federal government, in the late 19th century and early 20th century. This was largely due to the Dawes Act of 1887 and Nelson Act of 1889
Nelson Act of 1889
The Nelson Act of 1889 was a United States federal law intended to relocate Anishinaabe people in Minnesota to the White Earth Indian Reservation and expropriate their remaining lands....
, which allowed land to be divided up. In the latter half of the 20th century, state and county land was transferred to the reservation in compensation. Also, in 1989, Winona LaDuke
Winona LaDuke
Winona LaDuke is a Native American activist, environmentalist, economist, and writer. In 1996 and 2000, she ran for vice president as the nominee of the United States Green Party, on a ticket headed by Ralph Nader. In the 2004 election, however, she endorsed one of Nader's opponents, Democratic...
formed the White Earth Land Recovery Project
White Earth Land Recovery Project
The White Earth Land Recovery Project is a nonprofit organization that seeks to recover land for the Anishinaabeg people on the White Earth Indian Reservation in Minnesota...
, which has slowly been pushing for the recovery of more land. The project claims that only 10% of the reservation's land is owned by tribal members.
A 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...
is operated by the community, the Shooting Star Casino and Hotel in Mahnomen, Minnesota
Mahnomen, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 1,202 people, 532 households, and 311 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,252.9 people per square mile . There were 576 housing units at an average density of 600.4 per square mile . The racial makeup of the city was 74.29% White,...
. It is said to be the largest employer in the region.
External links
- White Earth Reservation
- White Earth Land Recovery Project
- "White Earth" at Minnesota Indian Affairs Council
- http://cdm.csbsju.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISORESTMP=results.php&CISOVIEWTMP=item_viewer.php&CISOMODE=grid&CISOGRID=thumbnail,A,1;identi,A,1;title,A,0;date,200,0;none,A,0;20;identi,none,none,none,none&CISOBIB=identi,A,1,N;title,A,0,N;date,200,0,N;none,A,0,N;none,A,0,N;20;identi,none,none,none,none&CISOTHUMB=20%20(4x5);identi,none,none,none,none&CISOTITLE=20;identi,none,none,none,none&CISOHIERA=20;title,identi,none,none,none&CISOSUPPRESS=0&CISOTYPE=link&CISOOP1=exact&CISOFIELD1=identi&CISOBOX1=&CISOOP2=exact&CISOFIELD2=title&CISOBOX2=white+earth&CISOOP3=exact&CISOFIELD3=creato&CISOBOX3=&CISOOP4=exact&CISOFIELD4=CISOSEARCHALL&CISOBOX4=&c=exact&CISOROOT=%2FSBMArchival Images of White Earth Mission from the Saint Benedict's Monastery Archives]