The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe is federally recognized and serves as a central organization for the member reservations. The original Constitution and By-laws of the Tribe were ratified by a two-thirds of the eligible members in 1936 following passage of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. The member Reservations of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe are:
Bois Forte Reservation - Nett Lake: located in Northeastern Minnesota on the Iron Range.
Fond du Lac Reservation - located near Duluth, MN.
Grand Portage Reservation - located in the Northeastern tip of the state on Lake Superior.
Leech Lake Reservation - located in the north central part of the state.
Mille Lacs Reservation - located one-hundred miles north of Minneapolis-St.Paul.
White Earth Reservation - located in north-western Minnesota between the headwaters of the Mississippi River and the North Dakota border.
The activities of government and services that occur within the range of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe are a functional link between Indian heritage, human need and Tribal sovereignty. From the constitutional and treaty basis of tribal government to the performance of employees, there is a continuous flow based on logical relationships.
Members of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, while at the same time full citizens of both the State of Minnesota and the United States of America, are also members of the sovereign tribes of the Anishinaabe people. The Minnesota Chippewa Reservations are dependent nations, possessing certain rights of sovereignty and property which are neither surrendered nor diminished by association with the U.S. Government.
The individual bands of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe are identified by distinct boundaries separate from the State of Minnesota. The unique culture of the people is often characterized by creeds, social structures and ways of life quite different from those who live outside of the Indian communities.
The Tribal Executive Committee, comprised of the elected Chairperson and Secretary/Treasurer of each member reservation, is the elected governing body of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. The common interests which link the sovereignty of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe together with the United States government include:
1) The Constitution of the United States which vests in the national government, rather than in the states, the principles upon which Indian law is based - the war-making power, the treaty-making power and the power to regulate commerce with Indian tribes;
2) Forty-six treaties between the member bands of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and the United States government in which both parties acknowledge the others sovereignty within its own geographical boundaries; and
3) Continuing Federal legislation which acknowledges tribal sovereignty including the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and the Indian Self-Determination Act of 1975.
Minnesota Chippewa Tribal Councils are political bodies with powers of self-government. The MCT reservations exists as legally constituted entities and are governed by their own by-laws which are living documents that can be amended by prescribed actions of tribal members.
**NOTE: One Ojibwe Tribe in Minnesota (Red Lake) is not a part of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. In total, there are seven (7) Anishinaabe Nations within the State of Minnesota and four Sioux Nations.