Land area
Land of the Chippewa in Minnesota and Wisconsin, ceded 1837 (area 242)
- 1837
Ceded to the United States
In the record
Ceded by the Chippewa in the 1837 Treaty of St. Peters, land in Minnesota and Wisconsin. The area covers about 14 million acres in what is now Minnesota and Wisconsin.
The 1899 record names Chippewa (Ojibwe) as the people of this land.
How it was taken: a treaty or agreement. The OSU treaty text records a cession for twenty years of annuities, and the Supreme Court syllabus does not describe coercion in the 1837 council.
Today, Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation, Wisconsin, Bay Mills Indian Community, Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana, Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigan, Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin, Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and 12 more carry the history of the people named here.
Written from the records linked here; open any of them for its sources.
Shapes come from C. C. Royce’s 1899 maps as georeferenced by the US Forest Service. They are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land. Royce recorded land the United States treated as ceded; the shape does not show a nation’s territory.
Who is doing the work
This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:
- Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Michigan
- Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana
- Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Michigan
- Anishinaabe
Working with these nations
- Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) Nation government Ojibwe treaty rights in ceded territories, natural resource stewardship, manoomin, and a Land Conservancy program… Give on their site Website
- Honor the Earth Native-led Pipeline resistance, sovereignty, energy justice Give on their site Website
- White Earth Land Recovery Project (WELRP) Native-led Recover the original White Earth reservation land base Give on their site Website
- Native Land Conservancy (Massachusetts) Native-led Native-led land conservation Give on their site Website
Land return and Native-led work nearby
- Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin Nation government Restoration of about 200,000 acres to reservation status (1975)
- Stockbridge-Munsee Community (Band of Mohican Indians) Nation government 372 acres on Monument Mountain's north slope (finalized Apr 2025; $2.5M, $2.26M state grant)
- Dream of Wild Health Native-led Owns a 30-acre farm in Hugo MN Give on their site Website
- Indigenous Environmental Network (IEN) Native-led Environmental and climate justice Give on their site Website
Native legal and land defense, nationally
- Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Native-led Litigation and legal advocacy for tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, land and resources Give on their site Website
- NDN Collective (LANDBACK Campaign) Native-led LANDBACK campaign (launched 2020; Mount Rushmore closure and return of Black Hills public lands), Indigenous… Give on their site Website
- Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) Native-led Land recovery and control by tribes and individual Indian landowners Website
- Decolonizing Wealth Project (Indigenous Earth Fund; California Tribal Land Return) Native-led Reparative philanthropy Give on their site Website
Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.
Connections
Links marked “suggested” were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.
Nations named for this land 17, matched by the Forest Service, under review
- Bad River Band of the Lake Superior Tribe of Chippewa Indians of the Bad River Reservation, Wisconsinsuggested
- Bay Mills Indian Communitysuggested
- Chippewa (Ojibwe)suggested
- Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montanasuggested
- Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians, Michigansuggested
- Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, Michigansuggested
- Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsinsuggested
- Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewasuggested
- Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwesuggested
- Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota (Six component reservations: Bois Forte Band (Nett Lake); Fond du Lac Band; Grand Portage Band; Leech Lake Band; Mille Lacs Band; White Earth Band)suggested
- Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Wisconsinsuggested
- Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians, Minnesotasuggested
Show all 17
Located in 2
Agreements recorded for this land 1
- Treaty of St. Peters (1837) with the Chippewa1837suggested
Sources
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1837-07-29primary record
- Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1837-07-29primary record
- Royce’s map sheet: Minnesota 1 (Library of Congress)primary record
- Royce’s map sheet: Wisconsin 1 (Library of Congress)primary record
- USDA Forest Service, Tribal Lands Ceded to the United States (digitized Royce maps)reference work
The record’s fields
- Area number in the 1899 record
- 242
- Dates in the 1899 record
- 1837-07-29
- Kind of instrument
- Treaty or agreement
- Peoples as named in the 1899 record
- Chippewa
- States
- MN; WI
- Counties
- Anoka; Ashland; Barron; Bayfield; Burnett; Chippewa; Chisago; Clark; Douglas; Dunn; Eau Claire; Forest; Isanti; Langlade; Lincoln; Marathon; Oneida; Polk; Portage; Price; Ramsey; Rusk; Sawyer; Sherburne; St. Croix; Taylor; Washburn; Washington; Wood
- Map sheets in the 1899 record
- Minnesota 1; Wisconsin 1
- Geometry
- Approximate shape from Royce’s 1899 maps
Research notes
geometry_role is 'cession' for every USFS feature: no field in the source distinguishes cessions from reservations.
- Kind
- Land area
- Confidence
- Medium