Land area
Land of the Chippewa (Bois Forte band) in Minnesota, ceded 1889 (area 483)
- 1866
Set aside as a reservation
- 1889
Ceded to the United States
The 1899 record: “Cede to the U. S. all their title and interest in and to the Bois Forte and Deer Creek reservations; also all their rights in such portion of Red Lake reservation as is not needed for allotment. (Signed Nov. 12, 1889.)”
In the record
Promised to the Bois Forte band of Chippewa in the 1866 treaty as a reserve of at least 100,000 acres (Nett Lake area), then ceded in a November 1889 agreement. The area covers about 123 thousand acres in what is now Minnesota.
The 1899 record names Chippewa (Ojibwe) as the people of this land.
How it was taken: a treaty or agreement. The treaty text records a negotiated cession for a reservation and payments; it states no duress.
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:
- 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
- Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians of Michigan
- Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana
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
- 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 Governance Center Native-led Strengthening Native nation governance and capacity to exercise sovereignty Give on their site Website
- Owamniyomni Okhodayapi (formerly Friends of the Falls) Native-led Dakota-led restoration and return of care for sacred St. Anthony Falls (Owamniyomni) site in Minneapolis, with… 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 2
- Chippewa (Ojibwe)as named in the 1899 recordsuggested
- 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)matched by the Forest Service, under reviewsuggested
Agreements recorded for this land 1
- Chippewa (Bois Fort Band) at Washington, DC (1866)1866suggested
Located in 1
Sources
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1866-04-07primary record
- Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1866-04-07primary record
- Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1889-11-12primary record
- Royce’s map sheet: Minnesota 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
- 483
- Dates in the 1899 record
- 1866-04-07; 1889-11-12
- Kind of instrument
- Treaty or agreement
- Peoples as named in the 1899 record
- Chippewa (Bois Forte band)
- States
- MN
- Counties
- Koochiching
- Map sheets in the 1899 record
- Minnesota 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