US DISTRICT COURT RULING LAWSUIT SPANNING 8 YEARS COMES TO A DRAW

A three-judge panel of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an opinion on Wednesday, February 12, 2025, in the Mille Lacs Band law enforcement authority case. The Court has dismissed the case, ruling the County’s appeal is moot — meaning the County’s appeal is irrelevant. The lawsuit, which spanned nearly 8 years, is now at an anti-climactic draw. While there is no clear victor in the lawsuit, the Band has had significant victories along the way. The case was filed by the Band in 2017 in response to Mille Lacs County abruptly terminating the law enforcement authority agreement of tribal police officers. At the core of the lawsuit is the long-standing dispute over the Reservation boundaries.

Tribal Government News

GET INVOLVED WITH WATER OVER NICKEL — BECOME A WATER AMBASSADOR

Water Over Nickel’s work helps raise awareness about the risks associated with the proposed Tamarack nickel mine. This year, we’re sharing the Band’s focus on the importance of protecting clean water with more Minnesotans, with state and federal leaders, with other tribes, and with Mille Lacs Band members. Our Water Ambassador program gives Band members the opportunity to get involved and directly contribute to our work to protect precious water resources.

TRIUMPH OVER CHALLENGES

Air is all around us. We usually cannot see or touch it, but with out it, humans would not survive. Air contains oxygen, which is essential for our bodies to function. Without access to breath able air, humans would quickly lose consciousness and perish due to lack of oxygen.

Knowing how clean or polluted the air is helps to under stand how it may affect your health. That is why the Mille Lacs Band Department of Natural Resources applied for and received a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency IRA Section 60105(c) Air Sensors Grant, a 5-year $20,000 grant.

THE VENTURA PROJECT TOPPING-OFF: A MILESTONE FOR URBAN NATIVE HOUSING

Senior Communications Strategist Something evolutionary is happening here. Since May 2024, underutilized land in South Minneapolis has been turned over to soon house a cultural and residential space for community members — the Ventura Project. This is a first for MLCV. If you’re familiar, you likely know of our hand in workforce housing projects, striving to narrow the rural Minnesota housing gap and increase workforce participation in the Mille Lacs Tribal Economy — but never before in urban communities. This affordable mixed-use housing development will help serve the Mille Lacs Band population in the Twin Cities region and offer our commitment to providing further affordable housing spanning Minnesota.

‘ IF WE WANT CHANGE, WE HAVE TO GET INVOLVED’

A statement from our Delegation was made reflecting on MCT Constitution reform and our Band members concerning the future generations of our tribe and others. “Things are changing; if we want change, we have to get involved.” Things are changing. Recently, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe proposed accepting Red Lake Nation blood in their enrollments. It was voted for approval by the Tribal Executive Committee (TEC).

TREATY OF 1837 — WHAT HAPPENED AND WHY

The Treaty of 1837, an agreement between the United States and the Ojibwe tribe, is still valid today.

A lot has been written about what happened after the treaty, especially the treaty’s impact in modern years. But little has been said about the events that led up to the treaty. Maybe if people knew more about what happened and why, they would see this area’s past — and its future — in a new light.

Highlights

ADRIENNE BENJAMIN RECEIVES CHAMPION OF CHANGE AWARD

There’s a saying that encourages people to give others their f lowers while they live so they enjoy looking at them, smelling them, and savoring the feeling of being appreciated and honored when receiving the gift of a beautiful bouquet. Band member Adrienne Benjamin received her flowers in a big way when she was honored as one of the Champions of Change during the State of Minnesota’s annual Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration on Jan. 20.

ANNUAL MISSING AND MURDERED INDIGENOUS RELATIVES RALLY

Band member Mille Lacs Band members and hundreds of others filled the Minneapolis American Indian Center on February 14, 2025, joining together in solidarity to remember their loved ones at the Annual Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives Rally They also wove through the streets in a sea of black and red carrying signs and sharing their grief. The red hand print on their faces is indicative of the voices that are no longer heard.

NEW BUSSES ARE THE DRIVING FORCE AT NAY AH SHING SCHOOLS

When it comes to transporting our most precious cargo, safety is a top priority. When families send their kiddos off to Nay Ah Shing Schools on a bus, they can trust every precaution is taking place to keep them safe starting with the very buses that carry them. In January, NASS integrated two brand new 2025 IC school buses built with high-quality materials and some of the latest safety technology to provide drivers with everything they need to be successful.

MEET THE NEW MEMBERS OF THE MENTAL HEALTH TEAM AT HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Introducing some of the new members of the mental health team of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Health and Human Services Department in the order they were submitted. Please call the clinic to schedule an appointment.

ICE SAFETY RECAP

In the year 2024, it should go without saying that no ice is ever 100% safe, and yet, here we are coming off a record-setting year for ice-related incidents across the ice belt related to vehicles and persons falling through the ice compared to any recent year on record. According to the Minnesota DNR, since 1976, an average of 5.6 deaths have occurred annually as a result of falling through the ice while pursuing fish on bodies of water across Minnesota. In the ice season of 2023-2024, due to an abnormally warm winter, the ice conditions varied across lakes throughout the entire state.

Indian Country News

Mille Lacs County Board approves Soo Line Trail plan

Recent actions and discussions by the Mille Lacs County Board have included reviewing the final plan for upgrades to the Soo Line Trail. The board reviewed the plan details and gave it unanimous approval at the Jan. 21 meeting. Commissioner Reynolds asked about the economic development advantage of this program. County Administrator Dillon Hayes reviewed the financial benefit of this project, referencing multiple studies proving more of an income brought into the community than expenses incurred. The plan covers the portion of the Soo Line Trail that traverses Mille Lacs County, from the Mille Lacs/Morrison County line southwest of Onamia to the Mille Lacs/ Aitkin County line northeast of Isle. (See adjacent map.) The recreational trail is multi-use, for both motorized and non-motorized recreation, and is usable year-round. The plan includes adding rest stops, a third trailhead in Wahkon and repaving 11 miles of trail from Onamia to Isle. Mille Lacs County is the lead organization, with support and guidance from the cities of Onamia, Wahkon and Isle, and the Mille Lacs Drift Skippers. Source: Mille Lacs Messenger

Local View: Why should we trust anything claimed by Talon Metals?

OPINION: A new mine plan was recently released for Talon Metals’ proposed Tamarack nickel mine project in Aitkin County. The Dec. 27 News Tribune story, “Proposed nickel mine near Tamarack alters design,” reported again that Talon Metals agreed in 2022 to supply nickel to Tesla. Such claims can also be found in past press releases from the company and on the company’s website. Talon Metals’ investor documentation, however, says otherwise. The company provides additional details on its so called “Tesla supply agreement” in the document, “MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS,” published Nov. 14. It is found at sedar.com. Page 35 of the document details the “Conditions Relating to the Tesla Supply Agreement.” They include: Talon earned a 60% interest in the Tamarack North Project. It currently has a 51% interest and has provided no plan or schedule to meet this condition. Talon commencing commercial production at the Tamarack North Project this year. However, in its newly released mine plan (its updated EAW, or environmental assessment worksheet), the company sets a 2029 date as the earliest for nickel production. As such, it won’t meet this condition. That is to say, an actual supply agreement must still be negotiated. In essence, Talon, in this management and analysis filing, says there is no supply agreement, simply an agreement to attempt to negotiate a supply agreement if it can produce nickel before the end of 2025. And we know from the newly updated Talon EAW that the company doesn’t expect to have nickel production until at least 2029. Yet the press continues to report, with Talon Metals apparently choosing not to correct it, that the company has an agreement with Tesla to supply nickel. And Talon continues to include this on its website. Talon apparently doesn’t point the press to its investor documents that suggest otherwise. This seems to me an intent to deceive. How can we then trust anything Talon says? Source: Duluth News Tribune

Department of Defense cancels National Native American Heritage Month

The new leader of the Department of Defense has put an end to National Native American Heritage Month in the U.S. military. In guidance issued on January 31, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth claimed that celebrations of Native American Heritage Month run counter to the “warfighting mission” of the department. “Efforts to divide the force – to put one group ahead of another – erode camaraderie and threaten mission execution,” the guidance stated as Hegseth canceled official celebrations that reference race, gender and culture. The department, as well as the individual branches of the military, have long celebrated Native American Heritage Month. The very first events took place after then-president George H.W. Bush, a Republican, signed into law a joint Congressional resolution designating November as National American Indian Heritage Month in 1990. Source: Indianz.Com.

Directive From New Interior Secretary Weakens Public Land Protections to Push Fossil Fuels

Doug Burgum’s order would hobble clean energy development, hinder protections for migratory birds and endangered species and open significant landscapes to resource extraction. National monuments, migratory birds, endangered and threatened species: Some of the nation’s most vulnerable natural resources are in jeopardy after Doug Burgum issued—on his first full day as secretary of the Department of the Interior—a seven-page directive weakening their protections to further fossil fuel development. President Trump laid the groundwork for Burgum’s order by revoking a dozen of the Biden administration’s executive orders, including those advancing clean energy, climate change mitigation and protections of natural resources. Source: Inside Climate News.