FEDERAL RESERVE LEADERS VISIT MILLE LACS RESERVATION

In April, leaders from the Federal Reserve System visited the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe to learn firsthand about the Band’s economic initiatives, challenges, and opportunities. Federal Reserve Board Governor Adriana Kugler joined Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari, Senior Vice President Alene Tchourumoff, and Center for Indian Country Development (CICD) Engagement Director Heather Sobrepena for a day of dialogue with Mille Lacs Band leadership and Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures (MLCV) team members.

Tribal Government News

PROTECTING CLEAN WATER FOR FUTURE GENERATIONS

Clean water is deeply linked with so many parts of Ojibwe culture. The desire to protect clean water is central to the Band’s work with Water Over Nickel, which raises awareness about the risks posed by the nearby proposed Tamarack nickel mine.

SITTING ON THE EDGE OF THE FIRE

Warmer weather is on the way, grass is greening up, and some spring flowers are blooming. The cold blustery winter is behind us, but the lack of snowfall has left many counties in Minneso ta and across the United States dryer than average which may create a busy wildfire season ahead. The Mille Lacs Band DNR Wildland firefighters are ready to answer the call.

FAMILY PRESERVATION PROGRAM GOAL IS FAMILY FIRST

At the core of the Mille Lacs Band Family Services Department is a simple but powerful belief: families belong together. Under the umbrella of Family Services is a new Family Preservation Program. Family Preservation is not just a program — it’s a commitment to honoring the strength, resilience, and traditions of Mille Lacs Band families. The goal is to provide support before a crisis happens, helping families stay together and thrive in a safe, nurturing environment.

DEPARTMENT OF CANNABIS REGULATIONS: INDEPENDENCE AND INTEGRITY

If there’s one thing Becky Houle knows inside and out, it’s how to create and regulate rules. Having worked in regulatory environments for over two decades, she wouldn’t change her career path for anything. Today, she serves as the Executive Director, developing the new Department of Cannabis Regulations (DCR) for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe.

The Mille Lacs Band Department of Cannabis Regulations (DCR) is an independent agency of tribal government, respon sible for establishing regulatory authority over cannabis busi nesses within the Band’s sovereign territory as well as Com pact Cannabis Activity. The DCR’s mission is to protect public health and safety, promote responsible cannabis business practices, and ensure all Band cannabis operations comply with Title 15 of the Mille Lacs Band Statutes, the DCR’s Initial Cannabis Regulations, Tribal-State Compact(s), and all other applicable laws.

Highlights

FROM SAP TO SYRUP, NET TO GIFT: CULTURE IN EVERY SEASON

For more than a decade, the Cultural Resources Department has worked closely with area youth and the Mille Lacs Band community to pass down cultural harvesting practices. These teachings encompass treaty rights — especially those connected to the 1837 Treaty — seasonal harvesting traditions, safety protocols, and the rules and regulations that govern each season, whether it’s ricing, sugar bush, fishing, or gathering.

FROM THE SWEET SAP OF THE MAPLE TREES

Students at Nay Ah Shings Schools are given the opportunity to experience the tradition of sugar bush camp and learn how to make maple sugar and syrup. The older students are eager to help the younger students as often as they can. The students will host a pancake breakfast for family members at a later date in May and showcase their successes gifting syrup and sugar.

FROM OUT-OF-HOME PLACEMENT TO ADULTHOOD

Youth involved in a CHIPS case and transitioning from out-of-home placement to adulthood face many challenges. However, these youth can succeed in life with the support of caring adults and communities. The Independent Living Skills (often called “ILS”), within Family Services, focuses on supporting youth by identifying their strengths and supporting them to acquire skills to realize a future filled with promise. Youth Transitions Coordinator, Lynn Hudson, has been in her role since the fall of 2023. She and the program’s Support Aide, Emma Buchholz, are currently working with approximately 35 youth between the ages 14 and 21.

OVERVIEW OF THE GRA LICENSING DIVISION

The Licensing Division of the Band’s Gaming Regulatory Authority is responsible for implementing the licensing and exclusion functions under Tribal Statutes, State Compacts, and the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, through cooperation with the National Indian Gaming Commission and the Minnesota Department of Public Safety. Anyone who is employed at, or does business with, either casino must have a license prior to beginning employment or providing a service. The Licensing Department consists of three Background Investigators, one Li censing Specialist, one Community Liaison, and one Licensing Director. The Team receives licensing requests for employee gaming licenses and vendor licenses and conducts background investigations for each request. Depending on the level of the license being issued, they may also take fingerprints to be submitted to the State of Minnesota or the FBI for additional criminal history records checks. The background investigation also consists of public records checks through various court websites, the State of Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension website, and a third-party background site. Licensing applicants also need to submit at least three reliable references which the Investigators will contact for character reference. It is important to provide references who can be contacted, as delays in receiving responses from your references will delay your background investigation, and, subsequently, delay the determination of your license.

Indian Country News

New Mille Lacs Band leadership looks to continue strong relationship with Pine County

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, which occupies land in Pine County with 635 Band members in the county, is seeing new leadership in Virgil Wind as the new chief executive, replacing Melanie Benjamin last year. Not having contentious issues such as the Mille Lacs fishery and the 1855 Treaty boundary dispute with Mille Lacs County, the Mille Lacs Band and Pine County officials have maintained a positive relationship. Wind, along with his staff, hoping to continue that relationship, visited the North Pine Government Center in Sandstone last week, meeting with Pine County commissioners and administration. “I am hoping to foster relationships,” said Wind, “maintaining a great relationship [in Pine County] is a difference from going into other counties..." Pine County Commissioner Steve Hallan spoke to the relationship. “I’m proud of the relationship with the Mille Lacs Band that started many years ago with Steve Chaffee,” he said. “We have this big thing called the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe in the county … which has a big economic driver in Hinckley." Wind mentioned that a temporary cannabis dispensary will be opening in Hinckley near the casino in June of 2025 with a permanent one opening late fall or early winter of 2025/2026. Source: Pine County News.

McFeely: Road to Moorhead casino going to be long ... and ugly

To give you an idea of where the Cranky Old White Guy caucus stands on the possibility of the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa building a massive casino/ resort complex east of Moorhead, one citizen who spoke at the Clay County commission meeting Tuesday called the tribe a "foreign" nation. It'd be hard to come up with a group of Americans who are more American (and therefore less foreign) than Native Americans, but this is where we are in 2025. Ignoramuses, in this case former Clay County Republican Party chairman Fred Wright, have no problem speaking up. To their credit, the White Earth representatives who came to the meeting to make a short presentation about their broad vision for 280 acres the band purchased at the intersection of Interstate 94 and Highway 336 stayed reserved in the face of such witless comments. Although White Earth Chairman Michael Fairbanks did take a few moments to deftly set the record straight about the band's citizenship: "This is our homeland. We ceded this territory back when we signed that treaty in 1855. So, we're not foreigners." What the meeting showed was that the road to get the casino built is going to be long. Which is fine. It should be. This is a major undertaking with many legitimate questions and hurdles. It's also going to be ugly. Which is not fine. There's no need. There are enough valid reasons to examine the proposal from multiple angles that racism doesn't need to enter the picture. Tuesday's meeting was the first public foray into discussion about what would undoubtedly be an economic boon for Moorhead and the surrounding area. The purpose was so White Earth representatives could offer a preliminary proposal... That's all it was. There were no decisions made. Source: InForum.

Trump’s funding freeze of Indigenous food programs may violate treaty law

According to legal experts, the cutoff erodes the little trust Indian Country has in the federal government. Jill Falcon Ramaker couldn’t believe what she was hearing on the video call. All $5 million dollars of her and her colleagues’ food sovereignty grants were frozen. She watched the faces of her colleagues drop. Ramaker is Turtle Mountain Anishinaabe and the director of Buffalo Nations Food Sovereignty at Montana State University – a program that supports Indigenous foodways in the Rocky Mountains and trains food systems professionals – and is supported by the United States Department of Agriculture, or USDA. In his f irst two months in office, President Trump has signed over 100 executive orders, many specifically targeting grants for termination that engage with diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives and climate-related projects associated with the Inflation Reduction Act. Climate change destroys the places and practices central to Indigenous peoples in the United States and is exacerbated by droughts and floods that also affect foods essential to Native cultures. Food sovereignty programs play a crucial role in fighting the effects of climate change by creating access to locally grown fruits, vegetables, and animal products. The funding freeze from the USDA is sending shockwaves throughout the nation’s agriculture sector, but their effect on tribal food initiatives raises even larger questions about what the federal government’s commitments are to Indigenous nations. That commitment, known as the federal Indian trust responsibility, is a legally enforceable obligation by the federal government to protect Indigenous lands, assets, resources and rights. It is grounded in treaties made with Indigenous nations in exchange for the vast tracts of land that allowed America to expand westward. “That general trust responsibility I think absolutely encompasses food sovereignty and tribes ability to cultivate their lands,” said Diné attorney Heather Tanana at the University of California Irvine. “It would be odd not to consider the federal responsibility of including food security along with water access and healthcare services,” Tanana said. Source: High Country News.

Kennedy’s Plan to Send Health Officials to ‘Indian Country’ Angers Native Leaders

Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. made a show on Facebook of his meeting with American Indian and Alaska Native leaders last month, declaring himself “very inspired” and committed to improving the Indian Health Service, which he says has “always been treated as the redheaded stepchild” by his agency. Now Native leaders have some questions for him. Why are all of these changes being made without consulting tribal leaders, despite centuries-old treaty obligations, as well as presidential executive orders, requiring it? What the chronically understaffed service really needs are doctors and nurses who are familiar with the unique needs of Native people. “They are breaching their trust obligation to Indian tribes by all of the scams that they’re doing,” said Deb Haaland, the former interior secretary and congresswoman, who is a member of the Laguna Pueblo tribe and a Democratic candidate for governor of New Mexico. “It’s terrible, it’s shameful and it isn’t right.” Source: New York Times.