State of the Band Summary
In her 2023 State of the Band address, Mille Lacs Band Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin reflected on 2022 as a year that held some loss, but also some historic gains — especially in the area of tribal sovereignty. While discussing the Federal District Court’s ruling affirming the Mille Lacs Band’s Reservation boundaries, Benjamin reflected on the leaders of the past who never gave up their fight to hold onto their homeland.
"Over 150 years ago, Shawbashkung and our leaders vowed that we would never give up our homelands — even if there was only one Mille Lacs Band member left standing. That absolutely amazing strength and courage in the face of losing nearly everything else didn’t come from money, or goods, or services. It came from somewhere else," Benjamin said.
“Their cultural and spiritual identity as Anishinaabe was nearly all they had left, and it was more than enough for them to fight for their way of life for generations of grandchildren who would come after them,” Benjamin said. “We are those generations! Their courage is why every one of us are here today!”
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE SPEECH INCLUDE:
Reservation Boundary Victory
“After decades of challenging whether our Reservation exists, the county finally got its answer. March 4, 2022, will go down in history as the day that the Federal District Court ruled that our Treaty of 1855 is, indeed, the supreme law of the land: The Mille Lacs Reservation boundaries remain exactly as they were promised to us.”
Language and Culture
“The root cause of addiction, poverty, homelessness, and violence is loss of identity. This can be traced back 150 years, when federal policies tried to strip us of our language, traditions, ceremonies, and culture.” In 2023, the Band will expand its language and culture efforts to work with the local public schools in each district to provide Ojibwe language instruction through the Band’s Rosetta Stone program. The Band will also continue its efforts to transform Nay Ah Shing into an Ojibwe immersion school in 2023.
Investing in youth
According to a local study, 58% of Native youth in Mille Lacs County and 67% in Pine county have experienced depression or anxiety. “This is not a comfortable topic to talk about, but we must because it is a crisis. There are many ways we can help our youth as a government, community, and as families. But sometimes professional mental health support is what is needed to save lives.” In 2023, Mille Lacs Band HHS is expanding mental health services to ensure kids in crisis get the help they need.
In 2022, the Band worked with a group of youth girls to design and put on a conference for young women called “Finding your Oshkiniigikwe SuperPower.” The event drew more than 160 Band youth participants, and they are looking forward to a second event.
Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures (MLCV) also launched a Youth Ambassador Program in 2022 through which more than 120 youth got the opportunity to work for gaming entities to build academic and career skills and explore career opportunities.
Economy
The Mille Lacs Band does not have a tax-base like other governments. Instead, Band government is dependent on revenue from its businesses, federal contracts, state contracts, and grants. 2022 was a year of recovery for the Band’s businesses, which have remained competitive. Makwa Global, the Band’s government contracting arm, tripled its revenue in 2022 and landed their biggest contract to date. A record number of Band members are in leadership positions within Band-owned businesses.
Community Development and Public Safety
In 2022, Community Development was focused on addressing the Band’s housing shortage. In 2023, a focus will be on constructing and renovating housing to improve accessibility for Elders and Band members with disabilities. Another emphasis in 2023 will be on improving street lighting to improve public safety in Band neighborhoods.
Tribal Police have been working to remove drug dealers from our community. Under the Tribal Law and Order Act, the U.S. Department of Justice has taken over prosecution of certain major crimes that are committed on the Mille Lacs Reservation. With our SAUSA grant, the Solicitor General and U.S. Attorney have been able to target outsiders from big cities intending to bring enormous quantities of poisonous drugs into our communities. “Recently, one major dealer was arrested in the cities who had five pounds of meth and heroin laced with fentanyl. These drugs were meant to be delivered to the Mille Lacs Reservation.”
DNR
“Protecting our natural resources from external threats was a major focus of 2022 and will continue. Under the outstanding leadership of Commissioner Kelly Applegate, the Band is more heavily engaged in defending our sovereignty, tribal rights and resources than in recent memory.”
With strong support from the Band Assembly, the Band is doing whatever they can to make sure that Band members are not collateral damage from mining pollution from proposed nickel mining near the Reservation.
The Mille Lacs Band supports electric vehicles as a way of reducing carbon and were the first tribe in Minnesota to receive an Electric Vehicle Charging Station award, through a demonstration project at the University of Minnesota. The Band just doesn’t believe that nickel is the only way to create electric batteries.
The Band is also doing its part to fight climate change with renewable energy. “Our latest efforts include a solar energy project that was installed at Grand Casino Hinckley last year which will save over $3.3 million dollars in energy costs and reduce carbon dioxide emissions.”
Education
The Band shifted back to in-person education in 2022, and Nay Ah Shing Schools received excellent scores from an outside, independent agency review. Our strong commitment to teaching Ojibwe language, culture and history was acknowledged, as well as the many opportunities and services we provide to all learners and their families.
