MINNESOTA —The sun shone bright while a slight breeze whispered its way through the Chief Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School grounds in Cass County, Minn., as people gathered to celebrate the righting of a historical wrong. Members of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe gathered to celebrate the historic transfer of 11,778 acres of their reservation homeland back to their Tribe. Joining in the celebration were the Minnesota Congressional delegation, Department of Agriculture, Department of Interior, State of Minnesota, other Tribal Nations, Forest Service, elders, and friends. But this celebration was about so much more than just a land transfer. It's the first step in returning around 12,000 acres of the roughly 25,000 illegally transferred acres of their land. It's also an acknowledgment, finally righting a wrong and a look to what the future holds for their members. 

Thousands of acres of Reservation allotments wrongfully taken from the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe seventy-six years ago eventually became USDA Forest Service lands. For eleven years, the Bureau of Indian Affairs misinterpreted an order from then Secretary of the Interior to indicate the Department of the Interior had the authority to sell tribal allotments without the full consent of landowners. These sales, beginning in the 1940s, finally stopped in 1959 when the Secretary of the Interior advised the Bureau of Indian Affairs these sales were illegal.

When asked how this land could be returned to tribal ownership, Leech Lake was told it would take an act of Congress. Since then, the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe has worked tirelessly to reclaim their homeland. Leech Lake owns a very small percentage of the land within their Reservation boundary. Most of the land ownership within the Reservation is made up of public and private ownership, including the Chippewa National Forest, the State of Minnesota and Cass County. Leech Lake owns the smallest percentage of its’ Reservation land, even though they are one of the largest Minnesota Tribes. This lack of tribally controlled land has caused overcrowding and homelessness for many of their 10,660 members.

Speaking during the celebration, Lieutenant Governor Peggy Flanagan, tribal member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe said, "We cannot change our past, but we need to acknowledge it to know our history and be able to right the wrongs and continue to move forward and do the next good thing, to move forward together.”

On Dec. 23, 2020, this important step to right the wrongs began when The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Reservation Restoration Act (Public Law No. 116-255) was signed into law, directing the USDA Forest Service to transfer approximately 11,760 acres of federal land currently managed by the Chippewa National Forest to the Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs. The land will be held in trust for the Tribe, in a tax-exempt status while the they move forward with future development plans.

After the act was signed into law, Michael Stansberry, forest supervisor of the Chippewa National Forest, led the efforts for its implementation. Stansberry, Forest Service staff and the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe members collaborated through government-to-government consultation to identify parcels that included large blocks of contiguous land and sacred tribal areas. They considered the legislative language honoring existing property rights, such as utility easements, rights-of-way for roads and reservoir rights. 

After three years of cooperative efforts, the parcels to transfer were identified and mapped. On June 7, 2024, Tony Dixon, regional forester for the Forest Service Eastern Region signed a decision memo approving the land transfer. 

On July 17, the commemorative ceremony began with a powerful drum circle and opening prayer. Faron Jackson Sr., Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe chairman, began his opening remarks by first thanking everyone for their hard work —work that was the culmination of generations having brought them to this momentous occasion— and acknowledging there is still more work to do. “We will have more available land to build houses for our members experiencing homelessness today,” said Chairman Jackson. “An acre of land to me is a relative, part of our family.”

Senator Tina Smith (D-Minn.) introduced the bill and spoke about the transformative work happening everyday with the Tribe through education and healing and how this land will provide decent and safe homes for its members. Senator Smith is currently working on a second bill which if enacted would restore 4,000 additional acres that were also identified by the Department of the Interior to have been illegally taken in Cass County. 

Regional Forester Tony Dixon presented a plaque to the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Tribal Council to commemorate this historic event. The cedar plaque was designed by Christine Herman, tribal relations specialist with the Chippewa National Forest. Michael Vail, owner of Cedar Sense and a descendant of White Earth and Leech Lake members, created the beautiful laser-cut plaque from 100% cedar and is decorated with a hand-painted Ojibwe floral pattern on the border. 

District Ranger Ben Benoit and Dave Bismarck, land surveyor with Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe Division of Resource Management, members both of the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, made a tribute to Rich Robinson. Robinson was a driving force in moving this act forward, but unfortunately passed away on March 11, 2023, before seeing his dedicated work come to fruition. 

Other dignitaries who spoke at the ceremony were Representative Betty McCollum, USDA Undersecretary for Natural Resources and Environment Homer Wilkes, Cass County Commissioner Neal Gaalswyk, and National Congress of American Indians President Mark Macarro. Elaine Fleming, a Leech Lake Elder, spoke of the history of the land tenure and the significance of this restoration.

After the truly inspiring words from the Tribal Council, Elders and dignitaries, everyone sat together for a traditional meal provided by the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, which included walleye, wild rice, hominy, corn, fry bread and blueberry topping. The ceremony and luncheon were a beautiful way to celebrate the amazing collaborative accomplishment of this historic land transfer, and the partnership and coordination that were essential to making it happen.