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Tribal Relations

The Superior National Forest is within the traditional homeland of the Dakota and Ojibwe people. They occupied the area for thousands of years before the establishment of the United States and the creation of the Superior National Forest. On September 30, 1854, the Tribes entered into a Treaty of La Point with the United States under which they ceded to the United States ownership of their lands in the northeastern portion of what is now called Minnesota (the “Ceded Territory”)  The area that makes up nearly the entire Superior National Forest is part of that Ceded Territory.

The Zagaakwaandagowininiwag (Bois Forte Band of Chippewa), Gichi Onigaming (Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa), and Nagaajiwanaang (Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa) maintain strong cultural connections to the natural resources found in the Superior National Forest. Since the 1970s, tribes have been successfully reasserting hunting, fishing and gathering rights in the ceded territories of Minnesota.

There are locations across the Superior National Forest that illustrate the long term use of the land by the Dakota and Ojibwe people. Archaeological excavations have found stone tools and fish bone that show people have camped and fished the vast waters of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCAW) for as many as 10,000 years. From well used campsites and portages within the BWCAW, to the petroglyphs scattered across the Forest the picture of the past is vividly clear!

The Superior National Forest is dedicated to working with the bands of the 1854 Treaty in the spirit of shared stewardship of the landscape as well as conducting Government-to-Government consultation with all Federally recognized tribes with interest in the management of federally managed lands.

Did You Know:

The 1854 Ceded Territory makes up approximately 5.5 million acres of what is Northeastern Minnesota. The Superior National Forest boundary is just under 3.9 million acres. The remaining 1.6 million acres is a mixture of State, County and Private Land.

Tribal Feature Story Highlight

This past May, Superior National Forest soils staff assisted with Field Studies of Soil, a course organized by the University of Minnesota–Twin Cities (UMN). The course is part of an ongoing natural resources collaborative with local colleges and staff from the Leech Lake Division of Resource Management, the Cloquet Forestry Center, UMN, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Forest Service, and Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

Participants included UMN students along with students and faculty from Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College, Leech Lake Tribal College, and Red Lake Nation College. Across the four colleges–more than 40 participants attended–representing a wide range of academic backgrounds and levels of experience in soil science.

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A group of people is in a row under some trees while a person in an orange vest reads from a piece of paper outdoors

David Morley, Superior National Forest Soil Scientist, discusses soil burn severity and effects of wildfire on soils with Fond du Lac Tribal students at the site of the Munger Shaw Fire (2025)

(Forest Service photo)

Read the full story

Tribal Relations Training Videos

Memorandum of Understanding

This Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) is entered into between the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service, Superior National Forest and the federally-recognized Indian tribes:

Memorandum of Understanding Resources

This Memorandum of Understanding (“MOU”) is entered into between the United States Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the federally-recognized Indian tribes on May 2, 2023:

Last updated October 22, 2026

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