Bois Forte Indian Reservation

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Bois Forte Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation formed for the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa (or Zagaakwaandagowininiwag (Men of the Thick Woods) in the Ojibwe language). It comprises three sections in northern Minnesota, USA.

Contents

[edit] Reservations

[edit] Nett Lake Indian Reservation

Nett Lake Indian Reservation is the primary reservation holding for the Bois Forte Indian Reservation. The area of 421.838 km² (162.872 sq mi) surrounds Nett Lake in Koochiching and St. Louis counties.

[edit] Deer Creek Indian Reservation

Deer Creek Indian Reservation, the second-largest section of the Bois Forte Indian Reservation, comprises 90.931 km² (35.109 sq mi) in Effie unorganized territory in Itasca County, just east of the city of Effie.

[edit] Lake Vermilion Indian Reservation

The smallest section of the Bois Forte Indian Reservation is the Lake Vermilion Indian Reservation. It consists of 4.205 km² (1.623 sq mi, or 1,039 acres) of land in southeastern Greenwood Township on Lake Vermilion just west of the city of Tower in St. Louis County.

[edit] Other Bois Forte Indian Reservation holdings

There are additional scattered parcels less than 40 acres (16 ha) in size associated with the reservation. The reservation's total land area is 516.974 km² (199.605 sq mi).

[edit] Demographics

As of the 2000 census, the reservation had a total population of 657; the Nett Lake section had 328, the Itasca County section had 157, and the Lake Vermilion section had 172. The Bois Forte Indian Reservation is a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, who in July, 2007, reported 3,052 people enrolled through Bois Forte.

[edit] History

The community first entered into a treaty with the United States in 1854 that set aside an undefined region around Lake Vermilion as a reservation. The regions at Nett Lake and Itasca County were officially established in an 1866 treaty, and the Lake Vermilion lands were defined in an 1881 executive order. Following the Nelson Act of 1898, the lands were surveyed and subdivided, but the U.S. federal government did not force tribe members to move to the White Earth Indian Reservation.

50% of the reservation is wetland, and the 7,300 acre (30 km²) Nett Lake is said to be the largest producer of wild rice in the United States. The community operates a casino, Fortune Bay Resort Casino in Tower, Minnesota.

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[edit] External links

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