Mille Lacs Indians

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The Mille Lacs Indians are a Band of Indians formed from the unification of the Mille Lacs Band of Mississippi Chippewa (Ojibwe) with the Mille Lacs Band of Mdewakanton Sioux (Dakota). Today, the Mille Lacs Indians consider themselves as being Ojibwe, but many on their main Reservation have the Ma'iingan (Wolf) as their chief Doodem (Clan), which is an indicator of Dakota origins.

Mille Lacs Indians, because of their mixed Chippewa-Sioux heritage, have become the cultural hinge-pin linking the two former warring Nations into a single people, providing Ojibwe culture and customs to the Dakota just as providing Dakota culture and customs to the Ojibwe. All of the Drums held among the Mille Lacs Indians are of Dakota origins, singing Dakota melodies but translated into Ojibwe.

With the Dakota War of 1862, many Chippewa Bands aided the Dakota people. When Mille Lacs Indians Chief Máza-mani (Iron-Walker) learned of the plans of Gull Lake Band Chief Bagone-giizhig (Hole in the Day) to attack Fort Ripley, Chief Máza-mani raised a party of 200 men and they set out to aid the Fort in advance of Chief Bagone-giizhig, thus adverting Chief Bagone-giizhig's attack onto the Fort.

In the Treaty of 1863 and again in 1864, while most all other Chippewa Bands were being forced to relocate due to their aid to the Dakota people, Mille Lacs Indians, due to their aid to the United States were not. As stated in the Treaties, "That owing to the heretofore good conduct of the Mille Lac Indians, they shall not be compelled to remove so long as they shall not in any way interfere with or in any manner molest the property of persons of the whites."

When the White Earth Indian Reservation was established, like the rest of the Mississippi Chippewa, the Mille Lacs Indians were also encouraged to relocate. Many did relocate to White Earth, becoming the Removable Mille Lacs Band. Others remained on the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation, becoming the Non-removable Mille Lacs Band. By 1902, many Removable Mille Lacs Band returned to the Mille Lacs Reservation.

When the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe was established in 1934, the Non-removable and Removable Mille Lacs Bands of the Mille Lacs Indians became the core Tribe of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, joined together with the Non-removable Sandy Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa, Rice Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa, and the communities of the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Minnesota.