Melanie Benjamin

Melanie "Mandaamin" Benjamin is an Ojibwe politician for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, located in east-central Minnesota.

Biography

Mille Lacs Band Chief Executive Melanie Benjamin was originally elected in 2000. She was removed from office due to financial irregularities.^[1] She was re-elected and sworn into office a second time in July 2012. As Chief Executive, Benjamin leads the Band’s executive branch that implements Band laws and administers programs and services.

Most recently, Benjamin was interim director of the Pine Grove Leadership Academy, a Minnesota public charter school located in District III of the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation. She previously served the Mille Lacs Band as Chief Executive from 2000-2008, Commissioner of Administration (the Band’s highest appointed position) from 1989-1997, and chief of staff to the late Chairman Art Gahbow. She has also been senior vice president of administration and finance at Grand Casino Hinckley, and has served the American Indian community through numerous boards and organizations at the local, state and national levels.

Born in Hinckley, Minnesota, Melanie Benjamin (née Staples) grew up in Hinckley and for a short time in St. Louis, Missouri.

References

External links

• The official website of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe
  • Biographies of Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe's elected and appointed officials
• Women Empowering Women for Indian Nations: Melanie Benjamin