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51-617: The Mille Lacs Band is one of six members of the federally recognized Minnesota Chippewa Tribe , which they organized in 1934. The other members are the White Earth Band , Leech Lake Band , Grand Portage Band , Bois Forte Band , and Fond du Lac Band . "Chippewa" is commonly used in the United States to refer to Ojibwe people ; the Mille Lacs Band prefers the term "Ojibwe." There are eight major doodem (or clan) types found among

102-514: A 1000 years. War Chief Mou-zoo-mau-nee and 300 warriors remained at Ripley to augment in its defense, 200 from the Mille Lacs band along with 100 from the Sandy Lake and Snake River and Chippewa River Bands. According to Chief Mou-zoo-mau-nee's obituary the people of Little Falls asked for protection. The town was 15 miles downriver from the fort. He sent 150 warriors. The town's woman prepared

153-595: A Mille Lacs Band Chief with 75-100 warriors was met and stopped at Watab, Minnesota just north of St. Cloud. They wanted to join the government forces fighting the Sioux. Fort Ripley was informed and Capt. Hall invited the Chippewa to come to the fort as guests of the State to await a decision on their offer. Fall-winter of 1862–63 Fort Ripley became the headquarters for the 8th Minnesota. The regiment had four companies posted there. In

204-578: A few. One of those scouts, Chief Kegg, became a historical figure in the Mille Lacs Band In 1875, Chief Shaw-Bosh-Kung described his 1863 meeting with Lincoln when interviewed at the Chippewa Indian Agency: The news of Shaw-Bosh-Kung's passing in 1890 made the newspapers across the state. A few months later papers across the country and overseas remembered his wit, wisdom , and leadership . When Chief Mou-Zoo-Mau-Nee passed in 1897,

255-510: A navigable river and an important trade route. The location was geographically remote to Colonial-American population centers, with Native Americans living in the vicinity. Fort Ripley was built in conjunction with the Ho-Chunk had been moved from northeastern Iowa . Their new reservation near Long Prairie, Minnesota , necessitated a military post nearby to oversee the reservation and administer annuity payments. The government also hoped that

306-731: A result. By the end of the 19th century, only a few hundred Ojibwe remained on the Mille Lacs Reservation. At that time, pressing for their assimilation into European American culture , the Bureau of Indian Affairs prohibited the Ojibwe from practicing their religion . Many had converted to Catholicism while combining it with traditional prayer and rituals . Indian agents tried to have the native children sent to boarding schools and forced to learn and speak English, and virtually denied their right to govern themselves. Their traditional way of life

357-561: A welcome meal and the men smoked the peace pipe with the warriors. Shortly after the executions in Makato the Chippewa leaders were summoned to Washington where Lincoln repeated that the Milles Lacs could remain on their reservation for a 1000 years. It was also written into the treaty they signed in Article 12. The Chippewa signed another treaty in 1864 where it is reiterated with the addition that

408-671: Is elected by all Band members. The current Secretary/Treasurer of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe is Sheldon Boyd, Speaker of the Band Assembly elected in April 2018. The Chief Justice of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe is Rhonda Sam . The judicial branch includes the Chief Justice and the Court of Central Jurisdiction, which consists of three appellate justices and one district judge. Minnesota Chippewa Tribe The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe

459-505: Is the centralized governmental authority for six Ojibwe bands in Minnesota . The tribe was created on June 18, 1934; the organization and its governmental powers are divided between the tribe, and the individual bands, which directly operate their reservations . The bands that make up the tribe are: As of July 2003, the six bands have 40,677 enrolled members. The White Earth Band is the largest, which had more than 19,000 members. According to

510-581: Is today known as the St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Minnesota. Due to some of these Dakota ancestry, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe have a high degree of Ma'iingan-doodem members. According to oral history , the Ojibwe, an Algonquian language -speaking people, coalesced on the Atlantic coast of North America. About 500 years ago, the ancestors of the Mille Lacs Band began migrating west. This history has been confirmed by linguistic and archeological evidence. After forcing

561-512: The 5th Minnesota . A troop from the 2nd Minnesota Cavalry was part of the Fort late in the war. The Fort was garrisoned by A & G Companies 20th Infantry in April 1969. A Co. was immediately posted forward with G Co remaining until December 1877. From 1857 to 1861 Companies G, I, L 2nd Artillery Regiment were variously posted to northern forts Snelling, Ridgely, and Ripley. Typical of 19th-century army posts, Fort Ripley's military reservation

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612-452: The 2nd Minnesota Cavalry Regiment . In May 1864 Company G of the 1st U.S. Volunteer Infantry Regiment were posted there as well. Fort activity peaked during the winter of 1863–1864, when 400 cavalry troops and 500 horses were posted at Ripley. In June 1865 Companies A, F, G and I of the 1st U.S. Volunteers(exConfederates) met at Fort Ripley for discharge, but were instead posted to Kansas. Fort Ripley's garrison, Co. C, 5th Minnesota, at

663-597: The Minnesota Territory . Its presence spurred immigration into the area and the pioneer settlement of Crow Wing developed approximately 6.75 miles (10.86 km) north of the fort. The post was initially named Fort Marcy . It then was renamed Fort Gaines and in 1850 was renamed again for distinguished Brigadier General Eleazer Wheelock Ripley of the War of 1812 . It was the second major military reservation established in what would become Minnesota. In 1971 Fort Ripley

714-679: The Red Lake Band of Chippewa is not part of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. In 1934 it declined to participate, as its citizens did not want to give up the band's system of hereditary chiefs. The Red Lake Band developed its constitution in the 1950s, electing its first chairman in 1959. The Chippewa nation predates the European colonization of the Americas. The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe provides basic services to each of its six-member Bands, unless

765-461: The eastern Dakota from the area in the mid-1700s, the Ojibwe occupied the region around Mille Lacs Lake in what is today East Central Minnesota . They had a varied diet based on the resources of the area hunting deer , bear, moose , waterfowl , and small game ; fishing the area's lakes and streams ; gathering wild rice , maple syrup , nuts , and berries ; and cultivating some herbs and plants. The first Europeans who arrived among

816-412: The state legislature attempted to give his widow a pension, but it failed. The State erected a granite monument to Chief Mou-Zoo-Mau-Nee and the Mille Lacs band at Fort Ridgely cemetery in 1914 for their service to the State at Fort Ripley and their offer to fight the Sioux. Over the next century, Ojibwe/Chippewa bands in the Mille Lacs region struggled with poverty and despair. With the passage of

867-491: The 1934 Indian Reorganization Act , the bands of the Mille Lacs region joined five others in forming the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe , organized 1934–1936. The four historic bands of the Mille Lacs region: Mille Lacs band , Sandy Lake Band , Rice Lake Band of Mississippi Chippewa, and Snake and Kettle River Bands of St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Minnesota were reorganized/combined as the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. In

918-542: The 2010 US Census, the Leech Lake Band had 10,660 residents living on its reservation , the most of any single reservation in the state. It is projected that the tribe will experience a gradual population decrease in the coming decades, unless it lowers its current membership requirement of at least 25% Native ancestry , as a consequence of tribal members having children with non-Native Americans (nationwide, 54-61% of all Native Americans marry non-Natives ). Notably,

969-399: The 27th Iowa recorded that the Mille Lacs had a U.S. flag and one that they had made with and eagle and stars. The Indian commissioner Dole met with them and told them to return to the reservation and they would be contacted if their assistance was needed. Dole also gave the Mille Lacs a document in appreciation of the Mille Lacs offer stating that they could stay on their reservation for

1020-489: The 6th and 7th Minnesota were rushed to the post. Word reached the Mille Lacs Band reservation that Chief Hole-in-the-Day was considering attacking the fort. Head civil Chief Shaw-Bosh-Kung of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe organized his band and lead 700-750 warriors to Fort Ripley to defend the fort and to volunteer to fight the Sioux. According to the record they presented a sight waving flags and beating drums. Later

1071-480: The 8th Minnesota lost more men to the continuing hostilities from the uprising than Sibley's entire expedition lost in the Dakota Territory. Hole-in-Day's threat was mitigated by reasoned negotiating. For the next three years Fort Ripley was a staging point for western military campaigns in the on going war. The 8th Minnesota was posted there as were 2 sections of the 3rd Minnesota Light Artillery and troops of

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1122-436: The Band Assembly, consists of one Representative from each of the reservation's three districts and a Secretary/Treasurer who presides over the Band Assembly as its Speaker. Each Representative is elected by the people of his or her district to serve a four-year term in the Band Assembly. Band members who live off the reservation select a home district and vote only for a Representative from that district. The Secretary/Treasurer

1173-507: The Fort's defense. Meanwhile, at Fort Ripley, indian agent Lucius C. Walker had requested Lt. Forbes arrest Chief Hole-in-the-Day fearing he would attack. Hole-in-the-Day had departed shrewdly anticipating Walker. Upon his return to Ripley Capt. Hall declared martial law in the region and suggested settlers to evacuate . Three companies of militia joined the fort, one from St. Cloud, Stillwater, and Olmstead County. Despite an undercurrent of mistrust, relations between settlers and Chippewa

1224-754: The Ho-Chunk, and the fort, would serve as a buffer between the Santee Dakota and the Chippewa , who were warring. Construction began in November 1848. In April 1849, Company A of the 6th Infantry Regiment arrived from Fort Snelling to take up quarters under the command of Captain John Blair Smith Todd . With them were men of Company D 1st Dragoons commanded by 2nd Lt. John W.T. Gardiner. Commanders and officers: With occasional exceptions, daily life at Fort Ripley

1275-845: The Ho-Chunk/Winnebago and then did the same for the Ojibwe/Chippewa at the Crow Wing Agency. On July 18, 1850, Congress approved funds to build five military roads in the Minnesota Road Act. Two originated on Point Douglas, Minnesota at the confluence of the St. Croix and Mississippi Rivers . The first was named the Fort Ripley Military Wagon Road. It went north through Cottage Grove , Newport, St. Paul, St. Anthony Falls to Crow Wing seven miles past Fort Ripley. The distance from St. Paul to Fort Ripley via

1326-632: The Military Reservation known as Fort Ripley Reservation" except for the land occupied by the railroad. Alexander Ramsey, then Secretary of War passed the amendment for the railroad land to the Senate on January 6, 1880, and was entered in the record of the Senate February 4, 1880. In 1929, the State of Minnesota announced that a new National Guard training site would be built in central Minnesota. The land had to be purchased and, purely by coincidence,

1377-429: The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. They are Bizhiw (Lynx), Makwa (Bear), Waabizheshi (Marten) Awaazisii (Bullhead), Ma'iingan (Wolf), Migizi (Bald Eagle), Name (Sturgeon) and Moozens (Little Moose). The historic Mille Lacs Band of Mdewakanton Dakota was part of the historic Mille Lacs Indians . The Snake River Band of Isanti Dakota became part of the historic St. Croix Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, which

1428-525: The Mille Lacs band and Sandy Lake band for voluntarily providing security to a U.S. military installation and the civilian town without compensation during an ongoing war. For that service, Lincoln repeated what Commissioner Dole had said, the Mille Lacs band could remain on their reservation for 1,000 years.12  Stat.   1249 In 1864, 20 Mille Lacs warriors offered to scout for General Sibley's Dakota expedition. Sibley told them he already had some Ojibwe warriors and didn't need all 20, but he did accept

1479-605: The Ojibwe were French , British , and American fur traders . Some stayed and later competed with the Band for resources and to encroach on their land. Many settlers chose to ignore and violate the treaties the Mille Lacs Band made with the British crown and the United States. Like all Indigenous peoples , they suffered from exposure to infectious diseases the Anglo-Europeans brought, like measles , mumps , and smallpox . Many died as

1530-503: The Sandy Lake band could not be moved without Presidential approval. The State erected a large monument to the Chief and the Mille Lacs band at Fort Ridgely in 1914. In recognition for their service to the State the participating bands were designated as "non-removable". On September 2 two Chiefs of the Fond du Lac band were the first to send Lincoln an offer to fight the Sioux. On September 8, 1862

1581-538: The Sioux and support the garrison along with the Sandy Lake, Snake River, and Chippewa River bands. William P. Dole , the Indian Commissioner who happened to be at Fort Ripley , asked that they return to their reservation. He told them they would be informed if they were needed. Dole told the Mille Lacs chiefs that they could remain on their reservation for 1000 years for their actions. However, war chief Mou-Zoo-Mau-Nee, with 200 Mille Lacs warriors, remained at

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1632-456: The battle of Fort Ridgely: In June 1865 the 10th Infantry returned to Fort Snelling and Companies A and I were posted to Fort Ripley. On April 20, 1869 the 20th Infantry Regiment arrived at Fort Snelling and Companies A and G were the relief sent to Fort Ripley. In May A Co. was sent to Fort Totten, North Dakota . On a sub-zero night in January 1877, fire destroyed three buildings. Believing

1683-542: The commander of Fort Ripley was Captain Francis Hall, Company B 5th Minnesota, who was home on leave. The commanding officer at Fort Ridgely had requested assistance at the upper reservation. 1st Lt. Timothy J. Sheehan and 50 men of C Company had gone to the Upper Sioux Agency leaving a small garrison at Ripley under Lt. Frank B. Fobes. Sheehan had with him two of Ripley's four 12 pound howitzers . His troop arrived

1734-472: The early 1990s, the Band opened Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley . Since then, casino revenues have allowed the Mille Lacs Band to strengthen its cultural identity , return to economic self-sufficiency , rebuild its reservation, and increase the prosperity of the entire region. The Mille Lacs Band has a separation-of-powers form of government, making it one of the few Native American governments with three branches of government, similar to

1785-587: The end of January 1863, Captain Samuel McLarty and D Co 8th Minnesota were ordered from Fort Ripley to garrison at Pomme de Terre and Chippewa Station. After arriving at Pomme de Terre orders came to erect a palisade 9 feet in height creating Fort Pomme de Terre, the largest garrison point between St. Cloud and Fort Abercrombie on the Red River Trail. The other companies were posted to Manannah, Little Falls, Chippewa Station and Fort Abercrombie. In 1864

1836-529: The escort of a treaty commission to Georgetown on the Red river trail. The Red lake and Pembina Chippewa were waiting. A messenger caught up with them near Glencoe informing them of the attack at the Lower Sioux Agency and Redwood Ferry ambush. They double timed through the night to Fort Ridgely learning the post commander, Capt. Marsh, was dead. 1st Lt. Sheehan took command by rank and is credited with leading

1887-547: The first week of August at the Upper Sioux Agency and were quickly dispatched to bring in the renegade Chief Inkpaduta . They were unsuccessful in locating him and returned to the Agency. There, after a heated exchange, Sheehan had got the indian agent Galbraith to give out food to nearly 4,000 Sisseton and Whapeton. Thinking the task was completed the Fort Ripley men departed for their own post. There they were supposed to become

1938-477: The fort, as did 100 from the Sandy Lake band. According to Chief Mou-zoo-mau-nee's obituary , the people of Little Falls asked for protection. The town was 15 miles downriver from Fort Ripley. He sent 150 warriors. The town's woman prepared a welcome meal and the men smoked the peace pipe with the warriors. On September 8, 1862, another Mille Lacs band chief with 100 warriors was met and stopped at Watab, Minnesota , just north of St Cloud . They wanted to join

1989-573: The garrison, and the Ho-Chunk were forced to move again—to a reservation in Blue Earth County, Minnesota . Thinking the post was no longer needed, the army withdrew the garrison in 1857. Almost immediately, disturbances broke out between settlers and some Ojibwe , prompting reactivation of the fort by a Company of the 2nd Infantry . With the outbreak of the Civil War the Federal troops were replaced by

2040-524: The government forces fighting the Sioux. Fort Ripley was informed, and Capt. Hall, the fort's commander, invited the Chippewa to come to the fort as guests of the State to await a decision on their offer. That same week, the Fond du Lac band sent a letter to Gov. Ramsey to forward to President Abraham Lincoln , offering to fight the Sioux. Also that week, the Red Lake band offered to fight, too. In both 1863 and 1864, Article 12 in two Chippewa treaties acknowledged

2091-426: The government structure of the United States. The current Chief Executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe is Melanie Benjamin . The Chief Executive, who is elected by Band members every four years, is the head of the executive branch and appoints commissioners who are ratified by the Band Assembly to oversee the various departments in the executive branch. The legislative branch of the Band's government, known as

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2142-399: The historic site of Fort Ripley and was named in its honor. The nearby city of Fort Ripley, Minnesota , was also named for the old outpost. Fort Ripley typified remote mid-19th century army posts. The buildings were of timber construction, facing a quadrangle. The fort had a partial stockade with the side facing the river completely open except for two of the three block houses. It was on

2193-604: The individual Band has signed a compact to provide these services themselves. The services are provided through their offices located in Cass Lake, Minnesota . Fort Ripley (Minnesota fort) Fort Ripley was a United States Army outpost on the upper Mississippi River , in mid-central Minnesota from 1848 to 1877. It was situated a few miles from the Indian agencies for the Ho-Chunk and Ojibwe in Iowa Territory and then

2244-537: The post had outlived its purpose, the War Department decided to permanently close it rather than rebuild. The troops moved out that summer. The buildings stood abandoned for many years. By 1910, the ruins of the gunpowder magazine , built of stone, were all that remained. On December 16, 1879, the United States House of Representatives passed the bill H.R. 1153 "An Act to Restore to the public domain part of

2295-554: The sale. In the meantime, many had begun to build and farm the land. The resulting confusion and ensuing litigation took 20 years to resolve. Military activity on the post intensified during the American Civil War . In January 1861, C and K Companies of the 2nd Infantry were sent south to fight Confederates , and were replaced by companies A and E from the 1st Minnesota who in turn were relieved by A and F Companies of 2nd Minnesota . When hostilities broke at Fort Ridgely

2346-590: The wagon road was 150 miles. In 1853 the Isaac Steven's Railway Survey passed through the Fort Ripley Reservation. It wouldn't be until the 1880s a rail line was constructed through the former fort's lands. The St. Paul and Pacific Railroad had held the right of way for many years, but it would be the Saint Paul, Minneapolis and Manitoba Railway that laid the track. In 1855 C Co. 10th Infantry became

2397-536: Was huge. It encompassed nearly 90 square miles (230 km ) on the east side of the Mississippi, plus a single square mile on the west side to house the garrison. This configuration was chosen because the Ho-Chunk reservation abutted the west bank of the river and caused consternation for those who wanted the unused east side opened to homesteaders . In 1857 the army agreed to auction the eastern lands, but those bidding colluded to underbid. The Secretary of War annulled

2448-618: Was listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its state-level significance in the historical archaeology and military history categories. It was nominated for its status as Minnesota's second major military post and for its role in maintaining peace and enabling pioneer settlement in Central Minnesota . Camp Ripley , a training facility of the Minnesota National Guard , was established in 1929. It includes

2499-728: Was mainly peaceful in northern Minnesota. That nearly changed when the Santee Sioux hostilities broke out. According to the media Chief Hole in the Day of the Gull Lake Band considered the Sioux conflict as an opportunity to gain leverage for redress of grievances by threatened to launch a simultaneous war in northern Minnesota. The rumors caused fearful settlers to flock to Fort Ripley for security. Not all of Hole-In-the Day's Gull Lake band were in agreement with him. Chief Qui-We-Sain-Shish (Bad Boy) went to Fort Ripley on his own. Company's from both

2550-504: Was nearly impossible to follow. When the Mdewakanton uprising broke out in 1862, Chief Hole in the Day made threats to take the North to war, too. On September 6, 1862, the speculation of his joining Little Crow prompted Zhaaboshkang(Shaw-bosh-kung), head chief of the Mille Lacs Band to lead 700–750 warriors waving a US flag and Mille Lacs made flag, to Fort Ripley to volunteer to fight

2601-644: Was uneventful. The geographic isolation, summer mosquitoes , and long, cold winters made post life challenging. The Metis oxcart trains traversing the eastern route of the Red River Trails between Selkirk – Fort Garry and the American Fur Trading outpost at Mendota/Fort Snelling(later Saint Paul ) passed Fort Ripley. Twice each year, the soldiers trekked to the Long Prairie Agency to supervise government annuity payments of money and goods to

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