White Earth Reservation
If you ever find yourself in the north-central regions of Minnesota you may discover that the land in those areas rightfully owned by the Anishinaabe Indian tribe. It is important for all Native tribes to brand themselves a name as Anishinaabe means “The Original People”. Although this group happens to be the largest Native American group in Minnesota, only a small percentage of the land originally discovered by their ancestors is owned by this group today. There is a lot of rich history of this group and the land that was acquired by their ancestors long ago. However, treaties from the past between the US government and other Native tribes has induced ongoing confusion regarding who has ownership of the land on their reservation today.
The history of the Anishinaabe tribe started back in the mid 1600’s, when they began their migration west toward the great lakes. Shortly after they reached their destination the pack split off into three groups. One group, Potawatomi who settled near Lake Michigan. A second group, the Ottawa who moved north of Lake Heron and a third group, Ojibwa who eventually claimed the name Anishinaabe. After settling in their new lands, it wasn’t long until this Native group had their first interactions with European settlers. The relationship between the Anishinaabe tribe and the European settlers came with much controversy as the new settlers believed they were superiors to the Native tribes across the country. Although the relationship between the Anishinaabe tribe never continued their armed conflict with the European settlers, the affiliation between the two wasn’t civil. The new settlers didn’t think too highly of the Native tribes as they consistently tried to change the Anishinaabe way of life by attempting to change their culture and convert their religious beliefs. The incivility didn’t end there as new settlers forcibly expanded their land on Anishinaabe territory.
Imagine, you arrive to the “New World” with your family, and others who look like you. You reside in this new place for centuries, only to be aggressively relocated by newcomers the moment they arrive, asserting their dominance on the land you’ve discovered. This was the harsh reality for many Anishinaabe people throughout the 1800’s. Many Native tribes were slain and forcibly moved from their land. Many Natives who had their land seized from them by the new settlers were tribal members of Anishinaabe from northern Minnesota. When this group arrived in northern Minnesota in the 1800’s and claimed the right to the land. The American government arranged a treaty between the themselves and the Anishinaabe tribe that preserved specific rights to the land in various areas of northern Minnesota.
According to Broker, Ignatia. Night Flying Women: An Ojibway Narrative It was not until 1871 when the Anishinaabe tribe was viewed as its own sovereign nation, and the legal relationship between the Anishinaabe tribe and the United States government was immensely defined by treaties. These treaties constructed boundaries between the Anishinaabe lands, federal lands and land for other non-native tribes living on reservations. The loopholes in these treaties resulted in the government purchasing chunks of the Anishinaabe land that made it accessible to non-natives. These treaties were designed to contain the tribal members of Anishinaabe to a single place, ceding all agriculture purposes to Anishinaabe population. At the time these treaties were established no one except for the Anishinaabe population would know of the injustices that would inevitably follow. Several decades later American legislation abused the principals of these treaties and transferred ownership of Anishinaabe reservation lands from the Anishinaabe tribe through legislation such as the Dawes Act, and Nelson Act of the late 1800 which stayed significant through the late 1900’s.
The infringement of Anishinaabe tribal members rights began long before prominent treaties were ever established. However, the injustices that followed are still relevant today. According to whiteearth.com in a census taken in 2000 the total population of White Earth Reservation is 9,192 people which increased in five percent over the 1990 census. Today only ten percent of the land on the White Earth reservation is Indian owned. According to kstrom.net the Anishinaabe tribe is currently attempting to reclaim all the government-owned land within the boundaries of the White Earth Reservation that is predominantly owned by white individuals or businesses.
For me personally, it is hard to fathom the idea that a Native group who identifies as the “Original People” can reside in this country for centuries only to have their lands seized by the “discoverers” of America. I began thinking that the idea of the United States government had been taking advantage of the treaties constructed from the past should have more people upset that these injustices allowed to continue centuries after they were written. When I first started researching, I had no prior knowledge of this group, nor the idea of possible reparation of receiving land that was already theirs to begin with. Early in my research I began thinking how important it was that after all these years, the United States government was making subtle progress to correct one of the wrongs made by the “new settlers” from centuries ago by returning land to the Anishinaabe people. I think the effort made by the Anishinaabe tribe to regain their land through the White Earth Land Recovery Project, speaks strongly to the character of those attempting to reclaim land that is rightfully theirs.
