Ruling Leaves Original Mille Lacs Reservation Intact

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Leaders of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe say a ruling by a federal judge on its reservation boundaries is a “historic milestone” for the tribe.

The ruling by Judge Susan Richard Nelson determined the band’s original reservation boundaries set forth in a treaty decades ago remain intact.

The band has been involved in a long-running legal dispute with Mille Lacs County, which has argued that the reservation no longer exists.

The Mille Lacs Reservation was created by an 1855 treaty and encompasses about 61,000 acres along the south side of Mille Lacs Lake. That includes three small cities and a few townships, where many nonmembers live, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

The band has long maintained that its original reservation still exists, but Mille Lacs County officials tried unsuccessfully to persuade the court that the original reservation was dissolved by later treaties and congressional actions. They contend that the band’s remaining territory is only a few thousand scattered acres held in trust by the federal government.

The dispute arose when the Mille Lacs Band sued the county over policing. The underlying lawsuit still needs to be decided, but tribal leaders see the judge’s opinion on the reservation boundaries as a big win.

After an extensive review of more than 160 years of the Mille Lacs Band’s history, including treaties and federal actions, Nelson issued a 93-page ruling last week.

“Over the course of more than 160 years, Congress has never clearly expressed an intention to disestablish or diminish the Mille Lacs Reservation,” Nelson wrote.

The county said it expects to appeal.

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