Located in northern Minnesota, the Leech Lake Reservation has a disturbingly troubled past. A map of Leech Lake Reservation (Chippewa National Forest) is below. It was an important location for the military and police totem (the Chippewas) of the Algonquin Tribe, who used the location to build up their military strength in order to force their way out on to the plains of Canada and the United States. This Reservation was established after the 1862 Minnesota Indian War ended and not before. The Algonquin's of this reservation are known as the Pillagers. According to William W. Warren, the soldiers of the Algonquin's were ill tempered and that was very evident during October of 1898.
In 1889 (the 1889 Nelson Act), the government of the United States broke treaty promises and opened up this reservation to white settlement. Trouble followed soon after the Americans illicitly forced the reservation to be colonized by whites, especially the western part of the Reservation. Thus, the reason the Reservation has a larger white population now. It culminated on October 5, 1898, during the Battle of Sugar Point. After the battle, the government of the united states established the Chippewa National Forest in which all of the land area of Leech Lake Reservation is now within. That means this Reservation is closed. But the far western end of this Chippewa Reservation is not within the Chippewa National Forest. For some reason the area just north and west of Cass Lake (it probably includes the city of Cass Lake as well), down to the western end of Leech Lake, just north of Walker, was not included in the Chippewa National Forest. The area does have quite a few farms and has a large white population. It may have been exluded as part of the agreement because of the whites living there around 1900. That area including the city of Cass Lake, actually may not be a part of the Leech Lake Reservation.
Chippewa National Forest was established in 1908. However, this is according to historians, in 1900 a Minnesota woman named Maria Sanford, who was a member of the journal "Minnesota Federation of Womens Clubs", decided that something must be done about the 1889 Nelson Act to protect the remaining forests in northern Minnesota, especially on the Leech Lake Reservation. We can read between the lines! Only one reason exists for the establishment of Chippewa National Forest, and that was to prevent an Indian war from occurring, after the October 5, 1898 Battle of Sugar Point ended.
What really occurred was negotiations were initiated between the ogimak from Leech Lake Reservation and representatives from the government of the United States, after the October 5, 1898 Battle of Sugar Point. Both sides didn't just walf off after the battle. There was a feeling of war in the atmosphere and the United States needed to calm the fears the white settlers were endurring after news of the Chippewa victory over the Americans in the Battle of Sugar Point, was learned of by the whites of northern Minnesota. These negotiations commenced in probably late 1898 and continued on for quite sometime. In all probability, the ogimak from Leech Lake Reservation and possibly the nearby White Earth Reservation, and the government of the United States, reached an agreement by 1900, in which a new Leech Lake Reservation was created. Of course, the new Leech Lake Reservation is the Chippewa National Forest but could include what is now the Paul Bunyan State Forest, Two Inlets State Forest, and the Itasca State Park. The Leech Lake Reservation and White Earth Reservation, may actually be connected.
The Chippewa's of the Leech Lake Reservation have forgotten about the new Reservation which is known as Chippewa National Forest. That probably occurred a decade or two after Chippewa National Forest was established, or soon after the death of Bugonaygishig. The United States probably bribed Anishinabe leaders but we can read between the lines! The creation of the Chippewa National Forest did do as all had wanted. Leech Lake and probably White Earth Reservation ogimak, were content with the agreement reached with the United States, and the fears of the white settlers diminished.
Supposedly the Leech Lake Reservation originally covered 1,310 sq. mi., or 838,400 acres. After the new Leech Lake Reservation was established, the size of Leech Lake Reservation doubled to 2,500 sq. mi., or 1.6 million acres. In the early 1890s, the whites rampaged through Leech Lake Reservations forests and refused to respect the rights of the Chippewa's of the Leech Lake Reservation. Ogima Bugonaygishig was just one of many Chippewa ogimak who were outraged about the deliberate destruction of their Reservations forests and the mistreatment the native Chippewa's were receiving at the hands of the whites. By the summer of 1898, a feeling of rebellion was growing on the Reservation and the Americans knew it. They were anticipating trouble and that occurred on October 5, 1898. Below is an 1897 picture of the hostile ogima Bugonaygishig and two fellow supporters. You can tell by the weapons that they were very upset about the white problem.
This Reservation is the largest Chippewa only Reservation in the United States. The non Indians live primarily along the edges of the Leech Lake Reservation, especially from Cass Lake, down towards Walker, and south of the large lake, Leech Lake. The whites have been allowed to build numerous resorts (over 140 of them) on the Reservation, as well as to buy cottages. Exactly how much wealth the Anishinabe people of this Reservation are earning from the numerous resorts and cottage owners within their Reservation now, is not known by me but in 1988 it was over $8.5 million. Today, it may be considerably higher.
Leech Lake Reservation is one of only 8 Anishinabe Reservations in the United States which is closed. The others are: Fort Belknap, Menominee, Northern Cheyenne, Red Lake, Rocky Boy, Turtle Mountain, and Warm Springs in Oregon. The Chippewa's at Warm Springs are the Paiute. The whites forced them to lose their Anishinabe identity. I have included white towns in the Chippewa National Forest below. Some of them have large Chippewa populations. I have excluded the city of Cass Lake because of obvious clear warning signs. Cass Lake is not the usual predominantly Native American settlement. Cass Lake has far too many business establishments for a predomiantly Native American settlement. The whites don't want Native American communities becoming like that of white communities. They want Native Americans dependant on government support. And i do suspect that both the Leech Lake Reservation and White Earth Reservation, are in fact connected.
Demographics of the Leech Lake Reservation
Covers 1.6 million acres or 2,500 sq. mi.
Total Population: 10,025
Indian Population: 4,561
White: 5,278
Black: 9
Asian: 42
Mixed: 311
Hispanic: 144 - Hispanic population is corrupted as usual. Mexicans are predominantly descended from the Native Americans who lived in the eastern part of the United States. The whites have forced them to lose their tribal identities.
Besides the 4,561 Anishinabek living on Leech Lake Reservation, there are over 4,000 other off-Reservation Anishinabek who are citizens of this Reservation. The Leech Lake Reservation including the lakes, supposedly covers 838,400 acres, or 339,288 hectares, or 1,310 sq. mi., or 3,393 sq. km. However, you would be wise to accept the true size of Leech Lake Reservation at 2,500 sq. mi., or 1.6 million acres. Average household size on the Leech Lake Reservation is 3.0. However, when dealing with the white average household size and Anishinabe average household size, there is obviously a difference. The Anishinabe average household size is probably between 3.5 and 8.0 persons per household. Below is a list of the settlements on this Reservation. A few may have predominantly white populations. I don't know so i included them. Supposedly Cass Lake has a population of more than 800. For a city of over 800, Cass Lake has a good 60 or more businesses. That would make Red Lake-Redby of the Red Lake Reservation, very envious as well as countless white cities and towns with identical populations.
Agency Bay
Ball Club
Bena
Inger
Kego Lake
Mission
Oak Point
Onigum
Pennington
Squaw Lake
Sugar Point
Alvwood
Boy River
Hines
Marcell
Max
Pomroy
Remer
Sand Box
Spring Lake
Talmoon
Walker