Red Lake Reservation

Belonging to the Pembina band of the Chippewa's, the red lake indian reservation is the largest unceded Chippewa Indian Reservation in the United States. The Pembina's Red Lake Nation covers 1,259 sq. mi., and includes the huge upper and lower Red Lake. In 1862, the white Americans attempted to negotiate a land deal with the Pembina Empire. It was the land from present day Red Lake, to eastern North Dakota and northeastern South Dakota, that the whites wanted. Ogima Little Shell and other high ranking Pembina ogimak, refused to cede their land to the whites. Once the principle ogimak from the Pembina's agreed to refuse to cede their land, they then ordered their brave soldiers to attack the 10,000s of whites living just to their south, in Minnesota.

After the 1862 Minnesota Indian War was over, the Pembina started to agree to the white demands that they cede their land to the United States. The first treaty occurred in 1863, after the war the previous year had ended, and was later followed by other treaties which ceded more land to the United States. When the illicit Dawes Act became law in the late 1880s, the Pembina's refused to cede their Reservation. They repeatedly warned the whites that war would occur if allotments were granted to individual Pembina's. They knew if individual Indians were granted allotments the chances would be extremely favorable they would sell their allotments to non Indians (that is why the whites created the Dawes Act), and that was not acceptable. Other Indians from the White Earth Reservation, the Leech Lake Reservation, and other nearby Chippewa Reservations, fled to the Red Lake Reservation and Canada, after their Reservations were opened up to white settlement. At the Leech Lake Reservation, a war nearly erupted in late 1898 over the Dawes Act. After the 1898 Battle of Sugar Point, the United States made most of the land of the Leech Lake Reservation, a part of the Chippewa National Forest.

Some of the land of the present day Red Lake Reservation is located in widely scattered areas over northern Minnesota, but most is located around huge Red Lake. There are four communities (they are really census designated places) on the Pembina Red Lake Nation. Many of the houses are located alongside the main highway going through the Reservation from just south of Lower Red Lake, then goes eastward, then goes up to where the CDP, Ponemah, is located. There is another road going from the CDP Red Lake, towards the west, to the western shores of lower Red Lake, then proceeds to go straight up next to the western shores of lower Red Lake.

They claim the population of the red lake nation including those living off Reservation, is only a little over 10,000. Back in the 1880s, the Red Lake population was probably more than 2,000, so it does appear the reservation is having a very difficult time prospering. However, there are probably individual Pembina families living all over their nation and not just along the nations highways, and on the many scattered tiny parcels of land located over northern Minnesota. Though the whites claim no Indians live on those widely scattered parcels of land, i don't believe them. Alcohol is prohibited. Average household size is 3.9. Below is a list of the four CDP's on the Red Lake Reservation of northern Minnesota.

Demographics Are:
Total Population: 5,162
Indian: 5,071
White: 61
Black: 5
Asian: 5
Mixed: 20
Hispanic: 88 - 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.

Little Rock
Ponemah
Red Lake
Redby