WALKER — A nearly 12,000-acre land transfer is set to be finalized this year, in what Leech Lake Chairman Faron Jackson Sr. previously said was one of the most monumental developments to take place on Leech Lake since the first treaties were signed in 1855.
As nearby tribal nations at White Earth and Red Lake seek legislation to restore historic homelands, the Leech Lake Band worked with the Chippewa National Forest for a transfer that will be finalized as early as this spring.
The Leech Lake Land Restoration Act of 2020 reverses what are now deemed illegal secretarial transfers, where the secretaries of the interior in the 1940s and ‘50s transferred thousands of acres of tribal lands to the Chippewa National Forest without landowner consent.
The 11,760-acre transfer back to the band within the 660,000-acre forest will not affect easements or hunters and anglers, according to Chippewa Forest Ranger Michael Stansberry.
This and other examples of tribal action were highlighted in Chairman Jackson’s State of the Leech Lake Band address delivered last week.
“We need to look into the future, charter a new list of priorities and defend our tribal sovereignty,” Jackson said. “ ... Protecting our children, the seventh generation ... are where we start first.”
Jackson highlighted the band’s strong financial position, and in response to the high costs of living, the chairman proposed an economic stimulus package to band member’s trust accounts: $1,500 for each adult and $500 for each child.
The future of the Leech Lake Band, according to Jackson, will require leadership to focus on enrollment. And a key piece of that is the debate on blood quantum.
Blood quantum is a federal government invention to determine how “Indian” someone is by tracing their ancestry. Many tribal members as recently as the 1950s were considered half-blood or less, leading to the present-day urgency of addressing the formula. Most tribes require at least one-quarter blood quantum for enrollment.
“We want Leech Lake to be here forever, past seven generations. We want us to go on in perpetuity, because that's how we look at things,” Jackson said. “We look at things in a circular style. We don't think we look at things in the linear mindset.”
The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe is in its tribal election cycle, with eight certified candidates challenging incumbent Jackson.
Thirteen district candidates for a vacant seat will also appear on primary ballots on April 2, with the top two vote getters in each race moving forward to the general election in June.
