Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe

Plus an innovative financial program on the Leech Lake Reservation is creating qualified borrowers, younger workers needed to meet climate goals, and a Minnesota tribe gains access to federal crime databases.

Payday loans often have interest rates in the triple digits. Rob Aitken, executive director for Leech Lake Financial Services, is offering clients a way to use their paid-time-off as collateral for consumer loans.

Honor the Earth is collaborating with artists and cultural organizer Rory Wakemup from the Bois Forte Band. Participants will learn how to replant manoomin.

The council approved a regulatory code, establishing the framework for the cannabis industry within the Leech Lake Reservation.

Late last year, tests conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency revealed the school’s drinking water wells were contaminated with PFAS. As the United States begins to crack down on PFAS contamination, Indigenous communities are getting left behind.

Also covered are PFAS contamination at Bug-O-Nay-Ge-Shig School and consideration of a cannabis muni in Bemidji.

As part of the Leech Lake Reservation Restoration Act of 2020, the transfer aims to "right a wrong" from the illegal transfer of allotted Leech Lake lands to the USDA in the 1950s.

Delina White is a fashion designer and beadwork artist, entrepreneur and founder of I Am Anishinaabe. She created Northern Lights Native Nations Fashion Night in collaboration with the annual couture event in Minneapolis, Fashion Week Minnesota.

The Forest Service utilized the Intergovernmental Personnel Act, which provides for the assignment of personnel between the federal government and eligible organizations, including Indian tribal governments, to place Benoit in the role of district ranger.

Frank will speak at the Forest History Center in Grand Rapids this Saturday January 21st from 1-3pm