Red Lake, Minnesota
Encyclopedia
There is also a Red Lake County in Minnesota
.
Red Lake is a census-designated place
(CDP) within the Lower Red Lake unorganized territory located in Beltrami County
, Minnesota
, United States
. As of the 2000 census, Red Lake had a total population of 1,436. The Red Lake Indian Reservation
is based in Red Lake.
During the French period of the fur trade, the Dakota had a major village at Red Lake. It was around 1796 that the Ojibwe settled along with the British North West Co. and a fur trading post established in 1806.
The Red Lake Band, through treaties and agreements in 1863 (amended 1864), 1889, 1892, 1904, and 1905 gave up land but never ceded the main reservation surrounding Lower Red Lake and a portion of Upper Red Lake. This unceded land is spoken of as the "diminished" reservation and "aboriginal" land. It is 407730 acres (1,650 km²). In addition, there are 229300 acres (928 km²) of surface water area on both the lakes.
Tribal leadership during the late 1800s and early 1900s skillfully resisted allotment legislation and held the land intact for the Tribe as a whole. Today the Tribe's Independence Day, July 6 is in honor of the courage of their chiefs in resisting allotment during the negotiations of the 1889 Nelson Act. Only one other tribe in the United States also resisted allotment, the Warm Springs Tribe in Oregon. When land that had been ceded but not sold was returned after 1934, this restored land amounted to 156696 acres (634 km²). It included 70% of the Northwest Angle of Minnesota, as well as lands scattered between the reservation and the Canadian border. The total land area controlled by the Tribe, 564426 acres (2,284 km²), is about the size of Rhode Island. The land is located in nine different counties. The Tribe has jurisdiction to regulate hunting and fishing on the original, diminished lands, and the ceded lands that were returned. The remainder of the ceded areas, not held by the Tribe, is under state jurisdiction.
The tribal government has full sovereignty over the reservation, subject only to federal legislation specifically intended to deal with Red Lake, which makes it a "closed" reservation. The Tribe has the right to limit who can visit or live on the reservation. It has never been subject to State law. The Red Lake tribe withdrew in 1918 from the General Council for the Chippewa, intended to bring all Ojibwe into one tribal structure, and continued to maintain its own identity separate from the Minnesota Chippewa Tribes (MCT). There are many legal and program differences between Red Lake and the other state reservations. The Tribe has its own constitution providing for elected officials representing the four reservation districts and a participating council of hereditary chiefs. While the federal government is responsible for major criminal matters, as specified in federal law, the Tribe has jurisdiction in all other criminal matters. Its court has full jurisdiction over civil and family court matters. In 1997, the Tribe began administering its own programs under a Self-Governance Contract with the BIA. The police became a tribal responsibility at that time.
The reservation completely surrounds Lower Red Lake, the State's largest lake, and includes a major portion of Upper Red Lake, the State's fourth largest lake. Bemidji, the closest city, is 30 miles (48.3 km) to the south. Thief River Falls is over 70 miles (112.7 km) west. The land is slightly rolling and heavily wooded, with 337000 acres (1,363.8 km²) of commercial forestland under management. There are lakes, swamps, peat bogs, and prairies, with some land on the western side suitable for farming. The main population areas are in Beltrami and Clearwater counties.
The four reservation communities are the towns of Red Lake, Redby, Ponemah, and Little Rock. Red Lake is the location of the tribal headquarters, a renovation of what was once the Red Lake Hospital in 1996. The tribal court, the BIA Agency office, Red Lake Schools, (K-12th grades, operates as a regular state public school) are located in Red Lake. Ponemah has a K-8th grade school and a Headstart School. St. Mary’s Mission also operates a 1-6th grade school. Other facilities located in Red Lake are a modern IHS/CHS hospital, the Jourdain/Perpich Extended Care Facility for the elderly, the Elderly Nutrition Program for nutrition and activities for the elderly, a new Criminal Justice Center, the Headstart Center, a new Fitness Center, and the new Red Lake Nation College. Other community buildings include the Humanities Building that houses the Seven Clans Casino-Red Lake, the Red Lake Nation College, a new Fitness Center, a new bank and other recreational and group facilities. The main powwow grounds are north of the Humanities Center, and Ponemah also has an expanded powwow arena.
Redby, also on the south shore of Lower Red Lake, is further east and five miles (8 km) from Red Lake. During the logging era, Redby was the town at the end of the railroad line. A small amount of Indian land went into private ownership at that time. A dozen property tax payers remain. Redby has a community center–which also houses the Food Distribution Program–Red Lake Fisheries, a Forestry Greenhouse and tree nursery, Red Lake Industries, Red Lake Custom Doors, the Whitefeather-Moe Technical Training Center, an adolescent group home and a chemical dependency treatment facility, two Indian owned and two non-Indian owned stores–all of which serve food–a non-Indian owned garage, and a water bottling plant that no longer is in business.
Ponemah, near the end of the peninsula separating Upper and Lower Red Lakes, is the home of very traditional members. It has a community center, a K-8th grade school, Head Start, a health clinic, programs for elders, a new Fitness Center, a grocery store and laundry facility, one Indian owned store, and renovations of their powwow grounds took place in 1994.
The Little Rock area is to the west of Red Lake. It has a community center, a health station, a cattle and buffalo farm, two Indian-owned stores, numerous pine plantations managed by Red Lake’s Department of Natural Resources, and is also the physical location of Red Lake Net News.
Red Lake is the first reservation in Minnesota to build an archives-library program to preserve tribal records and historical material. Employment on the reservation is, however, somewhat limited, resulting in high unemployment rates. Expanding the economic base has high priority. Governmental services provide employment. Timber management, operating a tree nursery for replanting, and logging provide some employment. Fishing with gillnets used to also provide some employment, until a moratorium had to be placed on the lake because of a declining fish population. A farm was purchased on the southwest corner of the reservation in 1994 and the Tribe has continued with its paddy rice operation. A pilot project to grow cranberries was started in 1997. Gravel is also sold commercially.
The reservation has its own Department of Public Safety, ambulance service, fire department and sanitation service. Solid waste disposal is done at a recycling, incineration facility, SWIScorp, in Thief River Falls. The Tribe has a 20% ownership of the operation. Red Lake Builders, tribally-owned, does reservation building, road construction, and other construction work off the reservation. In 1987, the Tribal Red Lake Retail Center was built in Red Lake village. It offers a grocery store, a laundromat facility, and houses the new branch office of Deerwood Bank. Indian-owned stores sell groceries, gasoline, auto parts and repair, hardware, a take-out food shop, and video store. There is also a retail center at Ponemah with groceries and gasoline, as well as a laundromat which is a tribally operated business.
The Tribe has three casino operations–7 Clans Casino-Red Lake, Thief River Falls and Warroad–built on trust land funded and managed by the Tribe. There is a modest operation in the Humanities Center in Red Lake that is also a bingo hall. 7 Clans Casino-Thief River Falls is located eight miles (13 km) south of Thief River just off Highway 59 and is currently the largest of all three gaming facilities with a hotel, two restaurants, and a water park. 7 Clans-Warroad is the second largest. Although not attached to the Warroad facility, Red Lake also owns a new restaurant situated a block away, as well as the Super 8 Motel.
On March 21, 2005, Red Lake attracted notoriety due to the Red Lake massacre. The event was perpetrated by 16-year-old Jeff Weise
, an Ojibwe high school student, who murdered his grandfather and his grandfather's girlfriend with a Ruger .22 caliber pistol at his trailer home, drove to Red Lake Senior High School in Red Lake, and proceeded to murder one security guard, one schoolteacher, and five students with a Remington 12 gauge shotgun. The shooting ended when Weise committed suicide. The massacre was the worst school shooting since the Columbine High School massacre
on April 20, 1999.
Red Lake: Home of the Tribal Government and several tribal programs and businesses. There is a modern IHS hospital, the Jourdain/Perpich Extended Care Facility for the elderly, and others. Community buildings include the Humanities Center that houses the Red Lake College, a swimming pool and other recreational and group facilities. There is a new Boys and Girls club and powwow grounds. A headstart, elementary, middle and high school operated by the state of Minnesota is located in Red Lake.
Redby: Located five miles (8 km) east of Red Lake. Several tribal businesses are located in Redby along with some tribal programs including an adolescent group home and a chemical dependency treatment facility.
Ponemah: Located near the end of the peninsula where Upper and Lower Red Lakes are joined. Ponemah, (also known as Obashing) because of its relative isolation, practices many of the old traditions and culture. It has a community center, an elementary school, Head Start, a health clinic, programming for elders, and powwow grounds.
Little Rock: Located five miles (8 km) west of Red Lake.
, the CDP has a total area of 13.4 mi² (34.7 km²), of which 13.0 mi² (33.6 km²) is land and 0.4 mi² (1.1 km²), 3.06%, is water.
of 2000, there were 1,430 people, 400 households, and 320 families residing in the CDP. The population density
was 110.2/mi² (42.5/km²). There were 421 housing units at an average density of 32.4² (12.5/km. The racial makeup of the CDP was 1.82% White, 0.28% Black or African American, 97.69% Native American, 0.07% from other races, and 0.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.47% of the population.
There were 400 households out of which 49.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 24.5% were married couples
living together, 42.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.0% were non-families. 18.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.53 and the average family size was 3.88.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 44.1% under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 15.6% from 45 to 64, and 4.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.
The median income for a household was $23,224, and the median income for a family was $20,800. Males had a median income of $22,257 versus $22,431 for females. The per capita income
for the CDP was $8,787. About 36.8% of families and 36.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.8% of those under the age of 18 and 44.4% of those 65 and older.
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
.
Red Lake is a census-designated place
Census-designated place
A census-designated place is a concentration of population identified by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes. CDPs are delineated for each decennial census as the statistical counterparts of incorporated places such as cities, towns and villages...
(CDP) within the Lower Red Lake unorganized territory located in Beltrami County
Beltrami County, Minnesota
Beltrami County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Minnesota. As of 2010, the population was 44,442. Its county seat is Bemidji. Portions of the Leech Lake and Red Lake Indian reservations are in the county. The northernmost portion of the Mississippi River flows...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. As of the 2000 census, Red Lake had a total population of 1,436. The Red Lake Indian Reservation
Red Lake Indian Reservation
The Red Lake Indian Reservation covers 1,258.62 sq mi in parts of nine counties in northern Minnesota, United States. It is divided into many pieces, although the largest piece is centered about Red Lake, in north-central Minnesota, the largest lake entirely within that state. This section lies...
is based in Red Lake.
History and Indian reservation
The Red Lake Indian Reservation is located in the northern Minnesota counties of Beltrami and Clearwater, 30 miles (48.3 km) north of Bemidji. There are four districts within the reservation which include Red Lake, Redby, Ponemah and Little Rock.During the French period of the fur trade, the Dakota had a major village at Red Lake. It was around 1796 that the Ojibwe settled along with the British North West Co. and a fur trading post established in 1806.
The Red Lake Band, through treaties and agreements in 1863 (amended 1864), 1889, 1892, 1904, and 1905 gave up land but never ceded the main reservation surrounding Lower Red Lake and a portion of Upper Red Lake. This unceded land is spoken of as the "diminished" reservation and "aboriginal" land. It is 407730 acres (1,650 km²). In addition, there are 229300 acres (928 km²) of surface water area on both the lakes.
Tribal leadership during the late 1800s and early 1900s skillfully resisted allotment legislation and held the land intact for the Tribe as a whole. Today the Tribe's Independence Day, July 6 is in honor of the courage of their chiefs in resisting allotment during the negotiations of the 1889 Nelson Act. Only one other tribe in the United States also resisted allotment, the Warm Springs Tribe in Oregon. When land that had been ceded but not sold was returned after 1934, this restored land amounted to 156696 acres (634 km²). It included 70% of the Northwest Angle of Minnesota, as well as lands scattered between the reservation and the Canadian border. The total land area controlled by the Tribe, 564426 acres (2,284 km²), is about the size of Rhode Island. The land is located in nine different counties. The Tribe has jurisdiction to regulate hunting and fishing on the original, diminished lands, and the ceded lands that were returned. The remainder of the ceded areas, not held by the Tribe, is under state jurisdiction.
The tribal government has full sovereignty over the reservation, subject only to federal legislation specifically intended to deal with Red Lake, which makes it a "closed" reservation. The Tribe has the right to limit who can visit or live on the reservation. It has never been subject to State law. The Red Lake tribe withdrew in 1918 from the General Council for the Chippewa, intended to bring all Ojibwe into one tribal structure, and continued to maintain its own identity separate from the Minnesota Chippewa Tribes (MCT). There are many legal and program differences between Red Lake and the other state reservations. The Tribe has its own constitution providing for elected officials representing the four reservation districts and a participating council of hereditary chiefs. While the federal government is responsible for major criminal matters, as specified in federal law, the Tribe has jurisdiction in all other criminal matters. Its court has full jurisdiction over civil and family court matters. In 1997, the Tribe began administering its own programs under a Self-Governance Contract with the BIA. The police became a tribal responsibility at that time.
The reservation completely surrounds Lower Red Lake, the State's largest lake, and includes a major portion of Upper Red Lake, the State's fourth largest lake. Bemidji, the closest city, is 30 miles (48.3 km) to the south. Thief River Falls is over 70 miles (112.7 km) west. The land is slightly rolling and heavily wooded, with 337000 acres (1,363.8 km²) of commercial forestland under management. There are lakes, swamps, peat bogs, and prairies, with some land on the western side suitable for farming. The main population areas are in Beltrami and Clearwater counties.
The four reservation communities are the towns of Red Lake, Redby, Ponemah, and Little Rock. Red Lake is the location of the tribal headquarters, a renovation of what was once the Red Lake Hospital in 1996. The tribal court, the BIA Agency office, Red Lake Schools, (K-12th grades, operates as a regular state public school) are located in Red Lake. Ponemah has a K-8th grade school and a Headstart School. St. Mary’s Mission also operates a 1-6th grade school. Other facilities located in Red Lake are a modern IHS/CHS hospital, the Jourdain/Perpich Extended Care Facility for the elderly, the Elderly Nutrition Program for nutrition and activities for the elderly, a new Criminal Justice Center, the Headstart Center, a new Fitness Center, and the new Red Lake Nation College. Other community buildings include the Humanities Building that houses the Seven Clans Casino-Red Lake, the Red Lake Nation College, a new Fitness Center, a new bank and other recreational and group facilities. The main powwow grounds are north of the Humanities Center, and Ponemah also has an expanded powwow arena.
Redby, also on the south shore of Lower Red Lake, is further east and five miles (8 km) from Red Lake. During the logging era, Redby was the town at the end of the railroad line. A small amount of Indian land went into private ownership at that time. A dozen property tax payers remain. Redby has a community center–which also houses the Food Distribution Program–Red Lake Fisheries, a Forestry Greenhouse and tree nursery, Red Lake Industries, Red Lake Custom Doors, the Whitefeather-Moe Technical Training Center, an adolescent group home and a chemical dependency treatment facility, two Indian owned and two non-Indian owned stores–all of which serve food–a non-Indian owned garage, and a water bottling plant that no longer is in business.
Ponemah, near the end of the peninsula separating Upper and Lower Red Lakes, is the home of very traditional members. It has a community center, a K-8th grade school, Head Start, a health clinic, programs for elders, a new Fitness Center, a grocery store and laundry facility, one Indian owned store, and renovations of their powwow grounds took place in 1994.
The Little Rock area is to the west of Red Lake. It has a community center, a health station, a cattle and buffalo farm, two Indian-owned stores, numerous pine plantations managed by Red Lake’s Department of Natural Resources, and is also the physical location of Red Lake Net News.
Red Lake is the first reservation in Minnesota to build an archives-library program to preserve tribal records and historical material. Employment on the reservation is, however, somewhat limited, resulting in high unemployment rates. Expanding the economic base has high priority. Governmental services provide employment. Timber management, operating a tree nursery for replanting, and logging provide some employment. Fishing with gillnets used to also provide some employment, until a moratorium had to be placed on the lake because of a declining fish population. A farm was purchased on the southwest corner of the reservation in 1994 and the Tribe has continued with its paddy rice operation. A pilot project to grow cranberries was started in 1997. Gravel is also sold commercially.
The reservation has its own Department of Public Safety, ambulance service, fire department and sanitation service. Solid waste disposal is done at a recycling, incineration facility, SWIScorp, in Thief River Falls. The Tribe has a 20% ownership of the operation. Red Lake Builders, tribally-owned, does reservation building, road construction, and other construction work off the reservation. In 1987, the Tribal Red Lake Retail Center was built in Red Lake village. It offers a grocery store, a laundromat facility, and houses the new branch office of Deerwood Bank. Indian-owned stores sell groceries, gasoline, auto parts and repair, hardware, a take-out food shop, and video store. There is also a retail center at Ponemah with groceries and gasoline, as well as a laundromat which is a tribally operated business.
The Tribe has three casino operations–7 Clans Casino-Red Lake, Thief River Falls and Warroad–built on trust land funded and managed by the Tribe. There is a modest operation in the Humanities Center in Red Lake that is also a bingo hall. 7 Clans Casino-Thief River Falls is located eight miles (13 km) south of Thief River just off Highway 59 and is currently the largest of all three gaming facilities with a hotel, two restaurants, and a water park. 7 Clans-Warroad is the second largest. Although not attached to the Warroad facility, Red Lake also owns a new restaurant situated a block away, as well as the Super 8 Motel.
On March 21, 2005, Red Lake attracted notoriety due to the Red Lake massacre. The event was perpetrated by 16-year-old Jeff Weise
Jeff Weise
Jeffrey James "Jeff" Weise was an Ojibwe Native American adolescent, and a student at Red Lake Senior High School in Red Lake, Minnesota. He murdered nine people and wounded five others in a shooting spree on March 21, 2005, in the Red Lake Indian Reservation located in northwest Minnesota...
, an Ojibwe high school student, who murdered his grandfather and his grandfather's girlfriend with a Ruger .22 caliber pistol at his trailer home, drove to Red Lake Senior High School in Red Lake, and proceeded to murder one security guard, one schoolteacher, and five students with a Remington 12 gauge shotgun. The shooting ended when Weise committed suicide. The massacre was the worst school shooting since the Columbine High School massacre
Columbine High School massacre
The Columbine High School massacre occurred on Tuesday, April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Columbine, an unincorporated area of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States, near Denver and Littleton. Two senior students, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, embarked on a massacre, killing 12...
on April 20, 1999.
Communities
There are four reservation communities.Red Lake: Home of the Tribal Government and several tribal programs and businesses. There is a modern IHS hospital, the Jourdain/Perpich Extended Care Facility for the elderly, and others. Community buildings include the Humanities Center that houses the Red Lake College, a swimming pool and other recreational and group facilities. There is a new Boys and Girls club and powwow grounds. A headstart, elementary, middle and high school operated by the state of Minnesota is located in Red Lake.
Redby: Located five miles (8 km) east of Red Lake. Several tribal businesses are located in Redby along with some tribal programs including an adolescent group home and a chemical dependency treatment facility.
Ponemah: Located near the end of the peninsula where Upper and Lower Red Lakes are joined. Ponemah, (also known as Obashing) because of its relative isolation, practices many of the old traditions and culture. It has a community center, an elementary school, Head Start, a health clinic, programming for elders, and powwow grounds.
Little Rock: Located five miles (8 km) west of Red Lake.
Geography
According to the United States Census BureauUnited States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the CDP has a total area of 13.4 mi² (34.7 km²), of which 13.0 mi² (33.6 km²) is land and 0.4 mi² (1.1 km²), 3.06%, is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,430 people, 400 households, and 320 families residing in the CDP. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 110.2/mi² (42.5/km²). There were 421 housing units at an average density of 32.4² (12.5/km. The racial makeup of the CDP was 1.82% White, 0.28% Black or African American, 97.69% Native American, 0.07% from other races, and 0.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.47% of the population.
There were 400 households out of which 49.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 24.5% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 42.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.0% were non-families. 18.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.53 and the average family size was 3.88.
In the CDP the population was spread out with 44.1% under the age of 18, 12.0% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 15.6% from 45 to 64, and 4.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 21 years. For every 100 females there were 94.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.3 males.
The median income for a household was $23,224, and the median income for a family was $20,800. Males had a median income of $22,257 versus $22,431 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the CDP was $8,787. About 36.8% of families and 36.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.8% of those under the age of 18 and 44.4% of those 65 and older.