Documents

IRA 1934

73d CONGRESS. SESS. II. CHS. 575, 576. JUNE 18, 1934. Congress approved February 28, 1931, June 9, 1932, and June 13, 1933, are hereby extended one and three years, respectively, from Sec. 2. The right to alter, amend, or repeal this Act is hereby To conserve and develop Indian lands and resources; to extend to Indians the right to form business and.other organizations; to establish a credit …

MCT 1936 Constitution

CONSTITUTION OF THE MINNESOTA CHIPPEWA TRIBE We, the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, consisting of the Chippewa Indians of Minnesota under the Consolidated Chippewa Agency, in order to form a representative Chippewa tribal organization, main- tain and establish justice for our Tribe, and to conserve and develop our tribal resources and common property; to promote the general welfare of ourselves and …

Corporate Charter of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (ratified November 13, 1937)

The federal corporate charter issued by Assistant Secretary Oscar L. Chapman under section 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act and ratified by the Tribe on November 13, 1937: corporate existence and purposes, perpetual succession, membership, management by the Tribal Executive Committee, and the enumerated corporate powers. Government Printing Office, 1938. This is the charter Congress revoked in 1996 at the Tribe's request.

Revised Constitution and Bylaws (1963), as amended 1972

The Revised Constitution and Bylaws ratified November 23, 1963 and approved March 3, 1964, with the 1972 amendments, in the University of Oklahoma (Thorpe) digitized edition. Articles I–XV and the Bylaws: organization, membership, the Tribal Executive Committee and Reservation Business Committees as the governing bodies, their enumerated authorities, elections, removal, amendment by Secretarial election, rights of members, and referendum.

Revised Constitution and Bylaws (clean typeset copy)

A clean typeset copy of the Revised Constitution and Bylaws as amended. Useful for reading; the two copies above are the reference texts.

Revised Constitution and Bylaws, as amended 1972 (Tribe's copy)

The Tribe's own copy of the Revised Constitution and Bylaws incorporating the 1972 amendments. Same text as the 1963/1972 edition above, in the format the Tribe circulates.

Congress Revokes Charter

REVOCATION OF CHARTER OF INCORPORATION OF THE MIN- NESOTA CHIPPEWA TRIBE UNDER THE INDIAN REORGA- The request of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe to surrender the charter of incorporation issued to that tribe on September 17, 1937, pursuant to section 17 of the Act of June 18, 1934, commonly known as the “Indian Reorganization Act” (48 Stat. 988, chapter 576; 25 U.S.C. 477) is hereby accepted and …

Letter to President Deschampe: Congress accepts surrender of the 1937 corporate charter

Tribal counsel reports that the Technical Corrections bill (H.R. 2726, Public Law 104-109) passed in February 1996 and quotes its section 13, by which Congress accepts the Tribe's request to surrender the charter of incorporation issued September 17, 1937 under section 17 of the Indian Reorganization Act and revokes it. Counsel advises the President he may now mark his copy of the charter 'REVOKED.' Attachments follow the letter.

Tribal Constitution Interpretation No. 1-80: The Committee's power to issue binding interpretations of the constitution

Declares that the Tribal Executive Committee 'possesses and exercises quasi-judicial powers,' among them the power to give official binding opinions on the meaning of the constitution, and that it will henceforth issue written interpretations that are 'conclusive and final' and binding on any tribal court. Adopted 11–0 at Grand Portage; signed by Darrell Wadena, President, and Daniel Morrison, Sr., Secretary. Every later interpretation rests on this one.

Tribal Constitution Interpretation No. 2-80: Authority to establish a tribal court system by ordinance

On its own motion the Committee reviews the constitution to decide whether it may establish a tribal court system by ordinance, reasoning from the Preamble's purpose to 'maintain and establish justice.' The constitution itself contains no judicial article; this interpretation is the Committee's own source for court authority.

Tribal Constitution Interpretation No. 3-81

Opinion that the Tribe does not violate Article XIII (Rights of Members) by administering federal and state education contracts limited to children of one-fourth or more Indian blood: the Tribe is administering funds under the authorizing legislation's terms, not creating classes among its members. Notes that Article II, Section C already limits enrollment to one-quarter blood degree. (Filed under the name 3-80; the document itself is numbered 3-81.)

Tribal Constitution Interpretation No. 4-81: Authority and power to interpret the constitution

Responds to a Field Solicitor's opinion of November 19, 1980 to the Minneapolis Area Director, reaffirming the Committee's position that it, and not officials of the United States, holds the power to interpret the Tribe's constitution.

Tribal Constitution Interpretation No. 5-84: Definition of 'majority of eligible votes cast'

Defines the phrase 'majority of eligible votes cast' for constitutional votes. Rescinded by the Committee on November 7, 1996; published here as adopted, with the rescission noted on its face.

Tribal Constitution Interpretation No. 6-84: Records open to inspection under Section 4(b)

At the request of its Legislative Subcommittee, the Committee interprets which tribal records are open to inspection under Section 4(b) of the constitution.

Tribal Constitution Interpretation No. 7-86: 'Resident eligible voters' under Article X, Section 3

Interprets Article X, Section 3, which lets members bring removal charges against a Reservation Business Committee member by petition of 20 percent of the reservation's resident eligible voters: defines 'resident eligible voters' and how the number is determined.

Tribal Constitution Interpretation No. 8-94: Delegation of authority to the Reservation Business Committee

On request of the White Earth Secretary/Treasurer, interprets the extent to which authority is delegated to a Reservation Business Committee (the White Earth Tribal Council) under the constitution.

Tribal Constitution Interpretation No. 9-95: The Article XIV referendum process

Fills gaps in Article XIV, which provides a referendum on Reservation Business Committee resolutions and ordinances but is silent on procedure. Rescinded by the Committee on August 8, 1996; published as adopted, with the rescission noted on its face.

Tribal Constitution Interpretation No. 10-96: Response to the Bureau of Indian Affairs' letter of June 26, 1996

Answers a letter from the Acting Area Director, Minneapolis Area Office, Bureau of Indian Affairs, dated June 26, 1996, reaffirming the Committee's position on the authority at issue.

TEC Interpret 11 09

WHEREAS, Article XIV of the Revised Constitution of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe provides for a referendum process with regard to Tribal Executive Committee and Reservation Business Committee resolutions or WHEREAS, Article XIV is silent on several issues, and further interpretation Is needed concermming the circumstances in which the referendum process can be WHEREAS, the Minnesota Chippewa …

TEC Interpret 13 09

1-80 provides that the Tribal Executive Committee (TEC) may at its own motion issue written opinions as to the meaning and interpretation of the Revised Constitution and Bylaws of the Minnesota WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 4 of the revised Constitution and Bylaws provides that n}jo member of the Tribe shail be eligible to hold office, either as a itteeman or Officer, if he or she has ever been …

Tribal Constitution Interpretation No. 14-2011: The two-thirds vote under Article X, Section 2

Interprets Article X, Section 2, under which a Reservation Business Committee may act 'by a two-thirds vote' on removal of one of its members: which members count toward the two-thirds. Companion to Interpretation No. 15-2011.

Tribal Constitution Interpretation No. 15-2011

Interprets Article X, Section 3 of the Revised Constitution and Bylaws as requiring a majority vote of the members of a Reservation Business Committee to schedule a recall election, with all members, including the accused member, permitted to vote. Adopted 11 for, 1 against, 0 silent at a regular meeting of the Tribal Executive Committee at Onamia, Minnesota; signed by Norman W. Deschampe, President, and Michael J. Bongo, Secretary.

Membership document 362530

The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe is organized under Section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984); and * Article II of The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Constitution’ provides time limitations within which membership under Resolution Number 31-68 (passed January 11, 1968) The Tribal Executive Committee sat forth its interpretation of the "because of an error" provision, Article II, Section 3 of …

Membership document b3685b

WIERZAS, the viinnesote Chippewa Tribe is organized under Section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984); and WHRiAS, the former tribal membership ordinance, approved July 3, 1961, and srticle II of the Revised Constitution and Bylaws of the iidnnesota Chippewa Tribe, approved March 3, 1964, provide time limitations within which membership applications may be made; and "HO2EAS, both the …

Enrollment Doc 1

TO THE FOLLOWING: COMMISSIONER GF INDIAN AFFAIRS I am returning for reconsideration a draft of a proposed letter to the President of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe disapprov- ing resolution No. 4, concerning tribal enrollment. Your memorandum of January 14 expresses disagreement with the first paragraph on page six of the letter, which interprets Section 3, Article II of the tribal constitution to …

Membership document 059844

If the Minnesote Chip »ewa Indians desire to share their property with a lerge number of persons woo are Indiens neither by name, residence, or attechment tut merely by the accident of a small portion of indian blood, in order to extend such benefits 25 mey be aveilable to Minnesota Chippewa Indians to the lergest possible nur— ber of persons, thet does not constitute any reason for Congress to …

Membership document 16618e

TO THE FOLLOWING: COMMISSIONER GF INDIAN AFFAIRS I am returning for reconsideration a draft of a proposed letter to the President of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe disapprov- ing resolution No. 4, concerning tribal enrollment. Your memorandum of January 14 expresses disagreement with the first paragraph on page six of the letter, which interprets Section 3, Article II of the tribal constitution to …

Membership document e5687c

4 fx the reasons siatec : ty his letter ef dune 21, 19.5, the cesictant Susalashane's of imisn Ariairs called ettention to cho fact the: gwther resolution, foe Jl, to govern matership in the Minnesota Chippewa Trive contained 2 provision which the Assistant Seerctury hod erinicised enen he reiwed \ te approve tie earlier resolution, Becawe Nesolution No. 14 for sil practical purpowes ds almost …

Membership document bf7045

Attached hereto are resolutions passed by the Tribal oY . Brecutive Committe of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and also by -@elegates to the meeting of May 20-21, 1949. The resolutions "Resolution No. 1, = passed 5-21-49 (ratified) | As we are being deluged with requests and information | } regarding the possibilities of enrollment into the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe by those who are not now …

Membership document c63198

' fecus, shell by these acte be forever abrogeted.” President, Mianesote Shnippess: frites, : Syte at _. fhrough Supt., Somsolidates chippews agency, de ntl ant On July £6, 1941, the Yribel Smecutive Comittee of tre Minuesste 2: pre wa Trive sdopted Resolution tc. 4 governing future enrollment of mexbers ia the tribe which resolution, pursuant 9 Section ©, article Ii of the Constitution ef the i …

Resolution 34-66: Procedures for Developing Current Membership Roll

Ratifies and adopts the rules the Tribal Executive Committee's officers followed in building the membership roll from the April 14, 1941 Annuity Roll, which the Tribe designated as its Basic Membership Roll on May 14, 1961: membership cards for each name, blood degree from the Minnesota Agency working copy, parentage where it can be determined, and procedures for recording deaths.

Compilation of ordinances and constitution interpretations (excerpt)

Twenty pages from the Tribe's bound compilation: the table of contents listing Constitution Interpretations 1-80 through 9-98 by subject, and the ordinances that follow. The contents page is printed over the Tribe's seal, so its text is pasted from the scan and reads best in the page image.

Enrollment Doc 3

aHdee' ~ el Taree id Se ine - Exe =iilsen, Land Division : ie ‘ Ee FILE Copy 48957-41 : Raters 3 Surname: _ es UNITED STATES © ee DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY WASHINGTON President, Mianesota “hippex: Tribe, pete Sy dear Mr. Gilson: : | : f om Tuly' £6, 1941, the Tribal Executive Comittee of tre Winnesoste Shipews - inlet aerated a eee oa a re tn te 7 NEE ha ae a el ne tt a …

Ordinance Implementing Constitutional Petition and Censure Processes

Sets uniform standards for petitions asking the Tribal Executive Committee or a Band governing body to call a referendum under Article XIV, or asking a Band governing body to set a hearing for removal or recall under Article X, Section 3: form and content of the petition, filing deadlines, and the showing required to trigger action.

Election Ordinance, as revised December 14, 2017

The Tribe's election ordinance with the December 14, 2017 amendments (order of candidates on the ballot by public lottery, election board work schedules, automated ballot tabulation), followed by the full text: candidates and voting, election boards, absentee voting, contests, and recall.

Election Ordinance, as amended December 11, 2023

The current election ordinance with the December 11, 2023 amendments, including clarified criminal-background-check requirements for candidates, followed by the full text.

Membership document 9498ff

Minnesota Chippewa Tribe approved by the Secretary of the Interior on duly 2h, 1936, the following rules and regulations shall cover the mnberaip and | enroLinent in the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, . . 4 (a) Basic Menbership Roll, = A f Min ¢ ya Indian bleod whose Demes appear. ea..on the April, | annuity to. Ly wbtet shalt be nowy ad the basic menbers To. eo Tribe, provided the Tribal’ Executive …

MCT Nelson Act

24.—An act for the relief and civilization of the Chippewa Indians in the Be it enacted by the Senate and House as Representatives of the United States merica in Congress assembled, That the President of the United States is hereby authorized and directed, within sixty days after the passage of this act, to designate and appoint three Com- missioners, one of whom shall be a citizen of Minnesota, …

The Dawes Act of February 8, 1887: summary and background

A four-page explanatory summary of the General Allotment Act ('An Act to Provide for the Allotment of Lands in Severalty to Indians on the Various Reservations'), the policy of severalty it introduced, and its effects. This is a summary, not the statute's text.

Special inquiries relating to Indians, Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910

The two-page special schedule census enumerators used for Indians in 1910. It records tribe of the person, of the father and of the mother, the proportion of Indian, white and Negro blood, the number of marriages, whether living in polygamy, whether taxed, whether allotted land and in what year, and the kind of dwelling. These are the questions that produced the blood-quantum figures later relied on in enrollment disputes.

Authority of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe to authorize tribal courts to adjudicate child custody cases

The Associate Solicitor reaffirms the 1980 Twin Cities Field Solicitor's opinion that the Constitution of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe does not delegate to tribal officials the power to authorize tribal courts to adjudicate child custody matters, and that the constitution must be amended before the tribal government may exercise that jurisdiction. Written in response to the Fond du Lac Reservation Business Committee's challenge to the rejection of the White Earth Band's petition to reassume jurisdiction under the Indian Child Welfare Act.

Interior declines to call a Secretarial election for a White Earth independence referendum, with Chairman Deschampe's letter to the Assistant Secretary

Two letters on White Earth's 2013–2015 effort to leave the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe under its own constitution. In the first, the Assistant Secretary – Indian Affairs declines Chairwoman Vizenor's May 12, 2015 request that the Secretary hold a special Secretarial election to conduct an independence referendum for the White Earth Band. White Earth accepted the Indian Reorganization Act in 1934 by 1,122 to 245 and in 1936 joined the six-reservation MCT constitution, binding itself to that constitution's constraints. Under the MCT Constitution the Secretary must call an election to amend or revoke the constitution only when two-thirds of the Tribal Executive Committee request it (Art. XII), and individual members may petition for a referendum under Art. XIV; absent either, the Secretary lacks authorization to call a Secretarial election. Calling it a close case, Washburn says the federal government must proceed with humility in intratribal disputes and urges White Earth to use the MCT's own processes. In the second letter, written a year earlier, MCT President Norman Deschampe tells Washburn he expects Interior to honor the Revised Constitution: White Earth remains a constituent band until the constitution is amended through Article XII, which needs eight of the twelve TEC members; a 2004 TEC-commissioned draft article allowing a band to withdraw was placed on the December 2013 agenda by Vizenor but never moved, and no TEC action was proposed in 2014.

Ay dow ah cumig o quay Testimony

The only reason you sey he is a full-blood was because he ‘Ae I never saw a mixed blood, from the time I lived at Leech Lake until I lived clear bp here. I never saw 8 mixed | Qa Then you don't know whet a mixed plooa is? -Q. Don't know what? Do you know what 6 mixed bleed is? ' Q. What ie a mixea blood? What is any mixed blood? Qe You don't know then what is a mixed blood? G. Did you havé some …

Bay bah doung ay yaush Testimony

«we The two liin-e-ge-shigshad the same mother? -~. Did you ever hear who was the feather cf the mixcé blood Ae I used to hear. A van from Kentreal, s Frenchman, whom we Q. Wae he ever in this country? Ae io, sir. we The mother of Min-o-ge-ehir was iay~-way~dah-cued—-o-quay? we She came from the English courtry, didn't she’ A. Yay-way-deh-quod-o-quay lived at Leech Lake - that is only what I …

Ke zhe wash Testimony

fied (KAewtne-Oabh | A. Mah-je-ge-shig-o-quay. f Q.. Dia you know her? As Yea, I know them; all of them here. Q. Was she a full blood? A. Yes, she was full blood. 17 hey were re all full -bloods I will alwaye sey that. . Qe. You wouldn’ t. say she wes a full-blocd if she was a mixed blood, would you? A. I don't know anybody who is 2 mixed ploca . I won't say it ignorantly. -. 1 Qs Do you know C …

Mak ah day wub Testimony

_ Mak-sh-dey-wub, recalled for further examination on behalf of the compleinant, testified as follows: Questicn: Did you know Ah-Wah-#eence end Mo-zo~moh-nay~ quay ¥ Anwwer: Yee, I used vo sec the woman, hut not the man. . Q@. Wie you new Fo-me-tug-e-ne-geunee, end Oh~-cuay-gonce? f. Yea,sir, they are. T hey vers ivust cs peer cs IT am ~ QC. DO yeu call every one thet is voor . fnil—bicod …

Mak kah day wub Testimony

If you adk bia who 4s feather was “04 “he would not know, he eould net tell you, he is suoh a fool.) s Awe He is s sousin of yours, isn't he? } “ 3 g- De you knew john Leeoy over at White Earth? | : Be Do you know George Berry at White Eerth? | is : i ae De you know the husband of Xe-zhe-wah, who wan here yes- ae Qe I have forgotten whether you told us - I will ask you eagein. De you know …

Mixed Blood vs Full Blood Testimony

Pa ETE OAPRENR OG Ma a als a AS bo te ETRE RL west Heda aaeses Q. And day-mis-quah-nah-vweince was 8 man? Ae That ie the fether of Ay-ne-me-que-gwon. Go» T4d he marry a woman celled 0-dah-gwe-eush-e-—quay? A. Yes, sir, she was a full blood Indien woman. Qs» Then yeu would call their children full bloods, too, Qe Dia Keg-gway-de-aeh have « deughter called Kay-bey-way- As You, I beard of her but I …

Shin ow wainee Testimony

os Shin-ow-wainee, being then called fovoros s-exami neat ion by ‘the ‘Aefontant, testified as follows: ‘nes tien: aa you ever see 8 mixed bleed? Ae I never saw ary indian with curly hair. They all wore two braide rumning om each side of their heads that we Dad you know ¢/AMe-liin~o-ge-shig, the father of Shah- ' A, Yes, I used to see bin at what they eall Otter Teil Lake when we aged to go by …

Way way zho o quay Testimony

tho wee ahs father of Wun-2dn-e-ge-shig-oke? who was “the ‘tether of Hay-mis—quah-no-way ? As He must have been white. I- até not imnow him to be a A. I didn't know it thet way. The Indians have e Light face. I aian'¢ teke particuler notice of him. Q. Did he look like ec full-blood Indian? Ac I didn't teke particular notice. I con't know. Qe Who was the mother of M sy-mis-quah-no-qey? AL ‘She …

A Short History of the Development of Tribal Government Among Minnesota Chippewa — Part 1 of 3

Part 1 of Burris's typewritten study of how the Minnesota Chippewa came to be organized as one tribe of six reservations. This part: The Allotment Act in Minnesota and the nation; the Chippewa General Council. The study is undated; the latest year it cites is 1976, and the Tribe's 1978 curriculum history lists it as a source, which fixes its date between those years.

A Short History of the Development of Tribal Government Among Minnesota Chippewa — Part 2 of 3

Part 2 of Burris's typewritten study of how the Minnesota Chippewa came to be organized as one tribe of six reservations. This part: The Meriam Report and the Minnesota Chippewa; conditions on the six reservations. The study is undated; the latest year it cites is 1976, and the Tribe's 1978 curriculum history lists it as a source, which fixes its date between those years.

A Short History of the Development of Tribal Government Among Minnesota Chippewa — Part 3 of 3

Part 3 of Burris's typewritten study of how the Minnesota Chippewa came to be organized as one tribe of six reservations. This part: The Solicitor's reasoning on organizing the bands as one tribe under the Indian Reorganization Act. The study is undated; the latest year it cites is 1976, and the Tribe's 1978 curriculum history lists it as a source, which fixes its date between those years.

History of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (1978)

A 215-page curriculum unit on Minnesota Chippewa tribal government, written for Minnesota schools in 1978. It traces government from the forms known before European contact through the treaties, the Nelson Act, allotment, the Indian Reorganization Act, the 1936 constitution and its 1963 revision, and the structure of the Tribal Executive Committee and Reservation Business Committees as they stood in 1978, and closes with a list of the Tribe's presidents since 1936. Prepared with Bemidji State University.

3E Strategic Plan FINAL

Srategic Plan 4 Strategic Directions Workshop

Strategic Plan 1 History and Environment

Strategic Plan 2 Practical Vision

Strategic Plan 3 Underlying Contradictions Workshop

The White Earth Reservation Strategic Plan

The Tribal Council's twenty-year plan for the Reservation. It inventories existing conditions across the human, natural, social and built environment — population, land ownership, schools, health care, roads, water, energy — and then sets out the Vision and Mission and six component plans (housing and economic development, infrastructure, resource management, education, safety and laws, health and human services), each with goals, policies and dated implementation strategies. The plan states that final decision-making and implementation authority rests with the Tribal Council, includes the nine fold-out maps (Proposed Land Use, Infrastructure Improvement, and supporting Maps I–VII), and closes with the authorizing resolution signed by Doyle Turner and Erma Vizenor.

Protection of Burial Grounds Code

Protects burial grounds and human remains. Its recitals are the most careful in this set: the White Earth Band is one of the six constituent bands governed by the Revised Constitution and Bylaws of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe as approved on March 3, 1964 by the Assistant Secretary of the Interior, and the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe is organized under Section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934. It then cites Article I of that constitution, the organization and purpose article.

Judicial Code, Title 1: Courts

The code that establishes the White Earth tribal court. Chapter I opens “There is hereby established the White Earth Band of Chippewa Tribal Court” and cites no source of authority at all: no preamble, no recital, no reference to the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe constitution, the Indian Reorganization Act or inherent sovereignty. It supersedes any earlier code that established a judicial body, so an earlier court existed. Chapter II claims jurisdiction over all persons whose actions involve or affect the Band, criminal jurisdiction within the reservation, all common-law civil causes, jurisdiction concurrent with the United States and the state, automatic jurisdiction over any code the council later adopts, and jurisdiction to interpret the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe constitution. Judges are appointed by the council, paid at rates it sets, and sworn to the laws of the White Earth Band rather than to the constitution they are asked to construe. Bound in at the end is Resolution No. 019-21-002 of March 11, 2021, which establishes an 1855 off-reservation tribal court as a subdivision of this court and extends its jurisdiction beyond the reservation boundaries.

Criminal Trespass Ordinance

A trespass law adopted to protect Band land. The resolution states that the White Earth Band of Chippewa Indians enact in their inherent traditional powers the authority of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribal Constitution, Article 1, Section 3. Article I, Section 3 is the purpose clause of that constitution, which the Interior Solicitor held in 1986 is not a grant of power, because reading it as one would make the detailed lists in Articles V and VI unnecessary.

Civil Trespass Ordinance

The civil counterpart to the criminal trespass ordinance. Its recitals describe the White Earth Tribal Council as the duly elected governing body of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe, a federally recognized tribe. The federally recognized tribe organized under the 1934 Act is the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, of which White Earth is one of six constituent bands.

Judicial Code of Conduct (tribal judicial code amendment)

Amends the tribal judicial code to add a code of conduct for the Band's judges. The resolution recites that the White Earth Reservation Tribal Council is the duly elected governing body of the White Earth Reservation pursuant to Article IV, Section 1 of the revised constitution of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. Article IV of that constitution is the article on tribal elections; the article that lists what a Reservation Business Committee may do is Article VI, and it grants no judicial power.

Uniform Commercial Code adoption resolution

A one-page resolution adopting the Uniform Commercial Code as Band law. Its recitals state that the council is organized under Section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 and acts pursuant to the Revised Constitution and By-Laws of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, and that adoption is consistent with the council's purpose of promoting the general welfare of the tribe. That phrase comes from the purpose clause, not from the enumerated powers.

Child and Family Protection Code

The Band's child protection law, at 106 pages the longest code in this set: reporting, emergency removal, petitions, adjudication, disposition, placement and termination of parental rights in the tribal court. The approving resolution recites Article IV, Section 1 of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe constitution as the council's authority. Child custody is the precise subject on which the Interior Solicitor concluded in 1980, and again on July 31, 1986, that the constitution must be amended before the Tribal Executive Committee or any Reservation Business Committee may authorize a tribal court to adjudicate.

Cemetery Ordinance

Provides for the Band's cemeteries. The resolution recites that the White Earth Reservation Tribal Council is the duly elected governing body of the White Earth Reservation pursuant to Article IV, Section 1 of the revised constitution of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, and organized under Section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934. Article IV is the elections article.

Animal Cruelty, Dangerous Dogs, Registration and Rabies Control Act of 2008

Enacted, in the Act's own words, in accordance with the Constitution and By-Laws of the White Earth Indian Reservation to promote public safety, health and welfare. It defines cruelty and dangerous dogs, requires registration and rabies control, and gives the White Earth Tribal Police Department and the Conservation Officers concurrent enforcement authority. The reference to a White Earth constitution and bylaws, rather than to the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe constitution, is the recurring authority question in these codes.

Business License Code (Title 20)

Requires a licence to do business within the exterior boundaries of the White Earth Reservation, and defines terms including gasoline filling station and WERTC, the White Earth Reservation Tribal Council. Licensing non-member business is one of the few powers the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe constitution does enumerate for a Reservation Business Committee, at Article VI, Section 1(d), subject to Secretarial review.

Prohibited Conduct (Title 500)

A short criminal code. Its first section makes unlawful assembly a misdemeanour punishable by a fine of up to five thousand dollars, up to one year in jail, or both, and is written to apply when two or more Indians assemble with the intent it describes. Criminal punishment of this kind is the clearest exercise of the judicial power the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe constitution never granted.

Referendum Ordinance

Provides for referendum votes of the White Earth membership. Compare Article XIV of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe constitution, which already gives reservation members a referendum on any resolution or ordinance of their Reservation Business Committee on a petition of twenty percent of resident voters.

Juvenile Justice Code

The juvenile code: short title and purpose, the jurisdiction of the tribal court over juveniles, transfer to tribal court with the petition, hearing, deciding factors and standard of proof, and the procedure that follows. Chapter 2 vests jurisdiction in the tribal court directly.

White Earth Traffic Code

Rules of the road on the reservation, with the offences, penalties and the procedure by which they are tried in the tribal court.

White Earth Parentage Act (Title 6, Family Relations Code, Chapter 10A)

The Band's parentage law: how parentage is established, acknowledged, adjudicated and rescinded, including genetic testing and the effect of an adjudication. Child custody and parentage are the exact subjects the Interior Solicitor concluded in 1980 and again in 1986 that the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe constitution does not authorize tribal officials to adjudicate without an amendment.

Establishment of the White Earth Nation Child Support Program (Title 6, Family Relations Code, Chapter 10B)

Creates the White Earth Nation child support programme and sets out its duties, definitions and findings. The chapter is headed “Law and Order Code” and names the government the White Earth Nation.

White Earth Child Support Act (Title 6, Family Relations Code, Chapter 10C)

The child support statute: definitions, findings and purpose, the guidelines for calculating support, establishment and modification of orders, enforcement, and the recognition of orders from other jurisdictions. At 66 pages the longest of the family-relations chapters.

Court of Appeals Rules of Appellate Procedure

The rules of the Band's Court of Appeals: the court's name, the scope of the rules, the authority claimed for them and the title, then the taking of appeals, the record, briefing, argument and decision. Rule 1 states the court's authority in its own terms.

Tax Code

The Band's taxing law. Article V, Section 1(g) and Article VI, Section 1(d) of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe constitution permit the levy of licences or fees on non-members by ordinance, subject to review by the Secretary of the Interior; those are the only revenue powers the constitution enumerates.

Tribal Conservation Code

The Band's conservation law, opening with a short title, a repeal-and-replace clause, a provision on conflict with other tribal laws, and a declaration of policy. It regulates hunting, fishing, gathering and resource management, and is one of the codes the tribal court is given jurisdiction to enforce.

Registration of Predatory Offenders Code (Title 20)

Requires predatory offenders to register with the Band. The findings state that the White Earth Tribal Council determined it to be in the best interest of the White Earth Nation to make laws governing such registration; the code then sets who must register, for how long, and the consequences of failing to.

Marriage Code (Title 6)

Governs marriage under Band law: who may marry, licensing, solemnization, records, and dissolution. The code is headed Title 6 but its own short-title section says Title 18 shall be entitled the Marriage Code, one of several places where these codes disagree with themselves about numbering.

Order for Protection Code

Domestic violence protection orders in the tribal court: the petition, ex parte orders and their refusal, service by publication, the request for a hearing, notice to interested parties, and enforcement. The code names the government the White Earth Nation.

Corporate Code (Title 18)

Provides for the chartering of corporations under Band law: short title, purpose, interpretation and definitions, the scope of the title and who may incorporate, the jurisdiction of the Band over such corporations, and the status, powers and governance of corporations formed under it.

Probate Code (Title 14)

Governs the estates of deceased members: short title, findings, purpose and objectives, then the law of wills, intestate succession, personal representatives and the administration of estates in the tribal court.

Revised Civil Commitment Code

Provides for the involuntary civil commitment of persons found to be mentally ill, chemically dependent or dangerous, through proceedings in the tribal court. Civil commitment is a deprivation of liberty ordered by a court, which makes the source of the court's authority a live question for this code in particular.

Limited Liability Company Code

Provides for limited liability companies under Band law: the Tribe as an owner, the nature of the business, execution of documents, filing, certificates of status and execution by judicial act.

Institutional Review Board (research) Code

Establishes the Band's institutional review board and the rules for research conducted on the reservation or with Band members, so that research is reviewed and approved by the Band before it is carried out.

White Earth Rules of Civil Procedure

The rules governing civil cases in the White Earth tribal court: scope and construction, commencement of actions, service of process (including service on counsel or an advocate and actual notice in open court), pleadings, motions, discovery, trial and judgment. These are the procedures by which the court exercises the jurisdiction the 1997 Judicial Code claims for it.

Housing, Tribal Property, Unlawful Detainer and Mortgage Foreclosure Code (Title II)

Governs tribal housing and property: purposes and interpretation, definitions, jurisdiction, notice of breach, and the eviction and mortgage foreclosure procedures that follow. Its own jurisdiction section, at 1.03, states the reach the Band claims over these matters.

Resolution establishing the Rights of Manoomin

Recognises rights in manoomin, wild rice, within the territory ceded by the Treaty of 1855. This is one of the two codes that White Earth Reservation Business Committee Resolution No. 019-21-002 adopted as White Earth law in March 2021, in the same resolution that created an 1855 off-reservation tribal court as a subdivision of the White Earth court. The officers and board members of the 1855 Treaty Authority are listed on its face.

Right to Travel, Use and Occupy Traditional Lands and Waters Code

Asserts the right to travel, use and occupy traditional lands and waters in the territory ceded by the Treaty of 1855. The other of the two codes adopted as White Earth law by Resolution No. 019-21-002 in 2021, which also extended the White Earth court's jurisdiction to conduct within or without the boundaries of the reservation.

Utilities Code (Title 23)

Establishes the Band's authority over utilities: general provisions with short title, findings, purpose and interpretation, then the regulation, licensing and operation of utility service on the reservation.

Vulnerable Adult and Elder Protection Code (Title 24)

Protects vulnerable adults and elders: title, findings and purpose, definitions, the reporting of suspected maltreatment, investigation, and the protective orders and remedies available in the tribal court.

Hazardous Substances Code (W.E.E.C. 1200.00)

A section of the Environmental Code. Its statement of policy is that the beneficial stewardship of the land, air and waters of the White Earth Reservation is a solemn obligation of the present generation for the benefit of future generations, and it binds every person residing on or doing business within the exterior boundaries of the reservation.

Gaming Ordinance

The Band's gaming law as amended in 2019. The face of the ordinance records its full approval history: established by the Reservation Business Committee on October 1, 1993, amended in 1999, 2006, 2009 and 2019, each amendment approved by the National Indian Gaming Commission. Unlike most of these codes it shows a federal approval chain, because the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act requires one.

Concentrated Animal Feeding Operation moratorium extension

Extends the Band's moratorium on concentrated animal feeding operations, on the recommendation of the Division of Natural Resources.

Medicinal Cannabis Code

The medicinal cannabis law, parallel in structure to the adult-use code: findings, purpose, authority and sovereign immunity, limitations, definitions, the medicinal cannabis programme, and the Medicinal Cannabis Control Commission that licenses and regulates it.

Adult-Use Cannabis Code

The Band's adult-use cannabis law. It states the Band's findings and purpose, asserts authority and sovereign immunity, sets the limits of the program, establishes the Medicinal Cannabis Control Commission as the licensing and regulatory body, and provides for licences, taxation and enforcement. Notable for the brief: the code opens with its own authority clause rather than a citation to the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe constitution.

Family Relations Code (Title VI)

The consolidated family law of the Band: general provisions with a short title, purpose, definitions and a repeal-and-replace clause, then marriage and the chapters that follow. Issued in 2023, it gathers into one title the subjects previously carried in separate chapters.

Groundwater and Surface Water Protection Ordinance

Protects groundwater and surface water within the reservation. The face of the ordinance records its enactment by resolution on May 5, 2023 and amendments in June 2024 and May 2025, each by numbered resolution of the Reservation Business Committee. It states its title and purpose, defines the waters covered, and sets standards, permitting and enforcement for activities that may affect them.

Land Assignment Ordinance

Governs the assignment of tribal land to members. The ordinance carries its own chapters on short title, purpose, applicability and scope, authority and jurisdiction, which is unusually explicit for these codes: most state a purpose and leave the authority question unaddressed.

Environmental Code

The Band's environmental law at 119 pages, the umbrella code under which the hazardous substances and water provisions sit. It regulates land, air and water within the reservation and provides for enforcement.

Construed: what the Anishinaabe Ojibwe understood in 1963 when the constitution was revised

A tribal member's commentary, addressed to Anishinaabe Ojibwe members of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, on what the people understood in 1963 when the IRA constitution was revised: that the Tribe is a creation of the Indian Reorganization Act, that the 1937 corporate charter chartered it as a body politic, and what followed from that. Published at the request of the site owner as a member's view, not as an official record.

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MCT Bois Forte Meeting Report FINAL

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Wilder MCT Research

In 2012-2013, Minnesota Chippewa Tribe (MCT) contracted with Wilder Research to conduct a study and produce population projections for MCT as a whole as well as for the six member Bands: Bois Forte, Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Leech Lake, Mille Lacs, and White Earth. In 2013-2014, MCT again contracted with Wilder Research to update the existing projections and to add an additional alternative …

MCT Survey

Citizen Input on the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Constitution Please complete the following questions and return to a Native Nations Institute staff member. Instructions: Please read the statements which describe your beliefs about each item. Rate each statement by circling a number between 1 - 5 where the numbers mean the following: If you do not understand a statement, leave it blank. If you …

Doerfler 2007 AT articles

MCT Phil Brodeen History of MCT Presentation

White Earth Mandated allotment of communal lands and allowed the sale of surplus lands Focused on all Anishinaabe in Minnesota, including Red Lake Improper timber valuations and the taking of land led to the Nelson Act Settlement Imposed a standardized model of governance on tribes Adoption of the IRA was voluntary and each reservation had 18 months to vote on whether The Anishinaabe in …

Brodeen MCT Presentation

Pe te a __ Executive Branch of Tribal Foverrintcrt 7 43408 Oodena Drive © Onamia, MN 56359 36666 State Highway 65 © McGregor, MN 55760 2605 Chiminising Drive © Isle, MN 56342 (320) 532-4181 © Fax (320) 532-4209 (218) 768-3311 © Fax (218) 768-3903 (320) 676-1102 © Fax (320) 676-3432 45749 Grace Lake Road ¢ Sandstone, MN 55072 1433 E. Franklin Avenue, Ste. 7c © Minneapolis, MN 55404 ¢ Submitted …

MCT Brodeen History of MCT Constitution

aninnesota Chippewa oe t structure ~ Philip Brodeen session 1: The DeveSe August 2017 ~ Janvary 20 * Submitted for ratification to the MCT on June 20, * Approved by Secretary of Interior on July 24, * BIA had a strong influence in drafting the initial * Provided little localized autonomy (envisioned Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Constitution Meetings Session 1: The Development of the MCT & Current …

MCT NNI Glossary

Ad hoc: A Latin phrase, it typically refers to a structure, organization, institution or rule that is developed to address an immediate, specific task or challenge, and which cannot be applied to other tasks or challenges. Ad hoc rules, for example, typically are not a product of strategic thinking, and instead reflect an approach of Articles of Incorporation: The primary rules that govern the …

Beaulieu CurlyHairandBigFeet

Curly Hair and Big Feet: Physical Anthropology and the Implementation of Land Allotment on the White Earth Chippewa Reservation Source: American Indian Quarterly, Vol. 8, No. 4 (Autumn, 1984), pp. 281-314 Published by: University of Nebraska Press Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/ 1183660 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available …

MCT NNI Govt and Constitutions

Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Constitution Meetings Session 3: Government & Constitutions: What They Are, Do, & Lock Like Across Indian Country What they look like across Indian Country Colemal poliaes have impeded, displaced or ¢ ved Indi: Sg ance institutions ead governing systems over U2 past few centuries. Late 18th Century - Carly 20th Century: the systemctic sunpression of Indicencus 1930s: …

MCT NNI Strengthening Governance

Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Constitution Meetings How Have Other Native Nations Addressed the Process of Revising or Reforming Their Constitution? How Have Other Native Nations Addressed the Process of Revising or Reforming their Constitution? * You'll need someone to manage the reform x You'll need to educate yourselves—and your Presented by the Native Nations Institute, Udall Center for Studies …

MCT NNI Why some are Successful

Minnesota Chippewa Tribe Constitution Meetings Session 4: Why Are Some Native Nations More Successful How do these approaches differ, and why does one To edad £ a Native Nation under the Standard Approach: Presented by the Native Nations Institute, Udail Center for Studies in Public Policy, The University of Arizona. Copyright 2017 Arizona Board of Regents. Ail rights reserved. Minnesota …

MCT Ransom Powell

Ken Peterson, Minnesota's commissioner of labor and industry, began his career as a legal services lawyer on the Leech Lake Reservation. For eight years as a deputy attorney general, he coordinated the State of Minnesota’s legal relations with tribal At one time or another Powell either represented or worked closely with all who had a hand in Ojibwe men lining up for land allotments, White Earth …