White Earth Nation facts for kids
The White Earth Nation, also known as the White Earth Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, is a Native American group. They are officially recognized by the U.S. government. Their home is in northwestern Minnesota. The name "Gaa-waabaabiganikaag Anishinaabeg" in their language means "People from where there is an abundance of white clay."
In 2007, the White Earth Band had 19,291 members. This makes them the largest of the six main groups that form the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. This larger tribe was created after the Indian Reorganization Act in 1934. The White Earth Band is also the largest Native American group in Minnesota.
The other five groups that are part of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe are:
History of the White Earth Nation
On March 19, 1867, the U.S. Congress created the White Earth Indian Reservation. This happened after an agreement was signed between the U.S. and the Mississippi Chippewa Indians in Minnesota.
The government made more agreements about the White Earth Band of Ojibwe. Some groups, like the Pillagers, didn't have their own land. So, Congress allowed the western Pillagers to move to the White Earth Indian Reservation.
They had not been part of an earlier agreement in 1855. Eventually, other groups like the Otter Tail Pillager Band of Chippewa Indians and the Wild Rice River Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians also settled there. They became part of the White Earth Band.
Long ago, this tribe was formed when different Ojibwe groups from northern Minnesota came together. They had to move because European settlers were arriving.
These original groups included:
- Gull Lake Band of Mississippi River Chippewa
- Removable Mille Lacs Indians
- Rabbit Lake Band of Mississippi River Chippewa
- Rice Lake Band of Mississippi River Chippewa
Before 1934, the different Ojibwe groups living on the White Earth Indian Reservation acted on their own. After the Indian Reorganization Act in 1934, these six groups wrote rules to create the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
They divided Minnesota into six areas for the different groups. This brought together many Ojibwe groups, except for the Red Lake Band of Chippewa, who did not join.
The groups on the White Earth Indian Reservation became the single White Earth Band we know today. The six Minnesota Chippewa Tribe groups still sign up members separately. However, they also combine their numbers for the whole tribe. In July 2007, the White Earth Band had 19,291 members. It is the largest group in the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe and the largest in the state.
The tribe was involved in a court case about money. This money was compensation for land taken by the U.S. government in the early 1800s. In 2022, the final payment of $59 million was shared. It went to the White Earth Nation, the Little Shell Chippewa, the Chippewa Cree, and the Turtle Mountain Tribe of North Dakota. It was also shared among 39,000 individual people. Earlier payments for this case were made in 1964 and 1980.
Notable People from White Earth
Many important people are members of the White Earth Nation:
- Kathleen Annette - a doctor and health leader.
- Clyde Bellecourt - a social activist who worked for Native American rights.
- Vernon Bellecourt - an activist and early leader of the American Indian Movement.
- Charles Albert Bender - a famous baseball pitcher. He was chosen for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953.
- Peggy Flanagan - the current lieutenant governor of Minnesota.
- Joe Guyon - a famous football player, in both the Professional and College Football Hall of Fame.
- Gordon Henry Jr. - a poet and writer.
- Clara Sue Kidwell - a director at the American Indian Center at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- Winona LaDuke - she started the White Earth Land Recovery Project in 1989. This project buys land for the tribe, plants trees, and sells traditional products like wild rice. She also ran for Vice President twice.
- Robert Lilligren - the first Native American tribal member to serve on the Minneapolis City Council.
- Anne McKeig - a lawyer and judge. In 2016, she became the first Native American on the Minnesota State Supreme Court.
- Jean O'Brien - a historian who studies Native American history in the northeastern U.S.
- T. J. Oshie - a professional hockey player in the National Hockey League. He was on the 2014 USA Olympic Men's Hockey team.
- Charlie Roy - a professional baseball player in 1906.
- Gerald Vizenor - a well-known scholar and writer.
- Wabanquot (White Cloud) - a chief in the 1800s.
