MN Indian Population

•12th largest American Indian population in the country •1/3 live in central cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul•Make up 1% of MN population at about 50,000

Policy Issues•Tribes have power to make own laws governing internal matters•Trust responsibility between US and tribes was created through treaties and agreements in which land was surrendered in exchange for permanent protection of remaining lands and its tribal members

Poverty•55% of American Indian children live in poverty•Most American Indians in MN have less than half the income of white households•Median income of Indian in MN is 16,983 compared to 34,466 for white (1998)

Education

•American Indian drop-out rate for the state is 11-15% and 3% for all groups together•American Indians were .8% of the total enrollment in all collegiate institutions in the state

Employment

Crime

•American Indians in MN are 10 times more likely than white MN’s to be in prison•99% of all offenses committed by Indian offenders were done while under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs

MN Reservations and Tribes

•In MN there are 7 Anishinaabe (Chippewa, Ojibwe) reservations and 4 Dakota (Sioux) communities•Reservation is a segment of land that belongs to one or more groups of Indians that was retained by tribes after ceding original homelands

•It is not land that was given to American Indians by the federal government

•Anishinabe Reservations•Are separate and distinct nations

MN Reservations and TribesCont’d

•Anishinabe Reservations•Are separate and distinct nations and include

1. Grand Portage2. Bois Forte3. Red Lake4. White Earth5. Leech Lake6. Fond du Lac7. Mille Lacs

• Dakota Communities•Was established by the treaty in 1851 which set aside a 10 mile wide strip of land on both sides of the MN River

MN Reservations and TribesCont’d

MN Reservations and TribesCont’d

•Shakopee tribe organized in 1969

•The four communities were reestablished in 1886 by Congress 1. 1. Shakopee Mdewakanton2. 2. Prairie Island3. 3. Lower Sioux4. 4. Upper Sioux

Tribal Sovereignty

Tribal Sovereignty Cont’d

Treaties•Recognized the Indian nations as sovereign nations•All land in MN was gained by US through a series of treaties with the Anishinabe and Dakota

•No great war took place•No American Indian leader gave the land away

•Treaty of 1837•Between US government and several bands of the Anishinabe living in WI and eastern MN•Stated that band members and descendants would be able to hunt, fish, and harvest plants not only on the lands they reserved for themselves, but also on the lands they ceded•The treaty rights often conflict with the state laws

Perceptions•Indian tribes have money because of Casinos

•Shakopee – per capita – over 1 million per year per member•Have donated 95.5 million to charitable organizations and Indian Tribes•Northern tribes do not use per capita sharing, instead they try to invest in the community

•Not enough money to do all of it though•People left with very little money

•22 of 300 casinos accounted for 60% of the profits and revenues in nation•1% of revenue made up from 80 casinos

•Upper Midwest and Southwest are hotbed for Indian Gaming