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Minnesota Chippewa - Minnesota (U.S.)

Native American

image by Valentin Poposki, 6 March 2020

The band
The flag
Fond du Lac Band
Grand Portage Chippewa

See also:

The Band

map image by Peter Orenski based on input from Don Healy

Minnesota Chippewa - Minnesota

Minnesota is home to more bands of the Ojibwe or Chippewa Nation than any other state. All but one of the seven federally recognized Ojibwe reservations (the Red Lake Reservation) have come together as the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. The Tribe is composed of the Bois Forte (formerly Nett Lake), the Fond du Lac, Grand Portage, Leech Lake (which has two bands, the Mississippi and Pillanger Bands), the Mille Lacs and the White Earth Ojibwe. These seven bands on six reservations total nearly 13,000 Ojibwe, making the Minnesota Chippewa one of the largest single bodies of one tribe.

Minnesota Chippewa Tribe is a supra-entity that comprise 6 federally recognized bands in Minnesota: Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage Chippewa, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, and White Earth Band of Ojibwe. It is the centralized governmental authority, created on 18.06.1934. It has more than 41000 enrolled members.
Valentin Poposki, 6 March 2020

The Flag

image by Donald Healy, 16 January 2008

Each band/reservation has its own distinctive flag but there is also a separate flag employed by the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. That flag is white and bears the seal of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe in the center. The seal depicts a sunrise over the lakes of Minnesota and traditional elements of Ojibwe life along the shore. These include a typical Ojibwe home of the eighteenth century and a birchbark canoe. Many of the individual elements found in the seal of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe can be found in the seal employed by its constituent bands. The rising sun, for example, is featured in the flag of the Mille Lacs Band; while the conifer tree can be found in the flag of the Leech Lake Ojibwe.

Surrounding the seal is a yellow band bearing the Tribe's name across the top and repeating it in the Anishinabe language of the Ojibwe at the base of the seal. The date, June 18, 1934, the founding date of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe appears below the Anishinabe spelling. Ringing the seal within the yellow band, starting at the beginning of the native spelling and going counter clockwise ending at the end of the Anishinabe spelling is a thin black arrow.

© Donald Healy 2008
information provided by Peter Orenski, 16 January 2008

The flag is white with MCT seal on it. The current flag is almost identical to the one presented by Donald Healey, but the current seal has no word "SEAL" on it.
Valentin Poposki, 6 March 2020

Fond du Lac Band

image by Valentin Poposki, 1 March 2020

The Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa is a federally recognized tribe, part of Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
Valentin Poposki, 1 March 2020

Grand Portage Chippewa

image by Valentin Poposki, 1 March 2020

Grand Portage Chippewa is a federally recognized tribe, one of six bands that comprise the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
Valentin Poposki, 1 March 2020