Mille Lacs Band leadership discusses tribal affairs, ICE concerns at annual event
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Virgil Wind, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, gave the tribe’s 42nd annual State of the Band address on Tuesday at the Grand Casino Mille Lacs in Onamia. The address updates band members on current tribal affairs and provides updates from the previous year.
Last year, Wind named 2025, “Year of the Child.” The tribal government said it would update the band’s K-12 schools.
Since then, he said the band has hired more teachers in its early education classrooms, totaling 61 teachers across districts — an increase from its original 45 teachers.
The band also expanded its educational programming across its three districts, including the addition of a new early education program in district three, located east of Hinckley.
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“This facility consists of three classrooms, allowing for the attendance of up to 24 band member children. This not only fills a major gap in district three's childcare needs but also opened up employment opportunities for local band members,” Wind said.
Wind also said the band secured $19 million from the Bureau of Indian Education. The funding is going toward remodeling two tribal schools.
Tribal leaders also spoke on topics such as education, cannabis, cultural education, and tribal welfare, including the announcement that the tribe is drafting its own constitution — separate from the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, comprised of six Ojibwe bands in northern Minnesota, including the Mille Lacs Band, has a constitution.
“If there ever is an opportunity for the Mille Lacs Band to govern itself under its own constitution, we cannot be caught flat-footed. Let's do the work now so that someday, maybe someday, the Mille Lacs Band will have a constitution that we can call our own,” Wind said.
He said he disagrees with changes to the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe's voting system that require band members to register to vote to be counted toward the 30 percent threshold for constitutional amendments.
Wind also took several moments to acknowledge the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations of the last week, including the shooting of Renee Macklin Good and the detainment of several Native Americans in the Twin Cities.
“These events have created fear, uncertainty and deep concern for our families and our communities,” he said.
Wind said the band will double its ongoing efforts to engage with the federal government, stating, “any immigration or other law enforcement activity on our reservation or band property can be done only after consultation with and the consent of the band.”
The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe is among several tribal nations encouraging band members to carry tribal identification.
The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe holds its State of the Band address annually in January.
Chandra Colvin covers Native American communities in Minnesota for MPR News via Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues and communities.
