Steps to restore Red Lake's tribal boundaries lead to opposition, concerns

Mar 22, 20240

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Attendees gather at Waskish Town Hall for an Upper Red Lake Area Association meeting to discuss possible implications of a bill that would transfer state land to the Red Lake Nation on Tuesday, March 19, 2024, in Waskish.Madelyn Haasken / Bemidji Pioneer

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This map drawn by Red Lake chiefs in 1889 shows they drew a line surrounding the entirety of both Upper and Lower Red Lakes on an 1889 Rand McNally map. Contributed

WASKISH, Minn. - Efforts to restore tribal boundaries to include the entirety of Upper Red Lake have gained some traction in the Minnesota State Legislature recently, but such plans won't go without opposition.

One bill, House File 4780 and its companion Senate File 5080 would transfer all state-owned land and real property within 84,105 acres of Red Lake State Forest to the Red Lake Nation. This would also transfer land surrounding the entirety of Upper Red Lake including a 1-mile buffer that would exist under tribal control.

The bill was introduced to the Minnesota House of Representatives on March 11, roughly one month after the 2024 Red Lake State of the Band Address where tribal chairman Darrell Seki Sr. detailed the nation's most recent actions.

https://www.bemidjipioneer.com/news/local/steps-to-restore-red-lakes-tribal-boundaries-lead-to-opposition-concerns