Leech Lake Band of Chippewa Indians

Mississippi River Band of Chippewa Indians (Ojibwe: Gichi-ziibiwininiwag) or simply the Mississippi Chippewa, are a historical Ojibwa Band inhabiting the headwaters of the Mississippi River and its tributaries in present-day Minnesota. According to the oral history of the Mississippi Chippewa, they were primarily of the southern branch of Ojibwe who spread from the "Fifth Stopping Place" of Baawiting (Sault Ste. Marie region) along Lake Superior's southern shores until arriving at the "Sixth Stopping Place" of the Saint Louis River. They continued westward across the Savanna Portage, and spread both northward and southward along the Mississippi River and its major tributaries. Before entering the treaty process with the United States, the Mississippi Chippewa consisted of the following sub-bands: Cedar Lake, Minnesota Band Crow Wing, Minnesota Band Gull Lake, Minnesota Band Mille Lacs, Minnesota Band Pelican Lake, Minnesota Band Pokegama Lake, Minnesota Band Rabbit Lake, Minnesota Band Rice Lake, Minnesota Band Sandy Lake, Minnesota Band Snake River Band Swan River Band Trout Lake, Minnesota Band White Oak Point, Minnesota Band and many villages associated with these sub-bands. Together, they controlled the main north–south trade corridor of the Mississippi River headwaters. Their traditional use area included the stretch of the Mississippi River between its confluence with the Leech Lake River and its confluence with the Crow Wing River—known in the Ojibwe language as Gichi-ziibi (Big River)—and including the Brainerd Lakes Area.