Format

Dreams of Looking Up is an original 24-page color comic book about sovereignty and the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians. It is illustrated by Mille Lacs Band member Steve Premo and by Paul Fricke, and written by Cindy Goff. Produced in 1998 by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians.

Synopsis

Dreams of Looking Up shows how one American Indian family learns the true meaning and importance of sovereignty as a young girl recounts lessons taught by her grandmother.

Suggested Applications

Classroom reading either individually, in small groups, or as a class to supplement lessons/discussions in history, geography, government, social/cultural studies, and current events. Recommended for use in primary/intermediate schools, especially grade 5.

Classroom Objectives

After reading the comic book, students should have gained awareness about the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians, including the Band’s history and its place within the history of Minnesota and the United States. Students also should have gained an interest in American Indian traditional culture and beliefs. In addition, students should have gained an increased understanding of the concept of sovereignty, treaties and tribal government.

The Minnesota Department of Children, Families & Learning’s Office of Graduation Standards has identified 10 standards that all students in the state should have achieved upon graduation. This comic book includes material that should help students achieve the seventh of these standards – understanding interactions between people and cultures.

According to the Primary and Intermediate Level Profiles of Learning, students in grades 4 and 5 should achieve understanding of the following concepts:

Sovereignty

Topic can be integrated into Social Studies, Government, History, and Geography

Students should know:

• the concepts of nation and sovereignty; and
• the physical and political entities such as continents, nations, nations within nations, and states.
  

Students should be able to:

• define a nation as a group of people organized under a government and living on a certain location of land;
• classify continents of the Western Hemisphere, states and nations in North America, and Ojibwe reservations in Minnesota;
• recognize and define the three sovereign governmental structures in the United States: the federal government, which is the supreme sovereign; state governments, which receive their sovereignty from the federal government; and tribal governments, which predate the federal and state governments and therefore have inherent sovereignty. This means tribal governments do not derive their sovereignty from the federal or state governments, but instead derive it from (their status as) the original people on the North American continent;
• define the following terms: continent, nation, sovereign, reservation, nations within a nation, and state; and
• define Indian nations as groups of people who originally inhabited what is now the United States and possess the commonly cited characteristics of sovereignty.
  

Students may be asked to:

• analyze and compare different nations and the characteristics that determine their sovereignty (such as language, religion, culture, geographic area, and government). Note: Students should include American Indian nations in their analyses.
  

Treaties

Topic can be integrated into Social Studies, Citizenship, Human Relations, Communications, Treaty Making, Conflict Resolution

Students should know:

• the importance of keeping one’s promises, whether given in spoken or written form;
• that tribal sovereignty is clearly recognized in the United States Constitution;
• the history of treaty making with American Indians; and
• the impact of treaties on current affairs in Minnesota.
  

Students should be able to:

• give examples of significant promises in their lives and important promises our country has made;
• understand basic information regarding treaties;
• understand the main points of a specific treaty;
• comprehend the role of treaties in relations between American Indians and the U.S. government in the past and present; and
• define the following concepts: treaty, compromise, representative, interpreter and historical evidence.
  

Students may be asked to:

• create a poem, poster, collage or mural on a choice of themes, including: promises in my life, promises in my country’s history, and promises in the world; and/or
• analyze a specific treaty and deliver a presentation about the basic information, main points, and outcomes of the treaty.

Tribal Government

Topic can be integrated into Social Studies

Students should know:

• that there are systems of American Indian tribal governments; and
• the powers, rights and responsibilities of governments, including tribal governments.
  

Students should be able to:

• differentiate among city, state, national and tribal governments;
• identify the chief official, city and building where leaders meet for city, state, federal and tribal governments;
• describe basic functions of government, including: making laws, providing needed services, and judging how well the laws are followed; and
• define the following concepts: local government, state government, national/federal government, tribal government, and services.
  

Students may be asked to:

• select a city, state, national or tribal government and describe the chief official, the location of that form of government, and the building in which the lawmakers meet; and/or
• find out what kinds of services are provided by local, state or federal governments and compare with services provided by a tribal government.
  

The story of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe began long before there was a state called Minnesota, or even a country called America.

About 500 years ago, the ancestors of the Mille Lacs Band began migrating west from their homes on the Atlantic coast. By the mid-1700s, they had settled in the region around Mille Lacs Lake in what is now Central Minnesota.

The Mille Lacs Ojibwe lived according to their traditional values of respect and tolerance for all creation, including humans, animals, plants, even rocks. Guided by the rhythm of the seasons, they made maple syrup and sugar in the spring, gathered nuts and berries in the summer and fall, harvested wild rice in the fall, and hunted and fished all year round.

But it wasn’t long before the Mille Lacs Ojibwe’s self-sufficient way of life was affected by a new presence in their homelands: Europeans. Loggers, fur traders, land developers, and homesteaders started arriving, and as their numbers grew, they began taking more and more of the Mille Lacs Band’s land and natural resources.

By the end of the nineteenth century, only a few hundred Band members remained on the meager remnants of the Mille Lacs Reservation. Without land, the Ojibwe had few places to get the rice, meat, animal hides, and other essentials of life that had sustained them for generations. Non-Indians banned the Mille Lacs Band’s spiritual traditions, forbid the teaching of the Ojibwe language, and stripped Band members of the right to govern themselves.

Over the next century, the Mille Lacs Band struggled against poverty and despair. Finally, in the early 1990s, the Band opened Grand Casino Mille Lacs and Grand Casino Hinckley.

Since then, casino revenues have allowed the Mille Lacs Band to begin rebuilding its reservation and restoring hope to its People. The Band has also strengthened its government and its unique culture, and honored its long tradition of sharing with others by increasing the prosperity of the entire region.

What is sovereignty?

Most American Indian tribes are sovereign Indian nations. Their status as self-governing People has been affirmed by treaties, laws and the U.S. Constitution.

Sovereignty is a very complex concept, and it can take a long time and a lot of study to fully understand. Terms such as “supremacy,” “autonomy,” “dominion” and “self-governance” often are used to describe sovereignty. While these are all integral parts of sovereignty, none fully defines the idea.

It helps to look at the characteristics of sovereign nations. Here are some of the most frequently cited characteristics:

• Sovereign nations have a distinct, unique group of people that speaks a distinct language, and has a distinct spiritual/moral structure and cultural base.
• These people have a specific geographic area they control or regulate.
• Within this area, they possess governmental powers, such as the right to draft and enact laws.
• These governmental powers are recognized by this group of people.
• And these governmental powers can be enforced by military, police or citizen control.

One characteristic that should be added to this list is recognition. A nation’s sovereignty must be recognized by other sovereign nations. For instance, Canada recognizes the sovereignty of Mexico, and vice versa. And, as we will see, the United States recognizes the sovereignty of American Indian tribes.

Do all sovereign nations have these characteristics?

While sovereign nations usually possess all of the characteristics described above, this list is not absolute. Some of these characteristics may be missing or eliminated by an outside force. For example, during World War II, Nazi Germany occupied Norway and took away the Norwegians’ right to home rule. Nonetheless, other nations such as Great Britain and the United States continued to recognize Norway as a sovereign nation. Germany did not take away Norway’s sovereignty, and after the Nazis were defeated, the Norwegians resumed self-governance.

Generally, though, sovereign nations are distinct groups of people with unique cultures who govern themselves and their territories. In short, sovereignty means “independence from others.”

Why is sovereignty important to American Indians?

American Indians value the principles of “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” just as other Americans do. But for a long time, American Indians were denied the basic freedoms most of us take for granted. Their languages and belief systems were repressed. Their traditions were persecuted. Their lands were taken. They were subjected to outside rule and other indignities.

Sovereignty is the freedom for American Indians to practice their own forms of spirituality and speak their own languages. It is their freedom to strengthen and celebrate their own cultural traditions. It is their freedom to govern themselves on their own lands. Sovereignty is the freedom for American Indians to have “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”

Why are Indian tribes recognized as sovereign?

Tribes are inherently sovereign. This means that they do not trace their existence back to the United States. Indian tribes existed before the United States existed and, therefore, were not creations of the U.S.

Tribes can be described as nations within a nation – independent governments inside the United States. There is no other relationship in the world like the one between American Indian tribes and the U.S. government, and the roots go back very far.

What are treaties, and how do they affect sovereignty?

When Europeans first encountered American Indians, they signed treaties with them. Treaties are legal contracts between governments. When two governments sign a treaty, they recognize each other as sovereigns.

Treaties formed the basis of the relationship between Indian tribes and the U.S. government. Several Supreme Court decisions have upheld this relationship, reinforcing Indian tribes’ status as sovereign nations.

The United States Constitution also recognizes the sovereignty of American Indian tribes. Article one of the Constitution gives Congress the following powers: “To regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian tribes.” And article six states that treaties “shall be the supreme law of the land.”

Why did the U.S. government sign treaties with Indian tribes?

When Europeans first began inhabiting North America, they signed treaties for a variety of reasons, such as peace, military cooperation, and land use. The Europeans were strangers to the continent, so entering into these agreements was very beneficial to them because the American Indians could show them the ways of the land. Also, treaties with tribes could affect the balance of power among the various European countries competing for control of the land.
But during the 1800s, after establishing independence from England, the U.S. entered into what can be described as real estate transactions with tribes. Signing these types of treaties was part of a U.S. policy called “manifest destiny” that aimed to extend the country’s borders to the Pacific Ocean. Many of these treaties were deceitful on the part of the U.S. government, and resulted in American Indians losing massive tracts of their land without fair compensation.

Are treaties important today?

Yes. Although the U.S. originally did not fully implement many of the treaties it signed in the 1800s, the documents are still law. In modern times, tribes have won lawsuits to have their treaty rights recognized.

For instance, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe signed a treaty with the U.S. government in 1855 that established a 61,000-acre reservation for the Band. The Band later lost much of its land through government policies that opened the reservation to non-Indians seeking natural resources such as timber. However, the treaty remains law. And in it, the federal government agreed that the Band would always continue to exercise sovereign authority within its reservation boundaries.

Many other Bands have had their sovereign rights recognized through the legal process. When hearing a case based on treaties, the U.S. Supreme Court follows two basic rules. First, any confusion about the meaning of treaties should be settled in favor of Indians. Second, treaties must be interpreted as the Indians who signed them would have understood the documents, not as modern lawyers do. That’s because the treaties were written in English, which often was difficult for 18th and 19th century Indians to understand.

Did treaties give tribes the right to have casinos?

Not directly. But, because many treaties recognized the sovereignty of Indian tribes, they indirectly allow for Indian gaming today.

Here’s why: In 1987, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that sovereign tribes have the right to regulate gaming on their own lands. Furthermore, the court ruled that states have no right to interfere with any form of Indian gaming unless all such gaming is criminally prohibited in the state.

This historic ruling led to the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (IGRA) of 1988. IGRA regulates how Indian tribes operate gaming enterprises on tribal lands. The goal of IGRA is to promote economic development on Indian reservations, foster self-sufficiency among Indian People, and build strong tribal governments.

Are Indian tribes independent from the United States?

Yes and no. Think of American Indians as having dual citizenship. That means they are members of two nations at the same time: the United States and their particular tribes.

The Supreme Court has stated that Indian tribes possess an “inherent right” to establish their own governments. Federal recognition acknowledges the government-to-government status a tribe has with the United States, and also provides for certain federal services. The sovereignty of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe has been recognized, and today the Band operates on a government-to-government basis with the United States.

Once a tribe has been federally recognized, its government can make and enforce its own laws on its reservation, as long as those laws are compatible with federal laws. For instance, recognized tribes have the power to form their own tribal courts and police their reservations.

Do states exercise control over reservations?

No. While reservations are subject to federal law, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that states possess no civil jurisdiction over tribal governments.

Although states exercise no control over reservations, the two bodies often work together for the good of both. For instance, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe often cooperates with the state of Minnesota and other local municipalities when infrastructure, policing or other interests overlap.

What type of governments do Indian tribes have?

Tribes can develop whatever governmental structures work best for them. For instance, the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe’s tribal government is based on a separation of powers, like the U.S. government. Separation of powers means that power is shared among three branches of government: legislative, executive and judicial. This type of government, which was modeled in part after the Iroquois confederacy, is called a system of “checks and balances” because no one person has absolute power.

The following timeline will place the material covered in Dreams of Looking Up in a broad chronological context.

1640 A.D. – The first written record of contact between Europeans (French fur traders) and Ojibwe occurs at Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.

1659 – Daniel Duluth negotiates an agreement of peace between the Ojibwe living near the south shore of Lake Superior and the Dakota people who lived near Mille Lacs Lake. Under the terms of this agreement, the two nations agree to share hunting territory in the area that would eventually become western Wisconsin and eastern Minnesota. This agreement encourages the Ojibwe to continue their western migration.

1727-1745 – Competition for trade with the French leads to conflicts and warfare between the Ojibwe and the Dakota.

1745-1750 – The Ojibwe arrive in the area around Mille Lacs Lake and force the remaining Dakota, who have already begun migrating west and south, out of the area. The Ojibwe establish their permanent homeland on and around the shores of the lake.

1783 – The Treaty of Paris ends the American Revolution and establishes the boundary between Canada and the United States, placing the homeland of the Mille Lacs Ojibwe in American territory.

1825 – A treaty council is held at Prairie du Chien. More than 1,000 leaders representing Ojibwe, Dakota, Sauk, Fox, Menominee, Iowa, Winnebago and other tribes gather with Indian agents and commissioners to settle intertribal conflicts. Boundaries are established between the Dakota and the Ojibwe, and treaty provisions give mineral rights on Ojibwe land to the United States.

1826 – Mille Lacs Band leaders sign a treaty with the Dakota Indians and the United States delineating territories controlled by the tribes. Although the Mille Lacs People keep their settlements in North Central Minnesota, they relinquish their mineral rights on these lands.

1837 – Hampered by faulty maps and other misunderstandings of the geography involved, the Mille Lacs Band signs a treaty ceding, or selling, its homeland to the U.S. government. The Treaty of 1837 protects the rights of the Mille Lacs Ojibwe to hunt, fish and gather wild rice on their ceded lands, but allows non-Indians to settle the lands.

1855 – The Mille Lacs Band signs a treaty that sets aside 61,000 acres on and around the south end of Mille Lacs Lake as its reservation. The Treaty of 1855 also opens up land just north of the new Mille Lacs Reservation to the advancing timber crews.

1858 – Minnesota joins the union.

1862 – During the Dakota War, Mille Lacs Band warriors defend non-Indians from aggression by neighboring Ojibwe bands.

1864 – In recognition of its “good conduct” during the Dakota War, the Mille Lacs Band receives a guarantee in a treaty with the U.S. government that Band members will not be forced to leave the Mille Lacs Reservation.

1879 – Despite the Treaty of 1864, the U.S. Interior Department proclaims the Mille Lacs Reservation available for purchase by timber companies and others. Congress later reverses the proclamation, but not in time to prevent non-Indians from squatting on the reservation and stripping large areas of pine trees.

1880s – The U.S. government adopts a policy of assimilation, declaring that Indians must conform to the lifestyles of non-Indians.

1884 – Congress passes a resolution canceling all fraudulent land claims on the Mille Lacs Reservation.

1889 – Congress passes the Civilization of Chippewa in Minnesota Act, which became known as the Nelson Act. This act seeks to concentrate Ojibwe populations on allotments of land on the White Earth Reservation in Northern Minnesota. Mille Lacs Band officials are led to believe that by signing an agreement related to the Nelson Act, Band members will be allowed to take their land allotments at Mille Lacs rather than White Earth.

1902 – Government representatives visit Mille Lacs to negotiate an agreement for damages done to Mille Lacs Band members. During this negotiation, Band members discover they had been deceived in the 1889 agreement. Many Band members abandon hope of fair treatment from the U.S. government and move to White Earth. Others are harassed into moving over the next few years as their property is sold out from under them. However, a small group of Band members led by Chief Migizi and Chief Wadena refuse to leave their land.

1911 – The village of Chief Wadena is burned by a sheriff’s posse and its residents are forcibly removed so that the land they live on can be claimed by a developer.

1914 – Chief Migizi obtains a promise from Congress that it will purchase 40-acre home sites for the landless Band members. By the time the sites are distributed 12 years later, they have been reduced to five acres.

1915 – Many Mille Lacs Band members join the U.S. Armed Forces to serve and defend America during World War I.

1924 – American Indians are recognized as U.S. citizens by an act of Congress.

1930s – Many Mille Lacs Band children are sent to government boarding schools where they are forbidden from speaking the Ojibwe language in an attempt to assimilate them into mainstream society.

1934 – Congress passes the Indian Reorganization Act, which formally recognizes Indian self-government and is intended to restore Indian self-determination and tribal cultures. The Minnesota Chippewa Tribe is formed as a political union of six Ojibwe bands, including the Mille Lacs Band.

1941-1945 – More than 25 Mille Lacs Band members serve in the U.S. Armed Forces during World War II. Many Mille Lacs Band families move to large cities to work in war-related industries.

1946 – Congress passes the Indian Claims Commission Act as part of an effort to resolve land claims between Indian tribes and the U.S. government.

1952 – The U.S. government adopts the Indian Termination and Indian Relocation policies, which seriously erode the notion of Indian self-government. The idea of assimilating Indians into mainstream society is once again supported by government policy.

1960 – Sam Yankee is elected chairman of the Mille Lacs Band’s tribal government. Under his leadership, modern homes, public buildings, health services, educational opportunities, and social programs begin to appear on the reservation.

1972 – Arthur Gahbow is elected chairman of the Mille Lacs Band’s tribal government. Gahbow leads the Band toward self-determination by advancing economic development on the reservation, pursuing land claims to expand the reservation’s land base, and overseeing a restructuring of the Band’s government system.

1975 – Chairman Gahbow is instrumental in forming the Mille Lacs Band’s Nay Ah Shing School following a walkout by reservation children from a public school in nearby Onamia.

1981 – The Mille Lacs Band moves closer to self-governance by adopting a “separation of powers” form of government with executive, legislative and judicial branches. The move strengthens the Band’s ability to deal with the U.S. on a government-to-government basis.

1987 – The U.S. Supreme Court rules that Indian tribes have inherent powers to regulate gaming on their own land. The court also rules that states have no power to interfere with any form of Indian gaming unless all such gaming is criminally prohibited in that state.

1987 – The federal government enacts the Self-Governance Demonstration Project within the Bureau of Indian Affairs. As one of only a few tribes participating in the project, the Mille Lacs Band assumes more direct control of its affairs, resources and destiny.

1988 – Congress passes the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act to promote economic development on Indian reservations, American Indian self-sufficiency, and strong tribal government.

1991 – Marge Anderson is appointed to replace Chairman Gahbow, who dies suddenly while in office. Anderson is elected Chief Executive of the Mille Lacs Band in 1992 and again in 1996.

1991 – The Mille Lacs Band opens Grand Casino Mille Lacs, beginning a new era of prosperity on the reservation and in the surrounding region.

1992 – The Mille Lacs Band opens Grand Casino Hinckley.

1994 – Based on the success the Mille Lacs Band and other tribes have shown in self-governance, President Bill Clinton signs legislation turning the Self-Governance Demonstration Project into a permanent project. Under the law, the Mille Lacs Band and other tribes sign compacts with several federal departments allowing an even greater degree of self-determination.

1990s – Under Chief Executive Anderson’s leadership, the Band uses casino revenues to strengthen its culture and begin rebuilding its reservation. Community improvements to date include new schools, new medical facilities, new ceremonial buildings and powwow grounds, new community centers, a new government center, new water and wastewater facilities, an elderly center, improved roads, approximately 160 new homes, and new non-gaming businesses.

Following are topics suggested by Dreams of Looking Up that may serve as the basis for classroom discussion, essay/report/research assignments, quiz material, preparation for field trips, and projects such as displays, presentations, timelines and maps.

For Indian Students …

• Why it is important to learn from their People’s leaders
• Why it is important to carry on their People’s traditions
• Why it is important to learn their People’s language
• Why it is important for their People to assert their sovereignty
  

For All Students …

• Early history of Indians in Minnesota
• Cultural differences between Indians and other Americans
• Traditional Ojibwe way of life (hunting, fishing, gathering, etc.)
• Traditional Ojibwe values (patience, self-sufficiency, respect for all living things, etc.)
• Importance of Elders in Indian society
• Impact of fur traders, loggers, etc. on Minnesota Indians
• Use and abuse of natural resources
• Impact of racism and poverty on Indians
• Racism and civil rights today
• Women’s role in cultural development and history
• U.S. policies towards Indians (“assimilation,” “termination,” “self-determination,” etc.)
• Resurgence of Indian cultures
• Rebuilding of Indian reservations
• Influence of treaties on Indians today
• How courts have upheld Indian treaties
• Contributions of American Indians to U.S. culture
• Famous American Indians
  

We recommend the following materials to provide background for teachers and/or additional resources for students regarding the topics presented in Dreams of Looking Up.

A Concise Dictionary of Minnesota Ojibwe, by John D. Nichols and Earl Nyholm.

Against the Tide of American History: The Story of the Mille Lacs Anishinabe, by the Mille Lacs Local Curriculum Committee.

American Indian History, Culture and Language Curriculum Framework, by the Minnesota Department of Children, Families and Learning.

American Indian Oral Traditions: Dakota and Ojibwe, by Jill M. Smith.

Atlas of Great Lakes Indian History, by Helen H. Tanner.

Chippewa Customs, by Frances Densmore.

Chippewa Treaty Rights, by Ronald N. Satz.

Dakota and Ojibwe People in Minnesota, by Frances Densmore (published by the Minnesota Historical Society in Roots, Winter & Spring 1977).

Early Indian People, by Elisabeth Doerman (published by the Minnesota Historical Society in Roots, Winter 1979).

Early Life Among the Indians, Reminiscences of the Life of Benjamin G. Armstrong, by Benjamin G. Armstrong.

Fur Trade, by Ellen B. Green (published by the Minnesota Historical Society in Roots, Fall 1981).

History of the Ojibway People, by William W. Warren.

Indian Affairs, Laws and Treaties, by Charles Kappler (contains all official U.S.-Indian treaties; published in 5 volumes by U.S. Department of the Interior, 1904-1919).

On The Reservation, by Carolyn Gilman (published by the Minnesota Historical Society in Roots, Spring 1986).

People of the Lakes, by the editors of Time-Life Books.

The Land of the Ojibwe, produced by the Ojibwe Curriculum Committee in cooperation with the American Indian Studies Department, University of Minnesota and the Educational Services Division, Minnesota Historical Society.

“The Making of a Treaty” in A Cross-Cultural Lesson in American History and Decision Making for Ages 8-11 (published by Minneapolis Public Schools).

The Ojibwa, by Helen Hornbeck Tanner.

The Ojibwe: A History Resource Unit, produced by the Ojibwe Curriculum Committee in cooperation with the American Indian Studies Department, University of Minnesota and the Educational Services Division, Minnesota Historical Society.

The Story of Minnesota’s Past, by Rhoda R. Gilman.

“Treaty Rights” in Happily May I Walk: American Indians and Alaska Natives Today, by Arlene Hirschfelder.

The Woodlands: The Story of the Mille Lacs Ojibwe, video produced by the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians.