NEW ERA OF LEADERSHIP: THREE WOMEN NOW SERVE ON BAND ASSEMBLY FOR THE FIRST TIME.
Newly elected Mille Lacs Band officials were sworn into office July 14, beginning new terms that include a historic first for the Band Assembly: all three District Representatives are now women. Newly elected District Il Representative Raina Killspotted and District Ill Representative Michelle Pomerleau joined incumbent District I Representative Carolyn Beaulieu, whose term continues through 2028. Secretary/Treasurer Sheldon Boyd and School Board Member Richard Dunkley were also sworn in following their re-election. Their four-year terms run from 2026 to 2030.
Legislative Affairs Director Brianna Boyd opened the ceremony by recognizing the 962 Band members who cast ballots in the election. "That means 962 people took the time to show up, make their voices heard, and shape the future of the Band. That matters."
VENTURA OPENS DOORS: Affordable housing and essential services under one roof
Despite sweltering temperatures that pushed the heat index to 100 degrees, community leaders, Band members, and staff from the Mille Lacs Band and Mille Lacs Corporate Ventures gathered June 30 to celebrate the opening of Ventura, a new affordable housing development that expands access to housing and services for the urban Native community.
Ventura features 36 affordable apartment homes for Band members and other Native households, along with a rooftop playground and shared amenities, including a fitness room, community garden, and on-site laundry facilities. From the rooftop solar panels to the artwork woven throughout the building, Ventura was thoughtfully designed with both sustainability and Native culture in mind. Band member Steve Premo created the artistic elements incorporated into the windows and other features throughout the facility.
Tribal Government News
CONSTITUTIONAL DRAFTING MOVES FORWARD WITH MEMBERSHIP DISCUSSIONS TAKING CENTER STAGE
The Constitutional Delegation has completed three community drafting sessions as work continues on a proposed Constitution for the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Membership emerged as Band members' highest constitutional priority through community surveys, and current discussions are now focusing on enrollment, lineage, and other foundational issues that will help shape the next draft.
SMOKE AND HEAT FAILED TO HAULT THE HEALING CIRCLE RUN
Through a smoke-filled haze that blanketed much of the Great Lakes region on July 15, members of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe joined participants in the annual Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC) Healing Circle Run. The Mille Lacs Band portion began at Sandy Lake Lodge and Resort and concluding the day's route at the Fond du Lac Reservation.
UNDERSTANDING MINNESOTA PRIMARY ELECTION
Minnesota voters will head to the polls on Tuesday, August. 11, for the state's primary election. While the November general election often receives the most attention, the primary plays an important role in deciding who will appear on that ballot. For Band members, participating in the primary is one way to help shape decisions that can affect tribal communities at the local, state and federal levels.
WEWINABI ANNOUNCES GRAND MARKET RIBBON CUTTING CEREMONY
Wewinabi is excited to announce the Grand Market Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, at 12 p.m.
This celebration marks an important milestone in Wewinabi's continued investment in our businesses and our community. Grand Market was the first location in the portfolio to benefit from a significant capital infusion, representing strategic improvements designed to strengthen our operations, enhance the guest experience, and create new employment opportunities.
Highlights
UNITY CONFERENCE: BUILDING THE NEXT GENERATION OF NATIVE LEADERS
Every year, thousands of Native American, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian youth travel from across the United States to attend the National UNITY Conference, one of the largest Indigenous youth leadership gatherings in the country. Hosted by United National Indian Tribal Youth (UNITY), the conference is much more than an annual event — it is an investment in the future of Indigenous communities. This year's conference was held July 9 - 14, at the Oklahoma City Convention Center. More than 30 Mille Lacs Band youth from across the Band serviced area attended the conference along with chaperones Madison Conway, Mary King, Roberta Dunkley, Rachelle Moose, and Anthony Buckanaga.
CELEBRATING EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT
In Chief Executive Virgil Wind's remarks at the Graduate Celebration for the academic year 2025-2026 on July 10, 2026, he opened his message telling the graduates that learning is a lifelong journey and that knowledge is meant to be shared.
The Mille Lacs Band Higher Education Unit honored graduates who achieved more than 130 educational milestones during the 2025-2026 academic year, including 105 GEDs or high school diplomas, 19 college degrees-four of them master's degrees-and six professional certifications.
MANOOMIN WAY OF LIFE
Emerging atop rivers and lakes in many Minnesota water ways sits a resource that has supported the Minnesota way of life throughout the entire oral history of Native People in this region. This food source is both sustainable and self-regenerating but is also delicate and susceptible to external factors is worth protecting. Manoomin, wild rice, is passed down in oral history as the driving force that led the Anishinaabe west to go "where the food grows on water." This is the story of wild rice, a success story not terribly unlike that of Indigenous people on this continent, and how one group of people can make a difference for the future of its continuation of success.
MAADAGINZO CEREMONY BEGINS THE NEW MONTH IN A GOOD WAY
Continuing a tradition initiated at the beginning of his term, the Office of Chief Executive Virgil Wind invites Mille Lacs Band employees to gather in the foyer of the government center on the first Monday of the month for the Maadaginzo ceremony.
The gathering provides an opportunity to start the month in a good way through prayer, offering tobacco, smudging, cultural teachings, remarks from leadership, and a song from the drum. Employees are also invited to enjoy a potluck meal and connect with coworkers.
Indian Country News
US national parks told to remove signs on mistreatment of Native Americans, climate, Wash Post reports:
U.S. officials this month ordered national parks to remove dozens of signs and displays related to the mistreatment of Native Americans by settlers, as well as about climate change and environmental protection, the Washington Post reported. The move is part of President Donald Trump's campaign to reshape public spaces and museums in a way that rights advocates say could undo decades of social progress. The National Park Service staff last week removed an exhibit on slavery from a Philadelphia historic site in line with Trump's claims, rejected by civil rights groups, of "anti-American ideology" at historical and cultural institutions. The removal orders include a display at the Grand Canyon about the forced removal of Native Americans, the Post reported, while at Glacier National Park, Trump administration officials flagged a brochure and a sign about climate change. The U.S. Interior
Department, which oversees the National Park Service, said in a statement that it was carrying out Trump's executive order on "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History." Source: Reuters.
‘As vulnerable as a plant can be’: New study finds climate change largely to blame for less wild rice:
A new study finds the availability of a wild rice in the Great Lakes region has been declining over the past 30 years, partially due to climate change. The decline, the study says, “has disrupted Ojibwe lifeways, family, and health.” Brandon Byrne, inland fisheries biologist at the Great Lakes Indian Fish & Wildlife Commission, or GLIFWC, coauthored and helped collect data for the study. Byrne said that the plant is most vulnerable during its early stages. “Not only is it vulnerable to weather or climatic variables, it’s also vulnerable to motorboat use. Its ecology is very delicate.” Rob Croll, coauthor of the study and commission policy analyst and climate change coordinator, said, “You have to look at manoomin and climate change holistically. It’s as vulnerable a plant as a plant can be. One of the things that we’re seeing — will continue to see — is our precipitation coming less frequently, but more intensely: much heavier rain storms, which can cause quick floods. During [early growth] stages, floods will uproot the plant. Later on in its growth, when there are seeds on the plant, big storms and heavy winds can devastate a rice bed just by blowing the stalks down into the water. Source: WPR Wisconsin Today.
White House budget request slashes funding for tribal colleges and universities:
In President Donald Trump’s budget request, he’s proposing slashing funding for tribal colleges and universities, including eliminating support for the country’s only federally funded college for contemporary Native American arts. If the budget is approved by Congress, beginning in October, the more than $13 million in annual appropriations for the Institute for American Indian Arts in Santa Fe, New Mexico, would be reduced to zero. It would be the first time in nearly 40 years that the congressionally chartered school would not receive federal support, said Robert Martin, the school’s president. Source: APNEWS.
Upcoming EVENTS
July 27
East Lake Day
July 1
Mid-summer Days
July 24