MINNESOTA WILD’S ARENA GETS A NEW NAME & A BOLD NEW CHAPTER WITH GRAND CASINO AND THE MILLE LACS BAND

Darkness swallowed the arena in a velvet blackness that made every heartbeat feel louder. Guests entered, anticipation buzzing in the air, eyes drawn to the center ice shrouded in mystery. A lone spotlight pierced the void, highlighting the hidden logo as silence held the crowd captive. Then, slowly, deliberately, the cover was lifted as a voice thundered through the arena: "The new Grand Casino era starts now!"

Tribal Government News

PASSING ON THE CREATOR’S GIFT: MANOOMIN AND OUR FUTURE

"When you are out there on the water today, I want you to think about your ancestors. Your ancestors harvested manoomin in these very same waters hundreds of years ago," said Todd Moilanen, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Director of Cultural Resources, to a group of students from Nay Ah Shing Upper School on September 10, 2025. Throughout September, Moilanen and his cultural team introduced Band members to the art and history of harvesting manoomin.

THE DATA WIZARDS BEHIND THE CURTAIN

Your Nayaadamaagejig data is personal, private, and powerful. It tells your story in ways you might never imagine. But after meeting with your Nayaadamaagejig staff member, it enters a hidden world — a complex web of servers, software, and specialists who manage every detail. Behind the curtain, Health and Human Services information managers and IT teams working with Nayaadamaagejig have transformed scattered records into a streamlined system, making it possible for providers across the agency to connect the dots of your care with speed, accuracy, and security.

NIIZH-MINIS WAABASHKIKI (TWO ISLANDS) WETLAND RESTORATION SPRINGS TO LIFE

In mid-September, as flocks of migratory birds traced their ancient path south, 117 acres of wetland in the Mille Lacs Band region were stirring with new life. Water pooled where dry ground had been only weeks before. Fresh shoots of grass pushed through the soil, and tracks of deer, turkey, bear, bob-cat, and waterfowl marked the reborn landscape. This transformation is the result of a groundbreaking partnership between the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and Ducks Unlimited (DU) — believed to be the first formal DU conservation tribal partnership of its kind in Minnesota.

MINNESOTANS RALLY AT WATER OVER NICKEL DAY 2025

On September 6, Band members, elected officials, partners, and allies gathered at Big Sandy Lodge and Resort in McGregor for the second annual Water Over Nickel Day to celebrate our community's commitment to safeguarding clean water.

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Water Over Nickel initiative was created to protect Minnesotas people, natural resources, and cultural sites from the negative impact of the nearby proposed Tamarack nickel mine. Our efforts are grounded in our commitment to protect our natural water resources for future generations to come.

GIIWEDINONG TO HOST SECOND ANNUAL HARVEST DINNER

Giiwedinong will host its second annual Harvest Dinner on Sunday, October 19, from 5 - 8 p.m., featuring a special menu prepared by acclaimed Indigenous Chef Darrell Montana of Owamni by The Sioux Chef in Minneapolis.

Last years sold-out event showcased four courses highlighting Indigenous flavors, with bison, wild rice, squash, and handmade desserts as the centerpiece. This year's dinner promises to be just as memorable, featuring Indigenous foods from across the region, while also celebrating new milestones for Gliwedinong.

Highlights

MLBO STRENGTHENS SOVEREIGNTY THROUGH TRIBAL-STATE CANNABIS COMPACT

Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Chief Executive Virgil Wind and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz signed the state's second tribal-state cannabis compact on September 10, 2025, establishing a framework for cooperation in cannabis regulation across jurisdictions.

The compact affirms the sovereignty of the Mille Lacs Band while laying the foundation for responsible participation in Minnesota's evolving cannabis industry. It sets shared standards for product testing, packaging, labeling, and civil regulatory enforcement. It also supports the Band's ability to open off-reservation retail outlets and requires a tax agreement between the Band and the Minnesota Department of Revenue for sharing tax revenue generated by tribally owned cannabis businesses.

NAY AH SHING FALL FUN RUN

Nay Ah Shing Schools are putting the fun in the run! Please join in for the Bi-Annual NASS Fun Run happening October 8, 2025, at 9:30 a.m. Students in grades K-12 will jumpstart their physical, health, and fitness education for the 2025-2026 academic year. All NASS families and the community members are invited to join in the fun run or come out and cheer on the students.

ASSOCIATE SPOTLIGHT: FROM JR. AMBASSADOR TO RISING STAR

Meet Hayden Short, Mille Lacs Band Member and our new Players Development Coordinator!

Though he just recently stepped into this role, Hayden started his Grand Casino journey at just 16 years old with the Junior Ambassador Program working in housekeeping before the hotel remodel. Looking back, he says the hotel upgrades are "beautiful for our guests and represent us well."

HARVESTING THE SEASON’S BOUNTY: From fish and fowl to venison and wild rice, fall brings nourishment, tradition, and connection to the land.

Fall offers more than just a plentiful bounty of views as the leaves change colors, the breeze grows cooler, the wild rice has fallen, and the birds begin seeking warmer waters south of their summertime stay in the northland. What has always been a busy time of year for folks who grow their own foods or raise their own livestock, fall can also be an incredibly rewarding time for those who harvest, preserve, and butcher goods directly from mother nature.

GRAND CASINO MILLE LACS JUNIOR AMBASSADOR PROGRAM VALLEY FAIR APPRECIATION DAY

As the 2025-2026 school year begins, Grand Casino Mille Lacs is proud to celebrate the successful conclusion of the Junior Ambassador Program with a well-deserved trip to Valley Fair.

The Junior Ambassador Program is a summer initiative dedicated to empowering and mentoring youth from the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and surrounding communities.

This program is more than just a summer job, it's a steppingstone. It helps build professional and personal skills, cultural awareness, and the confidence needed to thrive as future leaders. Throughout the summer, our Junior Ambassadors embraced their roles with enthusiasm and represented the seven core values of the Mille Lacs Band with pride and heart.

Indian Country News

Wife of accused Minnesota lawmaker killer says husband's actions were "a betrayal"

The wife of Vance Boelter, the man accused in the deadly Minnesota lawmaker shootings, released a statement on Thursday calling her husband's alleged actions "a betrayal." Democratic Minnesota House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed inside their Brooklyn Park home in the early morning hours of June 14. Their golden retriever, Gilbert, was also shot and later died from his injuries. Also targeted in the shootings were Democratic state Sen. John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette, who were attacked inside their Champlin home about 90 minutes before the Hortmans were killed. Boelter, 57, faces federal and state murder and attempted murder charges. He was captured some 36 hours after the shootings near his home in Green Isle, about 50 miles southwest of Minneapolis, in what officials say was the largest manhunt in state history. Jenny Boelter's full statement, released on her behalf by her legal team: "On behalf of my children and myself, I want to express our deepest sympathies to the Hortman and Hoffman families. Our condolences are with all who are grieving during this unimaginably difficult time, and we are praying daily for them."

Source: CBS News.

‘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.