STRONGER TOGETHER: PROTECTING OUR COMMUNITIES -Tribal PD and County Sheriff's Office formalize cooperative enforcement agreement

Mille Lacs Band Tribal Police Chief James West was instrumental in the negotiations of the new cooperative agreement with the Mille Lacs County Sheriff's Office.

By Vivian LaMoore, Inaajimowin Editor

The Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe and the Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Office have signed a new mutual aid/cooperative law enforcement agreement that outlines how the Band’s Police Department and the County Sheriff’s Office will work together to provide effective law enforcement within the 1855 Reservation boundaries. The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was approved by Band Assembly in Resolution 21-04-42-25 on July 23.

The agreement finalizes and formalizes the long-awaited cooperative partnership between the Tribal Police Department (TPD) and the Sheriff’s Office. It was drafted collaboratively by the Band’s Chief of Police and County Sheriff, both of whom emphasized their shared commitment to cooperation. For the past several years, the two agencies have operated under a temporary agreement that expired 90 days after the Band’s lawsuit with the County ended in July.

“The new agreement brings a welcome resolution to the conflict that began with the County’s termination of a previous law enforcement agreement in 2016, which triggered the Band’s lawsuit seeking to affirm its law enforcement authority within the 1855 Reservation,” said Marc Slonim of Ziontz Chestnut, counsel for the Band.

In 2023, the Minnesota Legislature amended Statute 626.90 to recognize that the Band has law enforcement authority over all persons within the 1855 Reservation boundaries. The amendment also clarified that while a mutual aid agreement with the county sheriff is no longer required, the parties may still choose to enter into one.

“Having an MOU in place was no longer legally necessary due to the change in the law,” said Caleb Dogeagle, Mille Lacs Band Solicitor General. “But we wanted to do it. Cooperative law enforcement was already happening on the ground — this just puts it in writing. It also provides a model for other agencies on how the Mille Lacs Band Tribal Police and the Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Office work together to protect the community.”

The new agreement removes many provisions from earlier versions that, in the Band’s view, attempted to manage Tribal Police operations. It also eliminates most references to the Reservation boundary dispute, except to acknowledge that under the amended statute the Band has authority over all persons within the 1855 boundaries, and to clarify that the agreement does not affect the underlying dispute over the Reservation boundary.

“With the amendment to Minn. Stat. 626.90 and this new agreement, both recognizing the Band’s law enforcement authority, the conflict has been resolved. Now both parties can move forward to forge a more positive relationship,” Slonim said.

Dogeagle credited the strong collaboration between Tribal Police Chief James West and Mille Lacs County Sheriff Kyle Burton as the driving force behind the new agreement, with attorneys from both parties assisting in negotiations.

“There wasn’t a lot to hammer out — it was good to sit down together and formalize the agreement,” Dogeagle said. “With Sheriff Burton, we’ve built a strong working relationship with the Mille Lacs County Sheriff’s Office, and I hope that continues. There’s real camaraderie in law enforcement. We share more common ground than disagreements, and at the end of the day, we’re all neighbors. It just makes sense to work together. My hope is this agreement will strengthen relationships between the Band and the County.”

Caleb Dogeagle, Mille Lacs Band Solicitor General.

Marc Slonim, Of Counsel to the Band.