TIMELINE: KEY MOMENTS IN MILLE LACS RESERVATION DISPUTE

May 6, 2026

1855 - The Treaty of 1855 establishes the Mille Lacs Reservation.

2013 - The Mille Lacs Band requests expanded federal criminal jurisdiction under the Tribal Law and Order Act (TLOA) within the area associated with the 1855 Reservation.

2015 (June) - The Mille Lacs Band and four other Minnesota tribes form the Great Nations Gang and Drug Task Force to combat drug trafficking and violent crime.

November 20, 2015 - The Department of the Interior issues M-Opinion M-37032, concluding Congress never disestablished the Mille Lacs Reservation.

January 12, 2016 - The U.S. Department of Justice grants the Mille Lacs Band concurrent federal criminal jurisdiction under the Tribal Law and Order Act.

June 21, 2016 - Mille Lacs County revokes the cooperative law enforcement agreement with the Mille Lacs Band Tribal Police Department.

November 2017 - The Mille Lacs Band files a federal lawsuit against Mille Lacs County over interference with tribal policing authority.

March 2022 - A federal district court rules that Congress never disestablished the Mille Lacs Reservation.

January 2023 - The court rules Mille Lacs County unlawfully restricted the Band's law enforcement authority after revoking the agreement.

June 2023 - The Minnesota Legislature amends Minnesota Statute 626.90, clarifying that the Mille Lacs Band does not need a cooperative agreement with the county sheriff to enforce Minnesota laws within the Reservation.

February 2025 - The Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals dismisses the County's appeal and vacates the District Court's decisions, finding that the amendments to Section 626.90 made the case moot. The Court states that the question regarding the status of the Reservation will have to be resolved in a future case presenting a live case or controversy.

February 2026 - Mille Lacs County asks the Department of the Interior to revisit and reverse the M-Opinion.