A recent memo claiming the Mille Lacs Ojibwe Reservation no longer exists has renewed racial tensions between Natives and non-Natives.

Mille Lacs County Attorney Jan Kolb sent an e-mail to county officials, telling them not to acknowledge the 61,000-acre reservation. "Please make sure that none of your literature, contracts, web sites or any other documents in your department refer to a 'reservation' in any way," she wrote.

The memo ended up in the hands of the tribe. Chairwoman Melanie Benjamin said it proves ""racism is alive and well" in the area. She cited another incident in which some residents booed, jeered and made disrespectful gestures towards Native veterans during a recent parade.

The county went to court to challenge the boundaries of the reservation but the case was dismissed. The U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear the lawsuit.

Get the Story:
Reservation battle fuels Mille Lacs hostility (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 9/4)
pwlat

Relevant Links:
Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe - http://www.millelacsojibwe.org

Related Stories:
Column: Mille Lacs Ojibwe Band will be here 'forever' (02/23)
Mille Lacs Ojibwe Band marks 150 years after treaty (2/22)
Supreme Court takes action on Indian law cases (11/02)
Mille Lacs diminishment case before Supreme Court (10/22)
Court won't rehear challenge to tribal land base (05/21)
Minn. tribe wins another round in reservation dispute (03/10)