Marge Anderson with former president Bill Clinton. Photo © Mille Lacs Band
Marge Anderson, a longtime leader of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe Indians in Minnesota, died on Saturday. She was 81. Anderson was the first woman to lead a tribe in Minnesota. She served as chief executive from 1991 to 2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. "Marge Anderson was a great tribal leader for the band and a trailblazer for all of Indian Country. This is an extraordinary loss for the band," current chief executive Melanie Benjamin said in a press release. Anderson led her people through two major eras. The first was the tribe's introduction to the Indian gaming industry. "[C]asino revenues have allowed us to rebuild our cultural identity, become economically self-sufficient, and increase the prosperity of our entire region," Anderson said in a 1998 commentary for Minnesota Public Radio. The second was the successful litigation of the tribe's fishing, hunting and gathering rights under an 1837 treaty. The U.S. Supreme Court, by a 5-4 vote in March 1999, affirmed the tribe's rights in Minnesota v. Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians. “Marge led the band through our treaty rights case and into the modern era of Indian gaming. She made history for the band and we will feel her impact for generations," Secretary-Treasurer Curt Kalk said in the press release. Last year, Anderson received the Tim Wapato Sovereign Warrior Award from the National Indian Gaming Association. She was recognized for her lifetime of work in protecting tribal sovereignty and Indian gaming. Get the Story:
Mille Lacs Ojibwe leader Marge Anderson dies at 81 (The Minneapolis Star Tribune 7/1)
Marge Anderson, forceful leader of Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, dies at age 81 (MinnPost 7/1)
Marjorie Anderson, first woman to lead Mille Lacs band, dies at 81 (Minnesota Public Radio 6/30)
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