Minnesota Band Takes Back Land To Ease Tribal Homelessness

LEECH LAKE RESERVATION, Minn. (AP) — An American Indian tribe in northern Minnesota has decided not to renew nearly 350 waterfront lot leases, meaning non-tribal cabin owners will have to vacate their cabins.

Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe leaders tell Minnesota Public Radio they want to reclaim the land as part of a plan to address the reservation’s growing homelessness problem. That means nearly 75 cabin owners will have to sell their cabins to a band member, move the structure off the property or leave the cabin behind. Though the cabin owners lease the land, they still own the cabins.

Leech Lake Natural Resources Director Levi Brown says the lots will be consolidated and homesteaded by 80 tribal families. There are 500 homeless tribe members looking for places to live on the reservation.