Mille Lacs Band Leaders Address Tribal Affairs and ICE Concerns at Annual Gathering

By Chandra Colvin

Minnesota Public Radio

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Virgil Wind, chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, gave the tribe’s 42nd annual State of the Band address on Tuesday at the Grand Casino Mille Lacs in Onamia. The address updates band members on current tribal affairs and provides updates from the previous year.

Last year, Wind named 2025, “Year of the Child.” The tribal government said it would update the band’s K-12 schools.  

Since then, he said the band has hired more teachers in its early education classrooms, totaling 61 teachers across districts — an increase from its original 45 teachers.  

The band also expanded its educational programming across its three districts, including the addition of a new early education program in district three, located east of Hinckley.  

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