Draft:Red Bear Band of Chippewa

The Red Bear Band of Chippewa

As part of the Pembina Chippewa Tribe, the Red Bear Band of Chippewa is a prominent hereditary branch and traditional governance structure within the larger tribal nation of Pembina. The Red Bear Band if Chippewa is a specific hereditary lineage and traditional sub-band within the broader Pembina Nation^[1]. The Band is named after Chief Mis-co-muk-quah (Chief Red Bear I), a significant and principal leader of the Pembina people.^[1]

The Red Bear Band of Chippewa were signatories of the 1863 Treaty; and Article 9 explicitly set aside a 640-acre reservation area for Chief Red Bear I and his followers.^[1][2]

From the early to mid-19th century, the Pembina Chippewa controlled millions of acres of prairie and woodland straddling both sides of the border - that is, straddling both the US and Canadian borders. Due to the Pembina Chippewa Nation was so geographically widespread, they operated through an organized network of local bands led by distinct chieftains rather than a centralized bureaucratic government system.^[3]

Bands

The Pembina Chippewa Tribe is the overarching, historical macro-nation of Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) people from the Red River Valley region. The Red Bear Band of Chippewa represents a specific, prominent hereditary branch within the larger Pembina Tribal Nation.

1863 Treaty of Old Crossing

When the US government sought to clear the Red River Valley for white settlement and rail roads, the landmark 1863 Treaty of Old Crossing was negotiated.^[2]

Chief Red Bear I stood as one of the principal chiefs of the Pembina delegation. While the Treaty ceeded approximately 11 million acres of land to the US government, it explicitly recognized the distinguished leadership and ongoing efforts of Chief Red Bear, guaranteeing him and his immediate followers a large tract of land north of the Pembina River —a promise that went largely unfulfilled by the federal government.^[2]

The 1892 McCumber Agreement

Following the treaties and later, the controversial 1892 McCumber Agreement, which is often referred to as the "Ten-Cent Treaty" (due to the abysmally low price paid for land), the original Pembina Chippewa Tribe was heavily fragmented and displaced.^[4][5]

Historical Hereditary Chiefs (1800s): The Pembina Tribe Lineage - The Little Shells^[6]

The Red Bear Lineage^[1][2]

1. ​Historically, leadership among the Pembina Chippewa was patrilineal (passed from father to son) and deeply intertwined. There are two (2) main patrilineal hereditary chief lines going backeage; and (2) the "Red Bear" lineage frequently shared dual authority over the macro-Pembina Tribe.