Pillager Band of Chippewa Indians (or simply the Pillagers; Makandwewininiwag in the Ojibwe language

Ojibwe language

Ojibwe , also called Anishinaabemowin, is an indigenous language of the Algonquian language family. Ojibwe is characterized by a series of dialects that have local names and frequently local writing systems...

) are a historical band of Chippewa (Ojibwe)

Ojibwa

The Ojibwe or Chippewa are among the largest groups of Native Americans–First Nations north of Mexico. They are divided between Canada and the United States. In Canada, they are the third-largest population among First Nations, surpassed only by Cree and Inuit...

, originally living at the headwaters of the Mississippi River

Mississippi River

The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...

. Their name "Pillagers" is a translation of Makandwewininiwag, which literally means "Pillaging Men". This name was given to them because they formed the advance guard of the Ojibwe in the invasion of the Dakota country, establishing themselves first on Leech Lake and gradually pushing westward from that point.

Their name have been recorded as:

• Chippeways of Leech Lake (Lewis and Clark, 1806)
• Cypowais plunderers (Beltrami, quoted by Neill, 1858)
• Ma'kandwäwininiwag (William Jones, 1905)
• Makandwewininiwag (Baraga, 1878)
• Muk-im-dua-win-in-e-wug (Warren, 1852)
• Mukkundwas (Schoolcraft, 1855)
• Muk-me-dua-win-in-e-wug (Warren, 1852)
• Mukundua (Schoolcraft, 1852)
• Muk-un-dua-win-in-e-wing (Ramsey, 1852)
• Muk-un-dua-win-in-e-wug (Schoolcraft, 1852)
• Mukundwa (Schoolcraft, 1855)
• Pillagers (Treaty of Fond du Lac
  Treaty of Fond du Lac
  The Treaty of Fond du Lac may refer to either of two treaties made and signed in Duluth, Minnesota between the United States and the Ojibwe Native American peoples.-1826 Treaty of Fond du Lac:...
  
  , 1847)
• Pilleurs (Henry, 1809)
• Pilliers (Franklin, 1824)
• Robbers (Franklin, 1824)
• Rogues (Henry, 1809)

Originally, the Pillagers had several sub-bands, including:

• Lake Winnibigoshish
• Leech Lake
  • Bear Island (on Leech Lake)
  • Boy Lake
  • Pine Point (on Leech Lake)
• Otter Tail Lake
• Pillager
  • Upper Crow Wing River
  • Wing River
• Red Cedar (Cass) Lake
• Turtle Portage

Through the treaty process with the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the Pillager Band were settled on reservations

Indian reservation

An American Indian reservation is an area of land managed by a Native American tribe under the United States Department of the Interior's Bureau of Indian Affairs...

 in north-central Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

. A majority were placed on three reservations, established under the 1855 Treaty of Washington

Treaty of Washington (1855)

The 1855 Treaty of Washington may refer to any of the four treaties signed between the United States and various Native American governments.-Treaty with the Wyandot:...

 :

• Cass Lake Reservation
• Lake Winnibigoshish Reservation
• Leech Lake Reservation

Through additional treaties with the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, the Leech Lake and Lake Winnibigoshish Reservations nearly doubled each of their sizes. When the White Earth Reservation was created, the Pillagers living about Otter Tail Lake

Otter Tail Lake

Otter Tail Lake is a lake in the west-central part of the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the largest lake in Otter Tail County.- Geography :Adjoining the city of Ottertail, it is a part of the Otter Tail River chain of lakes. Upstream from the lake are Big Pine, Little Pine and Rush lakes, while...

 agreed to relocation to that reservation. In 1934, the Cass Lake, Lake Winnibigoshish and Leech Lake Pillagers, together with the White Oak Point Reservation of the Mississippi Chippewa

Mississippi River Band of Chippewa Indians

Mississippi River Band of Chippewa Indians or simply the Mississippi Chippewa, are a historical Ojibwa Band inhabiting the head-waters of the Mississippi River and its tributaries....

 and the Removable Lake Superior Chippewa Bands of the Chippewa Reservation, agreed to a merger and re-organization to form the contemporary Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation

Leech Lake Indian Reservation

The Leech Lake Indian Reservation or Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag in the Ojibwe language, is an Native American reservation located in the north-central Minnesota counties of Cass, Itasca, Beltrami, and Hubbard. It is the land-base for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe...

.

The successors apparent of the Pillagers are:

• Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe
  Leech Lake Indian Reservation
  The Leech Lake Indian Reservation or Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag in the Ojibwe language, is an Native American reservation located in the north-central Minnesota counties of Cass, Itasca, Beltrami, and Hubbard. It is the land-base for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe...
  
  
• White Earth Band of Chippewa

External links

• The 1847 Treaty between the United States and the Pillager Band of Chippewa Indians