Marge Anderson was born on the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation in 1932. She was an authority on the history, traditions and culture of the Ojibwe and was fluent in the language. From 1991-2000 and again from 2008-2012 she served as the band’s chief executive, the first woman in Minnesota history to do so. Anderson is credited with to leading the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe to reclaim their tribal hunting and fishing rights and for steering casino profits to social programs for the common good, instead of to individuals. She lead the tribe into the modern era of American Indian gaming, directing the profits from the Hinckley and Mille Lacs casinos to fund social programs, schools and clinics for the band’s members
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