Ojibwe Homeland at the Great Forks
Near Grand Forks, North Dakota
Long before European traders arrived at the confluence of the Red and Red Lake Rivers, the Ojibwe people, known also as the Anishinaabe, used this waterway junction as a travel and trade hub connecting the Great Lakes region to the northern plains. The Red River runs due north into present-day Manitoba, and the Red Lake River connects east to Red Lake in Minnesota, one of the largest lakes entirely within the lower forty-eight states. These rivers were natural corridors, and the junction at what the French would name Les Grandes Fourches was a logical resting and trading point on long journeys.
After American settlement, the Ojibwe bands of the region were assigned to reservations further east in Minnesota and north in Canada. The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, whose reservation lies well over one hundred miles northwest of Grand Forks, is one of the largest federally recognized Ojibwe nations with deep historical ties to this part of the valley.
