Some Leech Lake cabin owners forced to leave as tribe addresses homelessness problem

The Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe has decided not to renew nearly 350 waterfront lot leases on Leech Lake in the Walker area in northern Minnesota, meaning non-tribal cabin owners will be on their way out.

According to reports, the tribe wants to reclaim the land as part of a plan to address the reservation’s growing homelessness problem.

As a result, this fall, those cabin owners will have to sell their cabins to a band member, move the structure off the property or leave the cabin behind, according to reports.

Some 500 homeless tribe members are looking for places to live on the reservation and 100 others are applying for tribal land allotments where they can build a home, reports say.