
Choose a Menu
Ni-mi-kwa-zoo-min (Cass Lake, Minn.) 1974-1977 Browse the title
Speaking of ourselves (Cass Lake, Minn.) 1977-1997 Browse the title
Ni-mi-kwa-zoo-min, later Speaking of Ourselves = Ni-mah-mi-kwa-zoo-min, was the official newspaper of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe from 1974-1997. It was a monthly publication headquartered in Cass Lake, Minnesota, that primarily served the nearby Leech Lake Reservation. Established by the 1855 Treaty of Washington and the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, Leech Lake is the second largest reservation in Minnesota and is located on Chippewa National Forest lands. As the primary Indigenous newspaper for Leech Lake, Speaking of Ourselves contained information on tribal legislation, elections, infrastructure projects, upcoming events, education, and more. Some issues include separately paged and numbered reservation news sections. Significant also is its inclusion of original art and poetry by members of its communities. Additionally, like many local newspapers, Speaking of Ourselves often reprinted articles and stories from other publications. David Beaulieu’s occasional column, “Curly Hair and Big Feet: Physical Anthropology and the Implementation of Land Allotment on the White Earth Reservation,” was one such story. It appeared in a variety of popular Indigenous publications, and recounted the relationship between the field of anthropology and the representation of Indigenous peoples. Beaulieu describes the column as “an attempt to describe an unusual, little known, but important aspect of the development and implementation of public policy toward American Indians…” (Speaking of Ourselves, February 1, 1991). Speaking of Ourselves often featured pieces, like Beaulieu’s, that forefronted the strength of Indigenous scholarship.

The Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub is a searchable website from the Minnesota Historical Society that makes millions of pages of Minnesota newspapers available online.
The Hub contains geographically and culturally diverse newspapers published between 1849 and today. Due to potential copyright restrictions most issues published after 1977 can only be accessed from the Gale Family Library at the Minnesota History Center.
Content in the Minnesota Digital Newspaper Hub is presented as part of the historical record. Some content may be difficult and harmful to view, including graphic images, offensive language, and negative stereotypes that reflect the culture and biases of an earlier time period.
The Minnesota Historical Society's newspaper digitization program is made possible through support from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP), the Legacy Amendment's Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund through the vote of Minnesotans on Nov. 4, 2008, and many other organizations and individual donors.
Material in the Digital Newspaper Hub may be protected by copyright law (U.S. Code Title 17).
Looking for more information on MNHS digital newspaper collections? Visit Digital Newspapers at MNHS
