Tribe: Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, Minnesota - White Earth Band
§ 1.03 Purposes of Code.
The purposes of this Code are:
1. To provide for the care, safety, and protection of children in an environment that fosters
healthy social, emotional, intellectual, cultural, and physical development; to ensure
secure and safe custody for children; to promote the health and well-being of all children
under the Tribe’s care; and to prevent the occurrence of child abuse, abandonment, and
neglect.
2. To provide a continuum of services for children and their families from prevention to
residential treatment, with emphasis on prevention, early intervention, and communitybased
alternatives to encourage parents to act with zoongide ‘win, to acknowledge their
personal weaknesses and develop the strength to combat them for the welfare of their
children.
3. To exercise the White Earth Band of Ojibwe’s sovereign right to govern over its people
and the land on which it resides; in particular the Tribe’s most vital resource, its children,
through:
a. The efficient collaboration of both tribal and state resources in a manner that
provides for the timely and effective handling of those cases involving the Tribe’s
children;
b. The facilitation of inter-governmental relationships with other jurisdictions aimed
at protecting Ojibwe children and families both on and off the Reservation; and
c. Ensuring that off-reservation courts will be willing to return tribal children to the
Reservation.
4. To promote the belief that the Tribe’s children deserve a sense of manaaji’idiwin,
respect, zaagi ‘idiwin, love, permanency, and belonging throughout their lives and are
entitled to knowledge about their unique cultural heritage, tribal customs, history,
language, religion, and values.
5. To provide for the best interests of the Tribe, tribal communities, tribal families, and
tribal children.