Contact: Adam Czech, Public Information Coordinator

Phone: (651) 602-7799 (office); (320) 309-1160 (cell) **FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE:**

E-mail: <adam.czech@mn.usda.gov> **Monday, September 10, 2007**

OR

Terri Hill, Bois Forte Communication Director

\(800\) 221-8129 (office); (218) 780-4388

thill@boisforte-nsn.gov

**\
Bois Forte Band of Chippewa hosts USDA Rural Development on Tour of
Reservation Projects**

NETT LAKE, Minn., -- Tribal Leaders from the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
will host Officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Rural
Development Agency on September 11 for two check presentations and a
tour of projects throughout the Nett Lake and Vermilion Reservations
which Rural Development has helped fund.

Rural Development has invested over \$9.5 million throughout the Bois
Forte community since 1992. Over \$5 million has come through grants and
\$4.5 million through low-interest loans that the Tribe has paid back to
the Agency.

The tour will kick off Tuesday at 9 a.m. with a traditional ceremony at
the Native Hearts Fitness Center in Nett Lake and the presentation of a
check for \$740,000 by the USDA for a major waste water treatment system
in the Indian Point residential community on Pelican Lake. The Bois
Forte Tribal Government is also signing a \$247,000 loan that will be
combined with the USDA grant to install a state of the art wastewater
system that will serve the residents of Indian Point and protect Pelican
Lake.

Bids from General Contractors interested in handling the Indian Point
project are scheduled to be opened the day of the check presentation.
Bois Forte plans to begin construction on this latest project within the
next two months.

"We've been able to assist the Bois Forte community on a variety of
development projects," said Steve Wenzel, State Director of Rural
Development in Minnesota. "The Tribe has been a valuable partner with
USDA Rural Development for a long time and I look forward to assisting
with future projects."

The tour will include nine separate projects the group will review on
both the Nett Lake and Vermilion sectors of the Bois Forte Reservation,
including the Nett Lake Public Safety Building, the Tribes new Public
Maintenance Building, the Indian Point Waste Water project and several
neighborhood sewer and water projects in the Vermilion community.

The highlight of the afternoon will be USDA officials presenting a check
for \$30,000 at the Vermilion Family Wellness Center. The Bois Forte
Tribal Government is contributing \$25,000 as a prerequisite for the
USDA grant. The money will be combined to purchase \$55,000 of equipment
for the Tribe's Boys and Girls Club, Health Clinic and Family Wellness
Center.

Tribal Chair Kevin Leecy credited the collaboration between USDA and the
Band in rebuilding crumbling infrastructure as well as creating new
buildings and equipment to improve the quality of life on and off the
Reservation. "Together, we've pooled our resources and built some
impressive facilities and programs that are enhancing vital services for
the Bois Forte people and our neighbors in the surrounding communities."

USDA Rural Development has invested over \$4 billion throughout rural
Minnesota since 2001. For more information, visit
[www.rurdev.usda.gov/mn](http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/mn) or call the
local office in Virginia at (218) 741-3929 or the office in Baxter at
(218) 829-5965.

Interviews with Bois Forte Tribal representatives can be arranged
through Terri Hill, Bois Forte Communication Director (800) 221-8129
(office); (218) 780-4388; thill@boisforte-nsn.gov

\- End -