Melanie Benjamin | |
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Occupation(s) | Chief executive, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe |
Website | millelacsband |
Melanie Benjamin is chief executive of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, a sovereign, federally-recognized American Indian tribal government in the Mille Lacs Indian Reservation in east-central Minnesota, USA. [1]
Benjamin was originally elected chief executive of the band in 2000, and re-elected in 2004 and 2008. [2] In October 2008, shortly after the start of her third term, she was removed from office following accusations of misappropriation of tribal funds. [3] She was again elected chief executive in 2012 [4] and in 2016. [5] In 2020, Benjamin was again re-elected by the citizens of the Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe to her sixth consecutive four-year term. [6] In 2018, Benjamin addressed the Band's opioid crisis and provided harsh comments to traditionally Band-supportive groups on their lack of assistance to the Tribe. [7] In January 2024, Benjamin announced that she would not seek a seventh term in office. [8]