The Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe is one of six bands of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians who entered into treaties with the United States in 1837, 1842, and 1854. The Chippewa of this area have a long and rich heritage. It is thought that they migrated to the Lake Superior region from Canada along the St. Lawrence waterway.

Although the tribe already had a traditional government that provided safety and welfare to its people, after years of resistance, the Lac Courte Oreilles Tribe adopted an Indian Reorganization Act Constitution in 1966. The constitution recognizes the sovereign immunity of the tribe along with jurisdiction within its territory on and off the reservation.  The Constitution can be found here:  https://lco-nsn.gov/constitution/
 
The LCO Tribe is a federally recognized tribal government that exercises its rights of sovereignty and governance established by the treaties of 1825, 1837, 1842, and 1854 along with its constitution, initially adopted in 1966.
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​The constitution establishes a seven-member Tribal Governing Board to make decisions on behalf of the LCO people on the areas of land, establishment of a tribal court, ordinances, contracts, agreements, governmental negotiations, tribal businesses, housing, etc. The tribal governing board members are elected to serve four-year terms with elections staggered every two years.  Following each election, the Board chooses a Chairman, Vice Chairman and Secretary-Treasurer from within its members.  The Board members promote the general welfare to the Band and to carry out the provisions and purposes of this Constitution and Bylaws.  More about the Governing Board can be found here: https://lco-nsn.gov/government/
 
The Tribe is located on its federally-recognized Reservation in northwestern Wisconsin, near the town of Hayward, WI.  Currently, there are over 7,000 tribal members, with over 2,000 living on the Reservation. 
 
More about the Tribe can be found here: https://dpi.wi.gov/amind/tribalnationswi/lco