Longtime Bois Forte tribal chair resigns, citing her mental health

When Catherine Chavers first joined the tribal council for the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa, a small Indigenous nation in Minnesota’s northern woods, the government center burned down.

Years later, she won the chair seat and a federal government shutdown ensued, hampering services on the reservation.

Five years ago, the pandemic hit.

Now, the longtime leader, exhausted if still optimistic for her tribe’s future, says she will resign her seat at month’s end, citing her mental health.

“It’s been very challenging for me,” Chavers said by phone on Friday. “But we’ve worked through a lot of the unforeseen circumstances.”

She’ll tackle one more obstacle: speaking openly about her own need to focus on her mental health.

“It happens to everybody and anybody, and people shouldn’t be scared to say, ‘I need to step back and take care of myself,’” said Chavers, who won her third term as chair in June.

So the chair who has worked nearly half a century for her tribe is retiring at month’s end.

The Bois Forte nation, which sits roughly 50 miles south of the Canadian border in northeastern Minnesota, numbers roughly 3,600 residents and comprises three reservations, according to a series of 19th-century treaties, beginning with the 1854 Treaty: Nett Lake, Deer Creek and shoreline along Lake Vermilion in St. Louis County.

In 2022, under Chavers’ tenure as chair, nearly 30,000 acres were restored to the tribe. The land had been lost to timber interests a century prior.

Since her retirement announcement, Chavers said she’s received support from community. Her decision reflects her mother’s mental health struggles, she said.

“My own mother had a nervous breakdown when I was in the seventh or eighth grade,” Chavers said, noting that generational trauma on the reservation is common. “I’ll be honest with you, this was in the ’70s and ‘80s, and nobody mentioned mental health. They didn’t know what they were dealing with.”

Chavers said mental health crises can be especially acute for Indigenous communities where government-run health care is woefully underfunded by Congress. A 2023 government watchdog report found Indian Health Service facilities are “not in good condition” and such degradation can lead to poorer health outcomes.

Bois Forte Tribal Vice Chair Shane Drift will take over for Chavers until a special election can be held to finish out Chavers’ term, which expires in June 2028. One of the top priorities will be working with the incoming administration of President-elect Donald Trump.

“We don’t have a crystal ball,” Chavers said, “But we know the incoming administration is big on industry and mining, so environmentally, I have a feeling that we’re going to have an impact on tribes.”

Chavers noted that the tribe does not “oppose all industrial work” but says the band’s emphasis as a caretaker in ensuring generations of Ojibwe children will be able to “hunt, fish and gather” can often produce conflict with energy companies.

From a background waitressing in Orr, Minn., to working in health care, Chavers said her next move will be about engaging with “the outside world.”

“I’ve worked on my reservation my whole life,” Chavers said. “I love working for my tribe, but I’ve never worked off the reservation.”

She said her next chapter will likely involve making a difference in education and health care outcomes for her tribe, calling Bois Forte a “small tribe” with “big ideas.”