Red Cliff Band Of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians Of Wisconsin

Red Cliff Band Of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians Of Wisconsin, a federally recognized tribal government headquartered in Bayfield, Wisconsin, operates as a recipient of federal grants across health, education, social services, infrastructure, and environmental protection programs. The tribe does not hold federal contracts as a prime or subcontractor; all federal funding activity flows through grant and cooperative agreement channels, with the tribe acting as a prime recipient on the overwhelming majority of awards and as a sub-recipient on pass-through allocations from Wisconsin state agencies.

Red Cliff's federal grant portfolio spans 434 prime awards and 139 sub-awards (76% prime, 24% sub) across 64 distinct customer agencies, with recent total obligations of $241.2 million against combined potential value of $2.7 million. Activity has accelerated sharply — from 25 awards in 2022 to 92 in 2024 — driven by expansion of social services, child care, and infrastructure funding. The tribe faces a concentrated recompete cliff of 23 awards reaching ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months. The top funding agencies by award count are the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families (52 awards), Department of Health and Human Services Public Health Service (45 awards), and Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Service (40 awards), accounting for roughly 35 percent of the prime award footprint. Health and social service delivery dominate the capability mix, with medical-managed healthcare and direct aid to tribal governments representing the primary PSC categories (34 and 21 awards respectively).

Representative prime grant work includes a $150,000 Native American and Native Hawaiian Library Services award (CFDA 45.311) from the Institute of Museum and Library Services to deliver Ojibwemowin language classes, an indigenized STEM camp, and digital literacy training at Ginanda Gikendaasomin Library through September 2028; a $5 million Community Development Block Grant for housing revitalization and manufactured housing preservation extending through September 2032; a $900,000 five-year Healing to Wellness Court grant (CFDA 16.596) from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to address substance abuse and opioid crisis response; a $1.4 million police station construction project (CFDA 16.596) from the Bureau of Justice Assistance; a $675,000 Tribal Sexual Assault Services Program award (CFDA 16.024) from the Office on Violence Against Women; a $479,417 Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations award (CFDA 10.567) for nutrition assistance administration; and recurring block grants for child care, child support enforcement, family services, and temporary assistance to needy families from the Administration for Children and Families. The tribe operates Miskwaabikaang Transit, funded through Federal Transit Administration formula grants totaling approximately $2.9 million for operations and capital improvements including electric transit vans and a new 17,000 square-foot transportation center. Environmental awards include a $420,000 Performance Partnership Grant (CFDA 66.605) from EPA Region 5 for water quality and air quality protection, a Solid Waste Infrastructure for Recycling grant for transfer station expansion, and climate action planning funded through the Inflation Reduction Act.

Sub-recipient activity flows primarily through Wisconsin state agencies — the Department of Public Instruction (National School Lunch and Child and Adult Care Food Programs), the Department of Children and Families (family services, child welfare, and child care contracts), the Department of Health Services (Medicaid, birth-to-three early intervention, mental health services, and public health programs), and the University of Wisconsin System (Indigenous science and place-based geoscience education collaborations). The tribe subawards selected federal allocations to Red Cliff-owned enterprises including Mino Bimaadiziiwin Tribal Farm and Red Cliff Fish Company under the Local Food Purchase Assistance Program.

Red Cliff's mission centers on language and culture preservation — exemplified by an Ojibwe Language Immersion Teacher Training project and library programming — alongside public safety response (Healing to Wellness Court, police infrastructure, crime victim services), economic development (food sovereignty and tribal enterprise support), environmental stewardship (water and air quality management, sustainable agriculture), and health outcomes for tribal members (diabetes prevention, opioid response, youth behavioral health). The tribe's approximately 1,313 residents populate 22 square miles of reservation land in northern Wisconsin; federal grant support directly addresses documented challenges including poverty, substance abuse, low student outcomes, and health disparities through coordinated wraparound service delivery and culturally grounded programming rooted in Ojibwe values and the Seven Grandfather Teachings.