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The Leech Lake Indian Reservation or Gaa-zagaskwaajimekaag in the Ojibwe language, is located in the north-central Minnesota counties of (in descending order of reservation area) Cass, Itasca, Beltrami, and Hubbard. It is the land-base for the Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe. As of the 2000 census, it had a population of 10,205, making it the largest Indian reservation in the state by number of residents. It is the second-largest (to the White Earth Indian Reservation) in terms of land area at 2,518.806 km² (972.517 sq mi), although it would be the largest if water area were also considered, since over one-fourth of its territory comprises lakes, the largest of which are Leech Lake, Lake Winnibigoshish, and Cass Lake. Its total surface area, including water, is 3,392.65 km² (1,309.909 sq mi).
The core areas of the Leech Lake Indian Reservation were established according to a treaty in 1855 as three smaller reservations for the Pillager Band of Chippewa Indians and modified several times thereafter. Under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, the present "Greater" Leech Lake Indian Reservation was formed from the merger of Leech Lake, Cass Lake and Lake Winnibigoshish Indian Reservations of the Pillager Band, Chippewa Indian Reservation of the removable Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians and White Oak Point Indian Reservation of the Mississippi Chippewa.
Most of the reservation land is now taken up by the Chippewa National Forest, and only a very small percentage is owned by tribal members. The headwaters of the Mississippi River at Lake Itasca are also located within the reservation boundary but is part of Itasca State Park. About 40 area lakes are used for the production of wild rice and the community produces more rice than any other reservation in the state.
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Eleven communities make up the villages of the Leech Lake Indian Reservation, with two additional communities with substantial number of Leech Lake Band members.
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