Samuel Strong

Tribal Secretary | Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians

Samuel R. Strong was elected to serve as Tribal Secretary of the Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians in 2018 and was recently elected for a second 4-year term. Strong is from the Little Rock District. As Tribal Secretary, he leads the Enrollment Department and Department of Motor Vehicles. He also leads various tribal committees, such as Code committee, Ceded Territory Conservation Committee, and Enrollment Committee.

Prior to his appointment as Tribal Secretary, Strong served as Director of Economic Development for the Red Lake Band since 2008. During his time as Director of Economic Development, some of the major projects he worked on included: the Mino-bimaadiziwin project which is a 6-story building with 110-units and provides mixed-use, mixed- income, workforce housing for families in Minneapolis. He also created a long-range 25-year land use and transportation plan that identified areas for future growth and development; and developed Red Lake Incorporated with guidance from Harvard Project on Economic Development.

Outside of his job duties, Strong spends time with his children and volunteering in the community. Strong graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York and hold a Bachelor of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning.