The Vermilion Reservation, near Tower, is part of the Bois Forte Band of Chippewa. The Vermilion Reservation was given back to the Bois Forte people after the US government took the area from them through a series of late 19th century treaties. At that time, and into the early 20th century, assimilation policies forced Indian children into white boarding schools and further restricted their rights retained by treaties. By 1915, when this photograph of two Ojibwe children was taken, American Indians were still not considered full US citizens. Despite these policies and the lack of full citizenship, American Indian people played important roles in World War I, serving as soldiers and nurses for the country that denied them full civil rights.