 One of the major sources of income in the territory during the 1850s was U.S. government annuity payments to the Ojibwe and other tribes required by earlier treaties . These payments amounted to more than $ 380 @,@ 000 per year on average ( $ 10 @.@ 8 million in present @-@ day terms ) compared to approximately $ 120 @,@ 000 per year ( $ 3 @.@ 41 million in present @-@ day terms ) given to the territory itself for development . Because of corruption , and mishandling of the payments to the tribes , a great deal of the money was used directly by U.S. settlers for commercial and community development with questionable benefit to the tribes . At the beginning of the Minnesota Territory , in fact , these payments were the territory 's most important source of income since the fur trade was no longer as lucrative as it had once been and other exports were still negligible . 
