Onamia, MN

Onamia is a city in Mille Lacs County, Minnesota, on the south shore of Lake Onamia and about three miles south of Mille Lacs Lake. The 2020 census counted 784 residents. U.S. 169 and Minnesota 27 meet in town, with Milaca to the south and Garrison near the northwest shore of Mille Lacs. The lakes, highway junction, and nearby reservation country make Onamia a practical junction in central Minnesota. Onamia Public Schools serve local students, and Nay Ah Shing School provides K–12 tribal education nearby.

The city formed from the merger of two earlier communities, the village of Onamia and Ericksonville. Its name comes from Lake Onamia and the Ojibwe word onaman. The larger county road system has long followed the route toward Mille Lacs Lake, connecting town, fishing country, and communities around the water. Onamia remains close to the county’s lakes and highways, with county-seat business in Milaca but a strong local role along the water. It is a small Minnesota city where two lakes, two school traditions, and a merged village history meet.