Little Shell Tribe of Montana An unofficial Tribal Member website
"Ayabewaywetung"
"Es 'Sence"
Chief Little Shell
also known as "Little Clam"
This Little Shell Tribe Website is BY Little Shell Tribal Members FOR Little Shell Tribal Members
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Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of
Montana Federal Recognition Status SummaryLittle Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of MT (#31)
letter of intent 4/28/78
Techinicial Assist Letter 1 4/18/85
Techinicial Assist Letter 2 4/8/85
ready 3/23/95
active 2/12/97
proposed positive finding published 7/21/00
comment period closed 1/17/01
extended at request of petitioner to 7/16/01, to 1/12/02, to 7/16/02, to 1/16/03, to 7/14/03, to 1/10/04, to 5/9/04, to 9/7/04, to 2/1/05, and to 2/5/05
response period closed 4/6/05
final determination projected to 7/28/09
Latest Little Shell Tribe Related Headlines
For all the archive News, go to the Little Shell News Headline Archive Page
May 9, 2009May 9, 2009
Tribe holding disputed balloting
From the Billings Gazette
By The Associated Press
Members of the Little Shell Chippewa tribe are set to vote in a new council today, in an election marred by political infighting including the barring of several would-be candidates from the ballot.
Polling places will be set up in Billings, Browning, Butte, Great Falls, Havre and Helena. The estimated 4,500 Little Shell have no reservation and are spread through northern and central Montana.
The election had been delayed since Nov. 4, when the Tribal Council barred four candidates from running.
At least three more have since been barred, including two candidates who also were disenrolled from the tribe.
The Little Shell tribe is recognized by the state but has faced decades of delays from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs over its request for federal recognition.
Several of the rejected candidates were prior council members. One who was disenrolled is a former vice chairman for the Little Shell.
Critics accuse tribal President John Sinclair and other incumbents of manipulating the election to their advantage.
Operating through a splinter group called the Little Shell Chippewa Alliance, they plan to protest today's election.
"They're twisting the tribal constitution for their own political gain in terms of determining who can run against them and who can't," said Gerald Gray, a tribal member who was blocked from running for first vice chairman.
Five members of the Alliance filed a federal lawsuit this week asking a judge in Great Falls to issue an injunction blocking the election.
U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon on Friday denied the request.
Sinclair said he was trying to make the process fair but was forced to take action because he said Alliance members were confusing potential voters, in part by sending out mailings opposing the election.
"When you fight in a tribe like that it's basically family - and family fights are the worst," he said.
The tribe's executive director, Russell Boham, said disenrolled members had failed to pass required background checks.
That included an assessment of whether they had the proper ancestry.
May 8, 2009
Disenfranchised faction vows to fight today's Little Shell elections
From the Great Falls Tribune
By TRAVIS COLEMAN
Great Falls Tribune Staff WriterThe Little Shell Chippewa Tribe today will hold its elections that have been delayed for six months, a period in which some candidates were either removed from the ballot or thrown out of the tribe.
Some removed candidates tried to block the election through a federal injunction, but U.S. District Judge Sam Haddon denied the request Friday, saying there were "extremely limited" circumstances to justify blocking the election.
Since the injunction failed, ballots will be cast today at polling places across the state and counted on May 23 in Great Falls.
Tribal Chairman John Sinclair is running unopposed for the chairman position, with Alvina Allen and Ronald "Cree" Doney vying for first vice president. Voters also will elect three tribal council members from a field of seven at-large candidates.
The injunction is the latest flap among the tribe's members since before the election's originally scheduled date in November. It was then that a group of tribal members were removed as council nominees for various alleged violations of tribal regulations. Sinclair then pushed the election back.
The Little Shell Chippewa Alliance soon formed. The group was made up in part of removed council candidates who criticized Sinclair's leadership and the impartiality of the tribe's election committee. The alliance plans to protest the election outside of tribal headquarters in Great Falls today.
John Gilbert, a former tribal chairman and head of the alliance, was disqualified from running against Sinclair because he helped send out referendum ballots asking tribal members if the alliance should run its own election for a new tribal council, Sinclair said.
"It's ridiculous," Gilbert said of the reason why he was disqualified. "We're upset. We feel our rights have been taken away."
Sinclair acknowledged that the move to disqualify Gilbert could be perceived by some people as a way to ensure he wins re-election. But he said he wanted Gilbert to run, adding it was the tribe's election committee that made the decision to remove his opponent from the ballot.
"I do understand why he's angry, but he shouldn't have done the thing that got him disqualified," Sinclair said.
Other candidates removed from the ballot include prior council members. Two candidates, including James Parker Shield, a former Little Shell vice chairman, also were disenrolled from the tribe, according to court documents.
"They're twisting the tribal constitution for their own political gain in terms of determining who can run against them and who can't,"' said Gerald Gray, a tribal member who was blocked from running for first vice chairman.
Sinclair said he was trying to make the process fair, but was forced to take action because Little Shell Chippewa Alliance members were confusing potential voters, in part by sending out mailings opposing the election.
The tribe's executive director, Russell Boham, said the tribal members who were disenrolled failed to pass required background checks. The check included an assessment of whether the individuals had the proper ancestry to qualify for tribal membership.
Because the tribe is not federally recognized, no court has authority to resolve the issue between the rival factions. Shield said the plaintiffs will try again to get the injunction heard in court in hopes of blocking the ballot count.
"When you fight in a tribe like that, it's basically family — and family fights are the worst," Sinclair said.
Where to vote
Little Shell tribal members can vote at the following polling places today in Montana:
Great Falls:Westgate Mall, 1807 3rd St. N.W., Suite 35A
Billings: 711 Central Ave., Suite 30
Helena: Lewis and Clark Public Library, 120 S. Last Chance Gulch
Havre: Human Resources Development Council, 2229 5th Ave.
Butte: Butte Plaza Mall, 3100 Harrison Ave.
Browning: New Eagle Shield Center, 5525 Haul Road
All polls will be open between noon and 8 p.m. except in Helena, where they will be open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
May 8, 2009
Opinion: Questions about election
From the Havre Daily News
Editor:
Dear Little Shell Chippewa Tribal Members, Is the Little Shell election legal? Little Shell Chippewa Tribal elections are being held on Saturday at six polling stations throughout the state in the cities of Billings, Browning, Butte, Great Falls, Havre and Helena.
Large numbers of Little Shell Tribal members believe the election is unfair and possibly illegal because: The terms of John Sinclair, past president, Ronald Cree Doney and Steve Doney all expired in November 2008. What legal authority are they acting on to set a new election as they see fit?
Sinclair has made official decisions about how, when and where the election is going to be held, when he is no longer an elected — nor an official — spokesman for the Little Shell Tribe.Why have candidates running against former President John Sinclair and his running mates been "disqualified" or "disenrolled" from the Tribe?
The election committee, chaired by an incumbent councilman's sister, accused people of wrongdoing and being convicted of crimes and then removed some candidates' names from the ballot, when the committee cannot prove the individuals have ever committed or been convicted of a crime!Why is the Tribal newsletter being used to spread falsehoods about former Tribal leaders? Have you ever heard of an election where candidates cannot campaign?
Sinclair removed people from Tribal membership for running for Tribal Council because they had not gotten his permission to use the name Little Shell or Little Shell Tribe in any public way.
Sinclair and the election committee did not abide by the Tribe's constitution when holding the Tribal election. There is a two-week delay between election day and May 23 when ballots will be counted. Shouldn't votes be counted immediately after the polls close? What's up? Why was each absentee ballot numbered at the bottom of the ballot? What's up?
Why doesn't the Tribal newsletter contain the candidates "biographical" information and their statements of what they would do to help the tribe? (Candidates provided this information at election committee's request, but it wasn't printed in the newsletter. Why?)
Can we expect a fair and honest election where the election committee chair is the sister of an incumbent council candidate?
Is the election hijacked?
Are Sinclair’s actions hurting the Little Shell's opportunity for federal recognition?
To protest this election, Tribal members should write:
"I protest the May 9, 2009, election as an illegal election!"; sign and date the letter; and mail this statement to:
Little Shell Chippewa Alliance, P. O. Box 1498, Great Falls, MT 59403.
Gerald Gray
Billings
May 7, 2009
Little Shell to hold election, but some candidates barred
From the Great Falls Tribune
Associated Press
BILLINGS (AP) — Members of the Little Shell Chippewa tribe are set to vote in a new council on Saturday in an election marred by political infighting including the rejection of several hopeful candidates.
Polling places will be set up in Billings, Browning, Butte, Great Falls, Havre and Helena. The estimated 4,500 Little Shell have no reservation and are spread through northern and central Montana.
The election had been delayed since Nov. 4, when the Tribal Council barred four candidates from running. At least two candidates — including a former vice chairman — have since been disenrolled from the tribe.Critics of incumbent tribal President John Sinclair accuse him of manipulating the election to his advantage. Sinclair maintains he's tried to make the process fair.
April 22, 2009
Opinion: Hijacked election
From the Great Falls Tribune
John Gilbert,
past Little Shell chairman and councilman, Great FallsTo all our Little Shell tribal members, you need to get involved and ask questions concerning our upcoming election to be held May 9. It is literally being hijacked. In my opinion, this election is rigged. Just so you know, several very good and competent candidates have been disqualified or disenrolled. This is a very BOLD and calculated action to take by the election committee and others. All the competition has been removed.
Being one of the candidates who was running for the position of chairman and was disqualified by some trumped-up accusation has shocked me, not to mention the insult of it all. For those of you who received your Little Shell tribal newsletter, it is absolutely scandalous and full of outright lies. To see one person running for chairman should open your eyes. This whole bunch needs to be booted out. They are dangerous. We all have had enough of this inside bickering. We need unity and an honest council. We need change!
April 8, 2009
Longtime lawmakers say farewell to serving in Capitol
From the Great Falls Tribune
By JOHN S. ADAMS
Tribune Capitol BureauHELENA — Two term-limited state senators from northcentral Montana bid emotional adieus to their colleagues on the floor Tuesday.
Sen. Joe Tropila, D-Great Falls, and Sen. Ken "Kim" Hansen, D-Harlem, are both term-limited and will finish their runs in the Senate when the Legislature adjourns sometime within the next week or so.
Following Senate tradition, both men delivered their farewell speeches Tuesday.
Tropila, who served 24 years in the House and Senate during the past 34 years, said his tenure has been "a good ride."
"I used to have a horse named Ginger, a three-quarter mare, rust colored, (she) was a great ride," Tropila said in his opening remarks. "But this ride here was a lot better than a ride on that horse — and that horse was great."
Tropila was in the House from 1974-80, and then became Cascade County clerk and recorder through 1993, at which time he returned to the House. He returned to the Senate in 2003 after he was term limited in the House.
Tropila said that throughout his legislative career he dedicated himself to what he called "the three C's": cooperation, consensus and compromise. He also used his farewell speech to rail against term limits, which he said has made it more difficult to live by that code.
"I am adamantly opposed to term limits," Tropila said. "I think term limits belong at the ballot box by the voters. If they want you, they'll vote for you. If they don't, they'll vote you out."
Hansen served two terms in the Senate, first in Senate District 46 and then in Senate District 17. He said he first dreamed of serving in the Legislature in 1971, when he worked as a Senate page.
"As a young man, I had dreams. I had a dream that one day I would be back to serve the people of this great state, that one day I would be back to represent northcentral Montana to the best of my ability," Hansen said.
On Monday, Gov. Brian Schweitzer signed the bill that Hansen called the most important one of his career. Senate Bill 8 will allow irrigators, municipalities, recreationists, tribes and other Milk River stakeholders to form a regional authority to determine how water users will be charged to help pay for the state's share of the $154 million repair bill — around $38 million — for the St. Mary's diversion.
Hansen said his primary goal as a lawmaker was to fight for northcentral Montana's rural communities.
"What I really try to do more than anything is I try to bring funding back to northcentral Montana, because quite often we're always at a rural-urban battle in the state of Montana," Hansen said in an interview. "A lot of times the rural areas get left out. That's what I'm here for."
Tropila said he was most proud to sponsor bills in the 1970s to fund the state colleges of technology, the McLaughlin Research Institute and the Montana School for the Deaf and the Blind. He said he also is especially proud of his work in 2001, when he helped the Legislature pass a resolution urging the federal government to recognize the landless Little Shell Tribe. That measure unanimously passed the House and received 43 votes in the Senate.
"We're still working on that with the (federal government), but at least we got them some land," Tropila said.
His son, Sen. Mitch Tropila, D-Great Falls, gave perhaps the most emotional speech of the day as he stood on a point of personal privilege to recognize his father. The Tropilas are the only father-son duo in recent memory to serve together in the Legislature.
"I would be a fool if I had not grabbed the opportunity in front of me today," said the younger Tropila. "So I will turn and say these words: It has been an honor and a pleasure, and at the end of my days I will look back and I will say that this is one of the best things I've ever did. For I had the privilege of serving with a well-respected man on both sides of the aisle, Sen. Joe Tropila. Oh, and by the way, I love you, Dad."
Being that he turns 74 next month, Joe Tropila is unlikely to return to the Legislature. Public officials are barred from seeking re-election if they have already held the office for eight years in any 16-year period.
Hansen left open the possibility of running for the House some day.
"I'm going to leave that door open," Hansen said. "Right now, I want to just go back home and get to work and help on the family farm and ranch and be with my wife."
April 1, 2009
Little Shell Alliance decides to disband
From the Great Falls Tribune Letters to the Editor
Members of the Little Shell Chippewa Alliance have voted to disband as a group, effective today, alliance spokesman James Parker Shield said Tuesday.
"Alliance members feel we achieved our primary objective," Shield said. "We were successful in pressing for an election, and the Little Shell Election Committee has announced it will be held on May 9." The alliance was formed after last fall's tribal elections were canceled, Shield said. It declared that the incumbents were in office illegally and mailed out 3,000 letters with ballots to tribal members asking if the alliance should be in charge of running the election for a new tribal council. It also asked if tribal members believed the current council's actions were illegal.
March 30, 2009
Tradition upheld
From the Great Falls Tribune Letters to the Editor
As a lifelong resident of Glacier County who has hunted and fished on the Rocky Mountain Front throughout my life, and an enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe, I have concern about the wise use of the Badger-Two Medicine area.
I feel strongly that all people need specific places to go where they are able to seek solitude from the stresses of everyday life, where native people may honor their cultural and spiritual practices in keeping with their traditions. My ancestors lived and died in this area. What better place on earth than the Badger-Two Medicine to continue traditional use.
There are only a significantly small number of areas in the world today that have not been negatively impacted by mankind, where people have labored to preserve that special individuality. We are so fortunate that we have one of those treasured places right here in Montana. A few think it is strictly a chunk of real estate to be enjoyed as they see fit. But many of us see it as much more than that. For this reason, I whole-heartedly support the Lewis and Clark National Forest's Record of Decision for the Badger-Two Medicine area travel management plan.
— Larry Salois, Cut Bank
March 22, 2009
Native Montana Magazine
From the KFBB News Team.
A magazine targeted toward Montanans unveiled a special edition Wednesday featuring important Native Americans in our state. Native Americans are being celebrated in Native Montana Magazine to showcase their positive contributions to society. The magazine has been in circulation for a year and a half and this special edition features elected officials including the highest elected Native-American official... Superintendent of Public Instruction Denise Juneau.
Native Montana Magazine is fully supported by advertising and can be picked up for free across the state. Native Montana Magazine publisher James Parker Shield said, "We need to make sure that people understand that we're full participants in the state of Montana and its government and that we have people that are achieving significant milestones not as individuals buts on the behalf of native americans."
Webmaster Note: You can visit and view the magazine at their website: www.Native-Montana.com
March 17, 2009
Little Shell Tribal Members overwhelmingly make their Voices heard; Votes out unConstitutional Appointed Council and authorizes newConstitutional Elections for Tribal Council.
From the Little Shell Chippewa Alliance.
Webmaster Note: Updated to Correct Totals that were provided by the LSCA
Little Shell Tribal members participated in a Constitutional Referendum that asked Tribal Members if they felt that the Tribal Council was beyond their Constitutional Term-Limit, and if so, should they be allowed to stay in office, and if an election must be held to elect Tribal Members to the Council in a Constitutional manner in doing so making their vote legally binding upon the council itself.
In an Overwhelming showing, the Tribal Members voted their Constitutional power in the following manner:
Question 1: I believe an election by the people should be conducted by the Little Shell Chippewa Alliance to elect Tribal Council members and Tribal Officers for the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe of Montana.
94% Voted "YES", the Little Shell Chippewa Alliance is Authorized to hold Constitutional Elections For Tribal Council.
6% Voted "NO", the Little Shell Chippewa Alliance is NOT Authorized to hold Constitutional Elections for Tribal Council.Referendum Question 1 Passes. Tribal Members authorize a NEW Constitutional Tribal Election
Question 2: I believe the last elected Tribal Council and Tribal Officers of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe of Montana are beyond their Constitutional term limits, which expired according to the Constitution on January 1, 2009 and thus all actions taken by them after January 1, 2009 are neither legal, nor binding.
92% Voted "YES", The Tribal Council members are beyond their Term-limit and are therefore no longer Authorized to Speak for the Tribal Members nor act as the Government of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe of Montana.
8% Voted "NO", The Tribal Council members are authorized to remain in office.Referendum Question 2 Passes. The Tribal Council has been Constitutionally Voted out of office and it's members are no longer are authorized to operate or represent the Tribal members in any manner.
The Little Shell Chippewa Alliance feels that this is a Historical Vote by the Tribal members who exercised their Constitution Rights under Article III, Section X and Article IV of the Little Shell Chippewa Indians of Montana Constitution. This is the first time in the History of the Tribe, since being reorganized September 19, 1977 that tribal members needed to exercise their Constitutional Power to reign in an out of control Council of whom decided to strip tribal members of their civil right to an elected and representative government.
365 Total physical Ballots mailed in.
Of these, the official Votes for:
Question 1 is:
349 Total Validated Votes, of these:
329 YES Votes or 94.26% of the Q1 Validated Votes (329/349=.9624)
20 NO Votes or 5.74% of the Q1 Validated Votes (20/349=.0574)
Question 2 is:
348 Total Validated Votes, of these:
321 YES Votes or 92.24% of the Q2 Validated Votes (321/348=.9224)
27 NO Votes or 7.76% of the Q2 Validated Votes (27/348=.0776)
March 6, 2009
Little Shell Council claims rival group stole identities
From the Great Falls Tribune.
By KIM SKORNOGOSKI
Great Falls Tribune Staff WriterThe Little Shell Tribal Council said a newly formed rival group stole tribal members' private information to mail out a referendum asking to oust the current council.
"This is identity theft, and the tribal council will take action to protect our members," tribal president John Sinclair said. "This breech of trust is particularly sad because it appears to have been perpetrated by former tribal officials who are using the information for personal gain."
The tribe's executive director, Russell Boham, said Monday that the issue came to their attention when tribal members called in complaining that they received unsolicited mail.
The council has a database of 4,200 tribal members, which includes names, addresses, birthdates, names of relatives and tribal identification numbers.
"Our assumption is that somebody either from the alliance stole it or somebody in the office gave it or sold it to the alliance," Boham said.
Earlier this month, the Little Shell Chippewa Alliance sent out 3,000 letters to tribal members and a ballot asking if the alliance should be in charge of running the election for a new tribal council and if tribal members agree that the current council's actions are illegal.
Ballots will be counted Saturday and the alliance hopes to use the results to pressure the current board to step aside and allow alliance members not running for office to oversee the election.Formed in January, the alliance insists that the current seven-member board's terms expired on Jan. 1, following the four-year terms laid out in the tribal constitution.
An election was to be held in November, but Sinclair disqualified several candidates, including his rival for chairman.
Former tribal vice chairman and now alliance spokesman James Parker Shield said the accusation that the alliance stole tribal documents is a smokescreen to disguise Sinclair's illegal attempts to maintain power.
"It almost sounds like the ranting of a madman," Shield said. "He doesn't want a tribal government elected by the people."
He added the alliance created its own database by asking people that attended three group meetings to send the names and addresses of relatives who are Little Shell tribal members.
Sinclair said the tribe will have a belated election on May 9 with the nomination deadline of the end of March.
The alliance has a similar timeline for how long it would take to elect new leaders, but believes someone other than Sinclair needs to run the election.
"You can't be the election judge and a tribal candidate," Shield said. "We have to wake people up to what's going on — that their tribal government is being hijacked by a dictator."
Because the tribe is not federally recognized, no court has authority to resolve the issue between the rival factions. The battle has also mired progress toward getting federally recognized.
March 3, 2009
Group gathers to celebrate 10-year anniversary of bill that renamed sites
From the Great Falls Tribune.
By MOLLY PRIDDY
For the Great Falls TribuneHELENA — A large crowd gathered in the Capitol on Thursday to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the law that removed the word "squaw" from the names of many Montana land features.
State Sen. Carol Juneau, D-Browning, was touted as the driving force behind the legislation by every speaker at the "Old Places — New Names" ceremony.
"It's been a wonderful, wonderful effort to make Montana a better place to live for our citizens by taking this ugly word off our beautiful mountains and streams," Juneau said.
Some of the renamed formations included Ch-paa-qn (Shining Peak) near Missoula, formerly called Squaw Peak; Stands Alone Woman Peak near Glacier, formerly called The Old Squaw; and Too-nah-hin Creek in Cascade County, formerly called Squaw Creek.
After House Bill 412 passed in 1999, it was discovered that 76 features needed name changes.
School children, county commissioners and tribal leaders helped locate landmarks that needed to be renamed, then suggested new names. Even now, some of the 76 new names have yet to be finalized, Juneau said.
One of the first changes was Squaw Gulch near Helena. It is now called Wakina Sky Gulch, a name suggested by students at Wakina Sky Learning Center in Helena.
Juneau said the changes were necessary because of the matriarchal nature of many American-Indian cultures. She illustrated that importance through a Cheyenne proverb: "A nation is not conquered until the heart of its women is on the ground. Then it is done, no matter how brave its warriors or how strong their weapons."
The ceremony at the Capitol began with the lighting of tobacco and a Cree prayer from Henry Anderson, a Little Shell elder. Jennifer Perez Cole, the state coordinator of Indian Affairs, also welcomed visitors to the event.
In her speech, Juneau said the achievements of the 1999 HB412 Committee were especially honorable because everyone worked on a volunteer basis.
"This bill passed without a budget," Juneau said. "They wanted to make Montana a better place to live."
Other members of the 1999 committee, including current Senate Minority Leader Carol Williams and Rep. Diane Sands, both Missoula Democrats, spoke about their experiences.
Williams teared up as she spoke about the committee's efforts over the past decade. She said she hoped a landmark will be named after Juneau in the future.
Sands also became emotional at the lectern when she spoke about the accomplishments made under the law, noting the importance names carry.
"Of all the bills and issues I've worked on, this one means the most to me," she said. "Words do have meaning and words have power."
During the event Sands and Williams presented Juneau with a wool Pendleton blanket and the Soldier Gulch Drum Group played several traditional songs, including a women's honor song, as the lawmakers passed out braids made from sweetgrass to the original committee members.
Rep. Carolyn Pease-Lopez, D-Crow Agency, who delivered the event's closing prayer, said she was thankful for the committee's efforts.
"Words are containers, and they can release good or bad," Pease-Lopez said. "Today is a good day to be an Indian woman."
March 3, 2009
Little Shell Chippewa Alliance make copies of Referendum and cover letter available to the Public
From the Little Shell Chippewa Alliance website.
By Robert Rudeseal
LittleShellTribe.com Webmaster
The Little Shell Chippewa Alliance has updated their website and has made available to Enrolled Tribal Members copies of the Referendum and the cover letter accompanying it. You can download, read, and print the documents for your own use or if you have family members who are enrolled in the tribe and need a copy and want to vote, they are encourged to do so.
Cover Letter that Accompanied the Referendum Ballot
The Referendum Ballot Itself!Return the Signed ballot to:
Little Shell Chippewa Alliance
ATTN: Referendum
PO Box 1498
Great Falls, MT 59403
You can visit the Alliance's website for more information and updates.
You can contact the Alliance through email at: Contact@LittleShellChippewaAlliance.org
The Little Shell Chippewa Alliance are Enrolled Tribal members of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana. They are just like YOU. They are former Tribal Chairmen, Council Members, Elders, and just plain enrolled worker bees. They are all volunteers who want to see our tribe succeed, to regain our democracy from self-proclaimed tyrants of the tribe who call us "Crackpots" for opposing their views, who cancel elections, and who suspend our Laws and Constitution just so they can stay in power. The Tribal Members of the Alliance wants to return our stolen Constitution and Laws back from the clutches of Tyrants and return it to the feathered nest of the Little Shell People.
February 26, 2009
Little Shell group seeks new election
From the Great Falls Tribune.
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
Tribune Projects EditorMembers of the Little Shell Tribal Council and the newly formed Little Shell Chippewa Alliance appear to be pushing for head-to-head elections in May.
The alliance mailed out 3,000 referendum ballots to tribal members on Monday, asking them to answer two questions:
Whether members agreed there is currently no tribal government since no elections have been held to replace council members, whose terms of office expired on Jan. 1;
Whether the alliance should conduct an election to replace members of the tribal council by May 31.
The alliance hopes to have ballots mailed back by March 14, said James Parker Shield, a former vice chairman of the tribe. They'll be counted March 21.
"If the responses for both questions come back as no, our work is done — the people have spoken," Shield said Monday. "But if the responses are yes, we'll go ahead with a new election. We're hoping that the responses will be overwhelming enough to give us a sense of the popular sentiment."
Meanwhile, tribal Chairman John Sinclair said the council had decided on a belated election.
"The constitution calls for four-year terms, but due to circumstances, the council was forced to extend them," he said Monday. "At our last council meeting last Saturday, we set a date for a new election on May 9 and agreed to re-open the nomination process through March."
Sinclair said the alliance is being driven by tribal members who were removed as tribal council nominees last October for undisclosed violations of tribal regulations. But he added that there is no legal recourse the tribe can take to stop them from having an election.
Webmaster Note: Sinclair alleges that the alliance is disgruntled tribal members, that is not true, The Alliance are Enrolled Tribal Members who do not want our tribe to be destroyed by a self-serving member who relishes stepping on the Civil and Constitutional Rights of other fellow Tribal Members. The Alliance was authorized by a Council of Tribal Elders to hold constitutional Elections, the same Elections that Sinclair opposes. The Alliance's ONLY duty authorized by the Elders Council is to hold elections. The Alliance, on its own, in accordance with the Tribal Constitution, decided to hold a referendum of the Tribal Members to ask what THEY want. A tribe run by a Tyrant, or a Tribe run by the people. If the Tribal Members approve and Authorize the Alliance to hold an election, then a new Legal and Constitutional Government is in place that was voted by the TRIBAL MEMBERS and not a handful of Sinclair Loyalist. The Alliance, by order of the People, MUST then Disband.
Mr. Sinclair must answer for and will be held accountable to the Little Shell Tribal People. It does not matter if we are recognized or not, violating our constitutional and civil rights by canceling our constitutional elections and not allowing tribal members to run against him, because he is afraid he will lose the election, is a monstrous act that he must atone for and be held accountable for.
February 24, 2009
Native American board meets to discuss top health problems
From the Great Falls Tribune.
Members of Great Falls' Native American community detailed the health problems tormenting their people Wednesday night at the Great Falls Housing Authority.
Community members met with Benefis Health System's Native American Advisory Board to rank the top health problems for Native Americans in Great Falls, including Little Shell Chippewa tribal members.
The information will be used as the basis for several National Institutes of Health grants that Benefis officials are applying for.
The hope is that the grants will provide the funding required to combat the health problems that need the most urgent attention. Officials said the grants require community participation from the conception of the program to the communication of its results.
In September, Benefis created a new strategic development and tribal programs division to coordinate and expand its tribal outreach efforts.
"Benefis is serious about doing something about Native American health," said Darryl Gray, meeting moderator and advisory board member.
At the top of most attendees' lists was diabetes, but most pointed out the need to also address other concerns, such as eye diseases and a lack of affordable dental care in Great Falls.
"I have a lot of relatives with no teeth in their head," said attendee John Gilbert.
Cissy Worth, a tribal communications staffer with Benefis' tribal programs, said mental health issues, including drug and alcohol abuse and suicide, are huge issues in most Native American communities. She said mental health issues directly resulted in the suicide of her 33-year-old brother and can lead to other chronic diseases.
Among the group of 16, the top five health concerns for Native Americans in Great Falls were diabetes, dental care, cancer, mental health and heart disease.
A second meeting has been tentatively scheduled for two weeks at the housing authority, Gray said. Similar meetings have already been held on the Fort Belknap and Blackfeet Indian reservations, with meetings set to be held on the Fort Peck and Rocky Boy's reservations.
"I think this is a wonderful deal," Gilbert said.
February 13, 2009
Benefis Health System Native American Advisory Board meeting to discuss Native American health issues
From the Great Falls Tribune.
The Benefis Health System Native American Advisory Board will meet Wednesday to gather input on the top health concerns facing Native Americans. The board is working to identify and prioritize the top five illnesses affecting tribal communities, including Little Shell Chippewa living in Great Falls.
The information from members of the community will be used to apply for a grant through the National Institutes of Health to address the problems identified in the public meeting process.
In September, Benefis Health System created a new Strategic Development and Tribal Programs Division to coordinate and expand its tribal outreach efforts. The grant project, which was developed at the request of tribal leaders, is among several Native American outreach initiatives launched by the new board.
***Webmaster Note: The meeging will be held at the Great Falls Housing Authority Community Center (1500 Chowen Springs Loop) at 6pm to 8pm wednesday, February 25, 2009. ALL Little Shell Tribal Members are encouraged to attend so our voice will be heard!
February 5, 2009
Interior head says he'll review tribal recognition process because of plight of Little Shell Tribal Members
From the Great Falls Tribune.
By LEDYARD KING
Great Falls Tribune Washington BureauWASHINGTON — Newly installed Interior Secretary Ken Salazar pledged Thursday to examine the federal process for recognizing Indian tribes after hearing about the decades-long struggle of Montana's Little Shell Chippewa.
At a hearing of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., criticized the federal agency for constantly delaying a decision and asked Salazar if he could help. The tribe — with about 4,300 members, who mostly live in the Great Falls area — has sought recognition since 1978, Tester said.
"I'd like to see the process work," Tester told Salazar. "I don't really want to see Congress have to intervene for recognition of tribes, but the truth is it should not take 31 years for a tribe to get recognition."
Salazar agreed that three decades is "too long."
"There is no reason why we should have a process that essentially ends in an endless road year after year after year," he said. "We will take a look at the process and see if there are ways we can improve upon it."
Little Shell tribal Chairman John Sinclair said Thursday that he has not had a chance to become familiar with Salazar and his positions, but from what he has heard he believes the new secretary will help the tribe.
"From what I have heard, (he) should be good for the Little Shell," Sinclair said.
He added that he has been in touch with Tester's office regarding the tribe's recognition application and wasn't surprised Tester raised the issue during the hearing.
"Jon Tester is a very good friend of the Little Shell," Sinclair said. "Jon has gone the extra mile for us and we really appreciate his help."
The discussion on the Little Shell's plight was one exchange during an hour-long, friendly session in which Salazar pledged to improve rocky federal relations with Native Americans. Salazar said one of his first priorities would be naming an assistant secretary of Indian Affairs, a job that was vacant during most of President George W. Bush's second term.
"We have to look at what we inherited and try to make changes to make it work better," Salazar said after senators criticized the agency for dragging its feet on water settlements and oil-drilling permits. "Without an assistant secretary of Indian Affairs in place three of the last four years, these issues have simply not been addressed."
It was the first hearing for Salazar, a former senator from Colorado, since the Senate confirmed him last month to run the 67,000-employee agency that oversees federal lands.
During the hearing, Salazar spotlighted four areas where the Obama administration wants to target resources: energy development, education, public safety and economic development.
Senators also expressed their concerns. Committee Chairman Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., called the lack of adequate health care in Indian Country "scandalous," and Vice Chairman John Barrasso, R-Wyo., said law enforcement on reservations is woefully underfunded.
The Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming is nearly the size of Connecticut, yet crime victims wait up to a day for assistance because only two police officers typically are on patrol, Barrasso said.
"Non-Indian communities would not tolerate such a low level of protection," he told Salazar.
The National Congress of American Indians is asking for billions of dollars in the federal budget, which is expected to be released later this month, including an increase of $120 million to fix dilapidated schools, a $908 million increase in health care funding and $200 million in loans to help finance energy projects.
Salazar made no firm commitments Thursday, but he assured senators he wants to extend a hand to Native Americans.
"There's lots of work to be done," he said. "We all know that you can't wave a magic wand and all of a sudden the issues will be resolved. It's going to take a steady hand and a long-term sustainable commitment to address these issues."
February 4, 2009
Little Shell Elders Council calls for Tribal Elections
PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
JOHN GILBERT (PHONE 406-268-8080)
ROGER SALOIS (PHONE 406-727-0418)The Little Shell Chippewa Elders Council met in Great Falls on Saturday, January 31st and voted to authorize the newly formed Little Shell Chippewa Alliance to schedule and conduct Tribal Council elections immediately.
Roger Salois, a former Tribal Councilman and head of the Elders Council said, “the past Tribal Council’s term of office expired in January in accordance with Article I, Section IV, of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe’s Constitution.
“Furthermore”, added Salois, “the Elders Council authorized the Little Shell Chippewa Alliance to schedule and conduct the election immediately”.
“The Little Shell Chippewa Alliance is a “grass-roots effort by members from across the state who, in response to our governmental crisis, met in Great Falls on January 24 and again on January 31st, to return our government to its tribal members,” said Roger Salois.
John Gilbert, former Tribal Chairman was chosen to be Chairman of the Little Shell Chippewa Alliance at the January 31st meeting.
Tribal members requesting election ballots are asked to write to the Little Shell Chippewa Election Committee, PO Box 1498, Great Falls, MT 59403
END RELEASE
Webmaster Note: Article I, Section IV of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribal Constitution states: "Elections shall be held every two years, for each Council member, every four (4) years for the executive officers.". The term-limits of the council members and executive board ended at the end of December 2008, Tribal members in addition to the Elder's Council do not Recognize a council that is trying to stay in office beyond their constitutional Term-Limits. This means that John Sinclair is NO LONGER the Legal and Constitutional President (chairman) of the Executive board. John Sinclair unconstitutionally cancelled the Tribal elections in october 2008. He has further claimed, in a public venue, that he will suspend the tribal constitution in order to remain in office beyond constitutional limits and called tribal members in opposition to his actions "Crackpots". (Comments took place at the 'Information Meeting' at HDRC in Havre, MT on December 6, 2008 called by John Sinclair. and attended by about 25 tribal members). Tribal Members want and demand a legal and constitutional government for their Tribal Leadership and have created a grass roots organization to hold a referendum to do as the Elder's Council authorized.
January 29, 2009
Montana Lawmakers discuss jobs, economy for tribal nations at Indian caucus
From the Great Falls Tribune.
JOHN S. ADAMS
Tribune Capitol BureauHELENA — Economic recovery and jobs creation top the Montana American Indian Caucus' legislative agenda, Indian lawmakers said at a news conference at the Capitol on Tuesday.
Nine Indian legislators plus Sen. Joe Tropila, D-Great Falls, represent all eight of Montana's tribal nations, including the Little Shell.
"Each member of our caucus is working hard to create policy and to provide resources to help our respective communities' progress," said Sen. Carol Juneau, D-Browning. "We represent the communities of Montana with the highest unemployment rates, the poorest educational achievement, and many issues that need the attention of Montana. We are being asked to tighten our belts, but many families that we represent have tightened their belts as far as they will go."
Rep. Tony Belcourt, D-Box Elder, said members of Montana's tribal nations are an important part of Montana and should not be overlooked when state and federal governments develop policies aimed at improving jobs and the economy.
"In 2007, there was a study done by the State Tribal Economic Development Commission, and it indicated that a billion dollars was invested into the state of Montana from the seven reservations, including the Little Shell," Belcourt said. "Tribes are a big contributor to the state of Montana."
Belcourt said tribes should stand to benefit from President Barack Obama's proposed economic stimulus plan.
"Tribes have shovel-ready projects. We have had shovel-ready projects for probably 20 years that have been forgotten about," Belcourt said. "So it is nice to see they are actually talking about economic stimulus that is going to involve tribal governments."
Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, said the Indian caucus has a host of bills it hopes will improve the quality of life for tribal members, but he said those bills will benefit all Montanans.
"Even though we do reside on reservations, we are citizens of this state and there are a lot of issues that come to the table in areas of health care and areas of Medicaid and mental health system that not only affect us, but affect Montanans as a whole," Windy Boy said. "I think that as a lot of these CHIP proposals and ... health care proposals come forth in the Legislature, this isn't an Indian issue, this isn't a non-Indian issue, this is a Montana issue."
House Speaker Bob Bergren, D-Havre, said after the news conference that it is important for Montana's Indian lawmakers to stand together to highlight the issues facing the reservations. He added that their work will benefit Montanans on and off the reservations.
He highlighted Belcourt's bill to fund sawfly research as one example.
"Sawflies are costing us tens and tens of millions of dollars on and off reservation," Bergren said.
January 28, 2009
Little Shell Recognition delay confirmed to be by Requested by BIA and not Tribe
We at the LittleShellTribe.com website contacted the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Acknowledgement and confirmed that the Decision by the bureau was extended at the request of the Bureau of Indian affairs and was not by the Tribe. The Bureau had recently testified before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee that they were not the "Ones" who requested delays in the Recognition for the past 8 years, but said the delays were at the request of the Tribal Chairman during that time. The Bureau would not give details on the exact reasons for the delay, but did say that they currently have an Assistant Secretary running the Bureau but wanted an Appointed and Confirmed Secretary before any long-standing decisions were made and signed off on. The Extension adds 6 months to the waiting for Federal Acknowledgement of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana. The New Date of Decision is projected to be July 28, 2009.
January 11, 2009
Little Shell Recognition decision delayed another 6 months
From the Great Falls Tribune.
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
Tribune Projects EditorFederal recognition would allow the tribe to apply for federal health, education and housing assistance and even set up its own tribal headquarters.
"They've delayed it another six months," tribal Chairman John Sinclair of Havre said Tuesday. "And they didn't give us any reason. According to their regulations, they don't have to explain it."
Officials with the Interior Department's Office of Federal Acknowledgment said in October that a decision on recognizing the landless tribe primarily based in Great Falls would come by today. It has since pushed that date back to July 29, Sinclair said.
Frustrated by the lack of federal action four years ago, U.S. Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., sponsored legislation that would have bypassed the Interior Department and granted the tribe federal recognition. It went nowhere at the time.
"But Senator (Byron) Dorgan (D-N.D.) promised me that if we didn't get a decision from the federal government by Jan. 28, he would let that legislation go through," Sinclair said. "I hope it isn't just hot air."
Rehberg said Tuesday he planned to help the tribe get recognized.
"A six-month extension from the Interior Department might not seem like a big deal, but justice delayed is justice denied," he said. "I'll continue to fight to get the Little Shell Tribe the federal recognition they need and deserve."
The Little Shell Tribe lost federal recognition and was evicted from a reservation in North Dakota in 1892 after its chief refused to sign a deal to sell some of the tribe's land to the federal government, which wanted it for homesteaders.
Many of the tribe's almost 4,000 members eventually settled in and around Great Falls. The group has fought to regain federal recognition as an authentic, self-governing tribe ever since.
Nine years ago, federal officials granted the Little Shell Tribe preliminary recognition, but said it wanted to look further into the tribe's historical and cultural continuity. There's been no federal action on the matter since that time.
January 10, 2009
11th American Indian Inaugural Ball events
Bigback Silkscreening just recently received the honor of an invitation to attend and take part in the 11th Annual American Indian Inaugural events from The American Indian Society of D.C., which will be held the week of January 19th, 2009; every four years following. We are the only Native American Business from Montana invited to participate. Our 100% Native American family owned and operated business represents two of our tribes in the State of Montana, the Northern Cheyenne and Little Shell Chippewa Tribe of Montana. We are a Made in Montana business. Our business is registered with Made in Montana, Indian Made, and Members of Montana Indian Business Alliance along with a various other accreditations (please see below). We have been at the forefront of the Montana Native American Business in Montana with a strong representation and advocates for our people.
We accept this honor with extreme excitement and anticipation. We are working hard to prepare for this event, however, find our selves short funded and are looking to our fellow tribes to encourage and invite your participation through sponsorship of our invitation. We are inquiring with great anticipation of you joining us in tribes supporting tribes in a show of unity amongst our nations. You will be listed as such through our promotional commemorative t-shirt (which is currently available and will be on hand during the events) crediting the contributions made to our invitation along with being listed as funding agents in all public announcements, news releases, publications, or informational concerns, logos or identification info provided will be utilitzed in the manners indicated. A messge received from the President of The AISW of Washington D.C. informed us that "The 2009 American Indian Inaugural Ball brings together and celebrates Native Leaders, organizations, artists, musicians, and professionals from across the country. This year we will award our second "Lifetime Achievement Award" to a member of the Indian community to honor their significant legacy and contributions".
We see this opportunity as a life time honor and appreciate the possibility of representing our Tribes, our State and our Nations. We received recognition and were awarded the Montana Indian Equity Fund through the Entrepreneur Montana program in 2007. We have been conducting business for 7 years in Montana and five prior years in the State of Washington and Oregon with a total of 12 years on our powwow highway. We were chosen based on the quality of our products, work and standing in our Indian community.
I am including a budget and schedule of events for review in consideration of our quest for sponsorship and representation. Thank you for your interest and consideration. We are most thankful for all consideration and assistance in helping us to realize this great honor extended to us in welcoming in our 2009 President Elect Obama and staff.
Anticipated Budget:
Expenses
Fees/License
*Gasoline
Accommodations
**Meals/Misc
$500.00
$361.10
$499.00
$125.00
1
2.5
4
4
$500.00
$902.75
$1,996.00
$500.00
TOTAL: $3,898.75
* Gasoline according to AAA gas/trip calculator
**Meals/Misc. Include Tolls &/or Parking Fees, Daily Meals
Accommodations according to event group rates
All Inaugural Week Events below are held at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, 2799 Jefferson Davis Highway, Arlington, VA 22202, unless otherwise stated:
Monday, January 19, 2008
9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Tribal Strategy Session on the Next Congress & New Administration
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
1:30 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
NCAI and NIGA board meetings
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
11:00 a.m. – Midnight
Inaugural Ball Pow Wow
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
Tuesday, January 20, 2008
8:00 p.m.
American Indian Inaugural Ball
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
Wednesday, January 21, 2008
11:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.
American Indian Society of DC Inaugural Brunch
Hyatt Regency Crystal City
All Day
Time for personal meetings with Congressional Delegations
Capitol Hill
Thursday, January 22, 2008
Noon
NCAI State of Indian Nations Address
National Museum of the American Indian, 4th Street and Independence Ave. SW
Best of All,
Robert, Michele and Cheyenne Bigback
Butte, Mt 59701
406-782-2713 406-565-9221
A.I.C.U. POWWOW
Email AICU Powwow
Email BigBacks Silk-Screening
http://www.bigbacksilkscreening.com
BigBacks Silk-Screening Online Store
Mapquest Location of Storefront
Visit Robert, Michele & Cheyenne at our: Website
Locally Owned & Operated CCR Registered, GSA Vendor SBA, MBE, DBE Certified, HUB Zoned 100% Native American Business
Custom Orders Stock Orders Retail, Wholesale Teams, Schools, Groups,Organizations
January 3, 2009
OPINION: Greetings from Louella Fredricksen
The Holidays are over and I hope everyone had a great time with family & friends.
For the Little Shell members, there is more waiting, waiting and waiting. Our elections should have been held and the Council swearing in ceremony in another week.
I do not know what this year will bring for our members, but I do hope it is all good.
The final determination on our Federal Recognition should be January 28, 2009. I have a feeling that this is the year it will happen for us and the ruling will be in our favor. Keep a positive outlook and say a lot of prayers.
I hope we can get back to our Elections, which are our rights as Little Shell members. Keep watching the newspapers and websites for any new developments.
Louella Fredricksen
Candidate for Tribal Council
December 24, 2008
Identities and land inextricably bound
From the Billings Gazette for the Missoulian
By ROB CHANEY
Missoulian"We're a people of a place."
To understand Indians, you must understand land, says Iris Pretty Paint. For 30 years, she has been instructing teachers throughout Montana on how to grasp that idea. The effort has taken her from elementary school classrooms to the tribal nations' seven colleges and the state's University System.
"What that means is our land is the bond that ties us to our philosophy," Pretty Paint said. "It's what sustains our teachings and our way of life, our kinship systems. The land is what helps us interpret our identity. It serves as the central force of our value system, our language, our stories, how we see the world, our sacred sites, what they communicate to us, our creation stories. We come from that land."
That's why large chunks of the Montana Tribal History Project explore how each reservation's people collided with government land rules. To mainstream readers, it seems like getting stuck in the "begats" of the Bible, the "Abraham begat Isaac" genealogical lists in many Old Testament books.
On the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, there's the saga of Rabbit Town. The families there homesteaded ranches outside the reservation before 1900, just as white settlers were homesteading inside the reservation.
In an effort to prevent white-Indian disputes, the reservation agent arranged to buy out both groups and move the Cheyenne families onto the reservation and the white familes off.
Bureau of Indian Affairs records show a $90,000 allocation to buy the white reservation lands and $1,000 to pay for the Indian-held homesteads outside the reservation. And the late-coming Cheyenne families were not eligible for food rations or other assistance from the reservation.
Their community became known as Rabbit Town. It exists to this day along the Tongue River, according to the "We, The Northern Cheyenne People" tribal history. The book notes that they keep separate from the rest of the reservation community, living like rabbits that "stay within their homes and only come out when something is happening."
Indian land struggles also continue today. The Little Shell Band of the Chippewa, a tribe of more than 4,000 with offices in Great Falls, has sought federal recognition for more than a century. The state recognizes the Little Shell as a tribe, and the U.S. Interior Department gave it preliminary recognition in 2000. Members of Montana's congressional delegation have pushed to speed the process for full recognition.
But the Little Shell people remain landless. They didn't even get in the initial Montana Tribal History Project funding. That got fixed last year, when the Legislature made a new allocation for Little Shell researchers to begin their own history.
December 7, 2008
Moving in unexpected ways
From the Helena Independant Record
By ROB CHANEY
MissoulianROCKY BOY — About the only thing Ken Morsette couldn’t print in the Stone Child College’s print shop is the college’s own tribal history book.
Not for lack of equipment. There are new machines to print artworks with 200-year archival ink, machines to make banners and T-shirts, and binders to enclose catalogs and magazines as well as copying presses. An established Cree Indian artist, Morsette knows the demands of the printing world.
“Word’s getting out of what we’re capable of doing here,” he said. “There are some UM (University of Montana) professors who are looking to outsource printing work here. Now we’re looking at contracts where we’ll need a few more bodies to come in and help.”
Stone Child is another translation of the Chippewa Indian leader who gave Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation its name. The place literally leaps out of the prairie, a volcanic extrusion of timbered mountains 140 miles from the Rocky Mountain Front. It lies between the relatively major cities of Great Falls and Havre, on a road where it’s common to pass more antelope than cars.
The Chippewa and Cree tribal members who live there belong to what used to be two of the largest Indian nations on the continent. How they wound up on Montana’s smallest reservation, and how one band known as the Little Shell Chippewa never got a homeland at all, highlight a big reason for compiling the tribal histories.
Two years ago, Stone Child College and the state’s six other tribal colleges took on the Montana Tribal History Project. Their mission was to provide the backbone material in Montana’s Indian Education for All program a constitutionally mandated duty the state’s schools had ignored for almost four decades.
But as anyone who’s looked up their family tree knows, history projects have a tendency to change lives. In the tribal colleges’ case, the Montana Tribal History Project was like a membership to an academic health club. They came away with new strength and more flexibility to serve their people.
Morsette has draft pages of “The History of the Chippewa Cree of Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation” stored in his computers, although publication stalled for months in disputes among tribal leaders. The hardware Stone Child College bought with its history project funding is already making an impact.
“The council is realizing how important education is,” Morsette said. “We create all these jobs.”
Surprise bonus
Across Montana, the Tribal History Project has produced similar unintended benefits for the colleges that undertook it. At Fort Belknap Community College, students are learning video production with the cameras and editing programs purchased for producing elder interviews.
At Fort Peck Community College in Poplar, researching the tribal government helped topple a controversial council chairman and spark the first redrafting of the reservation constitution in almost 50 years.
“This has been a big boost for the pride of our college and the pride of our people,” Chief Dull Knife College President Richard Little Bear of Lame Deer told state legislators last summer in Helena. “It was the first time many of us had done anything like this. We learned how to do research at various museums, and developed writing skills for people who were afraid to write. We learned to edit books. Community colleges often do not have enough personnel to do everything. We ended up doing a quality job in the very short time we had.”
There was also an air of challenge. As Fort Peck Community College President Jim Shanley put it, “People put us in positions where we’re going to fail, and then say: ‘See, you people can’t handle those things.’ We weren’t going to let that happen.”
Far-flung project
Montana’s seven tribal community colleges are spread around the rim of the state. To reach them all requires a journey of nearly 1,300 miles. Shanley skipped last summer’s legislative update on the tribal histories where Little Bear spoke. Leaving his office in Poplar for a two-hour meeting at the Helena Capitol typically involves a three-day trip. By air, it’s the same distance as traveling from Boston to Washington, D.C.
The colleges serve anyone wishing to attend, but they live for the more than a dozen American Indian tribes that call Montana home. Indians make up Montana’s largest racial minority, about 66,000 of the state’s 1 million residents.
At 6 percent of the total, they’re also Montana’s only noticable minority. And they’re hard to notice, because more than two-thirds of them live on those isolated homelands.
Giving reservation communities a sense of forward motion is a big part of Margarett Campbell’s job at Fort Peck. One Thursday afternoon last October, the college’s vice president drove 56 miles from the campus in Poplar to pick up students in Culbertson and Brockton so they could see a truck show in Wolf Point, 20 miles in the opposite direction. She often mounts “search-and-rescue” trips to find absent students and cajole them back to class.
Campbell also serves in the state House of Representatives, where she will be House Democratic floor leader in the 2009 session. She’s one of seven tribal members in the Legislature.
“Five of those seven Indian legislators had close connections with their local tribal colleges,” Campbell said. “They lobbied that those were the intellectual centers of each tribal community. That set in motion the decision to have the colleges handle the job.”
College with many hats
Those community colleges already have significant jobs. Serving between 200 and 1,000 students, each provides a mix of academic muscle and social glue. Blackfeet Community College historian and former president Carol Murray put it simply: “Our institution is open the most hours and longest hours of any institution on the reservation.”
Like community colleges throughout the nation, Montana’s tribal colleges specialize in rapid response to student needs. When the Wyoming oil fields needed truck drivers, Little Bighorn College — located 44 miles from the Wyoming border — expanded its commercial driver’s license training.
The colleges also serve as a safety net for those seeking four-year degrees.
“There’s a lot of culture shock,” said Ed Stamper, Stone Child’s director of foundations and research. “These kids have never been off the reservation. No one’s there to tell them what to do. So they end up back here finding some success and then going on to achievement. We train people to get four-year degrees. They take their first two years at Stone Child as a block and then enter the university as a junior.”
Many see their community college as a community center. They may take or teach the occasional class, work on its staff or use the campus as a meeting place on reservations that often have no restaurant or hotel. Most campuses have a mix of Native and mainstream instructors and professors, making them one of the few multicultural places on otherwise racially isolated reservations.
And the colleges are a financial center. Separate from the tribal governments, they have their own sources of federal dollars from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Housing and Urban Development, Homeland Security Administration, Department of the Interior and Department of Education.
“This is the one place on many reservations for real free thought,” said Salish Kootenai College President Joe McDonald. “It’s not under threat from the tribal council or chair. It’s a place where people can take a breath.”
Making waves
Tribal colleges and tribal governments typically keep an arm’s-length relationship. The Tribal History Project got mixed receptions on different reservations. Gros Ventre and Assiniboine tribal council members participated in Fort Belknap Community College tribal studies professor Sean Chandler’s video interviews.
Rocky Boy’s leaders created three unrelated “cultural committees,” each believing it had editorial control of the Stone Child College history book.
At Fort Peck, researching tribal history at the college put a spotlight on the reservation council actions.
The college campus in Poplar appears to cover about two city blocks. In fact, it owns dozens of buildings scattered in this community of roughly 1,000 people. On a tour of his domain, Shanley walks in a short-stride shuffle that covers a surprising amount of ground in hurry.
He pops into a former house that’s been turned into a hazardous materials disposal classroom. In a warehouse on the edge of Poplar, he opens a door to reveal a nearly finished medical office. When Fort Peck Indian Reservation’s health center needed a new pharmacy building, Fort Peck Community College carpentry students built it as a class project inside their warehouse.
Shanley has led Fort Peck Community College for a quarter-century. The last five of those years have been politically tumultuous, with tribal council Chairman John Morales elected and removed from office twice. It was also the time when college historians were interviewing people all over the reservation about their experience with tribal government, and what they remembered about the old constitution’s drafting in 1960.
“He had factionalized the government,” Shanley recalled of Morales’ administration. “He was advocating for change, but he was very authoritarian. He thought the tribal chairman should have complete authority.
“Opposition to him helped push the constitutional convention, and that sprang out of the history project. This is one of the first democratic machinations that has occurred on the Fort Peck Reservation.”
Shanley led the way into the tribal government office. The council chamber was dark but full of people, as an out-of-state energy company representative displayed a PowerPoint map of the reservation’s potential oil drilling sites.
“Prior to 10 years ago, you could ask people on the street and they’d say, ‘Constitution? We have a constitution?’ ” Shanley said. “Now we have a more educated voting public in terms of how the structure is supposed to work. Now we’re going to have better citizens.”
December 4, 2008
Opinion: HRDC Meeting by Leona Kienenberger
To Members of the Little Shell Tribe:
A Little Shell meeting was held at the HRDC Building in Havre, Montana at 1:00 pm, December 6, 2008. John Sinclair and Alvina Allan were the only two council members present. John informed the members, who were present, the reason for his postponing the election, “for two reasons,” he said: One was because of the disqualification of three candidates, and the second reason “he couldn’t divulge even to the council until after our federal recognition”. He also alluded to the fact that it could take up to four months before any of the members would know what is going on. It was agreed that the three candidates whom the Election Board (which consists of two members) disqualified, would appeal to an unbiased board consisting of seven people. John was hesitant to agree with this, but it was pointed out to him that it would not be fair for the candidates to go before a council whom they were running against. The three disqualified candidates will petition the council for a hearing and hopefully, we can move on and carry out what our Constitution mandates.
Leona Kienenberger
Candidate for Council
November 27, 2008
Tribal Member meetings and gatherings scheduled
There was an ad in the Havre Daily News stating there is a Little Shell Council meeting for Election issues on Saturday Dec. 6 @1 P.M. at HRDC BLDG.
Pass the word, we need a good turnout of our members.
Also there is a scheduled Little Shell Winter Gathering, Saturday, Dec 13th at the Family Living Center, Montana Expo Park, Great Falls MT.
Feast - 5:30 (bring salads & desserts)
50/50 raffle and door prizes
Make your own Xmas ornaments
Tribal merchandise available for purchase
Other activities as confirmed
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CALL THE TRIBAL OFFICE AT 406-452-2892
November 23, 2008
The Great Falls Tribune now has maps and info on the Tribal Elder meeting in Havre at the Eagles club this Saturday, Click the Link to check it out: TRIBAL GATHERING ATTENTION ALL LITTLE SHELL TRIBAL MEMBERS
November 14, 2008
ATTENTION ALL LITTLE SHELL TRIBAL MEMBERS
If you are not able to attend the meeting in Havre then we would like to request that you still use your voice and let it be heard.
You can email, fax, snail mail your thoughts and concerns or statements you want heard/read by the elder panel and other attending members.We need these before the Nov. 29, 2008 meeting.
Please pass this info on to other members and relatives.We need and want involvement from you as a member of the tribe.
Visit www.littleshelltribe.us or www.littleshelltribe.com for information.
Please use "ANY" of the above methods mentioned and send to;
Caroline Fleury
ATT: Elders
PO Box 38
Black Eagle, Mt 59414
Fax #406-727-9245
cfleury@bresnan.net
November 14, 2008
ATTENTION ALL LITTLE SHELL TRIBAL MEMBERS
THERE IS GOING TO BE AN
IMPORTANT MEETING
TO BE HELD
NOV. 29TH , 2008
AT 1 P.M. AT THE EAGLES IN HAVRE MT.AN ELDER PANEL HAS BEEN CALLED
TO SETTLE THE ISSUES WITH
JOHN SINCLAIR, THE TRIBAL COUNCIL
AND THE ELECTION COMMITTEEPLEASE PASS THE WORD
MARK YOUR CALENDARS TO ATTEND
BRING ANY ISSUES YOU WISH TO PRESENT
October 23, 2008
An open letter to the Little Shell Community Council, Election Committee, and Tribal members
I think it is about time that someone stands up and asks some pertinent questions of our tribal council. First of all, why was the election postponed when our tribal constitution plainly states that we have an election every four years for executive positions and every two for council- at- large? Where are the minutes recording that the council approved the postponement? Too many people have complained to me about postponing the election when NARF warned that for us to maintain a tribal status, we must adhere to our constitution and by-laws. Not holding the election at the specified time without the consent of the people can only jeopardize our federal recognition because, technically, we are without a council.
Another question that needs an answer is why were four persons disqualified, one of whom was not even a candidate? Why did they not get notification from the election committee? Are there still three members on the election committee? Why did the four candidates have to read that they were disqualified in the Great Falls Tribune? Why weren’t they notified in person and given the reason? Did the council act together in disqualifying them? Do we still have a complete council? All repeated inquiries to these questions have been ignored by all concerned. I know a lot of our people are frustrated and want some answers; it is their right. A meeting to possibly iron out the problems and get some answers has been scheduled for 1:00 PM , November 29, 2008 at the Eagles in Havre, Montana. Please attend this very important meeting and voice your concerns. A panel of elders is scheduled to discuss the issues and hopefully come to some kind of agreement as how to approach and dissolve these affairs.
I would like to request that all tribal council members, chairman, and the election committee attend this gathering.
A tribal member,
Leona (Doney) Kienenberger
October 22, 2008
Letter from Council Candidate Louella Fredricksen to ALL Little Shell Tribal Members
“LITTLE SHELL PUSH BACK ELECTIONS”
This article in the Great Falls Tribune, Sunday October 19, 2008 is very disheartening. Tribal members are calling and writing, (and we wholeheartedly agree with them) we have been working for our recognition for over 100 years. This is nothing new and appears to be at the very least a lame excuse to delay our elections until spring.
The disqualifications of Caroline Fleury, Darrel Rummel and myself, Louella Fredricksen give our tribe another black eye. This should have been addressed to us, by the election committee, instead of making untrue insinuations, planting seeds of doubt as to our integrity and trying to ruin our reputations by putting our names in the paper. This is called “defamation of character.” If it had not been for our “moccasin telegraph” we would not have known of the press release to the paper. Wouldn’t that have been nice to be sitting there reading the paper while having your morning cup of coffee and then WOW, here is your name, telling the world that you have violated some trumped up regulations and are disqualified as candidates? This is not the proper way to approach things. These are “back door tactics” at worst.
It is also unfair to the other candidates who filed for positions on the tribal council and paid their $100.00 filing fee. There should have been information or notifications sent to them. (On Oct 21st the other candidates finally received a letter) These actions by Kathy Mart, the election chair and the rest of the election committee, along with our Tribal Council, are not right. You should learn how to resolve conflicts, not create more. Treat your members with respect. Do not defame them.
In this letter John states the language in the Election Ordinance was too vague to remove those involved. If that is the case, why did he send a press release to the paper saying there was disqualification of candidates? The Election Ordinance No.2006-001 which is posted on the Great Falls website does not have any language stating mailings could not be done. John states the lists however they were accumulated, give unfair advantage to other candidates. My list is composed of my children, cousins, extended families, friends, previous council members and people who attended our social a year ago. I would venture to guess the other candidates have informed relatives and friends, and if they haven’t that is their decision. You cannot take away our right to do this. And on another note, John Sinclair, you participated in doing this very same thing when you campaigned for office a few years back.
John also states in his letter to potential nominees that there was “tampering and harassment “to Election Officials. I did not call and harass any Election Official, and ask them to step forward to state this.
Another statement from John is that any questions and complaints must go through the Council in writing. As most of them are candidates themselves, is this not a conflict of interest? Where is our Judicial System???
When there was to be a meeting with the Election Committee, why were not all candidates informed and invited to attend if they were able to? I should have been informed, especially when you were going to discuss something I had not even done.
I mailed out campaign material, and that is all. I’ll venture to guess you get calls and campaign mail all the time? I know I do. And it was asked if there could be mailings and was told there should be no harm in doing so.
I also stopped by a neighbor’s house and handed him campaign material and said “Be sure & vote.” This is not door to door electioneering.
Last, this is also not fair to our tribal members who had planned on voting in this election. Now they are left wondering where their absentee ballots are, and what is going on. And come Nov 8th there will be more questions. Our Election Ordinance No. 2006-001 states our Elections for Officers shall be every four years and for Members at large every two years. In November this time frame is up. Is this a “violation”?
I am sending this same statement to the Election Committee and the Tribal Council to formally ask that they retract my disqualification. I will be waiting for an answer on this issue.
At this time, everything should be in place for this election. I ask that the elections go forward, and with my name on the ballot.
We are having a (potluck) gathering of tribal members Saturday Oct 25, 2008 at 1 PM at the Westgate Mall, 1807 3rd ST NW, Great Falls, MT., to discuss the election issues. The Council and Election Committee have been invited. We need to resolve these issues, as I said before, “learn to resolve conflicts, and do not create more.”
Let your voices be heard. Write or call our tribal office, council members, and the election committee and inform them of your thoughts on this issue, whatever they may be. You can also post on both Little Shell Member websites. www.littleshelltribe.com and www.littleshelltribe.us
.Louella Fredricksen
October 20, 2008
John Sinclair sends letters to select candidates using Council Stationary
October 19, 2008
Little Shell Tribal members to hold Potluck Gathering. All Members urged to attend!
We believe this to be important. This is to let you know there is a Potluck Gathering for Little Shell Members on Saturday Oct 25th, 2008 at 1PM, at Westgate Mall, 1807 3rd ST NW, Great Falls, MT. Mark your calendars!
Good Food, Good Friends and discussions of the Little Shell Elections. We hope you can attend.
October 16, 2008
Little Shell Tribe pushes back elections
From the Great Falls Tribune
BY TRAVIS COLEMAN
Great Falls Tribune Staff WriterThe Little Shell Chippewa Tribe's elections have been moved from Nov. 8 to the spring.
Tribal officials chose to move the election to allow them to focus on their quest for federal recognition, for which a decision is due from the Office of Federal Acknowledgement on Jan. 28, said Russell Bohan, the tribe's executive director.
Bohan said the move also allows more candidates to vie for the seven seats on the tribe's council. Bohan said he did not know who is running for council.
In addition, the tribal council acted on the recommendation of the Little Shell Election Board at a council meeting Oct. 4, voting to remove four candidates from the ballot: James Parker Shield, Louella Fredrickson, Caroline Fleury and Darrell Rummell.
A news release from the tribe says the four were disqualified for violating tribal regulations. Bohan declined to specify what the candidates did.
"It was something the committee felt was a violation of tribal regulations," he said.
Shield said earlier this week that he withdrew as a candidate weeks ago and was unsure why his name was included in action. He added he withdrew because his schedule had become too busy.
The other disqualified candidates said Friday that they have not been told what rules they broke. Rummell said the tribe cannot disqualify a candidate without providing a reason.
The three said they want tribal members to contact the administration to voice their opinions on the election and their removal.
The Little Shell Tribe is made up of approximately 4,300 members, mostly in the Great Falls area.
September 27, 2008
Little Shell Candidate Profiles
The LittleShellTribe.com if proud to present the following Tribal Candidate Profiles that were submitted to us for all Tribal members consideration: (Note: These Profiles are not posted in any particular order)
Bruce Landrie
Question -1. What has been your involvement in the Little Shell tribe in the past 5 years?
I have been involved for more than 5 years. Some of my involvement has been installing a network in the office at Great Falls, adding equipment, helping train past council on software usage, backups, updates..ect. Have helped via phone or in person when possible/needed to solve problems, providing general tech support. I have been at most all events – gatherings, council meetings, powwows, when possible. I built the first LST website; started with providing info and forms to family and grew from there to where it is today, www.littleshelltribe.us ; providing a tribe - members – public, information gathering forum to speak freely, and share thoughts, opinions, and ideas. Helping members of the tribe to understand the internet and its use as well as potential for growth from it by walking them through some processes when necessary. Helped in redirecting members and public to the appropriate contact (council/office) for their use if they could not find it on the website. I also helped out with the setup of the tobacco office in Billings, moving desks and office equipment to its current location. Installed office equipment and did initial maintenance setup of PC and printer/fax and follow-ups when asked and possible. I have also helped local area reps Diann Granthan, and Moon Charette in area meetings and gatherings in setting up and distributing fliers or other information to local area members.Question - 2. What priorities or goals would you work on for the Little Shell tribe during your term?
a) Federal Recognition.
b) I would like to see more use of the technology available for the benefit of our tribe and its members.
c) A judicial system
Question - 3. What steps will be taken for you to reach the above priorities/goals during your term?
a) My hope for the Tribe is to complete our Federal Recognition process, have regular scheduled open council meetings through out the state and involve more of the members. I would like to see a council that works for common goals for the betterment of the entire tribe. Health, education, housing, economic developmentb) Create a customized online database of information for members use, and office. Better access to technology through use of programs available that would benefit members. Adding audio capabilities as well as streaming audio and video of gatherings, meetings, events, interviews and more for members that live to far away to make the journey. Through these means it also becomes an educator as well.
c) Solicit/create an arbitrary panel from members who volunteer or use of outside neutral parties to create a bias judicial system.
Question - 4. What is your knowledge of the programs that the Little Shell tribe has been awarded or involved in?
Tobacco Grant, Buffalo hunt, Drum, Montana and Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council, NARF, Urban Native American Homeownership Initiative, Montana Business Indian Alliance, Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), Little Shell license plate, State/Tribal Economic Development Commission grant, The Little Shell Tribal History Project.Question - 5. What is your knowledge of the Federal recognition status? What if the tribe does not receive recognition – what would be the next step you would take?
a) To date we are not yet a federal recognized tribe. The latest information is the testimony of John Sinclair representing the Little Shell tribe before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in regards to S.724. Chairman Dorgan, Vice Chairman Murkowski, Senator Jon Tester, and members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs all testified in support of S.724, a bill that would confirm the federal relationship between the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana and the United States, and address related issues. Our history shows, our nation is persistent and patient, but it is difficult in understanding why we still remain unrecognized, even though the Department of the Interior issued a favorable proposed finding on the our petition in 2000. We have waited on the department for more than one hundred years. We now wait for Congress to take action and act favorably on S.724 and allow the bill to move forward.b) I feel the next step and only step would be for all council to meet and discuss what avenues/options are left open and discuss the next best way to proceed.
Question - 6. What is your experience with the media, such as television, radio and newspaper interviews?
I have worked with and been interviewed by the Associated Press (News Wire/Paper/Internet), Dr. Pam Buntee, (anthropologist), Sandra Kennedy (Office of Federal Acknowledgement), Max Media Montana (Television News). Accumulate and collaborate with other staff. I have worked in TV for over 13-years and had the privilege of meeting, and greeting dignitaries from around the U.S. and abroad; Conrad Burns, Brian Schweitzer, Dennis Reberg, Judy Martz, Jon Tester are a few. I also deal with local constituents, from police chief to mayor. Vendors, like Microsoft (Michael Kuntz) and other leading names interviewing via in-person or satellite conference – internet video conferencing.
Darrel Noreen Rummel
Born to Loran L. and Adyline DeBray Rummel at Landusky, MT
My two brothers are Loran LeRoy and Howard V Rummel.
I have five children and nine grandchildren.
Places that I have lived are Landusky, Ruby Gulch, Malta, Lewistown, Havre, Missoula and Great Falls.The schools that I attended were in Ruby Gulch, Malta, Great Falls, and Missoula.
I have worked at so many different jobs it would be a long list. I did complete an Ophthalmic Assistant Course and worked for two Ophthalmologists for several years, which I enjoyed very much. I am currently working part time at a fun job selling sewing machines, fabric, patterns, books and notions. I also sew store displays and assist with classes.
I became actively involved in 1987 as an area representative for Great Falls and Chairman of the area representatives, state wide. In 1992 I worked in the Tribal office as a Grant Director. As a member of the Cherish Our Indian Children Project, Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies, I traveled to most of the reservations in MT. I have experience as a Council member and also as Vice Chairman of the Tribal Council.
In 1994 as chairman of the election committee, I initiated the absentee ballot and voting at more than one site. I designed and started the membership Photo ID's. I have sat on many committees and have been a board member for NADC, a member of the Montana Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council, and of the State/Tribal Economic Development Commission.
Federal Recognition has always been a priority of mine, and now for five generations of my family. Since the 1930's Re-organization Act, when my grandparents Louis and Mary Lafournaise DeBray hosted meetings in their home and my mother attend meetings around the state, we have worked and waited for this very important cause. I have helped the anthropologists working on our recognition petition to the BIA in various ways. I was fortunate enough to travel to Washington D.C. and meet with the Patton and Boggs Attorney's group regarding the Tribal recognition and the Re-organization Act. I also attended meetings with our State delegates for Congressional recognition.
My goal for the Tribe is to complete our Federal Recognition process, have regular scheduled open council meetings through out the state and involve more of the members. I would like to see a council that works for common goals for the betterment of the entire tribe. Health, education, housing, economic development (tribal and individual) and many other issues that face our members will be a top priority of mine.
Yesterday I read on the Internet that the hearing on the Congressional recognition will be September 25, 2008. I would have liked to hear this from our council. As a member of the Tribe I would also like any information before it is in the media.
I worked for the Tobacco Program and had a working knowledge of that program. I have heard there is a new program for childcare. I hope it will include the State Indian Child Welfare. I have visited the office many times and volunteered to help Toni Jo and Russell with the programs, Morony Dam project and the Columbia Falls land development.
My experience with the media has been interviews on radio, and television. I personally know reporters at the Great Falls Tribune. When working in the tribal office I sent out many new releases and meeting notices.
The first step that I would take as Tribal Council Chairman would to initiate training for each council member and any one that might be interested in running for a council position in the future. I believe a judicial system is a must. I have along list of ideas that will take time, but will be worth the effort for the Little Shell people.
Louella Fredricksen
TO ALL LITTLE SHELL MEMBERS
I am running for the position of 2nd Vice Chair of the Little Shell Tribal Council in our upcoming election on November 8th, 2008. This is to give you an idea of what I have been involved with on behalf of our Little Shell Tribe.
In the summer of 1999 I was hired by NARF to set up a database program of our enrollment under the authorization of Pat Maki. I was paid by a $2500.00 grant.
After the grant ran out I continued working in the Little Shell Tribal Office for the next eight years as a volunteer. Upgrading the enrollment database as more members are enrolled or deceased is an ongoing process.
I was on the Finance Committee and helped Tobe’ Whitaker with the financial reports.
On July 12, 2003 I volunteered to be on the Election Committee for the Special Election that was held on August 9, 2003. I worked on this election committee with James Parker Shield, Carol Doney Hofeldt, Shirley Gardipee and Bud Sinclair We had a very well run election, with no complaints or protests. We had a huge gathering of people and a wonderful potluck was served. Pam Bunte, our Anthrapologist and her crew, Sandra Kennedy and Anne Coyner came from California to observe the election.
While upgrading our Little Shell database, I became knowledgeable with enrollment blood degrees and various other criteria of the enrollment of our tribal members.
I was appointed to the Enrollment Committee at a Council meeting in Helena, by Chairman John Sinclair and The Little Shell Tribal Council. I then started the enrollment application process of members, with the help of Darrel (Koke) Rummel, and we worked together to get more members enrolled.
I made the CD’s and finalized the print out of our enrollment that was sent to The Office of Federal Acknowledgment in Washington D.C., for our Federal Recognition Petition.
At different times I helped on various activities of the Tobacco Abuse Prevention Program.
In 2006 I ran for and won a position on the Tribal Council.
Before retirement I worked as an Office Manager and Bookkeeper for over 30 years, and also worked for the State of Montana, Brands Enforcement Division. I know I have enough experience to work with the Tribal Council, for the benefit of our Tribe. I am also a Board Member for War Shield Economic Development Corporation. I would really appreciate your vote and support in our elections this year.
Our Federal Recognition is of the upmost importance. When we achieve that status, next would be programs for Health, Education and Housing and Economic Development.
Until we get our Federal Recognition, my goals will be to get a good Judicial System in place, open council meetings, have area representatives again, be more available to our members, have more activities and pot lucks and last, get our members active in our tribe again.
September 26, 2008
Final Determination of Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana to be delivered January 28, 2009
From the US Dept of the Interior (DOI) Office of Federal Acknowledgment
Final Determinations Pending: 1
Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of MT (#31) (letter of intent 4/28/78; ready 3/23/95; active 2/12/97;
proposed positive finding published 7/21/00; comment period closed 1/17/01; extended at request of
petitioner to 7/16/01, to 1/12/02, to 7/16/02, to 1/16/03, to 7/14/03, to 1/10/04, to 5/9/04, to 9/7/04, to
2/1/05, and to 2/5/05; response period closed 4/6/05; final determination projected to 1/28/09)Status Summary of Acknowledgment Cases as of September 22, 2008 (PDF)
September 25, 2008
C.M. Russell Museum celebrates Native American Week
From the Great Falls Tribune
The C.M. Russell Museum culminates its celebration of Native American Week with special activities Saturday from noon to 4 p.m.
Award-winning Blackfeet Indian singer, songwriter and storyteller Jack Gladstone will perform from noon to 1 p.m. followed by games and crafts.
The Little Shell Chippewa Tribe of Montana will sell Indian tacos.
Visitors can view a new exhibition, "Native America in Art," featuring artwork from the permanent collection by more than 25 artists from the 19th through 21st centuries.
Native America in Art examines the ways in which American Indian life has been portrayed in paintings, prints and sculpture by both Indian and non-Indian artists.
For more information on Native American Week at the Russell Museum, contact the Education Department at (406) 727-8787 ext. 347.
September 23, 2008
Senate business meeting and recognition hearing
From Indianz.com
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee held a Business meeting and Hearing on Sept 25, 2008. You can view the Webcast. The proceeding lasted about 90 minutes. The committee approved S. 3355, the Crow Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act, with Sen. John Barrasso (R-Wyoming) voting no. The hearing focused on four federal recognition bills. They are: S. 1058, the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians of Michigan Referral Act; S. 724, the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians Restoration Act of 2007; S. 514, the Muscogee Nation of Florida Federal Recognition Act; and H.R. 1294, the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2007. Audio clips can be downloaded below:• Introduction • TestimonyCommittee Notice:
The Honorable Jim Webb, United State Senate, Washington, D.C. The Honorable Tim Kaine, Governor of Virginia The Honorable Jim Moran, House of Representatives (VA-8), Washington, D.C. • Business Meeting • Testimony | Q&A
Mr. Lee Fleming, Director, Office of Federal Acknowledgment, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C. The Honorable Anne Tucker, Chairwoman, Muscogee Nation of Florida, Bruce, Florida The Honorable John Sinclair, President, Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana, Great Falls, Montana The Honorable Ron Yob, Chairman, Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians, Grand Rapids, Michigan Dr. Helen C. Rountree, Professor Emeritus, Old Dominion University, Department of Anthropology, Hampton, Virginia
BUSINESS MEETING to consider S. 335, to be followed immediately by a LEGISLATIVE HEARING (September 25, 2008)Webmaster Note:Following is the Written Testimony of Little Shell Tribe Chairman John Sinclair:
TESTIMONY OF THE HON. JOHN SINCLAIR, PRESIDENT
THE LITTLE SHELL TRIBE OF CHIPPEWA
INDIANS OF MONTANABefore
Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
Hearing on S.724
September 25, 2008Chairman Dorgan, Vice Chairman Murkowski, our good friend Senator Jon Tester, and honorable members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, I thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of S.724, a bill that would confirm the federal relationship between the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana and the United States, and address related issues.
My name is John Sinclair and I have the honor of serving as President of the Little Shell Tribe. I follow in the footsteps of my father and grandfather in that honor and appear before you today in the same work at which they labored – the long effort to confirm federal recognition of the Little Shell Tribe. S.724, introduced by our tireless champion Senator Tester, would accomplish this long sought goal for the Tribe. I urge the committee to act favorably on S.724. The bill is consistent with Congress’ and the Department of the Interior’s historical commitments to acknowledge our people and establish a land base for them. This bill is necessary since our experience with the acknowledgment process administered by the Office of Federal Acknowledgment, Bureau of Indian Affairs, shows that the Department either cannot or will not bring that process to conclusion. And the terms of S.724 show it to be a reasonable approach that would address, and thereby expedite, issues related to confirmation of the Tribe’s federal status.
THE HISTORY OF THE LITTLE SHELL TRIBE
The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians is the successor in interest to the Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota. We were buffalo hunters who lived and hunted around the Red River and the Turtle Mountains in North Dakota in the early 1800s. The Pembina Band was recognized by the United States in an 1863 treaty that was ratified by the Senate. See Treaty of October 2, 1863, 13 Stat. 667. After the treaty, some members of the Pembina Band settled on reservations in Minnesota but our ancestors followed the buffalo herds into western North Dakota and Montana, eventually settling in Montana and in the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota.In 1892, the United States authorized the creation of a commission to negotiate for a cession of land from the Turtle Mountain Chippewa and provide for their removal. Chief Little Shell and his followers walked out on the negotiations and refused to accept the terms of the eventual agreement. Some of Little Shell’s followers moved to Montana and joined with other members of the Pembina Band who had settled in Montana; our collective Pembina ancestors came to be known as the “Little Shell Band.” When our traditional means of livelihood died with the buffalo herds, our ancestors were left to eke out an existence in a number of shantytowns across Montana. We became known as “the trash-can Indian,” or “the landless Indians.” Forced to live in communities which did not welcome us, our people faced severe racism and discrimination throughout Montana, some of which continues today.
For one hundred years now, Congress has known of and attempted to address the plight of the Little Shell people. In 1908, Congress first appropriated funds to settle our people on a land base. 35 Stat. 84. Congress appropriated funds again in 1914 and, again, every year thereafter until 1925 – all to provide a reservation land base on which to settle the “homeless Indians in the State of Montana.” The acquisition was never made and the Tribe never recognized.
In the 1920’s, newspaper articles chronicled the plight of our people. Our leaders pleaded for help for the destitute Little Shell people. Tribal leader Joseph Dussome asked Congress, “Are we not entitled to a Reservation and allotments of land in our own County, just the same as other Indians are?” Two weeks later, the Department of the Interior rejected our leader’s plea:
The Indians referred to are Chippewas of the Turtle Mountain Band. They were under the leadership of Little Shell who became dissatisfied with the treaties of the United States and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewas. He accordingly refused to accede thereto…The disaffected band, by its failure to accede to the terms of the treaty and remove to the reservation is now unable to obtain any rights thereon for the reason that the lands of this band are all disposed of, and the rolls became final[.] … There is now no law which will authorize the enrollment of any of those people with the Turtle Mountain band for the purposes of permitting them to obtain either land or money.
Letter of Asst. Secretary Scattergood, dated December 14, 1931. Three years later, however, Congress enacted the Indian Reorganization Act [IRA], which provided a mechanism for groups of Indians like ours to organize and apply for land. In December 1935, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs took steps to organize our people under the IRA. The Commissioner proposed a form to enroll our people, stating:
It is very important that the enrollment of homeless Indians in the State of Montana be instituted immediately, and it is proposed to use this form in the determination of Indians who are entitled to the benefits of the Indian Reorganization Act.
BIA Letter, December 23, 1935. This effort resulted in the Roe Cloud Roll, named after Dr. Henry Roe Cloud, an Interior official who played a large part in the project. Once the roll was complete, the Field Administrator clearly stated that the purpose of the roll was to settle our people and bring them under federal jurisdiction:
The landless Indians whom we are proposing to enroll and settle on newly purchased land belong to this same stock, and their history in recent years is but a continuation of the history of wandering and starvation which formerly the Rocky Boy’s band had endured.
Out of the land purchase funds authorized by the Indian Reorganization Act, we are now purchasing about 34,000 acres for the settlement of these Indians and also to provide irrigated hay land for the Indians now enrolled on Rocky Boy’s Reservation. The new land, if devoted wholly to that purpose, would take care of only a fraction of the homeless Indians, but it is our intention to continue this program through the years until something like adequate subsistence is provided for those who cannot provide for themselves. The first step in the programs is to recognize those Indians of the group who may rightfully make claim of being one-half degree, which is the occasion for presenting the attached applications. The fact of these people being Indian and being entitled to the benefits intended by Congress has not been questioned.
Roe Cloud Roll applications, 1937. The Department of the Interior never fulfilled this promise. The limited resources available to acquire land were expended for tribes already recognized. In 1940, Senator James Murray requested Interior to fulfill its promise of land for the Little Shell Band. Assistant Commissioner Zimmerman responded that his office was “keenly aware of the pressing need of the landless Chippewa Cree Indians of Montana. The problem thus far has been dealt with only in a very small way. I sincerely hope that additional funds will be provided for future purchases in order that the larger problem remaining can be dealt with in a more adequate manner.” Unfortunately, the federal government’s efforts to assist the Little Shell Tribe gave way during the termination era of the 1950’s to the termination policy, and, as a result, the land promised for our people was never forthcoming.
RECENT EXPERIENCE WITH THE OFFICE OF FEDERAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT [OFA]
When the Department of the Interior adopted regulations establishing an administrative process to acknowledge Indian tribes in 1978, once again the Little Shell people had hope. We hoped that the Department’s process would finally bring to conclusion the Tribe’s long effort to achieve federal recognition. The administrative process has turned out to be just another cruel hoax on the Little Shell people. We began work on through this new process in 1978 and, thirty years later, it still has not been completed.For years after its initial submission, the Tribe researched its history and community to establish the seven mandatory criteria under the regulations. We had numerous technical assistance meetings with the staff and responded to requests for additional information. Finally, nearly twenty years later in 1995, the Bureau of Indian Affairs declared that the Tribe’s petition was ready for active consideration.
However, a “ready for active consideration” designation does not mean that the OFA will commence its review; it only means that you get into line. Active consideration begins only when the Bureau of Indian Affairs has time to commence active consideration. In our case, that was 1997, two years after the petition was declared ready for active. At that point, we hoped that we were at least on the road toward completion of the process. Once again, we were wrong.
On July 24, 2000, the Bureau of Indian Affairs finally issued the proposed finding on the Tribe’s petition. The proposed finding found that the Tribe had met all the seven mandatory criteria and should be recognized - but this was not the end of the process. It merely triggered the next step – which is public comment on the proposed finding and review by the Bureau of Indian Affairs of those public comments as part of its final determination.
The Tribe takes very little comfort in the favorable proposed finding. Although the Department found that the Tribe met all the mandatory criteria, the Department “encouraged” the Tribe to submit more documentation. No significant evidence was submitted in opposition to the favorable proposed finding. Unlike many other cases, neither the State of Montana nor any local government submitted adverse comments on the proposed favorable finding for the Little Shell Tribe. But the Department made clear that it preferred that the Tribe submit additional records for certain time periods before the 1930s. We took the Department’s suggestion to heart, submitting approximately 1000 pages of additional reports and appendices supported by several boxes of documentation.
We are still waiting for the Department’s final determination on the Tribe’s petition. The Director of OFA advised a federal court in June 2005 that OFA expected to issue its Final Determination on Little Shell in February 2007. See 8th Declaration of Lee Fleming, Mashpee Wampanoag Tribal Council v. Norton, Case No.1:01CV00111 (D.D.C.) This did not happen. Then, OFA advised the Tribe in writing to expect the commencement of active consideration on the final determination on August 1, 2007. This did not happen, either. Instead, OFA granted itself extensions, advising the Tribe to expect active consideration on the final determination to begin by August 1, 2008, with a final determination to be issued by the end of 2008. Once more, this did not happen. On July 24, 2008, the Tribe received another letter from OFA, granting itself yet one more extension. Now, we are told to expect a final determination by January 28, 2009. Of course, nothing prevents the OFA from granting itself another extension, so the Tribe has no confidence that this new deadline is any more firm than the earlier deadlines.
Over the past 30 years, the Tribe has been fortunate to have the services of the Native American Rights Fund on its petition. Without NARF’s assistance, it would have been impossible for the Tribe to participate in this protracted and expensive administrative process. NARF has spent over 3,400 attorney hours over the last fifteen years on our petition. Consultants and graduate students put in thousands and thousands of additional hours. Tribal consultants, such as historians, genealogists and graduate students, donated substantial amounts of time pro bono or worked at substantially reduced rates in compiling large portions of the petition. Even with this generosity, the total cost for consultants and associated expenses over the last fifteen years exceeds $1 million dollars.
The lengthy process also imposes an immeasurable human cost, with the recognition battle passing from one generation to the next. The demands of providing for my people without the protection of federal recognition, a protection that has been promised for one hundred years, has been daunting, to say the least. And it is just heartbreaking to think that, after all we’ve been through with this administrative process, the Department could at the end of day even decide not to confer federal acknowledgment, to reverse its own favorable proposed finding.
Enough is enough. It’s time for Congress to step in, to accept what the Department itself found in its proposed finding – that the Little Shell Tribe is entitled to federal recognition. It is unconscionable that nine years after it found that the Little Shell constitutes an Indian tribe, that in the face of no significant opposition to that proposed favorable finding, that the Little Shell Tribe is still waiting. One entire generation of Little Shell people has passed away, including my own father, as we wait for administrative action and we have no confidence that the new deadline will be met.
The Constitution of the United States gives the Congress the privilege and right to recognize tribal governments. The Congress has considered the needs of the Little Shell people time and time again. Congress should not wait any longer, and should not force the Little Shell people to wait any longer, for the completion of a seemingly never ending administrative process. It’s time for Congress itself to issue the final determination on the status of the Little Shell Tribe and enact S.724.
THE REASONABLE AND NECESSARY TERMS OF S.724
First and foremost, S.724 takes the final step that has been interminably delayed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs - even though it has essentially acknowledged that the Little Tribe is real and should be recognized - and that is the confirmation of federal recognition for the Tribe. This has been promised to the Tribe, both by Congress and the Department of the Interior. There is no rational reason for further delay. Since the Department does not seem capable of bringing its deliberations to an end, the Congress should do so by recognizing the Little Shell Tribe through legislation.I must underscore that the State of Montana, affected local governments, and all recognized tribes in the State of Montana support the bill to recognize the Little Shell Tribe. The circumstances here truly are unique. The Department of the Interior has already issued a proposed favorable finding on the Tribe’s petition and there is no government opposition to recognition of the Tribe. In this case, the enactment of federal recognition legislation only makes sense.
In addition, S.724 does more than simply confirm federal recognition. It addresses many of the issues newly recognized tribes and local communities struggle with for decades after formal federal recognition – the establishment of a land base and a tribal service area. It is well documented that it takes years and sometimes more than a decade for the Department of the Interior to take land into trust for newly recognized tribes. For example, it took eight years after the Jena Band of Choctaw Tribe was recognized before Interior took that Tribe’s cemetery and governmental offices into trust. Further, many tribes suffer from the years it takes for the Department to establish a service area for the newly recognized tribe. For example, after completion of administrative challenges to the Department’s final determination acknowledging the Cowlitz Indian Tribe in 2002, the Cowlitz Tribe still does not have a BIA service area. Thus, even if the Department of the Interior does issue its final determination next year (which is doubtful given the Tribe’s experience with OFA), the Tribe could be forced to endure many additional years in legal limbo as it struggles to establish and land base and service area.
S.724 addresses these issues. It defines a service area for the Tribe consisting of four counties where our people live. It also directs the Secretary to acquire trust title to 200 acres located within the service area to be used as a tribal land base. With these terms, the Little Shell people are put much closer to the actual delivery of federal Indian trust services and benefits.
Can any reasonable person believe that the Little Shell people haven’t waited long enough? The enactment of S.724 would finally end the uncertainty regarding the status of the Little Shell people. The enactment of S.724 would finally provide for the establishment of a land base for the Little Shell people, something the Department of the Interior promised one hundred years ago. And the enactment of S.724 would provide certainty for the local governments that support recognition of the Little Shell Tribe, by defining the Tribe’s service area and the location of a land base.
CONCLUSION
As our history shows, the Little Shell people are persistent and patient. But I have difficulty in explaining to my people why we still remain unrecognized, even though the Department of the Interior issued a favorable proposed finding on the Tribe’s petition in 2000. We have waited on the Department for one hundred years. Now it’s time for Congress to act. The Little Shell people implore this committee to act favorably on S.724 and allow the bill to move forward.
September 23, 2008
'Native America in Art' on display at museum
From the Great Falls Tribune
By Great Falls Tribune Staff
A new exhibition, "Native America in Art," opened at the C.M. Russell Art Museum on Monday, the first day of Native American Week.
The exhibition features artworks from the museum's permanent collection by more than 25 artists from the 19th through 21st centuries. Many of the works of art in the exhibition have not been seen in years.
"Native America in Art" examines the ways in which American Indian life has been portrayed in paintings, prints, and sculpture by both Indian and non-Indian artists.
On Saturday from noon to 4 p.m., families can experience Native American culture at the museum. Special events include Blackfeet singer, songwriter and storyteller Jack Gladstone from noon to 1 p.m., followed by games and craft activities. Also on hand will be members of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe of Montana selling Indian tacos.
Admission, activities and games are free and open to everyone.
September 19, 2008
Senate committee to take up four recognition bills
From Indianz.com
The Senate Indian Affairs Committee will take up four tribal recognition bills at a hearing on Thursday.
The hearing focuses on S. 1058, the Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians of Michigan Referral Act; S. 724, the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians Restoration Act of 2007; S. 514, the Muscogee Nation of Florida Federal Recognition Act; and H.R. 1294, the Thomasina E. Jordan Indian Tribes of Virginia Federal Recognition Act of 2007.
The witness list follows:The Honorable Jim Webb, United State Senate, Washington, D.C.
The Honorable Tim Kaine, Governor of Virginia
The Honorable Jim Moran, House of Representatives, Washington, D.C.
Mr. Lee Fleming, Director, Office of Federal Acknowledgment, U.S. Department of the Interior, Washington, D.C.
The Honorable Anne Tucker, Chairwoman, Muscogee Nation of Florida, Bruce, Florida
The Honorable John Sinclair, President, Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana, Great Falls, Montana
The Honorable Ron Yob, Chairman, Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Dr. Helen C. Rountree, Professor Emeritus, Old Dominion University, Department of Anthropology, Hampton, Virginia
September 18, 2008
Star party, Native music, dance on tap at Interpretive Center
From the The Great Falls Tribune
By JENI DODD
Great Falls Tribune Staff WriterIt's a busy weekend at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, with activities both celestial and earthbound.
STAR PARTY
Jupiter, star clusters, galaxies and the moon are some of the things you can explore at this month's star party, tonight at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.
The party runs from 6 p.m. to midnight at the Interpretive Center parking area.
Members of the Central Montana Astronomy Society will be on hand with telescopes and to help explain the sights.
METIS MUSICIANS, NATIVE DANCE
The Interpretive Center celebrates Native American Memorial Week with a special presentation on Saturday. Jim and Vince Fox, Métis musicians, and the Great Falls Public Schools Indian Education Department dance group will perform at the Interpretive Center Theater at 1 and 3 p.m. The performances mark the beginning of Native American Memorial Week.
Métis music combines traditional European music styles with Native American instruments and rhythms, producing a unique musical genre.
The Foxes performed at the Interpretive Center during the Lewis and Clark Festival in June. The father-and-son team plays Métis guitar and fiddle and recently recorded an album with Philip Aaberg. Vince Fox is nationally recognized and has won awards for his work on the fiddle.
The Great Falls Public Schools Indian Education Department dancers feature students and parents. The group presents a series of traditional and contemporary Indian dances in full regalia.
Dancers are accompanied by a traditional drum group. In between dances, members offer some history of the dances, details on the attire the dancers wear, and will describe the role of music and dance in Native cultures. The group includes the Teen World Championship Chicken Dancer and Miss Little Shell.
Each presentation lasts 60 to 90 minutes. Admission is free.
In addition to the music programs, the Title VII Indian Education Parents Advisory Committee will set up a food stand on the Interpretive Center grounds from noon until 4 p.m., offering Indian tacos and other refreshments for sale. Proceeds from the stand will support the Indian Education for All programs in the Great Falls area, including the annual children's powwow.
"We are happy to welcome back these great performers from this summer," Supervisory Interpreter Jeff LaRock said. "Their programs are so dynamic, and the musicians and dancers offer some incredible performances. These are two fantastic programs, so we hope that a lot of folks will come out and celebrate with us."
Support for the Native American Memorial Week program is provided by USDA Forest Service and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Association Challenge Cost Share program.
Call the Interpretive Center at 727-8733 or visit www.fs.fed.us/r1/lewisclark/lcic for more information.
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Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana Election Information:
The Election will have polling places in Great Falls and Havre and will be posted on this website once they have been desginated. If you cannot vote in Person, you MUST Call the Tribal Office and request an Absentee Ballot. Or, If you like, you can download a copy of an Absentee Ballot Request form in either Microsoft Word(Click Here) or Adobe Acrobat(Click Here), fill out the Fields, print, sign, and include a Stamped Self-Address Envelope and send it all to the main office at:NOTE: The Absentee Ballot REQUEST must be returned to the Tribal office no later than 5pm October 14th.
Little Shell Chippewa Tribal Office
Attn: Absentee Ballot Request
PO Box 1384
Great Falls, MT 59403All 7 seats on the Little Shell Council are up for Election this year. The Schedule is as follows:
Elections Day: November 8, 2008
Ballot Count Date: November 15-16, 2008
Notice of Results: November 17, 2008
Protest Period (filing fee $250.00): November 17–27, 2008
Swearing In Ceremony: January 17, 2009Here is the Current List of Candidates running for a seat in the Little Shell Tribal Council
(listed in Alphabetical order as they will be listed on the Election Ballot):Alvina (Gardipee) Allen
Desiree (Dirden) Bell
Ronald “Cree” Doney
Steve Doney
Caroline (Murphy) Fleury
Louella (Campbell) Fredricksen
Gerald Gray Jr.
Carol (Doney) Hofeldt
Leona (Doney) Kienenberger
Bruce Landrie
Randy Randolph
Darrel (Koke) Rummel
James Parker Shield
John Sinclair
Webmaster Note: I have purposely removed which seat each candidate desires as our constitution does not allow candidates to collect votes for a particular seat from the Tribal Population. Only the TOP 7 Vote Getters will be seated on the Tribal Council, and only the Tribal Council, in Secret Ballot, will elect the Executive Committee Members of Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer.
2nd Webmaster Note: There is a nasty rumor going around (possibly from the tribal office itself) that candidates are only running for a particular office and not for the council in general and that is how they will be listed on the ballots. This is false. Our Constitution prohibits the tribal population from voting for the Executive Committee seats that consist of the Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, and Treasurer. ONLY the newly elected Tribal Council can vote for the Executive Committee members and it is done so as a secret ballot. The way our system works is that each candidate runs against ALL the other candidates for the Tribal Council, only the TOP 7 vote getters are elected to the Tribal Council as a whole. Once those 7 council members are decided, then the Tribal Council goes into a secret session and they then vote for the 4 Executive Committee seats.
While it is true that particular members will mention the council or Executive Council seat they wish to serve under, they in fact are running against all candidates instead of the one or two who wish the same seat. This nasty and incredulous rumor is being put out there by candidates or supports of candidates for the sole purpose to confuse and miss-inform the Tribal members and is in fact a violation of our Constitution and by extension Federal and State Election Laws. Our Constitution places us under the jurisdiction of the United States Constitution and the Laws of the United States, being a Tribal Group, although Sovereign in many ways, we are still subservient to the US Government and it's laws, and as such, we are protected in our civil AND Constitutional Rights that some so-called leaders of our tribe who think that the "Rules do not Apply" to them, will try to circumvent. So, keep a watch for any violations of your civil and constitutional rights by those who wish to make you subservient to their iron lust for power at any costs.
Our Elections are held in accordance to your Constitution and Bylaws. Here are the applicable parts:
Currently, our tribe does not hqave seperate Districts so all the election rules are govenend by the Council resolutions itself. The last knows Election bylaw is located on the "Official" Little Shell website Here: and is worded as follows:ARTICLE I SECTION IV.
Elections shall be held every two years, for each Council member, every four (4) years for the executive officers.
ARTICLE VII SECTION I: OFFICERS
(A) The President, Vice-President, 2nd Vice-President and Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected by majority vote of the council members of the Tribe by secret ballot.
(B) District council members shall be elected in the manner prescribed by that particular district’s voters.
LITTLE SHELL TRIBAL ELECTION ORDINANCE
ORDINANCE No. 2006-001The following ordinance shall be known as the Little Shell Tribal Election Ordinance.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this ordinance is to establish the rules governing the election process and procedures of the Little Shell Tribe of Indians of Montana. These rules are to be interpreted and used so as to ensure that procedures used in Tribal Elections are legal, consistent, fair and efficient.
Section I: Scope of Ordinance
This ordinance shall govern all election procedures including election for Tribal Council members, initiatives, recall petitions, and any other ballot issues, for the Little Shell Tribe.Section II: Voters and Elections
A. Tribal members who are at least eighteen (18) years of age on Election Day shall be eligible to vote in tribal elections.
B. To be eligible for membership on the Tribal Council, candidates must have the following qualifications:
(i) Be a member of the Tribe;
(ii) Be at least eighteen (18) years of age on the date of election; and
(iii) Not have been convicted of a felony or convicted of a misdemeanor involving dishonesty.Section III: Tribal Council Elections
A. Election of Tribal Council Members shall be held every two (2) years. Election of Little Shell Officers shall be held every four (4) years.
B. The Elected at-large Little Shell Council Members shall be elected to serve two (2) year terms. The President, the First Vice President, the Second Vice President and Secretary-Treasurer shall be elected to four (4) year terms.
C. The biannual elections shall be conducted by the election committee appointed by the Tribal Council during the three month period preceding the election.
D. The duties and responsibilities of all Tribal Council Members shall be as defined by the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians Constitution and Bylaws.Section IV: Notice of Elections
Notice of all elections shall be published at least sixty (60) days before tribal Election Day in a notice or tribal newsletter. The same notice shall be posted at all tribal offices and other public places as determined by the Little Shell Tribal Council. The notice shall specify the offices to be filled and/ or the issues to be decided in the election, the date, the hour, and the place or polling places of the election.Section V: Polling Places and Times
A. Elections of Tribal Council members and of the Officers shall be held on the day designated by the Tribal Council by notice of election.
B. Polls shall be open from 12:00 noon until 8:00 p.m.
C. Balloting in all elections shall take place at the locations determined by the Little Shell Tribal Council unless otherwise specified in the notice. Locations shall include, at a minimum, Great Falls, Havre, Helena, and Cut Bank/Browning area of Montana. Other locations may be designated as determined appropriate by the Tribal Council.Section VI: Elections Committee
A. The Tribal Council shall appoint an Election Committee of a minimum of three (3) members and first and second alternates. Election Committee members shall be appointed and shall serve until they have certified the election. Committee members may be appointed for successive terms. Any committee member who resigns, is removed or is unable to serve will be replaced by an alternate.
B. Election Committee members shall be persons who are eligible to vote in tribal elections. Any committee member who becomes a candidate for tribal office shall be automatically removed from the elections committee.
C. Members of the Election Committee who carry out their duties on the day of the election shall be compensated at the rate of $25.00 for that day and a stipend to cover the expense of two meals if funds are available as determined by the President and Tribal Treasurer.
Section VII: Election Committee Authority and Responsibility
The Election Committee shall have authority and responsibility to include, but not be limited to the following:
(a) To publish and post notice of all elections;
(b) To prepare ballots;
(c) To compile lists of eligible voters before the polls open; (d) To provide oversight at polling places;
(e) To verify the eligibility of every person who wishes to vote and to distribute one ballot to each eligible voter at the polls;
(f) To keep a record of persons who vote and of the number of ballots distributed and cast at an election;
(g) To resolve any disputes which may arise regarding a person’s eligibility to vote or balloting procedure;
(h) To count and validate ballots and record the number of votes cast for each candidate or for each option on the ballot;
(i) To certify the results of the election in writing to the Tribal Council within thirty (30) days after the election;
(j) To recommend to the Tribal Council any supplemental rules or changes in this ordinance which the committee believes are necessary to achieve the purpose of the ordinance.Section VIII: Election Committee Oath
Before taking office, election committee members shall swear or affirm that they will carry out their duties faithfully; that they will not let their preferences in an election influence their actions as committee members; and, that they will not engage in, sanction, or permit to go unchallenged conduct which could prevent a fair election.Section IX: Candidate Filing Procedures
A. Candidates for all offices shall file with the election committee in writing and pay the required fee.
B. Any enrolled tribal member who is at least 18 years old shall be eligible for election to tribal office. All candidates shall be subject to a background check and shall be required to pay for their own background check.
C. No person may be approved for candidacy unless that person meets qualifications required a minimum of thirty (30) days prior to an election. Any candidate may purchase a copy of the names and addresses of Little Shell members at the Little Shell Tribal offices at a price to be set by the Tribal Council.Section X: Ballots
A. Candidates for each office shall be listed on the ballot alphabetically by their last name. A box shall appear next to the name of each candidate so a vote may be marked in the box.
B. When more than one council position will be filled by an election, voters shall vote for as many candidates as there are Council positions to be filled. If a person votes for more candidates than there are positions open, that portion of the ballot shall be invalid.
C. All elections shall be by secret ballot.
D. Absentee ballots are available by mail or electronically via Little Shell related websites to be posted in the newsletter. To request an absentee ballot by mail, members must send a request in writing and include a self-addressed stamped envelope. All absentees ballots received must be notarized and postmarked a minimum of three (3) days before the date of the election. The envelope containing the absentee ballot must be marked “Absentee Ballot.” Absentee ballots will be opened and counted within seven (7) days of the election. E. The counting of the ballots shall be open to all tribal members. Ballots shall be counted a minimum of three times. The totals must agree at least twice to be valid. Ballots shall be secured in a locked container and shall be kept in the Little Shell Tribal Archives.
F. The Secretary/Treasurer shall inform the Bureau of Indian Affairs in writing of the election results immediately following certification of the Election.Section XI: Polling Regulations
A. Voting in elections governed by this ordinance shall be by secret, written ballot;
B. No person shall campaign or otherwise attempt to influence voters or shall loiter at the polling place within 200 yards during hours when the polls are open.
C. Voters who are unable to mark a ballot without assistance because of such special circumstances as physical disability or illiteracy may be assisted in voting by an Election Committee member or by a person of the voter’s choice.
D. Consumption of alcoholic beverages, marijuana, narcotics, or other intoxicants at the polls is prohibited. No smoking shall be allowed at the polls or in the interior of the polling location.Section XII: Challenges A. Any person who has been disqualified from voting by the Election Committee may vote by sealed ballot and may then appeal the Committee’s decision by filing an immediate protest in any reasonable form or legible format. The Tribal Council shall then consider evidence presented by the disqualified person and by the Election Committee and shall decide whether a person was improperly disqualified before the Council accepts the Election Committee’s certification of election results.
B. Any person who believes that an unqualified person was permitted to vote in an election may protest the election committee’s decision to allow that vote under the same method as is provided for hereinabove. C. If the Tribal Council determines that an ineligible person voted in an election or that a person eligible to vote was denied the right to vote in an election or that substantial irregularities existed in the voting process and further determines that such error affected or may have affected the results of the election, the Tribal Council shall determine the recourse, which may, but need not, include rescheduling of a second vote.
D. If at least five percent of eligible voters sign a petition requesting a recount of the ballots in an election and submit the petition to the Tribal Council by the first regular Tribal Council meeting after the election, the Tribal Council shall order a recount unless it is clear that such petition is presented purely for political purposes as determined by the unanimous decision of the Tribal Council President and Election Committee Chairman.
E. If at least five percent of eligible voters sign and submit an appropriate petition for recount describing violations of this ordinance or irregularities which could have affected the outcome of an election, the Tribal Council shall investigate the charges made in the petition. If the Tribal Council determines that a violation of this ordinance or other irregularities did affect or could have affected the results of the election the Tribal Council shall determine the recourse which may, but need not, include rescheduling of a second election or a vote for the particular office which is involved in the challenge.
Section XIII: Certification of Elections and Inauguration
Unless it receives a challenge to an election as provided hereinabove, the Tribal Council shall accept Election Committee certification of an election and shall inaugurate newly elected officials at the beginning of the first regular Tribal Council meeting following the election. Newly elected councilmember(s) will assume duties as of January 1st of the following year. Outgoing officials shall serve until the new officials are inaugurated. Inauguration procedure shall be as determined by tradition or by procedure to be approved by the current Little Shell Tribal President.
September 13, 2008
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New report highlights cooperative efforts between state, tribes
From the The Great Falls Tribune
BY TRAVIS COLEMAN
Great Falls Tribune Staff WriterGov. Brian Schweitzer touted tribal economic and educational gains among others in a tribal relations report.
The report spotlights the major accomplishments made during the 2008 fiscal year which have resulted from the working relationship between state officials and Montana's eight Native American tribes.
According to the report released Thursday, there were nearly 500 cooperative agreements and programs in effect this fiscal year in Montana, covering economic development, human services, the environment, education and justice issues.
"These achievements represent a long-term effort to build state-tribal relations based on the principle that strong Indian Nations benefit all of Montana," Schweitzer said in a news release. "I am proud of these accomplishments and committed to continuing these efforts in the months and years ahead."
Some of the accomplishments detailed in the report include:
Signing a tax revenue sharing agreement with the Fort Peck Tribes set to prevent double taxation and promote new oil and natural gas development on reservations.
Signing the Birch Creek water agreement with the Blackfeet Tribe that includes provisions to transfer $15 million in accrued interest from the Legislature to the tribe.
Creating a pilot project with the Chippewa Cree Tribe to assist tribal members with Medicaid eligibility.
Continued support for the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians for tobacco use prevention and assistance to urban Indian programs.
To help remedy the high unemployment rates on the state's reservations, the state Department of Commerce also gave grants this year for endeavors such as a child care center for the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe, a buffalo jerky business at the Fort Belknap Indian community and a Blackfeet business specializing in lightweight materials for military use, according to the report.
Also, state-funded tribal history projects have been established to enable Montana public school students to learn about the history of Native American people as told by the tribes.
"Today this state and tribes are working together on all fronts to make life better for Indian people," said Jennifer Perez-Cole, coordinator of Schweitzer's Indian Affairs Office.
Schweitzer has also appointed more than 120 Native Americans as advisers and to state boards, councils and commissions.
The full report is available on the Web at http://gain.mt.gov/reports.asp.
Webmaster Note: According to the report, The Little Shell Chippewa Tribe was awarded $70,000 to design, develop and implement a child care center based on Chippewa traditions. Located in Great Falls, the center will partner with Great Falls Public Schools for pre-school activities. The project is leveraged with $154,400 from various sources and will create two jobs immediately, with the potential to employ 12-20 at full implementation.
State of Montana Annual Indian Nations Agreement Summary:
Tribe Agency Broad Activity Agreement Name Current Status Contact(s) Phone # ----- ------ -------------- -------------- -------------- ---------- ------- Little Shell Department of Law Enforcement- Burial Preservation Board In Effect Manion, (406)444-3310 Administration Cooperation Michael Department of Business Flathead Forest BRD - ICED 07-08B In Effect Sobrepena- (406)841-2775 Commerce Development George, Heather Nokomis Child Care Center - BRD - In Effect Sobrepena- (406)841-2775 ICED 08-06 George, Heather Tribal Identification Card Improvement In Effect Sobrepena- (406)841-2775 Project STEDC-08-06 George, Heather Dept. of Land Management Morony Park Negotiations Proposed Maurier, Joe (406)444-3750 Fish,Wildlife & Parks Labor & Housing & Boiler Safety Inspections In Effect McGimpsey, (406)841-2009 Industry Community Jim Development Job & Worker Montana Career Resouce Network In Effect Hildebrand, (406)444-3239 Training (MCIS) Shaunda SWIB Statewide MOU (All Tribes) In Effect Smith, Leisa (406)444-1609 Office of Public Education Montana Advisory Council on Indian In Effect Juneau, (406)444-3024 Instruction Education (MACIE) Denise PHHS Public Public Health & Tobacco Use Prevention Grant 08-07- Expired Swant, Jason (406)444-3866 Health & Human Health Services 3-31-018-0 PHHS Public Public Health & Tobacco Use Prevention Grant 08-07- Expired Swant, Jason (406)444-3866 Health & Human Health Services 3-31-024-0 Little Shell & Billings Area Services Indian Community Tobacco Use Prevention Grant 08-07- Expired Swant, Jason (406)444-3866 3-31-031-0 Great Falls Area Indian Community
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Billings Gazette Weekly Webb: Loos bids farewell with studio sale
From the The Billings Gazette
By JACI WEBB
Weekly WebbFor four decades, Billings artist Donna Loos has quietly bolstered the Billings art scene, first as a teacher then as a professional artist. But always a mentor and innovator who constantly pushed the boundaries of landscape painting through experimentation and study.
Now as she prepares to move to Missoula this month to be closer to her daughter, Marie DeMarois, Loos is offering another gift to the community - 20 of her expressive oil and acrylic paintings at half the usual price. She's calling it a studio sale and is holding it on Sept. 13 at her studio at Level 504, located at 504 North 20th St., across from North Park.
Loos's landscapes showcase the Billings skyline, the jutting rocks along the Rims, the golden cornfields west of town and the wheat fields she watched rise up out of the soil when she lived south of town along the Yellowstone River. Unlike so many other painters, Loos celebrates Montana's prairie and expansive blue sky, not the mountains and pine trees. Driven by her love of the wide open spaces around Billings, Loos mostly paints on large canvases, usually 4-foot by 6-foot, and sometimes in multiple panels. Her triptych "Cornfields" will be on display at Jens Gallery through Nov. 7.
Loos's studio is large and bright, compliments of two tall south-facing windows. She and ceramic artist Marcie Selsor were the first artists to rent studios at the artist coop across from North Park back in 1997. When I visited her studio last week, we talked of Loos' influences. Among them Henri Matisse, Paul Gauguin and her cowboy father. "Matisse showed me you could paint flat and Gauguin showed me you can change the color of things; you can have purple grass. My paintings are strong, physically and emotionally. It's impression. But sometimes I go so abstract, the impressionists won't claim me."
Loos' father, John Baptiste Fleury, was a member of the Little Shell tribe and worked as a cowboy in the tiny community of Hyattville, Wyo., across the mountains from Sheridan.
"It was one of the lucky things in my life, growing up with the red rocks and the green pastures and the mountain streams. It was also lucky that I was part of the Little Shell band, which is what my dad called it, because we didn't get swallowed up on a reservation."
Loos married and became a mother of two girls. Her daughter Margaret Loos now lives in California. At 26, Loos began working on her teaching degree at Powell Community College, then a two-year school. By the time she finished, though, teachers were required to have four years of college coursework so she persuaded her husband to move the family to Billings so Loos could finish her degree.
"I got to study under three famous teachers, Isabelle Johnson, Ben Steele and Lyndon Pomeroy. I was so shy, I couldn't go to Isabelle's house, even though she often had students over. Ben especially taught me a lot about painting and drawing. He always told you the truth. I remember once I saw this painting of an Indian on velvet and I told Ben how beautiful it was. He said that wasn't his idea of good art."
One of her first paintings for Steele was of two nuns walking under an arch. Loos said she didn't know how to draw the nuns' habits and she was struggling with the shape of the ornamental arch.
"Ben came over and told me, 'I think it would be easier to paint something in your own life.' By the end of the semester, I remember he and Isabelle standing there looking at my artwork and saying, 'I think we've got a painter here.' "
Loos began her teaching career in 1963, preferring to teach in middle schools and helping open Castle Rock Middle School in the late 1970s. She finished her career in 1991 as an art teacher at West High.
Now 77, Loos is still nurturing young artists, often sharing her studio with newcomers. Her studio was once the meeting spot for a lively arts group, Dialogue, that met weekly to critique each others' work and to mull the local and national art scene. Most of them, including Jennifer Hawke and Brian Scott, have since moved on, but Loos stays in touch, and one of her favorite pieces in her studio is a metal and glass sculpture Scott made "before he got famous and started selling his work all over the West."
To a soundtrack by Etta James, Loos worked in her studio last week moving out the clutter, leaving only the large canvas chapters of her life. In one stack were panels of collage works she made while studying under Rocky Mountain College's Jim Baken. On a wall hung a remnant of the shadow paintings she experimented with in a class taught by Neil Jussila at Montana State University Billings. Another row of paintings included a portrait of her husband's family.
"I never got cautious; I've always been a flamboyant painter," Loos said. "I never worried about whether a painting would sell. How lucky is it for an old lady to inherit 17 years to be able to devote it to painting."
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Opinion: John Sinclair to suppress Free Speech of ALL Little Shell Tribal members
From the http://www.LittleShellTribe.com Webmaster
John Sinclair has announced in the latest Tribal Newsletter that he is taking action to prevent the use of the name "Little Shell" and "Little Shell Tribe" by tribal members and by other Chippewa tribes that are affiliated with and/or Descended from Chief Little Shell. He claims that in order for him to “Rule” the Tribe, he must prevent anybody within the tribe or other Little Shell tribes from using the terms "Little Shell", “Little Shell Tribe” for their personal use in describing their Heritage and affiliation with the Tribe. The Legal name of our tribe according to our Constitution is: "Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana". This name is owned by the Tribal Executive Committee (Tribal Council) as both a government name and as a non-profit organization (so we can be a legal entity before we were recognized by the State of Montana and pending our Federal Recognition). But, "Little Shell" and "Little Shell Tribe" are Generic names that cannot be copyrighted and/or trademarked and are used by the Chippewa and most notably, the Pembina descendants both here in the United States and Canada, in describing our heritage and affiliation.
These terms have been used for hundreds of years ever since the First of Three Hereditary Chiefs, each named Little Shell, was leader of our tribe since the mid 1700's. (As described by John Tanner in his book "The Falcon" and other historical works). Examples of this use are Little Shell who are made of individuals descended from the Chippewa branches in the Pembina area of North Dakota and Minnesota. Some have filed for Federal Recognition, some have not. Some individuals are on Chippewa Reservations such as the White Earth, Turtle Mountain, and Chippewa Cree Reservations among others, that although they cannot by law register as Tribal members of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana, they still acknowledge their affiliation with Chief Little Shell and consider that they are part of a “Little Shell Tribe”.
John Sinclair's push to claim personal ownership of a Public Domain/generic term/name of a group of people is in violation of Article II Section 1 and Article III Section 1 of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana's Constitution. Also by extension, Montana Copyright/trademark Laws, United States Copyright/trademark Laws, the Indian Civil Rights Act, the Indian Arts and Craft act, Several United States Free Speech and Civil Rights laws and United States Constitutional Amendments. If you want to extend that to Canada as there are Ojibwa there who ALSO use "Little Shell" and "Little Shell Tribe" to designate their heritage and affiliation, then you are looking at a global effort to suppress a lot of people’s free speech rights.
With Sinclair’s proclivity to rule with an iron fist, following in the footsteps of fellow Socialist propagandists, Nazi Joseph Goebbels and the Soviet GRU, is not new. Sinclair has taken steps before to prevent any tribal member to express their free speech rights because he feels that he must control any and all information, news, and opinions by individual tribal members in order for him to rule the tribe. This is the essence of a propagandist and a Tyrant.
In the past he has tried to suppress Tribal members from expressing their Free Speech rights by demanding that articles posted to the http://www.LittleShellTribe.com website by tribal members be removed because he did not agree to their opinions and ideas. When this webmaster refused to capitulate to his demands, (as noted by the letter at the bottom of the main page of the website) Sinclair then took action to shut down the website using illegal and unconstitutional means and without Tribal Council approval. He then began working with the webmasters at http://www.LittleShellTribe.us. But it did not take long for Sinclair to begin the same thing there and when the webmasters rebelled against him and refused to allow him to stop dissent and free speech; he tried to shut it down so nobody’s opinions and views would be heard. Now he wants to prevent ANYONE from exercising their free speech rights and to claim their heritage and affiliation.
Violating Tribal members Civil Rights are another area where the Stalinist Sinclair has exercised his iron fist. During the 2004 elections, he violated many, many tribal members civil rights and Federal Election Laws in conducting the election. Ignoring the Tribal Council and Forcing the Election Committee to violate federal civil rights and election laws by commandeering the election, changing election rules without notice, forcing absentee ballots to arrive late so they would not be counted, to allow for a “Late Voting” by some absentee ballots but not others, to actually threaten a candidate for the Tribal Council for posting a dispute in the election on the official Little Shell Tribal website where the election was being held, illegally mishandling ballots by carrying ballots to the election office while he was a candidate and having his two direct family members run the election office in his hometown of Havre MT, refusing to notify ALL the Tribal members of the elections and instead held them in secret on a website so only less then 5.8% of the tribal members were allowed to vote, and a large majority of these were personal friends and family. He also colluded to “Change the rules after the fact” to allow other colluders to vote for him. There were about 23 Constitutional and Civil Rights violations by Sinclair and his crew during the 2004 elections. These violation were documented and submitted to the US Attorney’s office, in Billings MT, in January 2005 for prosecution, but whereas the US Attorney’s staff noted that the actions by Sinclair and his crew were in fact serious Civil Rights and Constitutional Violations and prosecutable in Federal Court. The Charges were not filed as the Candidate who submitted the charges decided not to go through with it for the harmony of the tribe. But that is not to say they cannot be filed in the future by other tribal members as there is no statue of limitations on Civil Rights and Constitutional Violations and the evidence and witness testimonies are still available. There are now complaints by several Tribal Members that his is again trying to manipulate this years elections so that he can continue his “Reign of Tyranny”.
Ruling by an Iron Fist is a favorite leadership tactic of Sinclair. When a council member who was not part of his “Crew”, he harassed, yelled, browbeat, and threatened them with “Legal Action” till they resigned. He then bypassed the Tribal Constitution (Article I Section V) and “Appointed”, by fiat, replacement council members in direct violation of our laws. Only the Tribal Council, “Executive Committee” has the power to replace, by special election, council members. Sinclair has NO Constitutional powers to “Appoint” anybody, much less executive committee (Tribal Council) members, thus rendering every single Ordinance, law, and vote by the council null and void since January 2005. But this does not matter to the Stalinist Sinclair. Constitutional and Civil Rights, both tribal and federal, of tribal members is not a concern to Stalinist Sinclair and are a hindrance to his reign of tyranny.
These are just a few of the things Stalinist Sinclair has done in his attempt to destroy our tribe, our beliefs, our heritage, the suppression of our Free Speech and dissent, and threat of legal action against all those who do not agree and/or supplicant themselves at his feet. His decision to stop everyone from using the terms “Little Shell” and “Little Shell Tribe” is just a small tip on the iceberg of disgrace of our people by this power hungry and socially clueless Stalinist.
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Little Shell candidates to run team campaign
From the The Great Falls Tribune
Six candidates for the Little Shell Tribal Council will run as a team, assisting with each other's campaigns, according to one of the candidates.
The candidates are former Vice Chairman James Parker Shield, Darrell Rummel, Louella Fredricksen and Caroline Fleury, all of Great Falls, along with Leona Kinenberger of Dodson and Gerald Gray of Billings. Rummel, Fredrickson and Fleury are former council members.
Little Shell tribal elections will take place in November, with all seven spots on the council up for grabs. Parker Shield said he did not know who else was running in the election.
Phone messages left for Chairman John Sinclair weren't immediately returned Saturday night.
Although they will run a slate campaign team, voters are not obligated to vote for all of them, as they will each be listed separately on the ballot, Parker Shield said.
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James Parker Shield Announces Candidacy for Little Shell Tribal Council
From the The James Parker Shield Website
James Parker Shield has announced that he will run for Tribal Council in this years Little Shell Tribal Council Elections to be held November 2008. He has filed in accordance with the tribe Constitution and Tribal Council election ordinances and will be requesting a list of all tribal members so he can bring his message to ALL Little Shell Tribal members.
James has created a website that will allow him to communicate to the Online Little Shell Community at large. http://www.JamesParkerShield.com will allow you to see his accomplishments to help forward the people of the Little Shell and the steps we will need to take to full Federal Recognition with the United States Government and beyond once we are our own self-governed and sovereign tribe.
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Little Shell Tribal Members to testify before the Montana State-Tribal Relations Committee August 21, 2008
From the The Montana State-Tribal Committee Site
The State-Tribal Relations Committee will meet August 21 to discuss Indian education, oil and gas compacts, racial profiling, The Tribal History Project, and other issues at a meeting in Helena. The meeting is to start at 9 a.m. in Room 137 of the State Capitol. The public is invited to attend and will have an opportunity to address the Committee.
Russell Boham will testify at 1:15pm for the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana.
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Opportunities to learn about native culture abound
From the The Great Falls Tribune
By JO DEE BLACK
Great Falls Tribune Business EditorThe Great Falls Development Authority invited the businesses and individuals that invest in the local economic organization to its annual meeting Wednesday at the C.M. Russell Museum.
About 35 people listened to the summary of local economic activity — there are 51 new projects and business expansions in the works and the Great Falls area is on the short list for another 43, GFDA officials said — and heard the highlights of a strategic economic planning project.
Great Falls can do a better job leveraging its assets, including the Missouri River corridor, and improving the aesthetics and pedestrian compatibility of 10th Avenue South, said Ben Loftsgaarden, senior project manager for Angelou Economics, the Texas-based firm hired to conduct the planning project. "Your assets are hidden," he said.
The GFDA hired Angelou to conduct a $75,000 study, paid for with a Big Sky Trust Fund grant, to look at the area's real estate, create an updatable labor market database model and define the trade area. The project also includes an assessment of the Great Falls area's competitiveness in data-center recruitment.
Electricity rates that fall in the high-end compared with other parts of the nation are a disadvantage, because data centers, which house computer servers and data for businesses, use a lot of energy, the Angelou consultants said. Those rates are offset, however, by the land with access to infrastructure that is available in the city's proposed industrial park north of Great Falls, they said.
In other business, the GFDA board expanded its size from 29 members to 31. The added seats will be filled by the Blackfeet and Little Shell tribes.
New directors for GFDA's board are Al Hobbs of Montana Refining Co.; Eugene J. McAllister of the University of Great Falls; John Koppelman of Wells Fargo; Brian Chandler of the Great Falls Clinic and Kelly Tynes of Gene Tynes Dental.
Executive board officers for this year are Steve L'Heureux, chairman; Bob Nebel, vice chairman, Koppelman, treasurer; and Bill Weber, secretary.
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Opportunities to learn about native culture abound
From the The Great Falls Tribune
By PAUL LLOYD-DAVIES
For the Great Falls TribuneFrom dancers and drummers to makers of parfleche and oral traditionalists, the Grasslands Loop Trail outside the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center will fill Saturday with opportunities for festival visitors to learn much about native cultures across the Plains and the Northern Rockies.
"From the beginnings of the center, we have always wanted to make sure we highlight the Native American side of the story," said supervisory interpreter Jeff LaRock.
About every half-hour from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday during the Lewis and Clark Festival, you can watch, listen and learn from skilled tribal members who share their cultural heritage. Presenters include:
Marie Torosian, "Root Harvest."
Nellie Boyd, "Women of the Upper Missouri,"
Darrell Norman, "Blackfeet Parfleche,"
Clint Brown, "A Day in the Life of a Spiritual Person."
Dancers and drummers from the Indian Education Program in the Great Falls Public Schools.
The exact schedule will be available at the festival information tent.
In an interview, Torosian, education director of the People's Center in Pablo and an enrolled member of the Salish and Pend d'Oreille, noted visitors will leave with an understanding of traditional plants that were used for foods and medicines. "A lot of these are still used today," she said.
Most of the dancers will be 13 to 16 years of age, said Sandra Boham, director of the Indian Education Department. They will explain the significance of their regalia and what they are meant to portray, she said.
The dancers are expected to include jingle, grass, men traditional, women traditional, fancy, as well as chicken, said Boham, a member of the Salish tribe.
Visitors also will learn how songs and drums fit into the American Indian traditions, including Blackfeet, Little Shell Chippewa, Chippewa Cree, Gros Ventre and Assiniboine, she said.
"Because the way the powwows have been, we share a lot of dances between the tribes," Boham said.
A couple of times a year, the middle- and high-school students who will be featured at the festival also dance to help teachers in the school district understand the cultures through the Indian Education for All program, Boham said.
"We don't get chances like what we'll be doing at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center," she said. The scale of the program at the center will be the first time for the students, she said.
"It provides students the opportunity to educate the non-native people and to show the leadership the kids fulfill in their tribes," Boham said. The students serve as role models, she said, and through traditional dance, they build a sense of pride.
"When they're dancing, they make a choice to try to be good students, to try to be positive," Boham said.
People who skip the performances in the Grasslands Loop, she said, will miss "an opportunity to really learn about the traditional native dancing that is part of our America Indian heritage in Montana."
Unlike viewing a video of dancers, people at the festival will have an excellent opportunity to see the dancing and understand what it means," Boham said.
Being near a drum during the dancing also is a special experience that means the most in person, she noted. "It's not often that dancers will take time to explain it all."
Norman, a Blackfeet artist living near Browning, will work on a parfleche, as well as walk visitors through how to turn animal hides into containers.
Boyd, who is Hidatsa, Mandan, Assiniboine and Sioux, will share stories, song and artifacts as she takes visitors through a woman's life from childhood to old age.
Brown, a Gros Ventre, will invite visitors into his tepee to share how his maintenance of age old beliefs affect his life.
LaRock noted that without the help of native people from dozens of tribes, the Lewis and Clark Expedition wouldn't have succeeded.
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Research takes students on personal journeys
From the The Missoulian
By BETSY COHEN
of the MissoulianThree weeks ago, five University of Montana students embarked on an academic reconnaissance mission to Washington, D.C.
Funded by the Smithsonian Institute, the young researchers were given a month to accomplish the following objectives: Explore the National Archives and locate all records, documents, recordings, photographs and artifacts pertaining to Montana's Indian tribes.
Make copies of significant findings and map the vast collections where the history is found so others can pick up the trail and find the material over the many summers it will take to copy and bring Montana's Indian history home.
For students Wilena Old Person, Helen Cryer, Miranda McCarvel, Eli Suzukovich III and Glen Still Smoking II, the colossal assignment is both an academic honor and a personal journey unlike any they have ever undertaken.
Entombed in the windowless caverns of the Smithonian's National Anthropological Archives, where the air is stale and the landscape is dominated by floor-to-ceiling filing cabinets, are the stories of their ancestors - the stories of an early Montana few people know.
Add to that prestigious repository all the material regarding Montana's tribes stored in the Library of Congress plus the National Archives, and the information-gathering possibilities quickly overwhelm even the most dogged archivist.
“It's overwhelming and exciting,” said Miranda McCarvel, whose grandparents homesteaded in eastern Montana. “There is so much to find and go through that we all have to remind ourselves to take a deep breath and that you can only do it a day at a time - and that it's worth doing.”
Just how massive is the project?
Eli Suzukovich put it this way: In just one Bureau of Indian Affairs file covering the time period 1881 to 1907, an estimated 2 million pages contain information about water rights irrigation, land sales, and correspondence between Indian agents and the Federal Indian Commission.
Given the mountains upon mountains of material, the hunt can easily become daunting, said Suzukovich, who is of Little Shell and Chippewa-Cree heritage. Luckily, just when the research starts becoming tedious, a thrilling nugget of history is overturned and that gets everyone re-energized.
Sometimes the discovery is an academic treasure, sometimes it is far more profound, like finding the late-1880s deportation orders of the Canadian “half-bloods” also called the “Red River half-bloods” of his Cree relatives.
Such academic work, Suzukovich said, quickly becomes a personal matter.
“It can be a little emotional,” he said. “You are looking at records of somebody you are related to and it's kind of cool to see those chapters of your family's history you didn't know about.”
Glen Still Smoking said words don't really explain how he felt when he unearthed an 1889 letter written by his great-great-great-great-grandfather Mountain Chief, a Blackfeet chief who wrote about a situation regarding his father, also named Mountain Chief.
The letter, addressed to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, states: “The Mountain Chief and Lame Bull - Two Piegan Chiefs made a treaty at the mouth of the Judith River Mont. With Gov. Stevens, about 1855. The Mountain Chief was my father. When he died I turned over his papers and medals to Agent Armitage, he gave me a copy of the treaty which I have since lost. ... I write to ask if you can get me a copy, as I would like very much to have it.”
According to their family story, all of Mountain Chief's belongings - including the treaty - burned when fire destroyed his home, Still Smoking said.
Two other letters from Mountain Chief were found, each asking for a response from the commissioner.
“At first, it took me by surprise that the federal agents didn't follow through,” he said, “but then I wasn't so surprised.”
Still Smoking said he's not sure if Mountain Chief ever got his wish, but he understands why his ancestor made multiple attempts for a response.
The 1885 treaty in question was the Blackfeet tribe's first with the United States, he said, and that time period was filled with great changes for the Blackfeet and all Montana tribes.
“Mountain Chief wrote this letter after the Blackfeet had subsequently sold the Sweetgrass Hills but before the agreement to sell the land that is now Glacier National Park and the Badger Two Medicine lands,” explained David Beck, a UM professor of Native American studies and adviser to the student researchers. “It would have been important for tribal leaders to have copies of the treaties when they were arguing for their rights, and among other things, the 1885 treaty had created a 99-year common hunting ground for many Plains tribes down in the area where Dillon is now.”
A few days later and in a different file, McCarvel came upon a disturbing 1892 letter written by Z.T. Daniel, an Army physician at the Blackfoot Agency, who tells of collecting Indian bodies from graves, which he sent to the Fort Assiniboine and eventually became part of the Smithsonian collection.
“I have gotten the crania off at last. I shipped them today. ... There are fifteen of them,” Daniel wrote. “The burial place is in plain sight of many Indian houses and very near frequented roads. I had to visit the cemetery at night when not even the dogs were stirring. This was usually between 12 a.m. and daylight. After securing one (a head) I had to pass the Indian sentry at the stockade gate, which I never attempted with more than one for fear of detection.”
Daniel explained his hunting coat had large pockets and was good for carrying and hiding the stolen skulls. “Nearly every time I saw wolves who howled at me, they were always near the dead bodies,” he explained. “The greatest fear I had was that some Indian would miss the heads, see my tracks and ambush me, but they didn't.”
With just one week remaining in their inaugural mission, the students are uncovering more than Beck could ever have hoped.
“This is just an amazing crew of students,” he said. “They have been very enthusiastic and conscientious and really engaged in what they are finding.
“What they are doing is incredibly hard work. You don't find gems of information every single day, and what they have found so far is incredible.”
Everyone involved with the research had an inkling the project would take several years to complete.
Now that they've gotten a good sense of what the archives hold, the enormity of their quest has become exceedingly clear.
“It's obvious we are at the very beginning of a very long journey,” Beck said.
With continued funding from the Smithsonian's American Indian Program, which gives each student researcher a modest stipend and an airline ticket, and with additional funding yet to be determined, the project will likely take eight to 10 years to complete.
Copying and converting all the materials into digital format that can be accessed by computer will be costly. But whatever the price tag may ultimately be, the expense is worth the opportunity for full public access to a remarkable and critical part of Montana's history, Beck said.
As the materials are copied and brought back, they will be made available to Montana's tribes for their own records, and turned over to UM's library for public use.
UM's library will instantly gain world-class stature when the stories and knowledge come out of storage back East, Beck said.
Few people have the time or the resources to comb through the national archival repositories, and much of Montana's Indian history between 1881 and 1907 - which covers critical issues such as the establishment of boarding schools and the end of bison on the Great Plains - can only be found in microfilm and individual documents that are strictly controlled by the National Archives, which is difficult to navigate.
“Once these documents are up on the Internet for all to see, there's no way to know how it will change things,” Beck said. “So much of the material has a very real personal connection to people alive today, and we will never know all the impacts this project will have.”
From the sidelines, Jason Younker is cheering on the Montana researchers.
He led a crew of University of Oregon students on a similar journey in the 1990s, when the Smithsonian's JoAllyn Archambault, director of the National Museum of Natural History's American Indian Program, provided the same funding support.
“From my perspective, you know you are Indian but there's equity in paper truth,” said Younker, a member of Oregon's Coquille tribe who now teaches at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
“When you are actually reading these documents and seeing the name of your family, you become very much attached to those who not only recorded it, but proud someone took the time to memorialize your family.”
There's no way to know the ripple effect of his team's successes in finding and making public the once-buried history of his tribe.
But in recent years, dozens of master's and doctoral theses have sprung from the material, several books are in the making, and Indian history in Oregon is being re-written. He expects the same will unfold in Montana when the material becomes available at UM.
“You have all these memories floating around about tribal people and their history and what actually happened, and then you have the history books that don't necessarily portray the personal connection and the personal histories,” Younker said. “When you sit down and read these fantastic documents, you realize that history has stolen from you the truth and you get a new sense of what actually happened.
“There are a lot of Native people that felt incomplete because who are they to challenge history texts and historic interpretation - and now you have a brand new voice through old documents telling a slightly different story in a different time period.
“We can all learn from that.”
Emboldened by their research and excited for future discoveries, the UM students are making their own history by taking every advantage of their unique assignment.
Last week, they met with Montana Sen. Jon Tester, and this week they meet with the rest of Montana's congressional delegation, Sen. Max Baucus and Rep. Dennis Rehberg.
“We are telling them how important this project is and that is should get funded until the work is done,” said Wilena Old Person, granddaughter of Blackfeet Chief Earl Old Person.
Old Person said she was inspired to help arrange the meetings with the delegation after finding in the archives letters her grandfather wrote to the nation's top political leaders.
“I was excited to see how he influenced not only Blackfeet tribal history but the tribal history of Montana,” she said. “And this project is going to take a good amount of years, but it's important to all of Montana.”
Reporter Betsy Cohen can be reached at 523-5253 or at bcohen@missoulian.com.
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Youths compete with survival skills of their ancestors during International Traditional Games
From the The Great Falls Tribune
POPLAR — Regulations require Walker Magnan, 11, to wait another year before he can go elk hunting with his bow and arrows.
When that time comes, he will have had plenty of practice, having competed in archery Friday at the ninth annual International Traditional Games, which features competitions in survival skills his ancestors once used to obtain food, clothing and shelter.
"I like learning self-control, and you can learn a lot of new games if you get bored this summer," said Walker, a Poplar sixth-grader.
About 125 youths from reservations in Montana and South Dakota are competing in the two-day event, which was hampered by severe thunderstorms and cool temperatures Friday.
The games, some of which are centuries old, include lacrosse, doubleball, ring the stick, the stick game, the string game and the Stone People game.
Today's events include the endurance race, in which participants race a horse for two miles, swim 200 yards and run five kilometers to the finish line — the tribal version of a triathlon, organizers said.
Among the athletes competing in the games are 12 Boys & Girls Club members from the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, many of whom are competing in traditional events for the first time.
"They didn't know what to expect when they first got here, but once they started, they really got into it," said Laura No Runner, unit director of the Boys & Girls Club of the Blackfeet Nation. "It's really good for the youth to carry this tradition on."
The first International Traditional Games were held in 1999, after a group of teachers wanted to create an event to help preserve traditional skills that were being lost.
The games played in Poplar this weekend were popular before the tribes came in contact with Europeans in the 17th and 18th centuries, said DeeAnna Leader, director of the International Traditional Games Society.
The events are taught and supervised by tribal elders, community members and officers from the Roosevelt County Sheriff's Department, the Montana Highway Patrol and the Fort Peck tribes, which hosts the event.
"Children now are given knowledge and technology in schools and they don't get enough of nature and physical activity," Leader said. "They also have multi-age interaction. How often during the day does a child have the opportunity to talk with an adult in a meaningful way?"
The first two International Traditional Games were held on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation. Since then, the event has been hosted by the Fort Belknap and Flathead reservations, as well as the Little Shell Tribe in Great Falls and the Assiniboine Tribe in Canada.
The Blackfeet Tribe has requested to host next year's games, Leader said.
Webmaster Note: Richard Parenteau of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana was/is one of the teachers who founded the return of the Traditonal games of our people.
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City Manager Doyon tours area's important Native American sites
From the The Great Falls Tribune
New Great Falls City Manager Greg Doyon took a tour Thursday morning of various area sites important to Native Americans.
"It went good," said James Parker Shield, who thought of the idea for the tour. "We have the state's largest urban Indian population. Our future is also Great Falls' future."
Shield said Great Falls is home to more than 6,000 Native Americans, roughly 10 percent of the city's population.
The tour included Hill 57 and Mount Royal, northwest of the city, where low-income Indians once lived in often shoddy conditions half a century ago.
"We didn't bother getting out" to tour the hillsides on the rainy day, Shield said.
The tour also took in the Little Shell Chippewa tribal office, Indian Family Health Clinic, the University of Great Falls Native student program, the Benefis Healthcare American Indian Welcome Center and the Great Falls School District's Indian Education Center program based at Longfellow Elementary School. The tour began at Shield's office at War Shield Development in Great Falls.
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2010 census strives for better counting of Native Americans
From the The Great Falls Tribune
By KARL PUCKETT
Great Falls Tribune Staff WriterMembers of the Native American Local Government Commission — pointing out that a few thousand Cascade County Indians were not recorded in the 2000 census — told U.S. Census Bureau officials Tuesday they could reduce the undercounting by hiring better counters in 2010, including more Native Americans.
An accurate population estimate is important to Native Americans and non-Native Americans alike because federal funding for state and tribal services often is linked to population size.
The Native American commission, which advises the city of Great Falls and Cascade County, met for an hour and a half with Mark Hellfritz, a regional census manager, and Wayne Chattin, a tribal partnership specialist, at the Courthouse Annex.
Hellfritz and Chattin, who have been in Montana for more than a week meeting with Montana's eight tribes, are with the Census Bureau in Denver, a regional office that oversees 10 states, including Montana.
They are scheduled to conclude their Montana meetings today on the Flathead Indian Reservation.
Hire more Native Americans as enumerators, said commission Chairman James Parker Shield, a member of the Little Shell Tribe.
"That's a key," he said.
The Census Bureau needs to do a better job of hiring counters who know the nuances of the various tribes in the states, said Sandra Boham, director of Indian Education for Great Falls Public Schools. One source of educated census workers would be students attending college in Great Falls, she said.
The knowledge of the counters, she pointed out, will determine "whether they get accurate information or whether they get a door in their face."
In 2000, the Native American undercount was around 2 percent nationally, Chattin said. It was 12 percent in 1990.
Historically, population undercounts have been more pronounced on reservations, Chattin said. He blamed mistrust of the government as part of the problem.
"We want to do better," he told the commission members.
"We want to help you do better," Shield said.
In 2000, Cascade County, at the urging of Native American leaders, unsuccessfully challenged the Census Bureau estimate of 4,000, saying it was more like 7,000.
"We found problems both with misidentification of individuals and missing individuals," Cascade County Commissioner Peggy Beltrone said.
This time around, the county is being proactive, she said.
Commission members also asked for a better count of urban Native Americans.
The goal of the government-to-government discussions is to raise awareness about the upcoming census and to improve the accuracy, Hellfritz said.
"One of the questions we ask is, 'What do you want to be called?'" Hellfritz said.
Not being specific enough about the tribe in which they are officially enrolled is a big factor in undercounting Native Americans, officials said.
For example, a resident of Montana's Fort Belknap Reservation, home of the Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes, might answer "Assiniboine," and they might not be counted because there are Assiniboine tribes in other states.
Census officials asked the Montana tribal leaders in helping to "capture" those uncounted individuals. One way they can do that is by informing their members which specific tribal name they should give.
"Promotion, advertising, is really important," Hellfritz said.
A statewide census office will open in Billings Oct. 1, Hellfritz said. The first job will be identifying all of the houses in the state.
Offices will open in Great Falls and Missoula in October 2009.
Reach Tribune Staff Writer Karl Puckett at 406-791-1471, 800-438-6600 or kpuckett@greatfallstribune.com.
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Obama campaign kicks up Indian Country outreach
From the The Missoulian
By JODI RAVE
the MissoulianDemocratic Sen. Barack Obama’s presidential campaign in Montana kicked up its outreach efforts in Indian Country on Wednesday, with the announcement of its newly unveiled Montana Native Americans for Obama steering committee.
Tribal chairmen from the Crow Nation and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are co-chairing the committee, as well as a tribal councilman from the Chippewa Cree Tribe.
The steering committee includes members from all seven reservations in Montana, urban areas and the Little Shell band.
“Federal prisoners of this country receive better health care than Indians,” said Crow Nation Chairman Carl Venne. “That’s not right.”
Venne said two of the greatest concerns in tribal communities are affordable health care and education. He noted that Obama co-sponsored the Indian Health Care Improvement Act to provide an additional $1 billion for the Indian Health Service to address problems facing Native communities.
“Obama also understands that quality education is the key to empowering tribal nations to build a better future. ? We cannot survive as Indian tribes if we’re not educated,” said Venne.
He is among two tribal chairmen in Montana to endorse Obama. Chairman James Steele of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes has also pledged his support.
Gay Kingman, Great Plains Tribal Chairman’s Association executive director, said the Illinois senator has also gained majority endorsements from all North Dakota tribal chairmen. And leaders of the two largest reservations in South Dakota - the Rosebud and Pine Ridge tribal chairmen - have also endorsed Obama.
Meanwhile, the Montana Natives for Obama campaign continues to move forward. Last week, the campaign announced Samuel Kohn would lead its tribal outreach campaign to reservations and tribal communities in the state.
“Sen. Obama understands the challenges facing Native Americans in Montana,” said Chippewa Cree tribal Councilman and state Rep. Jonathon Windy Boy. “He knows that Indians are a population forgotten by many in the federal government. That is why he proposes a real government-to-government relationship with steps such as the appointment of a senior-level Native policy adviser in the White House.”
Windy Boy said Native people historically have been offered a lot of “empty rhetoric, words with no meaning or no definition.” He said Obama is offering change Indian Country can believe in.
“He has made a commitment,” said Venne. “And we’re following him.”
Reach reporter Jodi Rave at 800-366-7186 or jodi.rave@lee.net.
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Building at damsite doubtful as tribal office
From the The Great Falls Tribune
By RYAN HALL
Tribune Staff WriterThe Montana State-Tribal Relations Committee on Saturday toured the Morony damsite, over which the Little Shell Chippewa was given control in the 2007 Legislature.
The committee then held its quarterly meeting in the Little Shell's headquarters in the Westgate Mall.
Several topics were discussed during the meeting, but the condition of the damsite and its potential future use took center stage Saturday morning. Control of the historic but dilapidated building and seven to 10 acres around it was given to the Little Shell for 10 years during the 2007 legislative session. Since that time, tribal members have toured the site and the building and begun formulating a plan for use of the site.
"It's one of those things where we didn't even know what we were getting into," said John Sinclair, president of the Little Shell.
Sinclair said the former apartment building was in even worse shape than was reported, with a restoration estimated at least $500,000.
"That's way low," he said, noting that the tribe has received an estimate of $40,000 just remove to mice and bats and their hazardous waste from the structure.
"The building costs a lot of money to demolish it or clean it up," said State-Tribal Relations Committee member Sen. Joe Tropila, D-Great Falls.
He added that committee members who chose to tour the building Saturday did so with respirators as a safety precaution because of the danger of hantavirus in the waste.
The condition of the building and the layout of the land, much of which can't be built on has forced to tribe to change its plan for the site, Sincair said.
"It's good hunting ground, that's about it," Sinclair said of the additional acreage made available to the tribe, adding it is mostly ridges and dips.
Originally, the Little Shell hoped to establish a tribal headquarters in the building and eventually locate additional services there if the tribe achieves federal recognition, which it has sought for 116 years. Now the plan is to use the damsite as a cultural site and possibly a campground, Sinclair said.
"We've had to change our focus," he said, adding that if the tribe is federally recognized it may try to secure another site to house a tribal complex, which could include a health clinic and a corrections office.
"You just don't house that in one building," he said.
Tropila noted that, even if the tribe does not restore and use the apartment building, the site offers lots of opportunity, including access to a seven-mile undammed stretch of the Missouri River. He added it was in Cascade County's interest to have the Little Shell utilize the land because, even though it wouldn't add to the tax base, their presence would likely reduce the number of "beer busts" and incidents of vandalism at the site. He added that having a land base could aid the tribe in its process to be federally recognized.
The next step for the damsite is an evaluation, Sinclair said, noting funds need to be identified to prepare the site for any type of cultural use. He added that there is plumbing in the area that must be tested to see if the tribe can make use of it. Once the tribe's 10-year lease on the land expires, the Little Shell can renew the lease or the state can choose to permanently transfer the building and surrounding land to the tribe.
Other topics on the committee's agenda Saturday were an update on the Department of Corrections' methamphetamine treatment programs, an intergovernmental agreement for the Chippewa Cree to access Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration grants and other topics.
Tropila said potential future legislation that would allow the state to officially recognize the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe also was discussed. He introduced a resolution recognizing the tribe in 2001, which passed, but said a bill stating the same could help the tribe secure federal recognition.
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Little Shell Buffalo Meat Distribution
Robert, Michele and Cheyenne Bigback of Bigback Silkscreening announce that on Tuesday, April 29, 2008 6:30pm at Bigback Silkscreening in Butte Montana, there will be a Little Shell Tribal Informational Meeting and a Tribal Buffalo Meat Distribution.
As the Distribution is for Tribal Members only, Please bring your Tribal I.D. card or Enrollment # to receive the distribution. The Distribution will take place directly following the meeting.
Details:
April 29th, 2008 Tuesday 6:30pm
Bigback Silkscreening
66 West Park
Butte, MT 59701
Further Info or Application:
Click for map and directions to Bigback Silkscreening
406-782-2713 or 406-452-2892Visit Robert, Michele & Cheyenne at their Art Gallery, Gift & Silkscreen Print Shop or our Website
Locally Owned & Operated
CCR Registered, GSA Vendor
SBA, MBE, DBE Certified, HUB Zoned
100% Native American Business
Custom Orders
Stock Orders
Retail, Wholesale
Teams, Schools,Groups,Organizations
nacupowwow@gmail.com
bigbacksilkscreening@msn.com
Webpage
Online Catalog
Map to Store in Butte, MT
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Native Montana Magazine Launch!
From the The Great Falls Tribune
James Parker Shield, a member of the Little Shell Chippewa tribe, is coordinating efforts with the monthly publication, Great Falls River's Edge Journal, for his latest business venue, Native Montana. "Native Montana will provide people with information about happenings in Indian Country, along with in-depth articles about businesses and culture and successful Indian entrepreneur stories," Shield said.
Shield turned to Great Falls River's Edge Journal publisher Gordon McManus and his staff members for advice. That discussion turned into a partnership.
The first issue of River's Edge Journal/Native Montana will publish in May and will be distributed statewide.
"One cover is the River's Edge Journal, then half way through the magazine, you flip it over and the other cover is Native Montana," Shield said.
Articles in May's issue of Native Montana include one about the Montana Indian Business Alliance and a contribution from the Montana Historical Society.
Webmaster's Note: The Great Falls River's Edge Journal is located Here: River's Edge Journal. Soon to come will be the Native Montana Magazine Website.
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Montana Rep Denny Rehberg announces Housing Grants for Montana Tribes, but none for Little Shell Tribe.
From Rep Denny Rehberg's Website
WASHINGTON D.C. - Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, announced today the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has cleared the way for more than $14.5 million in housing grants for Montana’s Native American Tribes.
"Home ownership is part of the American Dream and I want that dream to become a reality for more of Montana’s Native American communities," said Rehberg a member of the House Appropriations Committee. "Many Native American families are forced to deal with substandard housing and this grant will help improve the situation for Montana’s tribes."
The grant is part of the Indian Housing Block Grant developed by the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act (NAHASDA) of 1996. The funds can be used for construction, improvements and upgrades, management of low-income housing, crime prevention and safety and other housing services.
Last September, Rehberg joined House colleagues in approving a reauthorization of NAHASDA and has been actively working on the Appropriations Committee to fight for HUD funding for Native American Housing.
The grants:
· $6,227,778 grant for the Blackfeet Indian Reservation
· $4,109,638 grant for the Salish and Kootenai Tribe on the Flathead Indian Reservation
· $2,504,204 grant for the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation
· $1,988,780 grant for the Chippewa-Cree Tribe on the Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation
# # #
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New Opinion Letter to the editor by Henry Gladeau
From the The Great Falls Tribune
Henry Gladeau of Burley Idaho has sent another "Letter to the Editor" to the Great Falls Tribune. Here is a copy of it in it's entirety:
Silly, lying games
We, the Little Shell Tribe of Montana Indians, have played the government's silly games ever since I can remember. They are all broken promises and lies.
What is the difference between our race of people and other races, except that we are half white and half Indian? That is what our ancestors were.
Our ancestors were probably not supposed to survive, but survive they did by taking jobs nobody wanted or living off the dump grounds of other people.
And don't anyone say that there has been no discrimination or prejudice toward our race, because I have lived with it all my life. It comes from Indians, whites and the government.
We have been told the government has money and land set aside for us. Are they hoping we will all die off as our ancestors have? The government has hired lawyers to fight for us, paid by them, and it's just another lie to our council. The lawyers are sure not fighting for us when the U.S. government is paying them.
They say we are only part Indian, but that is not how they declared our ancestors. Our ancestors were declared to be full-blooded Indians, because the law said Indians could not own land. Therefore, we are full-blooded Indians.
Letters of truth must be sent all over the world. I need your help.
— Henry Gladeau, Burley, Idaho
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Montana Legislative panels plan meetings
From the The Billings Gazette
Committees of the Montana Legislature meet regularly between regular sessions to conduct in-depth studies of topics of public interest.
All meetings are open to the public and include opportunities for public comment. Meetings are also televised in Billings (Channel 70), Bozeman (63), Helena (19) and Missoula (67).
Meeting times are subject to change. Confirm times before attending any meeting. All meetings are in the State Capitol in Helena unless otherwise noted.
• Law and Justice Committee: 9:30 a.m. today and 8 a.m. April 11, Room 137.
• Taxation and School Funding Subcommittee: 8:30 a.m. April 17, Room 102.
• Property Tax Subcommittee: 8:30 a.m. April 17, Room 137.
• Revenue and Transportation Committee: 3 p.m. April 17 and 8 a.m. April 18, Room 102.
• State-Tribal Relations Committee: 1 p.m. April 19, Little Shell Tribal Offices, 1807 Third St. NW, Great Falls.
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Bill Clinton says "he" would commit to Indian Country
From the The Great Falls Tribune
By RICHARD PETERSON
For the Great Falls TribuneHAVRE — If his wife is elected president in November, former President Bill Clinton said he'd make it his personal responsibility to tackle the issues that are important to Native Americans.
The former president, campaigning in Havre for New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, made the pledge to about 30 Montana tribal leaders in a private meeting before his morning speech in the MSU-Northern Armory Gymnasium.
The meeting was attended by tribal leaders from the Blackfeet, Fort Peck, Fort Belknap, Chippewa-Cree and Little Shell tribes.
His commitment to the tribes at the hour-long meeting surprised some leaders who've been dissatisfied with the Bush administration's Native American policies during the past seven years.
"He said if she's elected, he'll commit himself to the concerns of Indian Country. It was a profound statement," said Fort Peck Tribal Councilman Tom Christian, who attended the meeting. "He said as a president, he never had time to pursue the things that needed to be done for Indians. I felt he was sincerely committed to that statement."
The tribal leaders also discussed the health care provided by the Indian Health Service, tribal gaming, water rights, law enforcement and federal recognition of the Little Shell Tribe, based in Great Falls.
The president's visit to Havre and Montana was a chance for his wife's presidential campaign to reach out to Native American voters, a campaign official said.
"This is historic, that this campaign has taken on issues in Indian Country that are important to Senator Clinton," said Matt McKenna, a spokesman for Bill Clinton. "It's an historic opportunity to come to Montana and discuss these tribal issues."
Clinton also said the tribes' relationship with the federal government has deteriorated since he left office; his wife would like to renew those ties.
Tribal leaders also stressed to Clinton the dire shortfalls in the IHS budget, which forces the federally funded clinics to ration health care and provide medical referrals only when a patient is about to lose a life or limb.
Clinton told the tribal officials that those concerns could disappear under Hillary Clinton's health care plan, which would provide health insurance for most or all Americans requiring such coverage, several leaders said.
State Rep. Shannon Augare, D-Browning, a member of both state and national steering committees for Hillary Clinton, met with the former president before his speech in Great Falls.
"The meeting between the president and the Blackfeet Tribe was a great success. We were reflecting on what it was like during the Clinton administration," Augare said. "... Reflecting on what a Clinton administration once brought the Indians and what another Clinton might do for Indian Country."
Though many tribal leaders were impressed with the former president's ideas, others would rather hear about those initiatives from the former first lady's mouth. "A lot of the issues he addressed were right on," said Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, of the Rocky Boy's Reservation. "But they would have been more meaningful if the senator had showed up."
After the meeting, the tribal leaders presented gifts of beadwork, history books and blankets to the president, who also signed autographs and posed for pictures with most of the tribal delegations.
Webmaster Note : The Pledge given is not from the Presidential Candidate herself but from her Husband Bill Clinton, who is prevented by the Constitution from exercising or being President of the United States. The Pledge made is from a Private Citizen with no executive powers and will still have no powers if His wife is elected. It is a shame that a candidate would not pledge to help our tribes as the Chief Executive, but would only have the "First Husband" deal with the Sovereignty and Relations with Native Americans. Personally, I appreciate that the Ex-President would pledge his support to our tribes, but it shames me to hear that it is conditional support on his wife winning the presidency and that the candidate herself has not made the same commitment to our people.
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Tribal leaders pleased with early discussions
From the The Great Falls Tribune
By PETER JOHNSON
Great Falls Tribune Staff WriterIndians from around Montana gathered in a meeting room at the C.M. Russell Museum on Monday to brainstorm ideas for the 2009 Legislature.
At the end of six hours of discussion, the group's suggestions included more workforce training grants for good reservation businesses; elimination of certain taxes levied against tribal governments, and renewing funding to help reservation schools improve.
State Sen. Carol Juneau and Rep. Shannon Augare, the two Browning Democrats who suggested the "policy roundtable," said it was the first time individual Montana Indians had met so early to brainstorm legislative ideas.
Juneau said that tribal leaders will probably get together later to discuss budget issues and that Gov. Brian Schweitzer will meet later this spring with Indians to discuss legislative ideas.
She said it makes sense for Indians from across Montana to start coming up with ideas now, noting that Schweitzer already is asking state department heads to start planning for the session.
"I'm delighted at how it went," Augare said. "We had a cross section representing individuals from all seven tribal communities, plus urban Indians."
James Parker Shield of Great Falls, a member of the landless Little Shell Chippewa tribe, called it "a great idea" to bring representatives of reservation tribes together with urban Indian groups to discuss shared concerns.
Blaine County Commissioner Dolores Plumage agreed at the end of the day that the session was worthwhile, but said it might have tried to condense too much discussion of complex subjects in to too little time.
"We hit on a lot of topics, but maybe too quickly," she said. "We need the luxury of time to discuss maybe one or two topics. That way we can get to know each other and understand our areas' different views."
Augare said this was the first such meeting, and improvements can be made next time.
"This represented a beginning conversation of what could be the 2009 legislative agenda from Indian Country," he stressed.
Group members divided into four groups, roughly paralleling the jurisdiction of legislative committees, and brainstormed goals for each area. They switched to different committees in the afternoon, and did the same thing.
The group reports will be printed up and those "reflection documents," as Augare called them, will be sent to participants and potential Indian allies, including Schweitzer, he said.
Juneau and Augare said the state's 10 Native American legislators will probably try again to pass a law that would prevent local and state taxation of tribally owned fee land. Similar property owned by city, county, school districts and churches is not taxed, they said.
While the Montana Water Reserve Rights Compact Council is close to wrapping up most water compact negotiations between the state and Indian tribes, group participants said the council might need to be extended beyond its July 2009 expiration date.
It's easier and less expensive to negotiate through a council than to litigate through court action, Juneau said.
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Opinion: Little Shell Tribe has waited long enough: Tribe deserves at least a hearing on gaining federal status
From the The Missoulian
Talk about red tape. For nearly 100 years, the people who claim membership in the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa have been trying to gain federal recognition - and they still don't know when they can expect a final decision.
Over the years they've tried just about every available avenue to plead their case. They have outlined their ancestry back to their grandparents' grandparents, submitted reams of required paperwork and allowed federal agents to scrutinize their tribal activities.
And still, the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs continues to collect more information about the tribe's 4,300 members, most of whom live in the Great Falls area. Federal agents say they just don't have the resources to move any faster.
Montana's congressional delegates have done what they can to speed things up. Most recently, Rep. Denny Rehberg sponsored House Resolution 1301, which, if approved, would immediately provide federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe. It's a tactic that has worked for other tribes; last year alone seven different tribes received federal recognition through congressional legislation.
But the Little Shell Tribe wasn't one of them. Even though Rehberg introduced his resolution back in March 2007, it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. So now, he's pushing for a hearing before the House Natural Resources Committee.
It looks like a federal hearing is the tribe's best shot at hastening the recognition process, Little Shell Chairman John Sinclair told the Missoulian's editorial board this week. “If we don't get a hearing, this is never going to move forward,” he said.
Sinclair pointed out that his tribe must have federal recognition before it can apply for certain federal services.
“We're hoping for the basic services other tribes enjoy - health care, education for our children, maybe some affordable housing,” he said. “That's our main goal.”
Federal recognition would also help the tribe lay claim to its own land base. Currently, it is based out of an office in Great Falls. Sinclair suspects some legislators are getting pressure from people concerned about the land issue, while others are more worried about the possibility of the Little Shell Tribe opening its own casino.
“We're not even interested in that at this point,” Sinclair said.
It's worth noting that people claiming Little Shell ancestry began pushing for federal recognition long before the nation's tribal gaming industry took off. As Sinclair put it, “We've been in the process since before there was a process.”
Indeed, the Little Shell Tribe has been functioning as a group longer than the various federal agencies they've petitioned. They have come close to receiving federal recognition several times only to be thwarted by circumstances beyond their control. Once, they were even promised their own reservation. But that was during the Great Depression, and they were told the government didn't have enough money to buy the land.
In 1978, the Bureau of Indian Affairs launched a formal Federal Acknowledgement Process for tribes seeking federal recognition, and the Little Shell Tribe was among the first to submit a petition. Yet the Interior Department didn't grant even preliminary recognition until 2000. And even now, the petition is still pending.
The Little Shell Tribe isn't alone. Several dozen other groups have been trying to claim their sovereignty - some for more than 10 years. But few have waited as long as the members of Little Shell.
That's why many are now calling for the current recognition system to be replaced with a more streamlined process - a debate that's certain to drag on as well.
Sinclair believes once his tribe has the opportunity to plead their case, federal recognition will be the obvious choice. After all, it's obvious to everyone in Montana that they are a tribe and deserve to be recognized. The state of Montana gave its official recognition years ago.
We agree with Rehberg that the Little Shell Tribe has waited for an answer long enough. Its members have been exceptionally patient and persistent. At the very least, they deserve a hearing.
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Rep. Rehberg renews push for Little Shell recognition
From the Great Falls Tribune
By Great Falls Tribune Staff
U.S. Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., renewed his request Wednesday for the House Natural Resources Committee to hold a hearing on federal recognition for the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe.
"The Little Shell deserve federal recognition," said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. "I know it. The state of Montana knows it.
"It seems the only ones that don't know it are the bureaucrats at the Interior Department," he added.
Last year, Rehberg introduced legislation to recognize the tribe, which has its headquarters in Great Falls. Federal recognition increases the availability of federal money for a tribe in the form of grants and programs.
"It's time we take a different route and move my bill through the legislative process," Rehberg said. "I'm hopeful the chairman and ranking member will agree the foot-dragging has gone on too long."
The Little Shell Tribe is made up of approximately 4,300 members, mostly in the Great Falls area. In 2000, the same year the tribe was recognized by the state of Montana, the Department of the Interior issued a positive finding for the tribe, making it eligible for recognition.
Since then, little progress has been made because of bureaucratic obstacles, Rehberg said. His proposed bill bypasses the bureaucracy by using the legislative process.
"This year marks the 30th consecutive year the Little Shell Tribe has pursued federal recognition through the Department of Interior's Office of Federal Acknowledgement (OFA) process," said Rehberg in the letter to the House Natural Resources Committee. "I strongly urge you to schedule a hearing on HR1301 before another generation of the Little Shell Tribe members goes unrecognized."
===================================================
Congressman Denny Rehberg, 516 Cannon House Office Building, Washington, DC 20515
N E W S
February 13, 2008
30 Years is Long Enough!
Rehberg Urges Committee Hearing on Little Shell Recognition
WASHINGTON, DC - Montana's Congressman, Denny Rehberg, today renewed his request to Chairman Nick Rahall (D-WV) and Ranking Member Don Young (R-AK) of the House Natural Resources Committee to hold a hearing on federal recognition for the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe. Rehberg introduced a bill last year to recognize the Tribe.
“The Little Shell deserve federal recognition,” said Rehberg, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. “I know it. The state of Montana knows it. It seems the only ones that don’t know it are the bureaucrats at the Interior Department. It’s time we take a different route and move my bill through the legislative process. I’m hopeful the Chairman and Ranking Member will agree the foot dragging has gone on too long.”
The Little Shell Tribe is made up of approximately 4,300 members, mostly in the Great Falls area. In 2000, the same year the tribe was recognized by the state of Montana, the Department of Interior issued a positive finding for the tribe making them eligible for recognition. Since then, little progress has been made due to bureaucratic obstacles. Rehberg’s bill expedites recognition through the legislative process.
“This year marks the 30th consecutive year the Little Shell Tribe has pursued federal recognition through the Department of Interior’s Office of Federal Acknowledgement (OFA) process,” said Rehberg in the letter. “I strongly urge you to schedule a hearing on H.R. 1301 before another generation of the Little Shell Tribe members goes unrecognized.”
Letter:
February 13, 2008
Dear Chairman Rahall and Ranking Member Young,
As the second session of the 110th Congress begins, I would like to renew my request for a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on my bill, H.R. 1301, to federally recognize the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana.
This year marks the 30th consecutive year the Little Shell Tribe has pursued federal recognition through the Department of Interior’s Office of Federal Acknowledgement (OFA) process. While the House Natural Resources Committee held several hearings in 2007 on federal recognition bills and the broken OFA process, the Little Shell Tribe was unable to share with the Committee its unique history and struggle with the recognition process.
Last year, I was pleased to support legislation federally recognizing the Lumbee Tribe, the Chickahominy Tribe, the Chickahominy Indian Tribe – Eastern Division, the Upper Mattaponi Tribe, the Rappahannock Tribe, the Monacan Indian Tribe, and the Nansemond Indian Tribe. The Little Shell Tribe is just as deserving of recognition and it remains essential for the establishment of a tribal land base, preservation of sovereignty and culture, as well as access to vital services and benefits for tribal members.
I strongly urge you to schedule a hearing on H.R. 1301 before another generation of the Little Shell Tribe members goes unrecognized.
Please contact myself or Heather Stefanik of my staff at 225-3211 for further details. Thank you for your time and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely,
Denny Rehberg
Member of Congress# # #
HR 1301 IH
110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1301 To extend the Federal relationship to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana as a distinct federally recognized Indian tribe, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 1, 2007 Mr. REHBERG introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources
A BILL To extend the Federal relationship to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana as a distinct federally recognized Indian tribe, and for other purposes. - Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
- This Act may be cited as the `Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians Restoration Act of 2007'.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
- For purposes of this Act:
- (1) TRIBE- The term `Tribe' means the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana.
- (2) MEMBER- The term `member' means an individual who is enrolled in the Tribe pursuant to section 7.
- (3) SECRETARY- The term `Secretary' means the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 3. FINDINGS.
- Congress finds the following:
- (1) The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians is one of the political successors to signatories to the Pembina Treaty of 1863, by which a large area of land in what is now North Dakota was ceded to the United States.
- (2) The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa of North Dakota, and the Chippewa-Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's Reservation of Montana, which also are political successors to the signatories to the Pembina Treaty of 1863, already have been recognized by the Federal Government as distinct Indian tribes.
- (3) The members of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa continue to live in Montana as their ancestors have done for more than a century since their ancestors ceded their lands in North Dakota.
- (4) The Little Shell Tribe repeatedly petitioned the Federal Government for reorganization in the 1930s and 1940s under the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.; commonly referred to as the `Indian Reorganization Act'). Federal agents who visited the Little Shell Tribe and Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier attested to the Federal Government's responsibility toward the Little Shell Indians. These officials concluded that Little Shell tribal members were eligible for and should be provided with trust land, thereby making the Tribe eligible for reorganization under the Indian Reorganization Act. Due to a lack of Federal appropriations during the Depression, however, the Bureau lacked adequate financial resources to purchase land for the Tribe, and the Little Shell people were thereby denied the opportunity to reorganize.
- (5) In spite of the Federal Government's failure to appropriate adequate funding to secure land for the Tribe as required for reorganization under the Indian Reorganization Act, the Tribe continued to exist as a separate community with leaders exhibiting clear political authority. The Tribe, together with the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa of North Dakota, and the Chippewa-Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's Reservation of Montana, filed two suits under the Indian Claims Commission Act of 1946 to petition for additional compensation for lands ceded to the United States by the 1863 Treaty and 1892 McCumber Agreement. These tribes received Indian Claims Commission awards, which were distributed under 1971 and 1982 Acts of Congress.
- (6) The Tribe petitioned the Bureau of Indian Affairs for recognition through the Bureau's Federal Acknowledgement Process in 1978. Nearly 30 years later, the Tribe's petition is still pending.
- (7) The United States Government, the State of Montana, and the other federally recognized Indian Tribes of Montana have had continuous dealings with the recognized political leaders of the Little Shell Tribe from the 1930s through the present.
SEC. 4. FEDERAL RECOGNITION.
- Federal recognition of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana is hereby extended. All laws and regulations of the United States of general application to Indians or nations, tribes, or bands of Indians, including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) that are not inconsistent with any specific provision of this Act, shall be applicable to the Tribe and its members.
SEC. 5. FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS.
- (a) In General- The Tribe and its members shall be eligible, on and after the date of the enactment of this Act, for all services and benefits furnished to Federally recognized Indian tribes without regard to the existence of a reservation for the Tribe or the location of the residence of any member on or near any Indian Reservation.
- (b) Service Area- For purposes of the delivery of Federal services to enrolled members of the Tribe, the service area of the Tribe shall be deemed to be the area comprised of Blaine, Cascade, Glacier and Hill Counties in Montana.
SEC. 6. REAFFIRMATION OF RIGHTS.
- Nothing in this Act shall be construed to diminish any right or privilege of the Tribe, or the members thereof, that existed prior to the date of enactment of this Act. Except as otherwise specifically provided in any other provision of this Act, nothing in this Act shall be construed as altering or affecting any legal or equitable claim the Tribe might have to enforce any right or privilege reserved by or granted to the Tribe which was wrongfully denied to or taken from the Tribe prior to the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. MEMBERSHIP.
- Not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Tribe shall submit to the Secretary a membership roll consisting of all individuals enrolled as members of the Tribe. The qualification for inclusion on the membership roll of the Tribe shall be determined in accordance with Article 5, Sections 1-3, of the Tribe's September 10, 1977, Constitution. The Tribe shall ensure that such membership roll is maintained and kept current.
SEC. 8. TRANSFER OF LAND FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE TRIBE.
- (a) Homeland- The Secretary shall acquire trust title to 200 acres of land within the Tribe's service area for the benefit of the Tribe for a tribal land base.
- (b) Additional Lands- The Secretary may acquire additional lands for the Tribe pursuant to the authorities granted in section 5 of the Indian Reorganization Act (25 U.S.C. 465).
More from Indianz.com
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Letter: Federal government lies to Little Shell Indians
From the Billings Gazette
Letter to the Billings Gazette Editor
We, the Little Shell Indians of Montana, would like to know when we of these United States are going to get our equal rights, as all other races of the U.S. people are supposed to have?
There has been prejudice and discrimination against our race of people ever since the United States government declared our ancestors to be Indians. Why? Is it because our race of people are half Indian and half white? Our race of people started in these United States when the Louisiana Purchase lands belonged to France.
When the United States took over the Louisiana Purchase lands, they found many of our ancestors had already homesteaded in these lands. The United States government made its own laws to suit its wants, not its needs, as it still does to this day. One of its laws was that Indians could not own land. So our ancestors were then declared to be Indians.
Our ancestors were never given lands as all other Indian tribes in these U.S. were given. Why? The government has been lying to our people ever since, making promises that we are going to get the same as other Indian tribes have, but when?
Our state of Montana has recognized our tribe to be Indians. Now what is the United States government's problem with not recognizing us to be Indians? After all, it is they who declared us to be. It has been a long wait for equal rights in our own homeland. Why?
Henry Gladeau
Burley, Idaho
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Opinion: Highwood Generation Station Benefits
From the Great Falls Tribune
Recently the Tribune reported on a meeting between regional tribal leaders and Great Falls business leaders who were discussing the importance of regional economic development and its possible impact on members of the Rocky Boy, Fort Belknap, Blackfeet, Little Shell, and Fort Peck tribes. One of the sponsors of the event, James Parker Shield, was quoted as saying that the meeting would serve as a forum where tribes and business leaders could get acquainted and develop relationships that could prove mutually beneficial for a regional economy that must compete globally.
The Northern Cheyenne Tribe is working toward similar goals in southeastern Montana. One of the important ways that we are working on developing (and protecting) the economy on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation is by controlling the cost of our electricity. The Cheyenne Reservation is served by the Tongue River Electric Co-op, which is one of the members of SME, the co-op that is working to build the Highwood Generation Station east of Great Falls. Although the power plant is being built in a region of more direct economic connection to the Rocky Boy, Fort Belknap, Blackfeet, Little Shell, and Fort Peck tribes, it will benefit our members by providing us with a source of long-term, predictably priced electricity. Many of our members are on a fixed income or are low-income. They need the economic protection that will be provided by allowing the co-ops to build their power plant.
— Diana McLean, Northern Cheyenne Tribal member, Lame Deer
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EMPLOYMENT ANNOUNCEMENTS WITH LITTLE SHELL TRIBAL OFFICE
Job Title: Tobacco Abuse Prevention Specialist
Location: Great FallsHalf time position will provide support, develop and implement an effective tobacco abuse prevention program in the Great Falls area. Other duties to be assigned with Access To Recovery program. Must be able to attain associates degree. Computer skills a must. Self motivation, good work ethics and people skills a must. Drug-free workplace. Knowledge of Little Shell tribal and Native American history of the Great Falls area.. Must be postmarked by closing date January 18, 2008.
Mail resume and letter of interest to:
Little Shell Chippewa
Russell Boham
P O Box 1384
Great Falls, MT 59403
Tribal Historian
The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana is seeking a Tribal Historian to conduct historical research that will culminate in a book entitled “History of the Little Shell Chippewa.”
Duties: Largely, review, organization and consolidation of existing documentation as well as gather other appropriate documentation, conduct original field research and develop appropriate text and original documents.
Abilities/Requirements: Minimum of a 4 year degree from an accredited university in social science or a related field; Master’s or Doctorate preferred. Social Science field research experience, ability to collect, analyze and interpret qualitative and quantitative data a must. Knowledge of the Little Shell Chippewa people required. Strong writing ability required. Native American/Tribal Preference.
This is a 2 year position depending upon availability of funding. Salary range is $38,000- $43,000 DOE.
The Little Shell Tribal History Project is funded through the Office of Public Instruction, Department of Indian Education in support of Indian Education for All. This has a starting date of February 1, 2008.
Send letter of interest and sample of writing to:
Dr. Russell V. Boham
Little Shell Chippewa Tribe
P O Box 1384
Great Falls, MT 59403
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Tribal group among many seeking to be recognized by U.S.
From the Billings Gazette
By MATTHEW BROWN
Associated PressGREAT FALLS - Long after the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa was stripped of its land and scores of its people had been moved to Canada, the 4,300 surviving members are fighting to reclaim the shards of their past.
Through the years, and with intermarriage with Canadian fur trappers, tribal members have been left in such an ethnic and cultural limbo that, to some, it would appear they have lost their identity. But tribal leaders say it's that history of tragedy and perseverance that defines them.
"People look at us and say 'You're not Indian,' " said Little Shell chairman John Sinclair. "We say, 'We're not. We're Little Shell.' "
For now, the bond remains largely of the tribe's own making. The federal government has yet to recognize the tribe despite a campaign spanning more than a century. The Little Shell and 95 other groups are actively pursuing tribal sovereignty claims, many of which have languished for decades.
Work to address the backlog has moved at the rate of barely one decision a year while groups like the Little Shell struggle to keep their claim on history alive.
In a black hole
Frustrated at the bureaucratic morass, some members of Congress, tribal leaders and Indian advocates are calling for an end to the current recognition system, established in 1978. They say its intent - to provide a level playing field - has devolved into a "black hole" that swallows petitions for decades.
"It's been a 30-year experiment that's failed," said Jack Campisi, a retired Wellesley College anthropologist who worked on recognition petitions for more than two dozen tribes. Of those petitions, only three have been successfully resolved.
"I worked on the Little Shell petition in the '80s, and most of the people that I worked on it with are now dead," said Campisi, who is in his mid-70s.
Federal officials blame the glacial pace on a combination of stretched resources and rigorous standards. A spokeswoman for the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs said the agency had no choice but to adhere to the system established by Congress.
"The process is in place. It is what it is," said spokeswoman Nedra Darling.
Legislation to scrap the current system has not advanced beyond the committee level, but the stacks of documents submitted for pending cases are steadily growing. One petition, by the United Houma Nation in Louisiana, has ballooned to more than 100,000 pages.
Little Shell members say recognition would provide access to federal health care, affordable housing and education grants. And it would give new focus to a people pulled apart by time, distance and repeated rejection.
"We want to try to get the culture back in our family before it's gone," said Bruce Landrie, a Little Shell who grew up on a Crow reservation in southeastern Montana. "If we wait 50 years more, it will be."
Migration to Northern Plains
The forefathers of today's Little Shell were a band of the Chippewa who migrated to the Northern Plains in the 1700s.
After ending up in the Turtle Mountain region of North Dakota in the late 1800s, the tribe was approached by federal agents seeking to buy land for white homesteaders. The offered price was 10 cents an acre.
Chief Little Shell refused to sign what he considered an unfair deal. His people were taken off the Chippewa tribal roll and became a "landless tribe" - an estimated 5,000 people roaming the Northern Plains in search of the last great bison herds.
The bison were soon nearly wiped out by white settlers and the Little Shell scattered. An estimated 600 were relocated by federal authorities to the Canadian border. Most walked into Montana. They ended up on other reservations and on frontier outposts, where they intermarried with French-Canadian trappers.
Because of their mixed ancestry, many of today's Little Shell have pale skin. Some are blond. Their traditional song is a fiddle tune, the Red River Jig. Their flag has a split background: half red and half white.
In the early 20th century, a tribal leader named Joe Dussome revived the Little Shell's federal recognition hopes. He and other leaders held dances to raise money for trips to Washington to press their case.
In the 1930s, federal officials promised a reservation but later backed out after being unable to raise the money for the land, according to the tribe.
To be recognized under the current federal system, the Little Shell must prove not just who they are but who their parents were. And their grandparents. And their great-grandparents - all the way back to the 1860s.
Looking for families
A descendant of Dussome, 73-year-old Edna Teske, has been chronicling her people's history since the 1980s, visiting dozens of communities across the Northern Plains and up into the Canadian Rockies, searching out families to add to the tribe's federal petition.
"We've been scattered all over ever since I can remember, just pushed from here to there and everywhere," Teske said.
About 300 Little Shell members recently convened in Great Falls for their annual Joe Dussome Day.
Surveying the crowd was an anthropologist from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, who measured the depths of tribal relations and studied the deference given to tribal leaders.
The anthropologist declined to be interviewed, but R. Lee Fleming, director of the bureau's Office of Federal Acknowledgment, said such visits can determine if there is sufficient "continuity" to support a tribe's recognition claim. The agency's aim is "to understand their travels through time," he said.
In 2000, Fleming's office announced it was leaning toward recognition for the Little Shell. But the government also said the tribe's case needed to be bolstered. Thousands more documents have since been submitted.
A final decision could be made by the spring. Sinclair, the tribal president, said he has learned not to expect too much.
"They try to treat every tribe the same, but they all have different histories and they all have different heritages," he said. "We don't act like the white people or the red people want us to act or look. We're Little Shell first."
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Tribes contribute $1 billion to economy
From the Great Falls Tribune
Associated Press
MISSOULA (AP) — A new report says the state’s tribes contribute about $1 billion toward the Montana economy.
The state-funded study, published in the latest issue of Montana Business Quarterly, is considered a first step in identifying the sources and uses of tribal funds. Information came from audited financial reports and government documents for Montana’s seven reservations and the landless Little Shell Band of Chippewa.
“This is a first step in evaluating the impact of the tribes’ monetary contributions” to Montana, said Shawn Real Bird, chairman of the state tribal commission. “In growing the state’s economy, it is important we acknowledge the tribes’ contributions.”
Eleanor YellowRobe of Rocky Boy wrote the report after doing three years of research while a student at the University of Montana.
Paul Polzin, director of UM's Bureau of Business and Economic Research, edited the final report.
“Montana’s American Indian tribes have long been important components of the state’s political and social landscape,” Polzin said. “In an initial report like this, credibility is of paramount importance because this is the first time putting it all together.”
He said the numbers are larger than many people thought and document what tribal leaders have long suspected: direct and indirect activities have a lot of zeros behind them.
The information gathered is limited to tribal, federal and state sources. It does not include money from privately owned businesses operating on the reservations.
About 69,300 people in Montana, or 7 percent of the state’s population, are tribal members. Montana’s reservations encompass about 8,626 of the state’s 147,046 square miles.
State Sen. Carol Juneau, D-Browning, said the information will help in discussions with tribal and legislative leadership, especially in matters of economic development and education.
“It was a good report,” Juneau said. “And it’s the first time I’ve seen such a detailed report from our tribal communities.”
According to the study, the Flathead Reservation had the greatest share of economic activities among the reservations at $317 million. Fort Belknap had the least at $76 million, or about 7.4 percent. The landless Little Shell Tribe had economic activities of about $204,600.
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Tribal, business heads discuss strengthening groups' economic ties
From the Great Falls Tribune
By RICHARD PETERSON
Great FallsTribune Staff Writer
Native Americans from seven tribes in northcentral Montana and along the Hi-Line have a long history of shopping and dining in the Electric City.
Several economic development groups and local officials met with dozens of tribal leaders Thursday and Friday to say they hope to strengthen those economic ties with collaborations and partnerships.
"It's important for Great Falls businesses to realize that tribes of today are not the tribes of 20 years ago. Tribes are now in a position of being possible business partners," said James Parker Shield, director of War Shield Development.
War Shield, the Great Falls Development Authority and the Fort Belknap Planning and Development Corp. sponsored the two-day event, named "Leaders at the River," which included presentations from local business leaders and elected officials, as well as tours of business, education and cultural facilities throughout the city.
Tribal leaders and officials from the Little Shell Tribe and the Blackfeet, Rocky Boy's, Fort Belknap and Fort Peck reservations networked with Great Falls business leaders and other officials throughout the two days.
"It's imperative we work as a regional partner. We can't afford to waste people power," said Great Falls City Commissioner Sandy Hinz. "Opportunities are knocking. Let's open the door."
The tribes represented at the Great Falls conference contributed more than $473 million to the state's economy in fiscal year 2003, according to the State Tribal Economic Development Commission and the University of Montana's Bureau of Business and Economic Research.
"A lot of that ends up in Great Falls," Shield said.
Maria Valandra, a First Interstate BancSystem vice president and the chairwoman of the Montana Indian Business Alliance, told the gathering that of the 104,202 businesses in Montana, 1,190 of them are Indian-owned. A little less than half of the Indian-owned businesses are on reservations, said Valandra, a member of the Rocky Boy's Chippewa-Cree Tribe.
"Great Falls is an economic force in the region, so it's important we establish business-to-business and tribal-to-local-government relationships," Valandra said.
One issue raised at the forum was the trouble many Native Americans have when trying to obtain loans to start or maintain businesses.
"Access to credit is a major barrier in Indian Country," said Sue Woodrow, the community affairs director of the Federal Reserve Bank's Helena branch.
She said many in the business community believe tribal governments lack commercial laws in their court systems to clamp down on people who don't repay loans. Woodrow and other Federal Reserve Bank officials established The Model Tribal Secured Transactions Act, which gives tribal courts more teeth when enforcing commercial laws.
The Crow Tribe was the first tribal nation in Montana to adopt the law into their justice code, Woodrow said.
"Thirty tribes (nationwide) have enacted or are in the process of enacting it," Woodrow told the tribal and business leaders. "This will help tribal members applying for credit, which is essential for business development."
She added that her office is more than willing to help area tribes get the law into their code books.
Brett Doney, executive director of the GFDA, said Great Falls is a regional trade center dependent on rural communities and Indian reservations.
"We are trying as much as possible to take a regional approach," he said.
Reach Tribune Staff Writer Richard Peterson at 791-6547, 800-438-6600 or rpeterson@greatfallstribune.com.
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Tribal, business leaders focus on regional economic development
From the Great Falls Tribune
By Great Falls Tribune Staff
Regional Indian tribal leaders will meet with Great Falls business leaders Thursday and Friday to talk about economic development.
The two-day regional economic development event is called "Leaders at the River." The event is sponsored by the Great Falls Development Authority, the Fort Belknap Planning and Development Corp. and War Shield Development Corp. of Great Falls, a nonprofit community development group seeking to improve social and economic conditions for Native Americans.
The event will bring together elected tribal officials, planners and economic development staff members from Rocky Boy, Fort Belknap, Blackfeet, Little Shell and Fort Peck tribes to meet Great Falls economic development officials, elected officials and business leaders.
The event will kick off with a breakfast at the Civic Center's second floor Missouri Room at 9 a.m. on Thursday, with several tours branching off to other locations.
The agenda includes presenters and tours of selected area facilities and businesses, including the Great Falls International Airport, Benefis Healthcare, Sletten Cancer Institute, Centene, Avmax, the malt plant, MSU-Great Falls College of Technology, the C.M. Russell Museum and others.
"The Leaders at the River event will serve as a forum where tribes and Great Falls business leaders can get acquainted and develop relationships that could prove mutually beneficial for a regional economy that must compete globally," said James Parker Shield, director of War Shield Development.
He praised the Fort Belknap Planning and Development Corp. for its "forward-thinking approach to economic development."
For more information on the event, or to register call Kara Todd-Iwen or Linda Buck at 406-353-2501 or Parker Shield at 406-727-7483. Buck also can be reached by e-mail at lfleurybuck@yahoo.com
The registration fee is $125 per person or $525 for a group of up to 10 persons. The fee includes two breakfasts and two lunches.
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'Indianpreneur' winners honored
From the Great Falls Tribune
By Tribune Staff
War Shield Development Corp. has announced award winners from its six-week business startup class.
About 10 young adults from the Great Falls-area Indian community took the "Indianpreneur" classes taught last summer by James Parker Shield, executive director of the nonprofit and a former contractor, tribal official and government aide. The classes focused on developing business plans and learning what community resources are available to entrepreneurs.
Elton LaTray, a Blackfeet and Little Shell Chippewa, was awarded first place in the competition for best business plan, with a proposal to develop an office equipment company to serve tribal markets. He won a $500 prize sponsored by Rural Dynamics, Consumer Credit Counseling.
"We're excited to support this great program," said Jolene Bach, Rural Dynamics communications director. "Sharing knowledge, failures and successes with each other is how to continue to move our region forward and build economic stability in our communities."
The runner-up prize of $300 was awarded to , a member of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe, for his business plan for a new restaurant. That award was sponsored by the Montana Commerce Department, which also financed the class."Course participants are to be commended for pursuing their goals of starting a business," Parker Shield said. "The opportunity to develop a business plan and compete for a cash award was an added incentive."
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Tribal elder keeps culture alive
From the Helena Independent Record
MARGA LINCOLN
Helena Independent RecordHenry Anderson, 76, the chair of the Helena Indian Alliance, is a local elder in the Little Shell tribe.
As a former tribal cultural director, he has sought to keep his tribe’s culture vibrant.
He teaches Indian games to youth.
“We have all these Indian games, traditional games. We’re trying to keep kids away from drink and smoke and ...” he said, silently wiggling his thumbs, acting out electronic game remotes.
He also teaches students that if he goes into the hills to cut any saplings for an activity, he always says a prayer of thanks.
“Before you take something, you offer something back. We offer tobacco,” he said.
And he burns sweetgrass before games and says a prayer to protect any of the players from injury, he said.
“We give kids wisdom,” he said, “and the kids give us strength.”
He keeps alive the sacred pipe ceremony.
“I’m a pipeholder.”
He’s taught the ceremony to his sons and stepson and to Little Shell council people.
“Each time the pipe is handed, say a few good words and ask for whatever we are sitting here for and turn it around in the direction of the sun,” Anderson said.
And he has taught tribal languages, speaking Cree, Chippewa, French Canadian and the Métis language, Michif.
“We’re Indians. We should know our language and talk it,” he said. “We should know our history and not just from a book. You have to know what your ancestors knew and pass it on.”
He shared some of his own story.
He recalled growing up, raised by his grandmother in Harlem on the Hi-Line during the 1930s.
“We went to a half-breed dance to raise money to send Joe Dussome to Washington,” he said.
Dussome, known as “The Man of Loyalty,” led the Little Shell efforts for federal recognition from the 1930s to the 1960s. He was instrumental in getting state of Montana tribal recognition in the 1930s. A celebration honoring his memory and a tribal gathering were held in Great Falls Saturday.
Anderson recalled fiddle dances every winter during his youth to raise money for Dussome.
It was tough during the Depression, he said. They lived by hunting wild game, selling some of it, and collecting berries. His grandmother would dry much of the food.
“No one had any money,” he said.
His grandmother, Flora Swan, was born in Dearborn in 1864.
She loaded rifles during the 1885 uprising of famous Métis leader Louis Riel, who fought for aboriginal rights for the Métis — the mixed-blood group that includes many Little Shell.
“I would like to be federally recognized for our children and our elders and the medical help coming to them,” he said. “We’re just living on hope.”
He admitted he’s not sure he’ll see it in his lifetime.
“It could be another 15 years,” he said.
Reporter Marga Lincoln: 406-447-4074 or marga.lincoln@helenair.com
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Little Shell Tribe has sought federal recognition for over a century
From the Helena Independent Record
By MARGA LINCOLN
Helena Independent RecordLittle Shell Tribe has sought federal recognition for over a century
For local tribal elder Henry Anderson, federal recognition of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe of Montana would mean more educational opportunities for youth and better health care for elders in his tribe.
The Little Shell have sought federal recognition for more than 100 years.
This week a Bureau of Indian Affairs investigator is in the state interviewing tribal members as part of the recognition process.
In 1978 and 1985 the tribe petitioned for recognition through the BIA Office of Federal Acknowledgement, said historian Nicholas Vrooman, who is also interim director of the Helena Indian Alliance.
They then re-applied in 1996, and in 2000 received provisional recognition, Vrooman said.
“It’s now 2007 and nothing’s been resolved,” he said.
So the tribe took a different route and turned to Montana’s delegation to seek congressional recognition.
Earlier this year Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., introduced a bill to grant the Little Shell federal recognition, Vrooman said.
Also, Montana officially re-recognized the Little Shell Tribe this year. The state had already recognized the tribe in the 1930s, Vrooman said.
“They (the Little Shell) know who they are,” said Vrooman. “They know they’re a tribal people. They trace their tribal lineage to the Pembina Chippewa. They don’t need the federal government to tell them who they are.”
However, federal recognition is needed to qualify for education and health programs and to purchase land and put it into a trust, he said.
“The petition is not about getting a reservation,” Vrooman added.
Congressional action is temporarily on hold, because the BIA re-activated the Little Shell’s application.
An Independent Record phone message to the BIA national office was not returned.
“The landless Little Shell is an unresolved crisis” left over from the 19th century Indian Wars, Vrooman said.
He compares the plight of the 4,500 Little Shell enrolled members across Montana to that of the landless Kurds and Palestinians in the Middle East.
Of enrolled tribal members, 188 live in Helena and 45 in East Helena, according to tribal records.
The ancestors of today’s Little Shell were mostly Chippewa, Cree, Assiniboine and Métis — people of mixed blood who are descendants of intermarriages with fur traders.
Because Chief Little Shell refused to sign a treaty in 1892 at the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota, he and his band were expunged from the tribal roll, said Vrooman. When they returned from a Montana hunting trip, they were turned away from the Turtle Mountain Reservation.
Under Chief Little Shell they came to Montana to live and sought federal recognition until his death in 1901.
They were left out of the land transfers at the end of the 19th Century that set up the seven reservations for 11 tribes in Montana, Vrooman said.
“They have literally wandered from community to community,” living in Indian neighborhoods, such as Moccasin Flats in Helena and Hill 57 in Great Falls.
“They were poverty-stricken and were scavenging food,” he said. The homesteaders and townspeople complained to the government.
“In 1896 there was a human cattle drive. Buffalo soldiers led by John J. Pershing (who would become a general in World War I) led soldiers down the Front Range and rounded up Indians, herding them to Great Falls, where they were shipped by rail car to Lethbridge (Canada),” Vrooman said.
Others were force-marched to the Canadian border.
“This is a pogrom,” Vrooman said.
They didn’t stay in Canada. Many returned to Montana and hid out in coulees and canyons.
“They lived very pitifully,” Vrooman said. “They had no access to resources.”
Montana artist Charlie Russell and writer Frank Linderman championed the rights of the landless bands led by chiefs Little Shell, Rocky Boy and Little Bear. In 1916, the Little Shell were part of negotiations with these two other bands that led the federal government to create the Rocky Boy Reservation, said Vrooman.
“All three bands were told to go there. When they got there, there was not enough food, supplies and resources to go around,” he said. “This is the situation we live in today, since 1916, it’s been unresolved.”
“All of this stems from when the buffalo disappeared,” Vrooman added. “Indians had to place their faith in the hands of the government that treaties would be upheld and justice served. Their subsistence disappeared. Their world — their world view died.”
The Little Shell are the only tribe from the Northern Plains still seeking federal recognition, said Vrooman.
However, as of 2005, 302 tribes across the country were suing for recognition, said Vrooman.
The BIA has told the Little Shell a decision may be made by February, he said. If the BIA denies the tribal application, the Little Shell will work with the Montana delegation to seek recognition from Congress.
Reporter Marga Lincoln: 406-447-4074 or marga.lincoln@helenair.com
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Native blessing: New center to showcase student work, Montana's many unique tribes
From the Great Falls Tribune
By BETSY COHEN
the MissoulianHolding a braid of smoking sweetgrass, Scott Russell called out in the language of his Crow ancestors and asked the Creator to bless the University of Montana School of Journalism's new Native American Center.
On the third floor of the state-of-the-art Don Anderson Hall, the smoke puffed and climbed skyward as Russell stood under the center's signature giant wooden wheel held up by eight tree-like columns.
At the top of each column are individual plaques honoring the landless Little Shell nation and state's seven reservations: Northern Cheyenne, Crow, Flathead, Blackfeet, Rocky Boys, Fort Belknap and Fort Peck.
The unique room specifically honors the achievements of the school's Native American journalism students, its Native News Honors Project, and reznet online training and mentoring program.
In keeping with Crow tradition, Russell, a Crow tribal leader, began the Sunday ceremony facing east.
Each day the sun rises in the east, heralding a new dawn of possibilities, Russell explained to a small gathering of students, faculty, administrators and community members. It is the direction that represents the future - and hope.
Russell prayed that good things be brought through the center's doors. He asked that all who enter the room bring good intent and that all who come to the center leave feeling better, knowing more, and taking forth something positive into the greater world.
He prayed the School of Journalism, which is the center's home, continues to teach Indian people - more and more each year - and for others, through the power of the media and the teachings of the school, teach others about Indian people.
He prayed for all the knowledge that enters in and out of the building and the center to be shared and to serve the greater good of all peoples.
“Everybody comes here with a purpose, whether it is to learn or to teach,” Russell said. “This is an important resource, and it can make a difference in peoples' lives.
“For Native Americans, it can help our kids gain prominence in contemporary society,” he said. “Media is a powerful tool, and it can be used to harm people or it can be used for good and with this blessing, I pray we are trying to bring out the good.”
Russell, who is secretary of the Crow Tribe, was asked to perform the blessing because he is a longtime friend of the journalism school's Native American programs and he has a family member who is a current student in the program, said Denny McAuliffe, reznet project director.
Although the completion of $12 million Don Anderson Hall was celebrated last spring, without the blessing, its Native American Center was in name only, McAuliffe said.
“Now that it is blessed, Native students can feel properly comfortable being here,” McAuliffe said.
The center is not intended to be museum-like or solely classroom-like, McAuliffe said. Rather, it will be place to display the best work of the school's journalism students, to showcase the individuality of Montana's tribes, to be a gathering place for students and the home for reznet and the Native News Honors Project.
“It means a lot to me to sit in a room surrounded by all the tribes,” said Mary Hudetz, a journalism student and member of the Crow nation. “I think it is perfect, really - with the history the school has had reporting on reservations and really improving journalism for Indian people, either by doing stories about us or increasing the number of us telling Indian stories.
“The blessing feels right. That's what we do for anything - when you move to a new house, we bless it, when you do new things or have new things,” she said. “Blessing this place feels right, it feels like what should be done.”
“I think this room is so beautiful and striking and the fact that is honoring Montana natives is a wonderful thing,” said Breanna Roy, a UM journalism student of Blackfeet and Cree descent.
Roy said she especially enjoys having class in the room.
“The round table in here is provides such a unique learning environment,” Roy said. “In other classrooms, all the energy is directed at one person who stands in the front of the room, but here, everyone is equal. Everyone contributes and everyone is at the same level.
“Everyone is participating,” she said, “and that contributes to a whole different kind of feel - one that's really nice.”
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State designation allows Little Shell to be eligible for Toys for Tots
From the Great Falls Tribune
By JO DEE BLACK
Great Falls Tribune Business EditorThanks to hard-working Marine veterans, a generous corporate donation and the Governor's Office of Indian Affairs, the youngest members of Montana's 11 state-recognized Native American tribes will have presents under the tree this Christmas.
Toys R Us donated $1 million worth of toys to the Marine's Toys For Tots program, with 26 pallets of toys delivered to Helena. More than half of those will be distributed by Montana's Indian tribes.
The first delivery — about 190 toys — were dropped off at the Little Shell Tribe's office at the Westgate Mall on Wednesday morning.
"This is wonderful, we have a lot of kids in need," said Little Shell President John Sinclair.
The donation represents more than the smiling faces it will create on Christmas morning.
The Little Shell Tribe is recognized by the state of Montana, but not by the federal government. Federal recognition would mean better health care access for the tribe's 4,500 members and more opportunities for college scholarships and affordable housing, Sinclair said.
However, being recognized by the state also opens doors, such as the chance to receive the recent Toys For Tots donation, he said.
Major Robinson, the acting coordinator for the state Office of Indian Affairs, said his office was approached by the Toys For Tots Foundation's Helena office about distributing the toys.
"The tribal officials will look for opportunities to find the right places for those toys," he said.
Retired Marine Jeff Heffernan coordinated the logistics of the Toys R Us donation.
"We got this done thanks to about 70 hard-working volunteers who unloaded the semi," Heffernan said. "It's all to make sure that every child has a toy at Christmas time, so that no one is left out."
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Recognition focus of Chippewa meeting in Billings Thursday
From the Billings Gazette
An informational meeting regarding the status of the federal recognition of the Little Shell Chippewa opens at 7 p.m. Thursday, at the old Garfield School, 3212 First Ave. S., Billings, MT.
The upcoming visit of Kimberly Cook from the Office of Federal Acknowledgement will be discussed. Cook will do a site visit for the final determination of the petition for recognition.
For more information, call the Little Shell Tribal office at 406-452-2892.
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Leaders say process to gain federal recognition too slow
By Diana Marrero of the Gannette News Service Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Leaders of American Indian tribes seeking federal recognition asked lawmakers for help Wednesday, saying the Bureau of Indian Affairs has taken too long to process their applications.
"With delay, comes a terrible human cost," said John Sinclair, president of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana, at a hearing of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
The Little Shell Tribe, which has been trying to get recognition for nearly three decades, is among 17 tribes nationwide whose applications for federal recognition are pending with the BIA. More than 200 other Indian groups also are seeking recognition.
The distinction is important because a federally recognized tribe is eligible for government programs and assistance. Recognized tribes often can begin seeking approval to build Indian casinos, which have become a source of wealth for some tribes.
The BIA could make a decision about the Little Shell in the next year, Sinclair said. But he is not waiting for the agency to act. Instead, he is lobbying lawmakers to intervene.
Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who introduced legislation this year to grant the Little Shell federal recognition, said the "bureaucratic red tape these tribes are put through are absolutely ridiculous."
"They've waited for a long time," he added.
Earlier this year, Montana granted the Little Shell state recognition and gave tribal members control of several acres of land outside of Great Falls.
The tribe has been seeking federal recognition since 1978. They received preliminary recognition from the BIA in 2000.
The Native American Rights Fund, which has taken on the Little Shell's case, has spent about $1 million for anthropologists and travel costs to help put the tribe's documentation together, said K. Jerome Gottschalk, an attorney with the nonprofit law firm.
The Little Shell have about 4,500 members across the state, with many living in the Great Falls area. Tribal members are suffering as they wait for federal recognition, Sinclair said.
"We want an answer," he said. "Yes or no."
Tribes seeking recognition want lawmakers to pressure the BIA to speed up its application process. Some have asked lawmakers to step in and grant them recognition through legislation addressing their specific cases.
BIA officials have made decisions in 40 cases since the agency established a process to grant tribes federal recognition in 1978, said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who heads the Indian Affairs Committee.
Of those cases, 16 have been approved and 24 have been denied. During the same time period, Congress has stepped in to recognize 28 tribes through legislative action, Dorgan said. There are 563 federally recognized tribes.
The BIA is supposed to take about two years to complete a case for federal recognition but agency backlogs have meant the process can take up to 15 years, said Lee Fleming, director of the Office of Federal Acknowledgment at the BIA.
Fleming said tribal leaders seeking recognition often contribute to delays by filing incomplete applications or taking years to complete the required documentation. Tribes seeking recognition must provide documentation to prove they meet seven criteria, such as showing they have existed as a distinct political entity.
Dorgan, who called the delays unfair, asked Fleming to quicken the pace of the application process.
"A process that lasts 20 or 30 years is a process that's broken and ought to be fixed," he said. "We're not serving anybody's interests with these lengthy, lengthy delays."
Ann Tucker, tribal chairwoman for the Muscogee Nation of Florida, said tribal members are being priced out of their ancestral homelands because of increases in property taxes in that state. Federal recognition for her tribe is about "survival as Indian people," she said. Tribal lands are generally tax-exempt.
"We are sick of waiting for justice," said Tucker, who noted that tribal members have sought recognition since the 1970s.
Contact reporter Diana Marrero at dmarrero@gns.gannett.com.
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Agency seeks to expedite tribal OK
WASHINGTON - American Indian tribes that gain federal recognition stand to gain substantial housing, education and health benefits. But the process isn't easy - some tribes have been waiting decades for the government to acknowledge them.
The Interior Department is taking steps to speed up that process, a government official told Congress Wednesday.
Unrecognized tribes from Montana, North Carolina, Michigan and Florida testified before the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, all saying they have waited years and submitted stacks of paperwork to the department. Tribal members have died waiting for better health care, the tribes' representatives said.
Members of Montana's Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a tribe of more than 4,000 based in Great Falls, say they have been fighting for federal recognition for many decades. The U.S. Interior Department granted the tribe preliminary recognition in 2000. But the tribe still doesn't have reservation land, housing, medical care and other benefits that come with federal recognition.
"Every day that passes has concrete impacts on the tribe," tribal president John Sinclair told the senators.
R. Lee Fleming, director of the Interior Department's Office of Federal Acknowledgment, said the Bureau of Indian Affairs will attempt to expedite the process by trying to eliminate paperwork and layers of bureaucracy that have stalled some tribes' efforts.
The department is also considering hiring additional staff to work on the recognition process and establishing firmer timelines so that petitions move along.
"Our goal is to improve the process so that all groups seeking acknowledgment can be processed and completed within a set time frame," Fleming said.
Also testifying were representatives of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, the Muscogee Nation of Florida and Michigan's Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians.
"We have been trapped in the BIA's bureaucracy for over 30 years and we have nothing but expense and frustration to show for it," said Ann D. Tucker, a tribal chairwoman for the Muscogee Nation.
The U.S. House voted to give federal recognition to the Lumbee Tribe earlier this year. Montana's congressional delegation has introduced legislation that would give similar acknowledgment to the Little Shell.
Montana Sen. Jon Tester, a Democratic member of the committee, said recognition shouldn't require an act of Congress.
"This is a broken process that needs to be repaired," Tester said.
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Tribes battle bureaucracy Feds' recognition slow in coming, native groups find
By Diana Marrero, Gannette News Service
WASHINGTON - Kenneth Woodrow, a real estate investor in Salinas, has been seeking federal recognition for his American Indian tribe, the Eshom Valley Band of Michahai and Wuksachi, for two years.
"We just want to keep our culture," said Woodrow, the tribe's chairman.
He could be in for a lengthy, bureaucratic ride unless the Bureau of Indian Affairs speeds up its application process.
The agency's system for evaluating which tribes should be granted federal recognition was the subject of a congressional hearing Wednesday by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee.
The agency is supposed to take about two years to complete a case for federal recognition, but agency backlogs have meant the process could take 15 years,
said Lee Fleming, director of the Office of Federal Acknowledgment at the BIA.In some cases, tribes have been waiting for decades for recognition.
Since the BIA established a process to grant tribes federal recognition in 1978, agency officials have made decisions in 40 cases, said Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., who heads the Senate committee.
Of those, 16 have been approved and 24 denied. During the same time period, Congress has stepped in to recognize 28 tribes through legislative action, he said.
There are now 563 federally recognized tribes across the country.
Dorgan, who called the delays unfair, asked Fleming to quicken the pace of the application process.
"A process that lasts 20 or 30 years is a process that's broken and ought to be fixed," he said. "We're not serving anybody's interests with these lengthy, lengthy delays."
Federal recognition is important because it makes tribes eligible for government programs and federal assistance. Federally recognized tribes also can often begin seeking approval to build American Indian casinos, which have become a source of wealth for some tribes.
Central Coast natives' plans
The Ohlone Costanoan Esselen Nation, whose ancestral homelands are in the Salinas Valley, has been seeking federal recognition since 1992.
Rudy Rosales, the former tribal chairman, said tribal members would benefit from recognition by having access to education grants and housing programs. The tribe has about 520 members. Many have left the area because of exorbitant housing prices, he said.
Rosales said members have plans to build a mock village site and museum once they gain federal recognition.
"We'd get our pride, our dignity and our heritage back," he said.
Tribes seeking recognition want lawmakers to pressure the BIA to speed up its application process. Some have asked lawmakers to step in to grant them recognition through legislation addressing their specific cases.
Woodrow is fairly new to the process, submitting a letter two years ago to the BIA stating his intent to seek recognition for his tribe, whose lands are in California's Central Valley.
Although most of the tribe's members live in the Central Valley, about a dozen live in Salinas, Woodrow said.
Like Rosales, Woodrow said tribal members would benefit from recognition, including access to federal funds for education, housing and health care programs.
"It's very hard for unrecognized Indians to get services," he said.
For Woodrow, the absence of federal recognition perpetuates the injustices committed by the United States against his ancestors.
'A terrible human cost'
His mother, like other American Indians of her generation, was sent to an Indian boarding school in Nevada, far from her relatives and culture.
"First, they were wards of the government," he said. "Then they were nothing."
The tribe is among more than 200 Indian groups seeking recognition. Of those, about 17 tribes have pending applications for recognition at the BIA.
"With delay comes a terrible human cost," said John Sinclair, president of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana, which began trying to get recognition nearly three decades ago.
But Fleming said tribal leaders seeking recognition often contribute to delays by filing incomplete applications or taking years before completing the required documentation. Tribes must provide documentation to prove they meet seven criteria, such as showing they have existed as a distinct political entity.
The BIA could make a decision about the Little Shell in the next year, Sinclair said. But he is not waiting for the agency to act. He is lobbying lawmakers to intervene.
"We want an answer," Sinclair said. "Yes or no."
Contact reporter Diana Marrero at dmarrero@gns.gannett.com.
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Testimony of Chairman John Sinclair before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs
TESTIMONY OF THE HON. JOHN SINCLAIR, PRESIDENT
THE LITTLE SHELL TRIBE OF CHIPPEWA INDIANS OF MONTANA
SENATE COMMITTEE ON INDIAN AFFAIRS
HEARING ON THE PROCESS OF
FEDERAL RECOGNITION OF INDIAN TRIBES
SEPTEMBER 19, 2007Chairman Dorgan, Vice Chairman Murkowski, and honorable members of the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, I thank you for the opportunity to testify this morning. To our good friend and strong advocate Senator Jon Tester, I thank you for your tireless efforts on behalf of the Little Shell Tribe.
My name is John Sinclair, and I am the President of the Little Shell Tribe. Following in the footsteps of my father and grandfather, I have had the honor to serve as President of my Tribe for the past four years. I am here today to share with you our history with the federal government, our experience with the Federal Acknowledgment Process (FAP) and our request that this honorable body act to ensure federal recognition for my people. The recognition for which we ask you today has been promised to us for more than seventy years. The following 1935 letter from the Department of the Interior from which I quote below is just one piece of a large volume of documentation reflecting the federal government's long, but as of yet unsuccessful, efforts to provide official recognition and a land base for the Little Shell people:
This [letter] acknowledges your letter of January 28, [1935] written in behalf of landless Indians in northern Montana and suggesting that a certain tract of land be set aside for their use.
This Office [the Lands Division for Indian Affairs] in general and the commissioner [John Collier] in particular are thoroughly cognizant of the unfortunate situation in which these landless Indians find themselves. To no other groups of Indians is so much constructive thought and persistent effort being directed, for it is fully realized that theirs is the greatest need.
Also it is most heartening to read in your letter your forthright assurance that, once lands are placed to your use, you will be proud to make good.
All government enterprises move slowly in spite of the best of intentions, but it is hoped and believed that in the not too distant future a satisfactory plan will be consummated for landless Indians in general, including, of course, the group to which you belong. Letter to Joseph H. Dussome from J.N. Stewart, Chief, Land Division, Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior (March 2, 1935) (emphasis added).
Federal recognition for our Tribe enjoys long-standing broad, bi-partisan support. Identical legislation to recognize the Little Shell Tribe has been introduced this Congress by Senators Tester and Baucus in the Senate (S. 724) and by Congressman Rehberg in the House (H.R. 1301). Tribes in Montana and our cousins the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota, have expressed their support of our federal recognition.
Governor Schweitzer and the Montana State Legislature, by Joint Resolution, have expressed their support for our federal recognition. Hill, Cascade, Glacier and Blaine County as well as the City of Great Falls, the local governments most directly impacted by our recognition, have expressed their support of legislation to recognize the Little Shell Tribe. In fact, over the past year the State of Montana has provided us land from which we can provide essential governmental services -- something the federal government had promised to do throughout the twentieth century but has yet to succeed in doing.
The Department of the Interior has issued a proposed finding in favor of federal recognition for our Tribe. Within the next year, we anticipate that the Department of the Interior could issue a final determination as to whether to recognize our Tribe. On the surface, it may seem odd that we would seek federal legislation when we appear to be so far along in the administrative process. The answer is simple. First, as leader of the Little Shell Tribe, I cannot in good conscience let another day go by without doing everything in my power to secure recognition that has been wrongfully withheld. Every day that passes has real life consequences for my people, consequences that never make the headlines in Washington, D.C. - tribal members denied the most basic health care services, a tribal government without a federally secured land base or federal funding to provide and maintain essential governmental services.
Second, the Department has acted on our petition in a unique manner. The Department concluded in its proposed favorable finding that we are a Tribe, but it -encouraged- us to submit more documentation. Basically, the Department found that the available evidence supported its findings on each of the criteria, that no evidence was submitted in opposition to the particular finding, but that the Department would prefer to have additional records for certain time periods before the 1930s. We took the Department's suggestions to heart, submitting approximately 1000 pages of additional reports and appendices supported by several boxes of documentation.
We are therefore in a situation where the Department essentially stated in 2000 that it believes we are a tribe but that without additional documentation it could walk away from its favorable finding. Concerned with its application of the regulations to our Tribe, the Department expressly invited comment on the consistency of the proposed finding with the existing regulations. To the best of our knowledge, not a single recognized tribe or state governmental entity commented on or objected to the Department's proposed favorable finding as inconsistent with the regulations. We now find ourselves in an uncertain situation where we fear that the Department may reverse its finding even though we have submitted thousands of pages of additional evidence and neither the State, its local governments nor other federally recognized tribes have submitted evidence to the contrary or objected to the Department's proposed favorable finding.
Third, our legislation does more than simply confirm federal recognition. It addresses many of the issues newly recognized tribes and local communities struggle with for decades after formal federal recognition - the establishment of a land base, a tribal service area and certainty that our recognition will not be revoked. It is well documented that it takes years and sometimes more than a decade for the Department of the Interior to take land into trust for newly recognized tribes. For example, it took eight years after the Jena Band of Choctaw Tribe was recognized before Interior took that Tribe's cemetery and governmental offices into trust. Some of this delay is due in part to the application of the National Environmental Policy Act to these acquisitions. Further, many tribes suffer from the years it takes for the Department to establish a service area for the newly recognized tribe. For example, after completion of administrative challenges to the Department's final determination acknowledging the Cowlitz Indian Tribe in 2002, the Cowlitz Tribe still does not have a BIA-designated service area. Thus, we know that even if Interior issues a decision within the year, the Tribe could be forced to endure many additional years in legal limbo as it struggles to establish a land base and service area.
Although the State of Montana, the federally recognized tribes within Montana and local governments support our recognition, it is becoming increasingly common for parties to challenge the Department's acknowledgment decisions. And most recently, the Department reversed its decision to acknowledge a tribe because of such a challenge. While we do not expect a challenge from a governmental entity within the State of Montana, we cannot say with certainty that a decision by Interior to acknowledge our Tribe will not be challenged. Such challenges typically take years to resolve. Thus, we believe that legislation makes sense even if Interior is on track to issue a decision within a year. The legislation reflects the desires of the Tribe, the State and the local governments most directly impacted by our recognition. That is why we seek legislative recognition.
I. OUR HISTORY WITH THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.
My Tribe, historically often referred to as the -landless Indians,- has been the subject of federal legislation since the early 1900s. The Little Shell Band is the successor in interest to the Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians in North Dakota. We were buffalo hunters who lived and hunted around the Red River and the Turtle Mountains in North Dakota in the early 1800s. The Pembina Band was recognized by the United States in an 1863 Treaty ratified by the Senate. This treaty gave the United States possession of the section of our lands near the Red River. After that treaty, while some members of the Pembina Band settled on reservations in Minnesota others followed the buffalo herds into western North Dakota and Montana, eventually settling in Montana and in the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota.
In 1890, the United States authorized the creation of a commission to negotiate for a cession of land from the Turtle Mountain Chippewa and provide for their removal. Chief Little Shell and his followers walked out on the negotiations and refused to accept the terms of the eventual agreement. In the years that followed the 1892 Agreement, some of Little Shell's followers moved to Montana and joined with other members of the Pembina Band that had settled in Montana. After their traditional livelihood came to an end with the disappearance of the buffalo, Little Shell people were left to barely eke out an existence in a number of shantytowns across Montana, competing with both local reservation Indians and white settlers for resources. The Little Shell became known as the -landless Indians- of Montana. Like many American Indian people, we faced severe racism and discrimination throughout Montana, some of which continues today.
A. CONGRESSIONAL EFFORTS TO ASSIST THE LITTLE SHELL BAND 1900 - 1920.
Congress began appropriating money to buy land for the landless Little Shell as early as 1914, when it set aside funds to be used for -support and civilization of Rocky Boy's Band of Chippewas, and other indigent and homeless Indians in the State of Montana[.]- 38 Stat. L. 582. Every year thereafter until 1925, Congress consistently appropriated funds for the Rocky Boy's Band and the -homeless Indians in the State of Montana.- Nearly simultaneously, in 1916, Congress enacted legislation establishing a -reservation for Rocky Boy's Band of Chippewas and such other homeless Indians in the State of Montana as the Secretary of the Interior may see fit to locate thereon . . ..- Shortly after the reservation was set aside, the Department established a tentative roll of the Indians of the reservation. The initial list consisted of 657 individuals. In preparing the final roll, Interior eliminated 206 applicants from the list. The Indian Inspector reported that he had -given first consideration to the needs of the older and homeless Indians, without means of support.- Department of the Interior, Proposed Finding for the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana, Technical Report (-Technical Report-) at 86. Shut out by the Department, Little Shell members were forced to subsist on vacant lands in north-central and north-western Montana.
B. THE LITTLE SHELL BAND'S REPEATED PLEAS FOR ASSISTANCE: 1920 - 1934 Newspaper articles of the 1920s chronicled the plight of our ancestors. Newspapers in the Great Falls area reported the City's failed attempts to remove -the Indians who have been long encamped- on the edge of town. Technical Report at 90. In December 1931, Little Shell Tribe/Homeless Indians leader Joseph Dussome explained to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs that the landless Indians of Montana lived on the -dump piles of our Towns . . . going to the back allies, digging down the swill barrels for their daily bread.- Mr. Dussome pleaded for help, stating -that a great injustice has been done to my fellow Chippewa and Cree Indians of Northern Montana. Are we not entitled to a Reservation and allotments of land in our own Country, just the same as other Indians are[?]?
Less than two weeks after receiving Dussome's plea for assistance, Interior responded that because we had refused to sign a Treaty and had removed from the land in North Dakota, we did not retain rights to land at Turtle Mountain:
The Indians referred to are Chippewas of the Turtle Mountain Band. They were under the leadership of Little Shell who became dissatisfied with the treaties of the United States and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewas. He accordingly refused to accede thereto . . .. The disaffected band, by its failure to accede to the terms of the treaty and remove to the reservation is now unable to obtain any rights thereon for the reason that the lands of this band are all disposed of, and the rolls became final[.] . . . There is now no law which will authorize the enrollment of any of those people with the Turtle Mountain band for the purposes of permitting them to obtain either land or money.
The Little Shell Tribe thus remained homeless.
C. INTERIOR'S EFFORTS TO ESTABLISH A RESERVATION AND REORGANIZE OUR PEOPLE UNDER THE INDIAN REORGANIZATION ACT.
Reflecting the significant shift in modern federal Indian policy, three years after Interior's rejection of Dussome's plea, Congress sought to remedy situations such as ours through the enactment of the Indian Reorganization Act (-IRA-) in 1934. We had continued our pursuit of a tribal land base by meeting with Interior Department officials shortly before the passage of the IRA. During one trip, tribal leader Dussome impressed upon the Commissioner of Indian Affairs the dire straits of our people. This trip, combined with passage of the IRA, triggered a flurry of activity by the Department to acquire lands for the Little Shell. Initially, Interior officials in Washington, D.C. pursued lands near the Ft. Belknap Reservation, stating:
The Office [of Indian Affairs] referred to certain plans to purchase tracts of land in Montana which could be set aside for the use of the Chippewa Indians, special mention being made of a project to acquire -some 20,000 acres near the Fort Belknap reservation.- Plans for the use of this area do not in any sense contemplate the mixing of the Chippewa Indians with those now on the Fort Belknap reservation. The area under negotiation is not part of the Fort Belknap reservation and justification for its purchase is not based on the needs of the Fort Belknap Indians. If it is purchased it will be available for the use of the Chippewa Indians exclusively[.]
Plans for settling the Little Shell Band on the parcel near Ft. Belknap were abandoned by the Department based on the belief that our ancestors were not willing to settle on that land.
In the mid 1930s, the Department expended considerable effort to acquire land near the Rocky Boy's Reservation for our people. Assistant Commissioner Zimmerman explained that the land could be established as a new reservation for the landless Indians or added to the Rocky Boy's Reservation. Although original estimates suggested that the acquisition would be sufficient for approximately 100 families, the Department ultimately concluded that the purchased land could only accommodate 25 families.
The conclusion that the parcel near the Rocky Boy's Reservation was insufficient to meet existing needs did not deter the Department from its efforts to find land for the Little Shell. Interior officials underscored the Department's determination to secure a land base for our people, explaining:
The landless Indians whom we are proposing to enroll and settle on newly purchased land belong to this same stock, and their history in recent years is but a continuation of the history of wandering and starvation which formerly the Rocky Boy's band had endured.
Out of the land purchase funds authorized by the Indian Reorganization Act, we are now purchasing about 34,000 acres for the settlement of these Indians and also to provide irrigated hay land for the Indians now enrolled on Rocky Boy's Reservation. The new land, if devoted wholly to that purpose, would take care of only a fraction of the homeless Indians, but it is our intention to continue this program through the years until something like adequate subsistence is provided for those who cannot provide for themselves. . . . The fact of these people being Indian and being entitled to the benefits intended by Congress has not been questioned.
The Department realized that although -it would be highly desirable to secure a single area or reservation which would meet the needs of all the Chippewa Indians of Montana . . . this seems to be impossible at this time . . . [and] the Indians must adjust their plans to take advantage of the best that we can secure for them.- Reflecting this sentiment, during this time period, the Bureau of Indian Affairs acquired a 42-acre tract of land near Great Falls, Montana. The land was acquired for the benefit of landless Indians located in the vicinity of Great Falls. Although Little Shell members were ready to move to the parcel, Interior explained that -[l]ocal public opinion forced the abandonment of the project. Local residents of the vicinity did not wish the Indians as their neighbors.- In 1950, Congress enacted legislation providing for the sale of those lands. P.L. 714, 81st Congress, 2d Session, August 18, 1950.
D. THE ROE CLOUD ROLL - THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PREPARES AN INDIAN ROLL TO FACILITATE ORGANIZATION UNDER THE IRA
In addition to its efforts to secure a reservation near the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Interior took steps to prepare a detailed census of our people who were one-half or more Indian blood. In December of 1935, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs submitted a proposed form of enrollment under the IRA. The Commissioner explained that the form was modeled upon a number of other tribal enrollment forms. In his memorandum seeking approval, the Commissioner emphasized the plight of the Little Shell people, stating: It is very important that the enrollment of homeless Indians in the State of Montana be instituted immediately, and it is proposed to use this form in the determination of Indians who are entitled to the benefits of the Indian Reorganization Act. This enrollment process resulted in the Roe Cloud Roll, named after Dr. Henry Roe Cloud, an Interior official who played a large part in the enrollment project. Leaders of the Little Shell Tribe provided invaluable assistance to the enrollment project. As one Indian Affairs official explained, Joseph Dussome's -services were indispensable in identifying the Indians and in advising us where to locate them.-
Our current members are generally the descendents of Indians who were either on the Roe Cloud Roll or immediate kin to someone on the roll. The Roe Cloud Roll is important for a number of reasons, including that it is a federal document certifying our ancestors as being one-half or more Indian blood and it reflects the efforts and intentions of the Department to provide for the reorganization of our Tribe. These efforts were taken to reverse the destructive federal policies of previous decades.
E. STATE AND FEDERAL EFFORTS TO SECURE FEDERAL RECOGNITION FOR OUR PEOPLE: 1940 - 1950
As Interior moved forward on the enrollment project, its progress in acquiring lands for the Little Shell slowed largely because of the lack of federal appropriations to acquire land. In other words, had appropriations been sufficient to acquire land, it appears that both the Department and the State of Montana strongly supported establishment of a reservation for our people. Had a reservation been established, we would be recognized today.
Records from this time period provide ample evidence that the lack of appropriations prevented our recognition. For example:
Assistant Commissioner Zimmerman explained to Senator Murray in 1940, -[t]he Indian Office is keenly aware of the pressing need of the landless Chippewa Cree Indians of Montana. The problem thus far has been dealt with only in a very small way. I sincerely hope that additional funds will be provided for future purchases in order that the larger problem remaining can be dealt with in a more adequate manner.- May 13, 1940 Letter from Assistant Commissioner Zimmerman to Senator James E. Murray.
In 1941, the Montana State Senate and House highlighted our plight of -living in makeshift dwellings on the outskirts of our various Montana Cities- and sent a Joint Memorial to the United States Congress urging the Congress -to immediately enact appropriate legislation to create an Indian Reservation for all Montana landless Indians.-
In response to the local Superintendent's request for funds so that tribal leader Dussome could travel to Washington to advocate for the purchase of land, Commissioner John Collier (largely credited as the architect of the IRA) explained:
[Our] Office, as you know, has been sympathetic toward the desires of these people to secure land upon which they could settle and build homes.
Unfortunately appropriations have not been sufficient to permit us to do much in the way of rehabilitating this group upon newly acquired lands. Various members of the Congressional delegation from Montana have been interested in the condition of these people . . . . [l]ittle can be accomplished by the Indian Office until funds have been made available by Congress for their rehabilitation[.]
That same year, Assistant Commissioner Zimmerman underscored the Department's dilemma - that it desperately wanted to assist our people but that it could not do so because of a lack of appropriations.
We have on several occasions studied this problem and can see no way in which any solution can be arrived at without specific, adequate appropriations. There are more than 500 families in the State without resources of any kind, who have no equity in any reservation, and who constitute a serious social problem. Essential to any scheme of self-support for them is an adequate land base. . . . To provide necessary land for this number of families would require a million dollars, in addition to some lands now part of the public domain. Another million would be required for loans and grants for cattle purchases, machinery, homes, and farm buildings. . . .
We are ready to undertake this task if the Congress is willing to provide the necessary funds. . . . The project is perfectly feasible; the Indians undoubtedly are in great need; they deserve some effort on the part of the Federal Government. We shall be happy to cooperate in any way.
Responding to a petition requesting that a nearby ranch be purchased for our benefit, the Office of Indian Affairs explained their predicament to Joseph Dussome:
As mentioned in prior correspondence there are no funds available with which to enter into a land purchase program for the benefit of the landless Indians of Montana. We fully appreciate the land needs of these Indians, and it is our desire to aid them at the first opportunity. As stated before, such action will be dependent upon the availability of funds. . . . As previously intimated, a large sum will be necessary to take care of the land needs of the group in which you are interested, and until such time as Congress appropriates the necessary funds for this purpose, we will be able to do very little.
In 1949, the Department reiterated its desire to assist my people and its inability to establish a land base because of the lack of appropriations. In a letter to Representative Mike Mansfield, Acting Commissioner William Zimmerman explained:
Receipt is acknowledged of your letter of February 1, enclosing one from Hon. John W. Bonner, Governor of Montana, concerning the landless Indians of Montana with particular reference to their destitution and need for rehabilitation.
Our files contain considerable correspondence concerning the needs of these Indians and suggested plans for their rehabilitation, but due to lack of funds this office has been unable to do very much to relieve the situation. . . . Before anything can be done for the relief of these Indians, it will be necessary for Congress to appropriate adequate funds for that purpose.
In 1940, a tribal representative of the Little Shell Tribe perfectly summarized the quandary of the Tribe, stating:
[Assistant Commissioner] Zimmerman . . . told us that we couldn't have any allocation or organization or corporate charter under this act until we have land. He said -we haven't got money to buy land and appropriations have been drastically cut from year to year and there is nothing we can do.- Summing up our negotiations with the Interior Department we come to this conclusion: First, we are entitled to rights as an Indian but as to forming an organization, borrowing from the revolving loan, we must first have a charter. We can't get a charter unless we have land. We can't have land because the Indian Office is broke . . .
Because adequate funds were never appropriated to acquire land for my people, the Tribe continued to struggle over the decades that followed to satisfy the basic needs of our members. As you know, in the late 1970s the Department of the Interior formulated an administrative process. Because we are in the final stages of that process, I do not feel it is in the best interest of my Tribe to criticize the process or the Department. I will, however, provide a few general observations regarding our petition for acknowledgment.
II. OUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE ADMINISTRATIVE PROCESS
We originally filed a letter petitioning for federal acknowledgment on April 28, 1978, almost six months before Interior's administrative process for acknowledgment was created. The process has proved to be extremely resource intensive. I believe that the lack of available resources greatly hinders both the tribes in the process and the Department.
Over the past 29 years, we have been fortunate to receive the services of the Native American Rights Fund. Without their assistance, it's unfathomable that we could have found the funds necessary to retain legal counsel and consultants for this extended period of time. Over the past 15 years, NARF has spent over 3,400 attorney hours on our administrative petition. Consultants and graduate students put in thousands and thousands of additional hours. Tribal consultants, such as historians, genealogists and graduate students, donated substantial amounts of time pro bono or worked at substantially reduced rates in compiling large portions of the petition. Even with this generosity, however, the total cost for consultants and associated expenses over the last fifteen years exceeds $1 million dollars. Literally tens-of-thousands of documents have been provided with regard to our petition.
The lengthy process also inflicts an immeasurable human cost, wherein the acknowledgement torch is passed from one generation to another. The task of securing professionals to assist us with our petition and the collection of documents from repositories across the United States, Canada and England is itself demanding, but it pales in comparison to the demands of providing for my people without the protection of federal recognition, without a land base. And our current status impacts the prospects for our future generations. Moreover, it is heartbreaking to consider the idea that after nearly 30 years in the administrative process, in the politically charged atmosphere of Washington, D.C., the Department could reverse its proposed favorable finding and decide not confer federal acknowledgment.
Our tribal status is well documented. Interior's proposed finding documents include a 234 page technical report that provides evidence to satisfy each of Interior's mandatory criteria. Interior expressly concluded that each of the mandatory criteria were satisfied, requesting the Tribe to search for additional evidence to supplement the evidence that already exists. We have submitted additional documentation, as requested by the Department. Notably, we have provided additional documentation to demonstrate that 94.4% of our members descend from a historic tribe. In all, we estimate that we have submitted thousands of pages of additional documentation for our petition.
One criterion that the Congress may wish to consider for modification is criterion (a) - since 1900, identification of a Tribe by external sources. Although we clearly satisfy this factor (as the Department concluded in its proposed finding), we submit that it is nonsensical that a petitioner could satisfy all of the other criteria, thus demonstrating that it is a Tribe, and yet potentially fail to be recognized simply because a non-Indian never documented the Tribe in the early 1900s or that documentation no longer exists.
III. THIS HONORABLE BODY SHOULD ACT TO RECOGNIZE THE LITTLE SHELL TRIBE
I respectfully implore this honorable Committee to act favorably on the legislation introduced by Senators Tester and Baucus to confirm our federal recognition. I submit that this Congress should complete the efforts of previous Congresses to secure to us a fraction of the Indian lands lost by our people over time. Congress undertook this honorable effort in the 1910s and 20s, appropriating money for the purchase of land for our ancestors but, as Interior officials acknowledged, it was woefully inadequate to meet our desperate needs. In the 1930s and 40s, the Department of the Interior made substantial efforts to enroll our ancestors and acquire land for us, but Congress never appropriated the funds necessary to secure a land base for us. This Congress has an opportunity to finish what it started by acting on our pending legislation. Legislation that will cost the public very little, but will be a giant first step in putting our Tribe on an equal footing with our sister Tribes.
From time to time, representatives in this honorable institution have rightly questioned Congress- ability to determine whether a particular group constitutes an Indian tribe. I submit that this Congress has a more than ample record on which to enact this legislation. In addition to the tens of thousands of records held by the Department in connection with our Petition, the Congress has a long legislative record of acting for our benefit. Congress also has a history of enacting similar legislation. In recent history, Congress enacted such legislation for tribes like the Little Traverse Bay Band and the Little River Band - Tribes for whom Department attempted to recognize in the 1930s but because of the lack of appropriations recognition was never completed. And unlike other tribes acknowledged by federal legislation, here the Congress can rely upon the Department of the Interior's proposed favorable finding to recognize our Tribe.
Our strong historical record is reinforced by the fact that our recognition is not politically controversial in the State of Montana. Our Congressional delegation supports this legislation. Montana's State and local governments support our recognition. And in addition to the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, every federally recognized Tribe in the State of Montana supports our recognition. Indeed, we are the only non-federally recognized tribe included in two significant inter-tribal organizations - the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council and the
Council of Large Land Based Tribes. Area tribes recognize our legitimacy. Indeed, we know of no opposition to this legislation by any recognized governmental entity within the State.
As I've previously mentioned, Senator Tester and Baucus- legislation resolves more issues than our recognition. The legislation also addresses issues that often present significant challenges to tribes and local communities after a tribe is recognized through the acknowledgment process. This legislation provides certainty to all interested parties regarding land acquisition and establishes a service area in which the Tribal members can immediately begin to receive long over-due federal services. And finally, the bill provides the certainty of federal acknowledgment. While we fully expect to the Department to affirm it favorable finding - particularly since to the best of our knowledge no party has submitted a single historical record that would undermine Interior's previous finding - such certainty is understandably important. For almost 100 years we have relied on the federal government's promises to take the steps necessary recognize our government and secure a home for our people. We often get so very close and then something goes awry. This legislation is your opportunity to ensure that previous mistakes are not repeated.
Every day that passes has concrete impacts on the Tribe. For example, even though we are eligible for Indian Health Care services, for several years now over 1200 Little Shell members have been taken off of the Indian Health Service rolls because they were not on the original roll the Little Shell Tribe presented to the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1989. Many of these members were not even born at the time of the original roll or are not on the rolls because of clerical oversight. Federal recognition would alleviate this situation and ensure that all of our tribal members receive necessary health services.
IV. CONCLUSION
I greatly appreciate the opportunity to provide this Committee with an overview of our history, our experience with the Federal Acknowledgement Process, and why this honorable Committee should favorably report S. 724 out of Committee. I am happy to answer any questions from the Committee.
Webmaster Note: For more on the Senate Hearing, go here: HEARING on the process of federal recognition of Indian tribes
The Senate has not yet released a transcript of the hearing at this time, once it becomes available, I will provide a link to it.
Here are PDF Versions of all the Witness's who testified at the hearing:
MR. LEE FLEMING
Director Office of Federal Acknowledgment, U.S. Department of Interior
Washington, DC
THE HONORABLE JIMMY GOINS
Tribal Chairman Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina
707 Union Chapel Road, Pembroke, NC 28372
THE HONORABLE JOHN SINCLAIR
Tribal President, Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana
Great Falls, MT
HONORABLE ANN D. TUCKER
Tribal Chairperson, Muscogee Nation of Florida
Bruce, FL
THE HONORABLE RON YOB
Tribal Chairman, Grand River Bands of Ottawa Indians
Grand Rapids, MI
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Deadline announced for drawing of the Two Little Shell Buffalo Hunt permits for Tribal Members
(Last Paragraph updated Sept 26, 2007 to correctly reflect tribal office actions)
The Little Shell Tribal Office has announced that the drawing deadline for the two Buffalo Hunt permits is to be October 9, 2007. To place your name on the list for the random drawing, call the tribal office at 406-452-2892 or send an e-mail to lstgtfalls@bresnan.net. Only Enrolled Tribal members will be allowed in the drawing.
The 2008 permits will allow the hunting of wild buffalo from January 23, 2008 through February 15, 2008. As the State law allows for the issuance of permits when the state fish, wildlife, and parks commission issues 40 or more special wild buffalo licenses in any license year, this year 2 permits per Montana Indian Tribe is allowed. According to Montana Code 87-2-731 (2005 Senate Bill 91), The commission shall issue two special wild buffalo licenses to individuals designated by the respective tribal diabetic programs. For the Little Shell Tribe, this means that the Main office will hold a drawing after 0ctober 9th 2007. The winning names will be announced and hopefully be posted here on this website.
According to the main office, After the two Tribal Members names are drawn from the pool of names and the state is notified, the Little Shell Hunters will be required to attend a meeting in Helena for review of the hunting regulations, seasons, and areas for the buffalo hunt. The individuals will also be required to attend a meeting in Great Falls for cultural training required to the complete the hunt in a traditional manner. As in the past, the tribal diabetic program will keep one half of each buffalo and the other half will go to the individual. The office will NOT be taking names for distribution of any buffalo items.
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Little Shell leader to testify on federal recognition frustrations
From the Great Falls Tribune
By KARL PUCKETT, Great Falls Tribune Staff Writer
John Sinclair, president of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe, is hoping a heartbreaking story about a child hits home with federal lawmakers and leads to a brighter future for the Great Falls-based tribe.
Sinclair will testify before the U.S. Senate Indian Affairs Committee on Wednesday in Washington, D.C. on the recognition process the federal government uses to recognize the nation's Indian tribes.
He will tell committee members about the 1985 case of a Little Shell child who was placed in foster care with a non-native family and later died because of physical abuse.
The tribe couldn't intervene in that child welfare case, or any other, because it was not federally recognized. It still can't.
"Hopefully, that will break their hearts," Sinclair said.More than 20 years after the tragic case — and after more than a century of seeking recognition — the tribe still is not recognized by the U.S. government. Federal lawmakers are beginning to question why it's taking so long for recognition requests of the nation's Indian tribes to be processed.
The federal recognition process is the focus of the hearing, which will feature first-hand accounts from officials of tribes seeking recognition and the head of the Federal Acknowledgement Office of the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.
"No one should have to wait 30 years to get an answer to a question," said Barry Piatt, a spokesman for Sen. Bryon Dorgan, D-North Dakota, the committee's chairman.
Federal acknowledgement is critical to tribes because it establishes a government-to-government relationship between the United States and the tribes, making them eligible to receive funding and services from the BIA.
"We're not after the dirty 'R' word — reservation," Sinclair said.
Depending on what they learn, committee members could issue a report or recommend changes in the law to speed up the recognition process, Piatt said.
"It's kind of a diagnostic hearing to try and understand where this system is going wrong," Piatt said.
As part of its quest, the Little Shell applied for recognition through the Office of Federal Acknowledgement in 1978. The tribe has been recognized by the state of Montana and all seven other tribal nations in the state and even has its own state license plate.
Preliminary recognition came from the Office of Federal Recognition in 2000 and an anthropologist is scheduled to travel to the area in October to interview tribal members, said Toni Jo Atchison, the tribe's tobacco abuse prevention specialist. She said the tribe could know as soon as February 2008 about the final recognition.
The Little Shell has an estimated enrollment of 4,500. Many of the members live in Great Falls, although Sinclair said they are scattered about the state.
Russell Boham, executive director of the Little Shell, said committee members are "interested in finding out from us the brokenness of the administrative process."
Tribes recently have turned to federal legislation in their quests for recognition. Montana Congressman Denny Rehberg and Max Baucus and Jon Tester, the state's senators, introduced legislation in March that would bring national recognition to the Little Shell.
Matt McKenna, a spokesman for Tester, who serves on the Indian Affairs Committee, said the senator wants the administrative process streamlined so legislation becomes unnecessary.
Piatt said tribes have "thrown up their hands" and turned to the legislative process out of frustration.
The Little Shell want both the administrative and legislative avenues of recognition to remain open, Sinclair said.
To be recognized, seven criteria must be met. For example, tribes have to show they have been in continuous social and political existence and descend from a historical Indian tribe or tribes.
While waiting for recognition, Little Shell officials say members have died from inadequate health care and Indian children have been adopted to non-Indian parents, sometimes with tragic consequences.
Sinclair hopes the story of the foster child who died hits home with the senators. "That's my aim," he said.
The Little Shell, because they are not federally recognized, do not qualify for child custody services under the Indian Child Welfare Act. Therefore, the tribe could not intervene and place the child with a family member another native family, Sinclair said.
Reach Tribune Staff Writer Karl Puckett at 406-791-1471, 800-438-6600 or kpuckett@greatfallstribune.com.
Webmaster Note: For more on the Senate Hearing, go here: HEARING on the process of federal recognition of Indian tribes
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Senators probing delay in tribal recognition
From the Great Falls Tribune
By Great Falls Tribune Staff
Why it takes so many years for some Indian tribes seeking federal recognition to get answers from the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs will be probed Wednesday by a U.S. Senate committee.
John Sinclair, president of the unrecognized Great Falls-based Little Shell Chippewa Tribe, is among those scheduled to testify.
Sen. Bryon Dorgan, D-North Dakota, chairman of the Indian Affairs Committee, has asked tribal representatives from the Little Shell and other tribes seeking recognition to testify before the committee. Sen. John Tester, D-Mont., also serves on the committee.
Dorgan spokesman Barry Piatt said the committee may issue a report recommending changes in the law to speed up the process.
“It’s kind of a diagnostic hearing to try and understand where this system is going wrong,” Piatt said.
The Little Shell Chippewa Tribe has been trying since 1978 through the Office of Federal Acknowledgement to be recognized.
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History in the making: State of Montana releases License plate for Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana!
From the Great Falls Tribune
Little Shell get license plate
By RICHARD PETERSON
Great Falls Tribune Staff WriterIt's only fitting that the designer of the newly released Little Shell Tribe license plates be the first to attach a set to his vehicle.
Adorned with symbols related to the history and culture of the Little Shell Tribe, the plate designed by James Parker Shield joins the 86 other specialty plates available to Montana motorists, most of which are on the walls of each county treasurer's office.
"I feel proud," said Parker Shield, who purchased three sets of the new tribal plates for his family's vehicles this week. "This license plate is another way of reminding people that we're here."
The tribe's seal is on the left side of the plate — a yellow circle filled with a west-facing buffalo, symbolizing the westward migration of the Little Shell band from the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota. Behind the buffalo are an eagle staff and the Little Shell flag. Faded in the background is a Red River cart, used by tribal members during hunting and trading trips in North Dakota, Minnesota and Canada more than 100 years ago. Montana is spelled out in red letters at the top of the plate.
Profits from the license plates, which cost the tribe $4,000 to produce, will go into its general fund.
The Little Shell is a band of Chippewa and Cree Indians that has been seeking federal recognition for the past 115 years. Most of its 4,500 members live in the Great Falls area.
"Little Shell members will be proud to have them on their cars around the state," Parker Shield said.
Only time will tell if the license plate becomes as popular as others in Cascade County. The ongoing favorite f is the bright blue Glacier Park license plates, which was sold to about 1,500 local residents in the past year, said Dean Roberts, state Motor Vehicle Division administrator.
The second most popular set of plates preferred by county residents is the Lewis and Clark commemoration plates, he said.
That should start dropping off as things die down," he said of the Lewis and Clark frenzy throughout the state during the expedition's bicentennial between 2004-06.
Surprisingly, one of the other most popular sellers among locals is the Gallatin County Open Lands Board plate, featuring a scenic watercolor painting of a river and trees surrounded by mountains.
"It's a really nice plate, a hot seller from day one," Roberts said. In the past year, 762 drivers Cascade County purchased the plate that's also popular in Yellowstone and Missoula counties — each reported selling more than 1,000 of the plates.
The sale of the Great Falls Public Schools plate has raised more than $16,000 for the local school district, Roberts added.
Webmaster Note: The License Plates cost $35, and $20 for renewal. Click on the plate below to take you to the Montana Department of Justice website for License plates. Warning, the email address listed on the DOJ website is not that of the Tribal Council's main office, but to the personal e-mail of Tribal Council President John Sinclair. For the Main office information, go to our main office for more information.
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US Senate Conducts hearings on Federal Recognition Petitions
The US Senate will be conducting hearings on Wednesday, September 19, 2007 and will "investigate" the process and status of Petitions before the Bureau of Indian Affairs by tribal entities seeking such recognition. Rumor has it that the Petiton for the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians will also be presented, but no word yet on who will testify at the committee hearing for our people as the Senate has yet to release their witness list.
More as it becomes available, in the meantime, here is a link to the senate hearing webpage. HEARING on the process of federal recognition of Indian tribes
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Office of Federal Acknowledgement to conduct onsite interviews
Dr. Kimberly Cook, Anthropologist, will be visiting Montana and surrounding areas to conduct interviews for the purpose of investigating the Little Shell Tribe's Petition for Official Government to Government relations with the United States Government. She will be arriving Saturday, September 29 2007 and will finish around October 19, 2007. She will be talking with the Tribal Council and will be conducting interviews with random tribal members on a 0ne-to-one basis to get a sense of our tribe's politics, community, and history.
More information will be posted as it comes available.
If you have any questions about Dr. Cook's visit, please contact the main office for more information.
Webmaster Note: If you know of, or are in possession of any tribal council minutes from any year or proof of any council actions, in particular the 1970's and 1980's, please mail, fax, or drop off these documents to the tribal office. Thank You.
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IMPORTANT Federal Recognition Meetings for ALL Tribal Members
Informational meetings regarding the status of the Federal Recognition of the Little Shell Chippewa will be held in the following towns:
Lewistown:
Saturday, September 1 – 9:30 am Lewistown FairgroundsHavre:
Saturday, September 8 – 1:00 pm HRDCHelena:
Thursday, September 13 – 7:00 pm Helena Indian AllianceButte:
Saturday, September 15 – 10:00 am 66 West ParkGreat Falls:
Tuesday, September 18 – 7:00 pm West Gate MallBrowning:
Friday, September 21 – 7:00 pm Old Eagle ShieldBillings:
Thursday, September 27 – 7:00 pm Garfield SchoolPlease plan to attend as these meetings will discuss the upcoming visit of Dr. Kimberly Cook from the Office of Federal Acknowledgement. Dr. Cook will be doing a site visit for the Final Determination of our petition.
For more information, contact the Little Shell Tribal office at 406-452-2892.
SAVE THIS DATE:
Little Shell Chippewa Community Gathering
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Family Living Center, MT Expo Park, Great Falls
More Information to follow
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Plains Indian and Buffalo Culture Collection amassed by late, enigmatic artist could be worth $22.5M
From the Billings Gazette
By LORNA THACKERAY
Of the Billings Gazette StaffCODY - Artist and ethnographer Paul Dyck spent much of his 88 years piecing together the largest, most significant and most complete private collection of Plains Indian artifacts in the world.
Early last month, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody acquired the collection, most of it rare material from the pre-reservation Buffalo Culture. Only a few people have had access to the collection of nearly 2,000 items, which Dyck kept at his ranch home in Rimrock, Ariz. It has never been available to the general public.
"It's going to stun people," said former Wyoming Sen. Alan K. Simpson, the chairman of the museum's board of directors. "It certainly stunned us."
Even board members with expertise in American Indian culture were awed by the remarkable collection, which includes children's toys, ghost dance dresses, a peace medal Lewis and Clark may have given to a Mandan chief and huge buffalo-hide tepees, he said.
"It's going to enrich the world, and we'll do it in a way that will enrich the world," Simpson said.
Dyck had a longstanding friendship with the museum in Cody and with many associated with it, including Simpson.
Dyck, a dapper, white-haired rancher, dreamed of his own museum to display the beauty of the Buffalo Culture he fell in love with as a child. Three decades ago, he bought 40 acres of land near Little Bighorn Battlefield, hoping to build his museum there.
But time ran out for Dyck, who died in February 2006.
The Paul Dyck Foundation Research Institution of American Indian Culture, the nonprofit organization he founded, decided that the best way to keep the collection intact and to honor Dyck's commitment was for the Buffalo Bill Historical Center to take possession through a combination gift-and-purchase agreement.
After a year of negotiations, the Buffalo Bill Historical Center's board voted unanimously July 3 to approve the deal. A fundraising drive will be launched to raise about $10 million necessary to complete the purchase and preserve and maintain the collection, Simpson said.
American Indian artifacts in the collection were conservatively appraised at $22.5 million a few years ago. The estimate did not include the antique guns or six peace medals that were part of the inventory that went to the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. The peace medals may prove to be among those Lewis and Clark gave to Indian headmen during their 1804-06 journey.
"We talked to several museums who offered more money, but it wasn't really about money," said John Dyck, Paul's son and president of the Paul Dyck Foundation. "It was about doing what's right for the collection."
The fact that Paul Dyck helped design the Plains Indian wing of the Buffalo Bill Historical Center was among the key reasons it was chosen. Its location was important, too.
"My dad worked 30 years to build a museum at the (Little Bighorn) Battlefield," John Dyck said. "That was just not going to happen. The museum was closest to the battlefield, and they are very devoted to Native Culture."
The foundation was also concerned that sacred objects Paul Dyck had been given for safekeeping, mostly by adoptive relatives among the Plains tribes, be handled properly.
"They have the right people in place to do that," John Dyck said. "It really is a good museum - as good as I've been in. They have the right people in the right places."
In the late 1960s, Simpson said, Dyck had talked to the Cody museum board about taking the collection. But it would have come with conditions the museum couldn't meet. That's when Dyck decided he wanted to build a museum at the battlefield.
"I think it was always a bit of a disappointment to him that it didn't happen," Simpson said.
Although many people know about the collection - scholars, collectors, traders and museums - most of it has never been viewed by the public, said Rusty Rokita of Hardin, a longtime friend of the collector and a member of the foundation board.
A few items may be displayed by next summer, but it will probably take at least three years to catalog, document and conserve the entire collection, said Emma Hansen, the curator of the Center's Plains Indian Museum.
Grant applications are being prepared to help pay for additional staff needed to curate, restore and process the artifacts.
Eventually, items from the collection will be displayed in the Paul Dyck Plains Indian Buffalo Culture Gallery within the museum. Lee Haines, the director of public relations for the Center, said the museum has about 1,700 square feet of display space available in the gallery. Articles from the collection will be rotated each year.
The museum also plans to create a large traveling exhibit that can be featured at other institutions in the United States and around the world, Hansen said.
The collection has been on loan to the center for the past 15 months. It was moved to Cody from Arizona after Paul Dyck's health began to fail and he moved into a nursing home. The center had agreed to pack and insure the collection and to move it to a secured and controlled environment within the museum.
The staff did not begin working with the artifacts until early July, when the agreement with the foundation became final.
"I'm learning more every day about just how amazing it is," Hansen said.
Rokita said the collection illustrates the advanced state of Plains Indian culture in the time before European-Americans had widely infiltrated the West.
"This isn't really recognized for what it is," he said while examining some of the richly decorated ceremonial shirts in the collection. "You can take any one of these shirts and hold it up against any art in any museum collection."
The heart of the collection dates from the late 1700s to the mid-1800s. That makes the artifacts both rare and unique. Since most items created by American Indians were made from organic materials, few survive from pre-reservation days, Rokita said.
The earliest collectors of Plains Indian artifacts were Europeans. But when they could no longer outbid newly rich Americans and after modern art swept through Europe, the Plains Indian materials in European collections fell out of favor there, he said. Through the years, Dyck reclaimed some of those items from European owners and brought them back.
Dyck didn't amass his collection randomly, Rokita said. He wanted it to tell the story of how people on the Plains lived. He traded and purchased items with an eye to presenting the most complete picture possible, Rokita said. If he had two or three similar objects, he might trade one for an item of lesser value that would add a piece to the story.
Dyck inherited some of the collection from his father, who started gathering items in the 1880s while the family lived among the Blackfeet in southern Alberta.
Most of the sacred items came through American Indians who deposited their medicine objects with Dyck for safekeeping when the ceremonies and traditions of their people began to disappear, Rokita said.
The collector was a very spiritual man, whose beliefs were aligned with those of native religions, Rokita said. Dyck shared the Indians' reverence for the sacred objects entrusted to him.
"He threatened many times to burn them up rather than have them wind up with traders and at auctions," Rokita said.
Dyck maintained a huge library that is still with the Dyck Foundation in Arizona. He also kept volumes of notes on objects he gathered. All of that material has to be examined and researched to establish just what is in the collection.
When the work is complete, the museum and the Paul Dyck Foundation plan to publish a catalog both for his Buffalo Culture collection and for a collection of his own paintings that came with it. Eventually, the Dyck paintings, as well as those of other artists in his collection, will be displayed in the Whitney Gallery of Western Art at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center.
The museum and the foundation will also publish a biography of Dyck's long and colorful life.
Dyke's library and notes will eventually come to the museum. In the meantime, museum staff and the foundation will be working to research and identify each piece in the collection.
"Who knows what we're going to find?" said Robert Pickering, deputy director of collections and education at the Cody museum. "I really believe this collection is a national treasure and we're going to be able to reveal this national treasure to the world."
Contact Lorna Thackeray at lthackeray@billingsgazette.com or 406-657-1314.
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Enrolled Little Shell Tribal member Rick LaPier passes
From the Great Falls Tribune
Richard LaPierDANDRIDGE, Tenn. — Former Great Falls resident Richard "Rick" LaPier, 65, of Dandridge, Tenn., a Vietnam Navy veteran, died of pulmonary fibrosis May 17 at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Burial has taken place in Tennessee Veterans Cemetery.
Survivors include his wife, Deloris LaPier of Dandridge; daughters Tara (Scott) Rinehart, Penny (Dave) Hutchinson and Kelly LaPier; a son, Shane (Karen) LaPier; sisters Victoria Boham, Sherri Bishop and Mona "Chi Chi" (Ernest) LaFromboise; brothers Ronnie (Cindy) Bishop, Russell (Sandra) Boham, Randall (Regina) Boham and Earl LaPier; nine grandchildren and one great-grandchild; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Rick was born April 7, 1943, in Great Falls, where he was raised and educated. He worked in the mines, construction and as a ranch hand until he was employed by the Xerox Corp. in Riverside, Calif. He moved to Dandridge, Tenn., where he worked for Ikon Office Solutions until he retired.
Rick was an enrolled member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana. He was proud of his Indian heritage and enjoyed fry bread, camping and fishing. He loved swapping stories with his brother Ronnie, but his favorite thing in life was spending time with his grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Fred LaPier and Marie Bishop Boham; and brothers Joey LaPier and Audie LaPier.Condolences may be sent online to greatfallstribune.com/obituaries.
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U.S. Rep. Dennis Rehberg(R) requests hearing for Little Shell bill
From the Great Falls Tribune
By Great Fall Tribune Staff
U.S. Rep. Dennis Rehberg(R) asked Friday for a hearing on his bill proposing federal recognition of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe.
Rehberg, R-Mont., introduced legislation earlier this year to recognize the tribe.
"The Little Shell have spent more than a century seeking recognition and being held up by the bureaucratic process," said Rehberg. "It's time we give the tribe an opportunity to discuss the importance of the bill."
The Little Shell Tribe is made up of approximately 4,300 members, mostly in the Great Falls area.
In 2000, the same year the tribe was recognized by the state of Montana, the Department of Interior issued a positive finding for the tribe, making it eligible for recognition. Since then, little progress has been made.
Rehberg's bill seeks to expedite recognition through the legislative process. Such recognition would bring benefits to tribal members.
"Federal recognition is essential for the Little Shell Tribe to establish a tribal land base, preserve its sovereignty and culture, as well as gain access to vital services and benefits for tribal members," said Rehberg in his letter to House leadership.
"The bureaucrats over at Interior have held this thing up too long," Rehberg said. "Let's have a hearing, discuss the bill, and bring the tribe the recognition they deserve."
The tribe has been seeking recognition from the federal government for more than 115 years.
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Little Shell Member Group: War Shield Development offers assistance to Indian business
From the Great Falls Tribune
By PETER JOHNSON
...
Tribune Staff WriterA new, nonprofit community development corporation is gearing up to help improve social and economic conditions for Indians in Great Falls, and perhaps later statewide.
War Shield Development is launching a six-week course next week, dubbed "Indianpreneurship," to help Native Americans learn how to start businesses.
The group obtained its state and federal nonprofit status earlier this year, said program director James Parker Shield, a veteran Native American leader.
"We're just in the early stages, but I think we're off to a good start with this program encouraging entrepreneurial efforts among tribal members," he said.
Parker Shield said he and a seven-member board of directors started the community development corporation to help spur economic and social growth.
Although all are members of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe, the development group is not officially connected with the tribe.
Parker Shield will instruct the class. He's been a contractor, tribal official and government aide, but had to study to be certified to teach the class. Guest speakers will discuss marketing, finance, business law and other topics.
Classes will be 6 to 9 p.m. Wednesdays in the county extension office meeting room at Westgate Mall. Ten Native Americans have signed up, filling the class, which will follow a curriculum created by Oregon Native American Business Enterprise Network.
The student finishing the class with the best business plan will win a $300 prize, Parker Shield said, and War Shield Development hopes to provide them additional support as they launch businesses.
The classes are funded with small grants from the Montana Department of Commerce and the State Tribal Economic Development Commission, he said.
"We're starting up in Great Falls, which has more than 1,000 of the state's 4,500 Little Shell members," Parker Shield said. "But we're hoping eventually to help Little Shell and other tribal members around the state."
The Little Shell is a landless tribe that's been trying for years to officially get recognized by the federal government, which would bring benefits for its members.
Parker Shield said War Shield Development also is considering programs to rehabilitate existing subsidized, low-income apartments and to promote homeownership for tribal members.
Reach Tribune Staff Writer Peter Johnson at 791-1476, 800 438-6600 or pjohnson@greatfallstribune.com.
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Little Shell Tribal Member Has Grand Opening of Retail Store in Butte Montana!
Bigback Silk-Screening will be having a grand opening on Tuesday, May 1, 2007 in Butte Montana at 66 West Park Street.
The day will feature Traditional Flute Music (Northern Cheyenne Flute Player - Charles Rising Sun), Dance, Drumming (Hand Drummer Jack Perry), Food, Artists, Crafts People, and a Local Contemporary Musician. Mrs. Bigback is an Enrolled Member of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana, and Mr. Bigback is an Enrolled Member of the Northern Cheyenne tribe. Both have been Vending at the powwow's, conferences, and artshows for the past several years and are now setting up both a retail and a wholesale silkscreen printing service in a permenant store front in Butte Montana. The Retail Store will highlight an Art Gallery, a Gift Shop, and of courst the Silk Screen Print Shop. If you are in Butte Montana, please stop by and say hello to Robert, Michele, and Cheyenne.
If you would like to order Silk-Screening or other items, you can contact them at:
Bigback Silk-Screening
66 W. Park St.
Butte, MT 59701
406-782-2713
406-494-1051 (fax)
bigbacksilkscreening@msn.com
www.BigbackSilkScreening.com
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Montana Governor Signs Little Shell Bill for the 2nd time
From the Great Falls Tribune
By ERIC NEWHOUSE
A bill giving the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe an office building was signed into law again Wednesday by Gov. Brian Schweitzer.
Great Falls Tribune Projects Editor"Now you have state recognition and the Morony site," Schweitzer told tribal leaders at a formal bill signing in the C.M. Russell Museum. "The next step is federal recognition."
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Shannon Augare, D-Browning, gives the tribe control of the historic Morony apartment building on the damsite outside Great Falls for the next 10 years.
It also gives the tribe control of the land around it, perhaps six or seven acres, said Roger Semler, regional parks manager for Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
"We have the latitude to inspect the site, determine what it will cost to fix it up, and the time to raise funding to pay for it before we take physical possession," said John Sinclair, tribal chairman.
The tribe has sought federal recognition, which would enable it and its members to qualify for government services and aid such as education and health care funding, for 115 years.
FWP currently supervises the park. Under the new law, the tribe could renovate the two-story brick building with a porch that's falling off, and use it for offices and cultural activities, but the bill provides no state funding for it.
"Obviously, it would be quite a costly endeavor to restore that building to its historic design," Semler said. "It could be well over a million dollars would be my guess."
After a decade, the tribe can renew its lease, or the state can permanently transfer the building and acreage around it to the tribe.
According to the governor's office, Schweitzer originally signed the bill into law early in April.
"I think the governor wanted to sign the bill in Helena real quick so they couldn't take it back, then sign it again with us," Sinclair said.
"It's good to be here with you," Schweitzer said. "And it's good to be out of the Capitol building because there are bad spirits there that sometimes drive people to say things they may not mean."
Earlier in the day, House Majority Leader Michael Lange had unleashed a profanity-laden tirade against the governor.
"He works hard at this, and I have nothing but respect for him," Schweitzer responded. "I believe we should never take the measure of a man at his weakest moment."
Reach Tribune Projects Editor Eric Newhouse at 791-1485, 800-438-6600 or enewhousegreatfallstribune.com
WEBMASTER NOTE: This Bill was lobbied for and with the blood, sweat, and tears of Little Shell Tribal Member James Parker Shield and we all need to congradulate him for his tireless dedication to the tribe and to our people. Chairman John Sinclair forced James Parker Shield to resign from the Vice-Chairmanship over this issue in a very ugly and disrecpectful and public way.
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Little Shell tribe gets yes vote for townsite
From the Associated Press via Billings Gazette.
By The Associated Press
HELENA - Gov. Brian Schweitzer has signed a bill that offers the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe control of a two-story brick building and a few acres at the Morony Dam site as part of a legislative effort to help the tribe gain federal recognition.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Shannon Augare, D-Browning, would give the tribe control of the historic Morony apartment building for the next decade.
Roger Semler, regional parks manager for the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks in Great Falls, said the tribe also would control six or seven acres. The state agency supervises the Morony park.
"We thought that if the Little Shell had a land base, maybe Congress would grant them recognition a little quicker," said Sen. Joe Tropila, D-Great Falls, the bill's co-sponsor. Greater acreage has been discussed, he said.
For 115 years, the Little Shell have sought federal recognition, which would enable the tribe and its members to qualify for government services and aid such as education and health care funding.
Under the new law, the tribe could renovate the brick building and use it for offices and cultural activities. The bill does not provide any state funding.
"Obviously, it would be quite a costly endeavor to restore that building to its historic design," Semler said. "It could be well over a million dollars would be my guess."
After a decade, the tribe could renew its lease, or the state could permanently transfer the building and surrounding acreage to the tribe. Details still need to be worked out, said Russell Boham, the tribal executive officer.
"All of it, as far as the tribe is concerned, merely provides the impetus for negotiations," he said. "And until negotiations begin, everything is up in the air.
"However, we're pleased that the legislation has been passed and signed, and we consider it a great opportunity."
Negotiations over the bill led to the resignation of Little Shell Vice Chairman James Parker Shield earlier this year. Tribal President John Sinclair said at the time that he was unaware of Shield's negotiations with the state until "way late in the game."
The Little Shell have offices in a Great Falls shopping center.
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Tribe offered control of Morony Dam building
From the Associated Press via Billings Gazette
By The Associated Press
HELENA - Gov. Brian Schweitzer has signed a bill that offers the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe control of a two-story brick building and a few acres at the Morony Dam site as part of a legislative effort to help the tribe gain federal recognition.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Shannon Augare, D-Browning, would give the tribe control of the historic Morony apartment building for the next decade.
Roger Semler, regional parks manager for the state Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks in Great Falls, said the tribe also would control six or seven acres. The state agency supervises the Morony park.
"We thought that if the Little Shell had a land base, maybe Congress would grant them recognition a little quicker," said Sen. Joe Tropila, D-Great Falls, the bill's co-sponsor. Greater acreage has been discussed, he said.
For 115 years, the Little Shell have sought federal recognition, which would enable the tribe and its members to qualify for government services and aid such as education and health-care funding.
Under the new law, the tribe could renovate the brick building and use it for offices and cultural activities. The bill does not provide any state funding.
"Obviously, it would be quite a costly endeavor to restore that building to its historic design," Semler said. "It could be well over a million dollars would be my guess."
After a decade, the tribe could renew its lease, or the state could permanently transfer the building and surrounding acreage to the tribe.
Details still need to be worked out, said Russell Boham, the tribal executive officer.
"All of it, as far as the tribe is concerned, merely provides the impetus for negotiations," he said. "And until negotiations begin, everything is up in the air.
"However, we're pleased that the legislation has been passed and signed, and we consider it a great opportunity."Negotiations over the bill led to the resignation of Little Shell Vice Chairman James Parker Shield earlier this year. Tribal President John Sinclair said at the time that he was unaware of Shield's negotiations with the state until "way late in the game."
The Little Shell have offices in a Great Falls shopping center.
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State offers control of Morony Dam building to Little Shell Chippewa Tribe
From the Great Falls Tribune
By Great Falls Tribune Staff
HELENA — A bill giving the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe an office building was signed into law Thursday by Gov. Brian Schweitzer.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Shannon Augare, D-Browning, would give the tribe control of the historic Morony apartment building on the damsite outside Great Falls for the next 10 years.
"The bill would give the tribe control of the old apartment building and the land around it, perhaps six or seven acres," said Roger Semler, regional parks manager for Fish, Wildlife & Parks in Great Falls.
"There's been no discussion of any other acreage beyond that," said Semler.
"Right now, we're looking at giving the tribe 30 or 40 acres of the Morony damsite," bill co-sponsor Sen. Joe Tropila, D-Great Falls, said Thursday. "We thought that if the Little Shell had a land base, maybe Congress would grant them recognition a little quicker."
The Little Shell have sought federal recognition, which would enable the tribe and its members to qualify for government services and aid such as education and health care funding, for 115 years.
FWP currently supervises the park. Under the new law, the tribe could renovate the two-story brick building with a porch that's falling off, and use it for offices and cultural activities, but the bill provides no state funding for it.
"Obviously, it would be quite a costly endeavor to restore that building to its historic design," Semler said. "It could be well over a million dollars would be my guess."
After a decade, the tribe can renew its lease, or the state can permanently transfer the building and acreage around it to the tribe.
Details still need to be worked out, said Russell Boham, the tribal executive officer.
"All of it, as far as the tribe is concerned, merely provides the impetus for negotiations," he said. "And until negotiations begin, everything is up in the air.
"However, we're pleased that the legislation has been passed and signed, and we consider it a great opportunity," Boham added.
The Little Shell currently operate out of offices in a Great Falls shopping center.
Webmaster Note: This Bill was championed by Vice Chairman James Parker Shields who worked tirelessly to get this bill through the Montana Legislature along with other items helpful for the Tribe. Sadly, in a very ugly and public display of disunity and disloyalty to the Little Shell Tribal Members, Chairman John Sinclair forced the resignation of James Parker Shields because he had a disagreement over this issue.
The Law is effective July 1, 2007.
Click HERE to view HB284 in PDF Format
HOUSE BILL NO. 284
INTRODUCED BY AUGARE, J. TROPILA, SMITH, CORDIER, JAYNE, SMALL-EASTMAN, JUNEAU, CAMPBELL, BIXBY
AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE RENOVATION OF THE HISTORIC BUILDING AT THE MORONY TOWNSITE IN GIANT SPRINGS STATE PARK; GRANTING AUTHORITY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF FISH, WILDLIFE, AND PARKS TO ENTER AN AGREEMENT WITH THE LITTLE SHELL CHIPPEWA TRIBE FOR MAINTENANCE AND SECURITY AT THE PARK IN EXCHANGE FOR THE TRIBE'S USE OF THE PARK AND RENOVATION AND USE OF THE BUILDING; PROVIDING AN APPROPRIATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
AN ACT AUTHORIZING THE RENOVATION OF THE HISTORIC BUILDING AT THE MORONY TOWNSITE IN GIANT SPRINGS STATE PARK; GRANTING AUTHORITY FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF FISH, WILDLIFE, AND PARKS TO ENTER AN AGREEMENT WITH THE LITTLE SHELL CHIPPEWA TRIBE FOR MAINTENANCE AND SECURITY AT THE PARK IN EXCHANGE FOR THE TRIBE'S USE OF THE PARK AND RENOVATION AND USE OF THE BUILDING; PROVIDING AN APPROPRIATION; AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:
Section 1. Renovation of Morony apartment building at Giant Springs state park. (1) (a) The department of fish, wildlife, and parks may enter into a 10-year agreement with the Little Shell Chippewa tribe that would authorize the tribe to renovate the historic Morony apartment building at the Morony townsite in Giant Springs state park and use the building for offices, interpretive areas, and related cultural and recreational activities.
(b) If the provisions of the agreement have been adhered to during the first 10-year period, the department and the tribe may renew the agreement for a longer term or agree to transfer the building and acreage to the tribe.
(c) The agreement must provide that written approval by the department is required for major improvements costing more than $5,000 and for architectural plans proposed by the tribe for the building and site. The department may not unreasonably withhold approval for the tribe's proposals.
(d) The agreement must contain a provision that the site remain open to the public for general recreation and related activities during the term of the agreement.
(e) The agreement must contain a provision that gambling, casinos, or similar gaming enterprises are prohibited in the building or on the site.
(f) An appropriate default provision must be included in the agreement.
(2) Renovation and improvement of the building are contingent on written concurrence from PPL Montana, from whom the original Morony townsite was granted. All renovation of and upgrades to the building must comply with current and applicable building codes, permitting, requirements of the federal Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990, and other requirements related to a public building.
(3) The agreement with the Little Shell Chippewa tribe may include a provision that grants the tribe nonexclusive use of the park and associated outbuildings and fixtures and the renovated building in exchange for the tribe's maintenance and security at the townsite, including the renovated building.
Section 2. Appropriation. There is appropriated $500 from the general fund to the department of fish, wildlife, and parks for the purposes of [section 1].
Section 3. Notification to tribal governments. The secretary of state shall send a copy of [this act] to each tribal government located on the seven Montana reservations and to the Little Shell Chippewa tribe.
Section 4. Effective date. [This act] is effective July 1, 2007.
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Little Shell Chippewa get access to land
From the Great Falls Tribune
By Great Falls Tribune Staff
HELENA — A bill giving the Little Shell Chippewa access to land was signed into law by Gov. Brian Schweitzer on Thursday.
The bill, sponsored by Rep. Shannon Augare, D-Browning, would give the tribe control of the Morony Dam townsite outside Great Falls for the next 10 years. The Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks now supervises the park. The tribe could renovate the building and use it for offices and cultural activities.
After a decade, the tribe could renew its lease, or the state could permanently transfer the building and land around it to the tribe.
The Little Shell now operate from offices in a Great Falls shopping center. The tribe has been seeking federal recognition for more than 100 years. Montana’s congressional delegation has introduced legislation to speed the process.
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Little Shell Tribal Member Selected To Tobacco Control Youth Leadership Institute
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Roseanne David March 13, 2007 571-323-5660
Tohni Laverdure
Little Shell Tribal MemberLittle Shell Tribal Member Selected To Tobacco Control Youth Leadership Institute
American Legacy Foundation® Trains the Next Generation of Tobacco Control Community LeadersWASHINGTON, D.C. – Tohni Laverdure, a senior at Great Falls High School in Great Falls, M.T., was one of 11 high school students nationwide selected to participate in the Youth Leadership Institute (YLI) of the American Legacy Foundation?, the largest national public health foundation dedicated to preventing teens from smoking and providing resources to smokers who want to quit. Laverdure was chosen from a competitive field of more than 80 applicants and represents a group of young people who aspire to become leaders in social justice issues in their communities, including tobacco prevention.
Each year, more than 400,000 Americans die from tobacco-related diseases, including heart disease, cancers, emphysema and stroke. Research also shows most smokers start before the age of 18. Engaging young people in tobacco control issues is essential to reaching youth before they take up smoking, a life-threatening habit. In Montana alone, 23 percent of high school-age students smoke, which is higher than the national average (22 percent).
The Institute convened in Washington, D.C., where the students were trained in public speaking and other communication skills. The youth also increased their knowledge of social justice issues, such as how tobacco-use can disproportionately affect underserved populations like low-income and racial, ethnic and cultural minority groups. They were briefed on the foundation's efforts in tobacco prevention and cessation and outlined ways to reach out to their respective communities.
“Legacy is delighted to provide this rich educational experience to young people who volunteer their time and energy to the Youth Leadership Institute,” said Cheryl Healton, Dr. P.H., Legacy’s president and CEO. “Many of the foundation’s programs focus on youth and we look forward to jump starting their roles as tobacco control advocates and leaders in public health,” Healton said.
Laverdure, a 17-year-old of the Little Shell Tribe of Montana, was selected to participate in the week-long Institute because of her demonstrated interest in and commitment to community initiatives. In Great Falls, Laverdure has volunteered with the Indian Family Health Clinic Tobacco Abuse Prevention Program, participating in numerous activities such as Kick Butts Day and other monthly activities. She is president of the Great Falls High School Native American Club and volunteers with other youth organizations such as the Boys and Girls Club.
“I’m eager to do more and am glad for this opportunity to learn more and grow as a leader with the American Legacy Foundation’s Youth Leadership Institute,” Laverdure said. “If I could just stop one child from smoking or help one person quit, it would be very satisfying.”
Research shows that American Indians disproportionately suffer from tobacco-related diseases. In addition, data show that among seniors in high school and adults, American Indians had higher rates of tobacco use than any other ethnic group.
Members of the Youth Leadership Institute will be groomed to take on more leadership responsibilities and may possibly become members of the American Legacy Foundation’s Youth Activism Council upon graduation from high school, if qualified. The foundation’s Youth Activism Council is made up of college-age students who serve as tobacco control advocates on behalf of the foundation and spread the word about tobacco’s deadly toll to peers and community organizations.
Legacy’s Youth Leadership Institute members are:
Name Home City/State School Christina Cartaciano Hagatna, Guam Academy of Our Lady of Guam Jalisa Cooper Columbus, OH Fort Hayes Metropolitan Education Ctr Artisha Hairston Winston Salem, NC Mount Tabor High School Jesse James Milan, NM Grants High School/PLC Summer Jenkins-Pua’a Kaunakakai, HI Molokai High School Zenobia Johnson Hyattsville, MD Bladensburg High School Tohni Laverdure Great Falls, MT Great Falls High School Krystal Pelayo Wailuku, HI Henry Perrine Baldwin High School Monica Torres Bridgeport, NE Bridgeport Public Schools Tasha Tydingco Barrigada, Guam Academy of Our Lady of Guam Ciera Wood Columbus, OH Columbus Alternative High School
The American Legacy Foundation® is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the foundation develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use through grants, technical assistance and training, youth activism, strategic partnerships, counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns, research, public relations, and outreach to populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco. The foundation’s national programs include truth®, Great Start® and a Priority Populations Initiative. The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five US territories, and the tobacco industry. Visit www.americanlegacy.org.###
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Little Shell tribe gets yes vote for townsite
From the Great Falls Tribune
Little Shell tribe gets yes vote for townsite
By GWEN FLORIO
Tribune Capitol BureauHELENA — The Little Shell Chippewa would be landless no longer under a bill that received preliminary approval Wednesday in the House of Representatives.
The tribe would take control of the Morony Dam townsite outside Great Falls for the next decade under the bill sponsored by Rep. Shannon Augare, D-Browning.
"This is a group of people wandering our state since 1896. This is the first time they've got a place they can call home and do business," said Rep. Gordon Hendrick, R-Superior.
The tribe operates from offices in the rear of a Great Falls shopping center. Last week, Montana's congressional delegation introduced legislation to bring federal recognition to the Little Shell, which has sought it for 115 years.
Along with recognition, which would qualify the tribe for certain federal benefits, the Little Shell seek land. Augare said the little-used Morony Dam townsite is ideal.
"Part of this land was actually ceremonial to many Native Americans across Montana. This is an opportunity to allow this certain American Indian population to utilize the property once again," Augare said.
As part of their agreement with the Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks, which now manages the site on the Missouri River, the tribe would maintain a walking trail in the park and seek money to renovate the deteriorating brick building there.
The Morony Dam Park comprises more than 300 acres, but Augare's bill doesn't specify how much of that would be turned over to the tribe. The bill originally would have allocated $500,000 to renovate the building, but that amount has been reduced to $500. Augare said the tribe would try to raise private funds for work on the building.
During debate on the bill Wednesday, Augare tried to allay concerns that the tribe might use the site for a gaming operation if the state permanently turns over the land.
"This is happening all over the United States. Tribes are taking advantage to develop gambling casinos as sources of revenue, whether they're on or off the reservation, whether they're a tribe, or not a tribe," said Rep. Tom McGillvray, R-Billings. "I don't think it's good for Montanans."
Augare said members of the tribe have assured him they don't want the land for a casino.
"I think it's really unfortunate that we would penalize certain populations for something they have not even done," he said to McGillvray.
The House approved the bill, 76-24. The measure faces a final vote in the House before going to the Senate.
To read the full text of House Bill 284, view:
HB 284 Legislative Info Page
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Little Shell would be landless no longer under bill
From the Great Falls Tribune
Little Shell would be landless no longer under bill
Great Falls Tribune Capitol BureauHELENA – The Little Shell Band of the Chippewa tribe would be landless no longer under a bill that received preliminary approval Wednesday in the House of Representatives.
The bill sponsored by Rep. Shannon Augare, D-Browning, would give the tribe control of the Morony Dam townsite outside Great Falls for the next 10 years.
At the end of that time, the state could permanently transfer the site to the tribe, which has spent decades seeking federal recognition.
Rep. Tom McGillvray, R-Billings, said he was concerned that the tribe eventually would seek to run a gambling hall at the site.
But Augare said he’d been assured that would never happen. The House approved the bill, 76-24. It faces one more vote before moving to the Senate.
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Helena Independant Register Editorial Supports Recognition for Little Shell Tribe
From the Helena Independant Register
About time for Little Shell Tribe
By The Helena IR - 03/04/07So what if it’s 100 years late? We’re sure Montana’s Little Shell Chippewa Tribe will still take it.
That’s how long the 4,300 Little Shell members have been trying to obtain federal recognition as a tribe — the recognition that is necessary to qualify for government services already available to other Native Americans.
Montana’s congressional delegation — Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester and Rep. Denny Rehberg — introduced legislation last week that requires immediate action. The tribe was recognized by the state seven years ago, joining the seven other tribal nations in Montana. At about the same time, the Department of the Interior issued a positive finding for the tribe. Since then, however, the matter has been snarled in what the delegation called “bureaucratic obstacles.”
As “landless” Indians, the Little Shell Tribe, based in Great Falls but with many members in the Helena area as well, has long been denied basic services afforded to Indians on reservations.
The bill includes tribal land as well making members eligible for education, housing, health care, and other assistance.
Many Native Americans, whether on reservations or not, suffer from poverty and all the problems that come with it, including substance abuse and poor health.
Given their history, they of all people deserve the assistance they need.
We wish the delegation well in quickly pushing the measure through Congress and onto the president’s desk.
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Montana's congressional delegation Unites to bring Federal Recognition to Little Shell Tribe
From the Billings Gazette
Delegation pushes tribe recognition
By Billings Gazette News ServicesWASHINGTON - Montana's congressional delegation has united in an effort to bring federal recognition to the state's Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
The Little Shell, a tribe of more than 4,000 based in Great Falls, say they have been fighting for federal recognition for more than 100 years.
The U.S. Interior Department granted the tribe preliminary recognition in 2000. But the tribe still doesn't have reservation land, housing, medical care and other benefits that come with federal recognition.
"This is just the quickest way to do it," said tribal president John Sinclair, who added that he was appreciative of the congressional effort.
Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg introduced the House bill, similar to legislation he introduced in the last Congress. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester introduced the Senate version of the legislation, his first bill since becoming a senator in January. Democratic Sen. Max Baucus is a co-sponsor.
Tester said the bill would require immediate action.
"Not only does this bill provide tribal land, it formally sets up a government-to-government relationship between the tribe and the United States - something all tribal nations deserve," Tester said.
From the Great Falls Tribune
Montana delegation bills would recognize Little Shell Tribe
For the Great Falls Tribune
WASHINGTON — Montana's congressional delegation introduced legislation Thursday to recognize the landless Little Shell Chippewa Tribe.
Federal recognition, which the tribe has sought for more than 115 years, would enable it to qualify for existing government services.
The Little Shell is recognized by the state of Montana and all seven other tribal nations in the state.
"The Little Shell have spent over a century tirelessly trying to gain federal recognition and this bill will help them get it," said Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., who introduced similar legislation last session.
"This recognition is critical for the tribe to gain better access to increased education and health-care funding," he said
Sens. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., introduced parallel legislation in the Senate.
"This bill fulfills a long overdue promise owed to the 4,500 Montanans who belong to the Little Shell Band of Chippewa Indians," Tester said. "Not only does this bill provide tribal land, it formally sets up a government-to-government relationship between the tribe and the United States —something all tribal nations deserve. This bill also cuts to the chase by requiring action now, rather than funding another red-tape study of the issue."
Montana's Little Shell Chippewa Tribe is long overdue for getting federal recognition, Baucus said.
"That's why I'm working together with Jon and Denny to pass legislation so tribal members can get the federal recognition and the benefits they deserve," Baucus said. "I'm committed to getting this legislation passed."
John Sinclair, chairman of the Little Shell Tribe, expressed his appreciation for the proposed legislation.
"Many of our tribal members are in need of health care, and this legislation would help them get it," he said. "It's important that we get this legislation passed and achieve recognition as soon as possible."
In 2000, the same year the Great Falls-based tribe was recognized by the state of Montana, the Department of Interior issued a positive finding for the tribe, making it eligible for recognition. Since then, however, little progress has been made because of bureaucratic obstacles.
WebMaster Note:
Rep Denny Rehberg submitted "H.R. 1301 : To extend the Federal relationship to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana as a distinct federally recognized Indian tribe, and for other purposes.", on March 1, 2007.
PDF Version of H.R. 1301
Sen Jon Tester submitted "S.724 : A bill to extend the Federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana, and for other purposes.", on March 1, 2007. The Bill is CoSponsered by Sen Max Bacus.
PDF Version of S. 724
Thomas Register has yet to post the text of either bill, once they provide it, I will post a copy here.
