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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August 21, 2008August 17, 2008
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.
August 16, 2008
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.
August 15, 2008
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.
July 24, 2008
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.
June 22, 2008
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.
June 22, 2008
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.
June 15, 2008
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.
May 23, 2008
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.
May 7, 2008
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.
April 23, 2008
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.
April 20, 2008
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.
April 16, 2008
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.
April 13, 2008
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
April 10, 2008
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.
April 10, 2008
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
# # #
April 10, 2008
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
April 2, 2008
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.
March 4, 2008
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.
February 24, 2008
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.
February 14, 2008
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.
January 27, 2008
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).
END
More from Indianz.com
January 11, 2008
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
January 7, 2008
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
January 6, 2008
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
December 26, 2007
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."
December 15, 2007
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.
December 11, 2007
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.
November 1, 2007
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.
October 14, 2007
'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."
October 14, 2007
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
October 8, 2007
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
September 27, 2007
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.”
September 24, 2007
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."
September 20, 2007
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.
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 sin
