Our View: It's time Little Shell get federal recognition

The Little Shell tribe has a long, interesting history in Montana that is an important part of the state’s lore.

Under the most difficult of times, the tribe has managed to keep its culture alive and thriving.

Tribal members are leaders in their own community and in the mainstream communities of Montana. The members largely live in Montana, especially in Great Falls and on the Hi-Line.

It was surprising and appalling that the Interior Department in 2009 rejected the tribe’s application for federal recognition. The department ruled that the tribe had lost its identity in the early 1900s and was no longer eligible for recognition.

We were apparently not the only ones to have questions about the ruling. The new Interior Secretary, Sally Jewell, has asked her deputy for Indian affairs, to review that decision. In Washington-speak, Jewell’s letter was a not-so-gentle nudge to change the decision.

The state of Montana, which is the government closest to the situation, has long recognized the tribe, but the feds have balked, meaning tribal members don’t have rights to health care programs and a variety of other benefits given to Native Americans as a way of paying them back for the shabby treatment they received over the centuries.

Sens. Jon Tester and Max Baucus have long taken up the cause of the Little Shell, and now U.S. Rep. Steve Daines, R-Mont., has added his voice to the chorus of those helping the tribe seek recognition.

Jewell’s position is encouraging, but things work slowly in the federal government’s bureaucracy.

With constant pressure, the bureaucrats can change things.

It’s hard to tell what the future of the Little Shell will be. Will they decide to have a reservation of their own? That should be decided by the tribe members themselves, but they don’t have the option until federal recognition is granted.

It is vital that the tribe’s rich and colorful history be preserved.

Federal recognition is an essential part of the effort to preserve this history.

We hope federal bureaucrats move quickly on Jewell’s request.