Gianforte reintroduces legislation recognizing Little Shell

Havre Daily News staff

Montana’s sole U.S. representative has again introduced legislation in the House asking Congress to recognize the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, a companion to a bill introduced by Montana’s U.S. senators.

Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., spoke on the House floor Wednesday to introduce the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians Restoration Act and urge lawmakers to pass the bill.

“We take up their worthy cause again today as I reintroduce the bill,” a press release reports Gianforte said. “I call on this body to consider and pass this bill again. This Congress should provide the Little Shell Tribe with the federal recognition it deserves, particularly after its eight decades of dedicated efforts.”

“I appreciate Congressman Gianforte’s steadfast determination to see justice served for the Little Shell Tribe. He is a true friend to my people,” said Little Shell Tribe Chair Gerald Gray said in the release. “I am confident that his persistence will result in the long-awaited passage and enactment into law of the Little Shell Restoration Act.”

The members of Montana’s congressional delegation have been sponsoring bills to recognize the Little Shell for more than a decade.

Gianforte introduced a recognition bill that was the first such bill passed by the House.

The bill was set to pass the Senate in the last days of last year’s session, but was blocked by Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah.

Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Steve Daines, R-Mont., announced Wednesday they were introducing a bill in the Senate to recognize the Little Shell.

Gianforte’s bill, H.R. 297, grants federal recognition of the Little Shell Tribe and allows the tribe to purchase 200 acres of land to serve as its reservation. The legislation makes the Little Shell Tribe eligible for federal resources for economic development, health, and education.

The tribe consists of some 5,400 members across the nation. Its website reports the tribe is scattered but has population concentrations in Havre, Chinook, Hays, Wolf Point, Lewistown, Great Falls, Helena, Butte, Hamilton and Billings. Its tribal offices are in Great Falls.

  Tribal historians say The Little Shell have been seeking recognition since the 1860s, when the Pembina Band of Chippewa signed a treaty with the U.S. government.

The tribe has been without a recognized homeland since Chief Little Shell and his followers in North Dakota broke off treaty negotiations with the U.S. government. Tribal members later settled in Montana and southern Canada.

In 1978, the Little Shell petitioned the Bureau of Indian Affairs for recognition through the Bureau‘s Federal Acknowledgement Process. Despite a favorable report by the Department of the Interior in 2000 and recognition of the tribe by the Montana government that same year, the Bureau of Indian Affairs denied the tribe recognition in 2009 and again in 2013.