Little Shell federal recognition finally achieved

A Montana Native American tribe finally has federal recognition as a tribe, something for which its members have been fighting for a century or more.

President Donald Trump signed the National Defense Authorization Act into law Friday, including its provision that the federal government recognize the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians.

Native American Tribes must be recognized as sovereign nations by the federal government to exercise full self-governance. The nation-to-nation relationship created by federal recognition allows the tribes to access resources for economic development, health care and education and to regulate affairs on tribal lands on terms that are socially and culturally appropriate.

The members of Montana’s congressional delegation have been trying for more than a decade to pass legislation recognizing the tribe after the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Indian Affairs refused to grant them recognition last decade.

Montana’s state government recognized the Little Shell in 2000.

This year’s efforts were led by Rep. Greg Gianforte, R-Mont., and U.S. Sens. Jon Tester, D-Mont., and Steve Daines, R-Mont.

“More than 100 years of tireless advocacy by generations of Little Shell members has led to this long-overdue moment — and now, finally, the Tribe has been recognized by the United States as a sovereign nation,” Tester said in a release Friday. “Little Shell recognition was the first bill I introduced in the United States Senate, and I’ve been honored to fight alongside them for the last 12 years to get this done. This is truly a historic day for the Little Shell Tribe, for the state of Montana, and for our country.”

“Today will forever be remembered by the Little Shell Tribe and all of Montana. After more than a century of perseverance, the Little Shell Tribe is finally federally recognized,” Daines said in the release. “Congratulations to Chairman (Gerald) Gray, who has fought this fight with grace and patience. It’s been an honor to work with him over the years to get this done. I thank President Trump for signing this into law, and I look forward to celebrating with the Tribe in Montana.”

“With President Trump signing this bill into law, today marks a historic day for the Little Shell Tribe who have worked tirelessly for more than a century to receive the federal recognition they deserve. It’s been an honor to work alongside my friend, Chairman Gray, and the Little Shell people to get their bill through the House and to make their long overdue federal recognition a reality,” Gianforte said in the release. “I look forward to celebrating with them soon.”

The Little Shell Tribe has headquarters in Great Falls and includes more than 5,400 members in Montana and outside of the state.

The tribe has been without a recognized homeland since the late 1800s, when 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.

Gray and other members trace their other attempts back to the 1860s, when the Pembina Band of Chippewa signed a treaty with the U.S. government.

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.

After Tester was elected in 2006, the first bill he introduced as a U.S. senator in 2007 sought federal recognition for the Little Shell Tribe, and he has reintroduced the same legislation every Congress since.

Last year marked a historic point in the process, when a recognition bill sponsored by Gianforte passed the House, the first time a Little Shell recognition bill ever passed out of either house of Congress.

That bill died in the Senate when Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, blocked a vote on Little Shell recognition.

Gianforte, and Tester and Daines, again sponsored Little Shell recognition bills, and Gianforte’s bill again passed out of the House but was not scheduled by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., to be debated and voted on.

Daines ended up being able to add the recognition to the National Defense Authorization Act.

Tester said McConnell agreed to that as long as a Republican introduced the amendment, and Daines, who has been signing onto the legislation since he was elected to Congress, introduced the amendment with Tester co-sponsoring it.

The Senate passed the bill with the recognition included, and the conference committee that was ironing out differences between the House and Senate bills kept the language in.

The final defense authorization bill passed the Senate last week on a 86-8 vote. It passed the House the week before 377-48.