Post by Okwes on Jun 29, 2007 18:49:37 GMT -5
Delegation pushes tribe recognition
By Gazette News Services
WASHINGTON - Montana's congressional delegation has united in an effort to
bring federal recognition to the state's Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa
Indians.
The Little Shell, a tribe of more than 4,000 based in Great Falls, say they
have been fighting for federal recognition for more than 100 years.
The U.S. Interior Department granted the tribe preliminary recognition in
2000. But the tribe still doesn't have reservation land, housing, medical care
and other benefits that come with federal recognition.
"This is just the quickest way to do it," said tribal president John
Sinclair, who added that he was appreciative of the congressional effort.
Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg introduced the House bill, similar to
legislation he introduced in the last Congress. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester introduced
the Senate version of the legislation, his first bill since becoming a
senator in January. Democratic Sen. Max Baucus is a co-sponsor.
Tester said the bill would require immediate action.
"Not only does this bill provide tribal land, it formally sets up a
government-to-government relationship between the tribe and the United States -
something all tribal nations deserve," Tester said.
-----
Little Shell Recognition
Posted by: "Puma Claw" _CactusCougar@msn.com_
(mailto:CactusCougar@msn.com?Subject= Re:Little%20Shell%20recognition)
Sun Mar 4, 2007 8:58 pm (PST)
Please see Chief Little Shell info here:
<_http://www.littleshhttp://wwhttp_ (http://www.littleshelltribe.com/) >
The Little Shell Band was granted recognition under the Clinton
Administration, but the Bush Administration took it away again.
Until the mid-1800s, ancestors of the Little Shells lived in the western
Great Lakes area. As European settlements encroached upon their territory in the
1800s, they moved west to hunt buffalo and found themselves living on the
small Turtle Mountain reservation in North Dakota. Facing starvation as the
buffalo herds disappeared<_http://sped2work.http://spedhttp://sped2woht_
(http://sped2work.tripod.com/giantbirdhtml#N1) >, the tribe broke into factions in the
1870s, with some following Chief Thomas Little Shell, Es'Snce into Montana,
some staying at Turtle Mountain and some going north to Canada.
Poor timing and rotten deals caused the Little Shell Tribe to lose its land
and federal status, Zimmerman said.
The problems began in 1892 when an Indian agent came to the tribe´s home,
North Dakota´s Turtle Mountain Reservation. Chief Thomas Little Shell was away
in Montana with 112 other families hunting buffalo. In their absence, tribal
rolls were cut and a million acres of the tribe´s land was sold for .10 cents
an acre. When he returned, Little Shell refused to take part in the deal,
said Ed Lavenger, an elder with the Little Shell Tribe who lives in Billings.
The reservation'The reservation'<WBR>s Indian agent responded by arbitrarily
cutting the tribal rolls in half, dividing families and clans. Small groups
of families, usually numbering not more than 100, settled in remote areas
across the north and east portions of Montana. They never blended into
non-Indian culture, but without the aid and legitimacy that came with federal
recognition, their tribal tradi
With no land, the tribe scattered. In 1896, 600 of the landless Indians were
captured by soldiers, put into boxcars and dropped off at the Canadian
border. That winter, they walked back, living in squalid shacks in "moccassin
flats" areas outside of towns along the Hi-Line and the eastern front of the
Rocky Mountains, Lavenger said.
"We are a scattered tribe. We weren´t claimed by the whites. We weren´t
claimed by the full bloods," Lavenger said. "They used to call us persons with no
souls. Now at least we have an identity."
Not counting the Little Shell Tribe, Montana has 11 federally recognized
tribes and seven reservations. Adjusting to life with the whites was tough
enough, Lavenger said, but at least the other tribes in the state had their own
land.
Only a handful of the tribe's 4,000 members still speak their native
language - almost none on the native speakers born after 1934, according to Little
Shell anthropologists.
The tribe's leaders have worked steadily for federal recognition since 1892;
many times it seemed just around the corner. Rocky Boy, Montana's seventh
reservation, was established in 1917 on a former military reserve as a home for
all of Montana's landless Indians. It proved to be big enough only for the
Rocky Boy Chippewa and Cree More land was purchased near Great Falls in the
late 1930s, but local opposition killed the plan to use it as a reservation.
About 25 years ago, the Little Shells finally incorporated as a nonprofit
organization and joined 221 groups who have indicated their intent to pursue
federal recognition. Until today only 15 have succeeded. The Little Shell Tribe
is the sixteenth.
S.724
Title: A bill to extend the Federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe of
Chippewa Indians of Montana, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Tester,
Jon<_http://thomas.http://thomahttp://thomah&Db=d110&<Werybd=@erybd_ (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/?&Db=d110&querybd=@field)
(FLD003+@4(((FLD003+@4((<W(FLD003+@4(((> [MT] (introduced 3/1/2007)
Cosponsors<_http://thomas.http://thomahttp://thomahttp://thhttp://thomas.http_
(http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d110:1:./temp/~bdtzy0:@@@p)
|/bss/d110query.|/bss> (1)
Latest Major Action: 3/1/2007 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read
twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.
By Gazette News Services
WASHINGTON - Montana's congressional delegation has united in an effort to
bring federal recognition to the state's Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa
Indians.
The Little Shell, a tribe of more than 4,000 based in Great Falls, say they
have been fighting for federal recognition for more than 100 years.
The U.S. Interior Department granted the tribe preliminary recognition in
2000. But the tribe still doesn't have reservation land, housing, medical care
and other benefits that come with federal recognition.
"This is just the quickest way to do it," said tribal president John
Sinclair, who added that he was appreciative of the congressional effort.
Republican Rep. Denny Rehberg introduced the House bill, similar to
legislation he introduced in the last Congress. Democratic Sen. Jon Tester introduced
the Senate version of the legislation, his first bill since becoming a
senator in January. Democratic Sen. Max Baucus is a co-sponsor.
Tester said the bill would require immediate action.
"Not only does this bill provide tribal land, it formally sets up a
government-to-government relationship between the tribe and the United States -
something all tribal nations deserve," Tester said.
-----
Little Shell Recognition
Posted by: "Puma Claw" _CactusCougar@msn.com_
(mailto:CactusCougar@msn.com?Subject= Re:Little%20Shell%20recognition)
Sun Mar 4, 2007 8:58 pm (PST)
Please see Chief Little Shell info here:
<_http://www.littleshhttp://wwhttp_ (http://www.littleshelltribe.com/) >
The Little Shell Band was granted recognition under the Clinton
Administration, but the Bush Administration took it away again.
Until the mid-1800s, ancestors of the Little Shells lived in the western
Great Lakes area. As European settlements encroached upon their territory in the
1800s, they moved west to hunt buffalo and found themselves living on the
small Turtle Mountain reservation in North Dakota. Facing starvation as the
buffalo herds disappeared<_http://sped2work.http://spedhttp://sped2woht_
(http://sped2work.tripod.com/giantbirdhtml#N1) >, the tribe broke into factions in the
1870s, with some following Chief Thomas Little Shell, Es'Snce into Montana,
some staying at Turtle Mountain and some going north to Canada.
Poor timing and rotten deals caused the Little Shell Tribe to lose its land
and federal status, Zimmerman said.
The problems began in 1892 when an Indian agent came to the tribe´s home,
North Dakota´s Turtle Mountain Reservation. Chief Thomas Little Shell was away
in Montana with 112 other families hunting buffalo. In their absence, tribal
rolls were cut and a million acres of the tribe´s land was sold for .10 cents
an acre. When he returned, Little Shell refused to take part in the deal,
said Ed Lavenger, an elder with the Little Shell Tribe who lives in Billings.
The reservation'The reservation'<WBR>s Indian agent responded by arbitrarily
cutting the tribal rolls in half, dividing families and clans. Small groups
of families, usually numbering not more than 100, settled in remote areas
across the north and east portions of Montana. They never blended into
non-Indian culture, but without the aid and legitimacy that came with federal
recognition, their tribal tradi
With no land, the tribe scattered. In 1896, 600 of the landless Indians were
captured by soldiers, put into boxcars and dropped off at the Canadian
border. That winter, they walked back, living in squalid shacks in "moccassin
flats" areas outside of towns along the Hi-Line and the eastern front of the
Rocky Mountains, Lavenger said.
"We are a scattered tribe. We weren´t claimed by the whites. We weren´t
claimed by the full bloods," Lavenger said. "They used to call us persons with no
souls. Now at least we have an identity."
Not counting the Little Shell Tribe, Montana has 11 federally recognized
tribes and seven reservations. Adjusting to life with the whites was tough
enough, Lavenger said, but at least the other tribes in the state had their own
land.
Only a handful of the tribe's 4,000 members still speak their native
language - almost none on the native speakers born after 1934, according to Little
Shell anthropologists.
The tribe's leaders have worked steadily for federal recognition since 1892;
many times it seemed just around the corner. Rocky Boy, Montana's seventh
reservation, was established in 1917 on a former military reserve as a home for
all of Montana's landless Indians. It proved to be big enough only for the
Rocky Boy Chippewa and Cree More land was purchased near Great Falls in the
late 1930s, but local opposition killed the plan to use it as a reservation.
About 25 years ago, the Little Shells finally incorporated as a nonprofit
organization and joined 221 groups who have indicated their intent to pursue
federal recognition. Until today only 15 have succeeded. The Little Shell Tribe
is the sixteenth.
S.724
Title: A bill to extend the Federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe of
Chippewa Indians of Montana, and for other purposes.
Sponsor: Sen Tester,
Jon<_http://thomas.http://thomahttp://thomah&Db=d110&<Werybd=@erybd_ (http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/?&Db=d110&querybd=@field)
(FLD003+@4(((FLD003+@4((<W(FLD003+@4(((> [MT] (introduced 3/1/2007)
Cosponsors<_http://thomas.http://thomahttp://thomahttp://thhttp://thomas.http_
(http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/D?d110:1:./temp/~bdtzy0:@@@p)
|/bss/d110query.|/bss> (1)
Latest Major Action: 3/1/2007 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Read
twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs.