Daines Introduces Bill to Provide Little Shell Tribe with Long-Awaited Federal Recognition

Press Release

Congressman Steve Daines today introduced legislation to provide Montana's Little Shell Chippewa Tribe with long-overdue federal recognition.

Daines' legislation, which mirrors a Senate proposal introduced by Montana Senator Jon Tester, provides the Little Shell Tribe with formal federal status and provides the Tribe with legal ownership of 200 acres of land that has been historically recognized as theirs.

"The federal recognition that Montana's Little Shell Tribe deserves is long overdue," Daines stated."Despite receiving state recognition and local support, the Little Shell Tribe has spent decades documenting their history and working for federal recognition, which shows how broken the federal tribal recognition process is. I'm proud to join in this important effort to ensure the members of the Little Shell Tribe receive the recognition and benefits they deserve."

"I appreciate Congressman Daines' introduction of H.R. 2991," stated Little Shell Chairman Gerald Gray. "It's efforts like his that will help to fix the long, cumbersome and broken system of federal recognition for tribes like mine and others. I look forward to continuing to work with him and Senator Tester to move this bill forward."

The City of Great Falls and Cascade, Blaine and Glacier Counties, where the vast majority of those identified with the Little Shell Tribe reside, also stand in support Daines' legislation and the federal recognition for the Little Shell Tribe.

Montana is home to seven federally recognized Indian Reservations and the state recognized Little Shell Tribe. There are more than 5,200 enrolled members of the Little Shell Tribe, most of who live in Montana.

The Little Shell Tribe has been working for federal recognition since the 1930s, beginning with petitions under the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 and working under the current regulatory recognition process through the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) from 1978 to the present.

During a recent Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs hearing on federal tribal recognition, Daines expressed his frustrations with the failure of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) to grant federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe, despite decades of fighting and overwhelming local support for the designation.

Daines called for the reform of the federal tribal recognition process, citing the long-overdue federal recognition of the Little Shell Tribe.

"Now, I know I'm the new guy on the block here," Daines stated during the hearing. "But it seems if we can't settle Little Shell Tribe's recognitions--an effort that Montana, including our two Democratic Senators and my predecessor Republican Denny Rehberg, our State Government, and the local community, and myself all support--I'm not sure what else the BIA needs to know."

During the hearing, Daines outlined how the Little Shell Tribe had previously provided the BIA with 10,000 pages of paperwork after the BIA had released a preliminary decision that the Tribe met all seven criteria for federal recognition. However, ten years later, the BIA revoked the positive finding.

"The folks back home in Montana thinks that's a lot of paperwork for a negative outcome," Daines added.

In 2000, the BIA stated in the Federal Register that the Little Shell Tribe had met all seven of the criteria for federal recognition. However, a final determination was later issued denying Little Shell's federal recognition. The Tribe appealed this decision, which was also recently denied by Interior Board of Indian Appeals.

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