MontanaMontana IndiansIndians • Their History and Location • Montana Indians Their History and Location Division of Educational Opportunity and Equity Linda McCulloch, Superintendent Montana Office of Public Instruction PO Box 202501 Helena, Montana 59620-2501 www.opi.state.mt.us February 2004 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 1 Montana Indians Historical Overview ............................................................................................................. 2 Early Tribal Distribution (Map)........................................................................................................................ 8 Montana Indian Reservations (Map) .............................................................................................................. 9 Montana Tribal Information .......................................................................................................................... 10 Blackfeet Reservation............................................................................................................................... 11 Crow Reservation ..................................................................................................................................... 21 Flathead Reservation ............................................................................................................................... 27 Fort Belknap Reservation ......................................................................................................................... 39 Fort Peck Reservation .............................................................................................................................. 47 The Ojibwa (Chippewa) Indians ............................................................................................................... 53 Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa ................................................................................................................... 54 Northern Cheyenne Reservation .............................................................................................................. 59 Rocky Boy’s Reservation.......................................................................................................................... 65 Montana’s Urban Indians.......................................................................................................................... 71 Chronologies ................................................................................................................................................ 77 Bibliographies............................................................................................................................................... 87 Miscellaneous .............................................................................................................................................. 97 INTRODUCTION In this handbook we are attempting to give a brief look at Montana’s Indians. We have organized the material by reservation areas, even though in some cases, more than one tribal group lives on one reservation. There are also many Indians who are not tribal members or members of the reservation on which they reside. A section on Montana’s “Landless” Indians, now known as the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa, is also included. We are especially interested in providing information on the contemporary status of Montana’s Indian groups. Much has been written about their history, but many people don’t know who they are and how they live today. For those readers who want more information, we have included a chronology of important events and dates, a bibliography for children and adults, maps, and a miscellaneous section. Please be advised this booklet is not meant to be all inclusive, but should be used merely as a guide. If there are any questions about this information or content, please do not hesitate to contact us for clarification. You may also check with the local tribal authorities or Indian education committees. For additional information you may contact the Indian Education Specialist at the Office of Public Instruction, Helena, Montana 59620, (406) 444- 3013. We wish to thank the following individuals for their help with this publication: Lea Whitford (text), David Nolt (photography)—Blackfeet Reservation Sharon Peregoy (text), Nick Nolte (photography)—Crow Reservation Julie Cajune (text), Annie Warren (photography)—Flathead Reservation Minerva Allen (text), Louisa Kirby (photography)—Fort Belknap Reservation Dr. Joseph McGeshick (text)—Fort Peck Reservation Stan Strom (text)—Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Conrad Fisher (text)—Northern Cheyenne Reservation Russell Gopher (text), Garrett Cheen (photography)—Rocky Boy’s Reservation Murton McCluskey (text)—Urban Indians Denise Juneau and Julie Cajune—Editing of Text -1- Montana Indians Historical Overview -2- very well trained. Some reservations employ Indian doctors, nurses, MONTANA INDIANS lawyers, engineers, social workers, and other highly skilled profession- als. Montana is the home of approximately 66,000+ people of Indian Economically, Indian tribes have made tremendous strides in order extraction. The majority of these people reside on one of the seven large to improve the financial conditions of each reservation. Major employers Indian reservations while many others live in the major cities of Missoula, on all reservations are the local tribe, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Billings, Great Falls, Butte, Helena and Miles City. The Indian population local school districts. Although these provide employment for a great in our state has grown steadily and significantly as the U.S. Census number of Indian people, the unemployment rate is still staggering– Bureau improves procedures for identification of our Indian citizens. running anywhere from 50-80 percent. To deal with this, tribes have There are about 16,324 Indian students enrolled in public and private sought economic development through industry and several reserva- schools in Montana with the largest single enrollment in Browning Public tions now operate industrial plants. The Blackfeet tribe operates a pencil Schools (1,857) and the second largest enrollment in the Billings Public factory which makes several types of pens, pencils and markers, while Schools (1,076). the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes operate A & S Industries, which produces medical kits and camouflage netting. In addition to this, other Each of the seven Indian reservations in Montana is governed by a tribes have used natural resources like water, timber, coal, oil and land group of elected officials called a Tribal Council. The exception to this is to stimulate the economy of their reservations. on the Crow Reservation where a true democracy or “town meeting” form of government is used to make decisions that affect their tribe. The Tribal To obtain more information about the Montana Indian tribes, their Council works in cooperation with the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), and reservations, cultural ceremonies, powwows, schools, etc., please feel local, county and state governments to carry on tribal business. free to write directly to the addresses in the directory section pages 99- 100. In addition to having both public and private elementary and second- ary schools on or near each reservation, there are Head Start programs and tribal community colleges located there also. These tribal colleges allow a great number of reservation-based people the opportunity to secure quality training or complete two-year degree programs without leaving their home area. As a result, educational training on reservations can begin at age three in Head Start and continue two years after high school graduation in the tribal college. Unfortunately, this is not always the case, since the dropout rate of Indian students is still 20-50 percent in many Indian communities. Most students drop out in junior high school or ninth or tenth grades. In terms of educational attainment, Montana Indian people have done tremendously well considering the economic and social problems of some reservation communities. For example, many communities now employ school superintendents, principals, and many teachers and paraprofessionals of Indian descent. Tribal Council members now have college degrees and BIA and tribal employees are -3- other plateau peoples, belonged to the Salishan language group. The HISTORICAL OVERVIEW OF Flatheads (the origin of whose name is disputed) were the eastern most of all the Salishan tribes. Prior to the invasion of eastern Indians after MONTANA’S INDIANS 1600, they lived in the Three Forks area and ranged as far eastward as the Big Horn Mountains. Before 1700, the arrival first of Shoshonis from the south, and the Blackfeet from the northeast, forced them to retreat All of Montana’s Indian tribes migrated into this region, most of them westward into the mountains. Their homeland, by the time Lewis and within the last 300 years. Most of the Indian people came to what we know Clark found them in 1805, centered in the beautiful Bitterroot Valley. as Montana in search of better hunting grounds or because they were pushed here by other groups. The boundaries of Indian tribes were not The Flatheads combined in roughly equal parts, the cultures of the fixed. No one tribe owned land as we know it, but each claimed its use and plains and