Indian Tribes of Montana - A Proud Heritage
The first people to inhabit the area now known as Montana were members of nomadic
tribes that supplemented their diets with native plants and sustained
their existence by hunting buffalo and other mammals. Following the
buffalo herds, these first people crossed the Bering Strait from Asia
approximately 12,000 years ago and over time migrated southward.
Archaeologists have verified evidence of a thriving tribal culture
established west of the Rocky Mountains more than 9,000 years ago.
The first people to inhabit the area now known as Montana were
members of nomadic tribes that supplemented their diets with native
plants and sustained their existence by hunting buffalo and other
mammals. Following the buffalo herds, these first people crossed the
Bering Strait from Asia approximately 12,000 years ago and over time
migrated southward. Archaeologists have verified evidence of a thriving
tribal culture established west of the Rocky Mountains more than 9,000
years ago.
Before the white man came west, Indian people roamed freely across
this great land, following the gigantic buffalo herds that once covered
the plains. For hundreds of years the native peoples relied on the
buffalo for food, clothing and shelter. The bison was revered among the
Indian Tribes as a bountiful gift
with reverence and respect.
The area now known as Montana was inhabited by two major groups of
Indian tribes. The Blackfeet, Cheyenne, Crow, Assiniboine, Atsina and
Arapaho tribes lived on the south and eastern grassy plains. The rugged
western mountains were the home of the Shoshone, Bannack, Kalispell,
Flathead and Kootenai tribes. The Dakota, Sioux and the Nez Perce
tribes entered Montana at times to hunt and dispatch war parties, but
were not permanent residents of the State.
With the arrival of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the first
decade of the 19th century, the traditional way of life of Montana
Indians became increasingly threatened. By the mid-1880’s, the federal
government began to deal formally with the tribes, entering into
treaties that assigned tribes to certain designated areas and obligated
them to respect the land boundaries of their neighbors. However, the
mining “booms? of the 1860’s fractured these fragile arrangements as
miners rushed into the lucrative gold fields that often lay adjacent to
or within the designated tribal lands. These new “settlers? demanded
federal protection, thus beginning the garrisoning of Montana and the
eventual forced relocation of the tribes to smaller and smaller
reservations.
The combination of “tribal” and “nation” best encapsulates essential
aspects of both the historical and contemporary identity of Indian
communities in Montana. There are nine principal tribal groups living
on seven reservations in Montana. Three of the reservations are
inhabited by more than one tribal group.
The Confederated Salish, Pend d’Oreille and Kootenai share the
Flathead Reservation; the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine co-habit the Fort
Belknap Reservation; and the Assiniboine and Sioux both reside on the
Fort Peck Reservation. In each of these cases, the reservation
population consists of diverse fragments of larger tribal nations. For
example, there are 33 bands of Assiniboine Indians, two of which are
represented on the Fort Peck Reservation, where each of the seven
primary bands of the Sioux nation are also represented.
The Rocky Boy’s Reservation was originally inhabited by members of
the Chippewa and Cree Tribes. However, because of extensive
inter-marriage over the generations, the tribal rolls now list members
only as “Chippewa Crees”. In 1935, the Chippewa Crees adopted a tribal
constitution for the “Chippewa Cree Tribe”, officially recognizing the
coming together of the two tribes into one.
Montana is also home to the Little Shell Band of Chippewa, often
referred to as “Landless Indians”. Although a distinct tribal group,
the Little Shell are not yet a federally recognized tribe.
Tribal nations are distinctive in several respects. They are based
primarily, although not exclusively, on ethnic heritage and are
racially distinct from other minority groups in Montana and the United
States. Most important from a legislative standpoint, tribal nations
have a unique status in the American federal system. American Indians
are not just an ethnic minority; they are also respected members of
quasi-sovereign tribal nations. The Indian nations of Montana are
governed by tribal governments that are legally empowered to determine
who is and is not a member of that nation. Each of the tribal
governments in Montana has established its own criteria for enrollment,
with some requiring higher blood quantum levels than others.
The tumultuous history of the Indian tribes in Montana is
characterized by years of violent warfare and constant movement. They
traveled the plains to follow the buffalo and the many tribes battled
for control of prime hunting grounds. Finally, with the bison near
extinction and tribes decimated by disease and battles with white
settlers, there came a final move onto reservations, marking the sad
end of a proud and noble era.
Indian Population
According to 2007 figures from the US census,
Montana has a population of approximately 957,800 people, the Indian
Population of Montana was approximately 6.4 percent of the total
population of the state.
The census reports information for American Indian areas that
includes all American Indian reservations, off-reservation trust lands,
and other tribal-designated statistical areas. Montana has seven Indian
areas. The Indian population ranges from 24% of the total population in
the Flathead area to 95% in the Rocky Boy’s area.
Although the Indian population in Montana is highly concentrated in
a few counties, Native Americans live in all 56 counties of the state,
ranging from a small percentage of less than 1% in 19 counties to 10%
of the population in 29 counties. There are eight counties in which
Indians compose 11% to 56% of the total population.
Each Montana Indian tribe has unique customs and cultural
traditions. The state’s Indian tribes have endeavored to adapt and
adjust to the ever changing world around them; however, they have
retained the traditions and tribal mandates of their proud past. In
celebrating through language, dance, songs and sacred religious
ceremonies the special connection they feel with nature , our native
tribes richly contribute to the distinct flavor of Montana.
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