Fort Belknap Indian Reservation (Montana): Difference between revisions

:Principal tribes -- Assiniboine and the [[Grosventre Indians|Gros Ventre]] (Atsina), [[Blackfeet Indians]], [[Flathead Indians]], [[Kalispel Indians]], [[Little Shell Band of Chippewa Indians, Montana]], [[Nez Perce Indians]], [[Pend d'Oreille Indians]], and [[Spokane Indians]]  

The area of the reservation in 1908 was 497,600 acres. In 1900, the Reservation covered 537,600 acres. Later in the 1930s, more land was added on to the Fort Belknap Reservation with the support of Joseph Dussome and other Little Shell Chippewa leaders. Today, Fort Belknap Reservation covers 648,920 acres or 1,014 sq. mi.<ref>"Montana Indian Reservations," Handbook of Indians North of Mexico, by Frederick Webb Hodge [http://www.accessgenealogy.com/native/tribes/reservations/montanarez.htm Available online.]</ref>.<br>  

Fort Belknap Reservation is within the original Blackfeet Reservation which was created on September 17, 1851 and approved on October 17, 1855. The correct name of the original Blackfeet Reservation, is either [[Judith basin indian reservation]] or Judith River Indian Reservation. The October 17, 1855 Blackfeet Treaty, was signed near the mouth of the Judith River which is within the [[Judith basin indian reservation]]. Little Shell Blackfeet Chippewa leaders continued to govern the original Blackfeet Reservation which was created on September 17, 1851, well into the early 20th century.<br>  

Read the October 17, 1855 Blackfeet Treaty text. It is the home of the Assiniboine, Blackfeet, Flathead (included as being Flathead are the Kalispel, Pend d'Oreille, and Spokane), the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians, and the Nez Perce.  

After World War II, many of the Little Shell Blackfeet Chippewa leaders became despondent and commenced to act on their own. In 1950, Joseph Dussome gave up and hired a lawyer and then filed a land claims lawsuit about the original Blackfeet Reservation created on September 17, 1851. On April 5, 1974, the United States again refused to honor the treaty which created the Little Shell Blackfeet Chippewa's original Blackfeet Reservation which the Fort Belknap Reservation is within.  

To learn more about the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana and how they governed their original Blackfeet Reservation, click&nbsp;[http://www.indianaffairs.gov/cs/groups/xofa/documents/text/idc-001419.pdf www.indianaffairs.gov/cs/groups/xofa/documents/text/idc-001419.pdf] this link. On page 119 (not on the adobe acrobat reader but on the pdf book pages) is the information about the June 10, 1939 meeting at Joseph Paul's home in Great Falls, Montana. On page 92, under "The Creation of Organizations in Montana, 1920-1936," is information about the first so called Little Shell Tribe organization in Montana. Howard Paul (Joseph Paul's son) preserved the information. The meeting was held at Joseph Paul's family's ranch near Lewistown, Montana in 1921.<br><br>They almost completely ignored Joseph Paul and focused primarily on Joseph Dussome. If you read the pdf book, you will have no choice but to agree that Joseph Paul was far more important. And they focused too much of their attention on the Metis or mixed bloods. And they did not mention anything about the original Blackfeet Reservation which the Little Shell Tribes land claim was about. Click&nbsp;[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/S?ammem/hlaw:@filreq%28@band%28@field%28DATE+18510917%20%28Treaty%20of%20Fort%20Laramie%20never%20ratified.%29%29+@field%28FLD003+@band%28llss+c56%29%29%29+@field%28COLLID+llss%29%29 memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/S] this link, to read the September 17, 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty which created and defined the Blackfeet Territory which is the original Blackfeet Reservation.<br><br>Little Shell Chippewa leaders have every right to claim the Assiniboine Territory (it has the number 300) and the territory of the Crow (it has the number 517 and yellow color and extends to Wyoming). No Crow Reservation (the Crow Reservation is really a Cheyenne Chippewa Reservation) is found anywhere in the land area in Montana and Wyoming with the yellow color and number 517. The treaty of October 20, 1875 did not add land to the Crow Reservation. It established a Reservation for the Cheyenne Chippewa's. Click&nbsp;[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?hlaw:10:./temp/~ammem_Att1:: memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D] this link, to read the October 20, 1875 Treaty. On the bottom of the page click the Montana 2 link. You will notice the Northern Cheyenne Reservation bordering the Crow Reservation on the east, and the Northern Cheyenne Reservation (it has the number 585) bordering the Crow Reservation on the north. However, the Arapaho (the Southern Cheyenne) Wind River Reservation and Northern Cheyenne Reservation, are within the land area in Montana and Wyoming, with the yellow color and number 517. Both the Arapaho and Cheyenne are really Chippewa. The Crow supposedly ceded their right to the land area with the number 300, on May 7, 1868.<br><br>If the Crow claimed the land area with the number 300, than the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians have every right to claim the entire land area with the yellow color and number 517. Why? An extension to the original Blackfeet Reservation which was created on September 17, 1851 and approved on October 17, 1855,&nbsp; was agreed upon on April 13, 1875. It is within the land areas with the numbers 300 and 517. Click&nbsp;[http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/S?ammem/hlaw:@filreq%28@band%28@field%28DATE+18750413%29+@field%28FLD003+@band%28llss+c56%29%29%29+@field%28COLLID+llss%29%29 memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/S] this link, to read the treaty which established the addition to the original Blackfeet Reservation which was created on September 17, 1851 and approved on October 17, 1855, within the land areas with the numbers 300 and 517. On the bottom of the page is the Montana 2 link. Click it. The addition to the original Blackfeet Reservation has the numbers 622 and 623. You will notice the southwest portion of the original Blackfeet Reservation is within the land areas with the numbers 300 and&nbsp; 517.