II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 51 

To extend the Federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa 

Indians of Montana, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 8, 2019 

Mr. TESTER (for himself and Mr. DAINES) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

A BILL 

To extend the Federal recognition to the Little Shell Tribe 

of Chippewa Indians of Montana, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Little Shell Tribe of 

5 Chippewa Indians Restoration Act of 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians 

9 is a political successor to signatories of the Pembina 

10 Treaty of 1863, under which a large area of land in 


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1 the State of North Dakota was ceded to the United 

2 States; 

3 (2) the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa of 

4 North Dakota and the Chippewa-Cree Tribe of the 

5 Rocky Boy’s Reservation of Montana, which also are 

6 political successors to the signatories of the Pembina 

7 Treaty of 1863, have been recognized by the Federal 

8 Government as distinct Indian tribes; 

9 (3) the members of the Little Shell Tribe con10 tinue to live in the State of Montana, as their ances11 tors have for more than 100 years since ceding land 

12 in the State of North Dakota as described in para13 graph (1); 

14 (4) in the 1930s and 1940s, the Tribe repeat15 edly petitioned the Federal Government for reorga16 nization under the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 

17 5101 et seq.) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Re18 organization Act’’); 

19 (5) Federal agents who visited the Tribe and 

20 Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier at21 tested to the responsibility of the Federal Govern22 ment for the Tribe and members of the Tribe, con23 cluding that members of the Tribe are eligible for, 

24 and should be provided with, trust land, making the 

25 Tribe eligible for reorganization under the Act of 


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1 June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.) (commonly 

2 known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’); 

3 (6) due to a lack of Federal appropriations dur4 ing the Depression, the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

5 lacked adequate financial resources to purchase land 

6 for the Tribe, and the members of the Tribe were 

7 denied the opportunity to reorganize; 

8 (7) in spite of the failure of the Federal Gov9 ernment to appropriate adequate funding to secure 

10 land for the Tribe as required for reorganization 

11 under the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 5101 et 

12 seq.) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganiza13 tion Act’’), the Tribe continued to exist as a sepa14 rate community, with leaders exhibiting clear polit15 ical authority; 

16 (8) the Tribe, together with the Turtle Moun17 tain Band of Chippewa of North Dakota and the 

18 Chippewa-Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reserva19 tion of Montana, filed 2 law suits under the Act of 

20 August 13, 1946 (60 Stat. 1049) (commonly known 

21 as the ‘‘Indian Claims Commission Act’’), to petition 

22 for additional compensation for land ceded to the 

23 United States under the Pembina Treaty of 1863 

24 and the McCumber Agreement of 1892; 


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1 (9) in 1971 and 1982, pursuant to Acts of Con2 gress, the tribes received awards for the claims de3 scribed in paragraph (8); 

4 (10) in 1978, the Tribe submitted to the Bu5 reau of Indian Affairs a petition for Federal recogni6 tion, which is still pending as of the date of enact7 ment of this Act; and 

8 (11) the Federal Government, the State of 

9 Montana, and the other federally recognized Indian 

10 tribes of the State have had continuous dealings 

11 with the recognized political leaders of the Tribe 

12 since the 1930s. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) MEMBER.—The term ‘‘member’’ means an 

16 individual who is enrolled in the Tribe pursuant to 

17 section 7. 

18 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of the Interior. 

20 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Lit21 tle Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana. 

22 SEC. 4. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Federal recognition is extended to 

24 the Tribe. 


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1 (b) EFFECT OF FEDERAL LAWS.—Except as other2 wise provided in this Act, all Federal laws (including regu3 lations) of general application to Indians and Indian 

4 tribes, including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 

5 5101 et seq.) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorga6 nization Act’’), shall apply to the Tribe and members. 

7 SEC. 5. FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of enact9 ment of this Act, the Tribe and each member shall be eligi10 ble for all services and benefits provided by the United 

11 States to Indians and federally recognized Indian tribes, 

12 without regard to— 

13 (1) the existence of a reservation for the Tribe; 

14 or 

15 (2) the location of the residence of any member 

16 on or near an Indian reservation. 

17 (b) SERVICE AREA.—For purposes of the delivery of 

18 services and benefits to members, the service area of the 

19 Tribe shall be considered to be the area comprised of 

20 Blaine, Cascade, Glacier, and Hill Counties in the State 

21 of Montana. 

22 SEC. 6. REAFFIRMATION OF RIGHTS. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act diminishes 

24 any right or privilege of the Tribe or any member that 

25 existed before the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 (b) CLAIMS OF TRIBE.—Except as otherwise pro2 vided in this Act, nothing in this Act alters or affects any 

3 legal or equitable claim of the Tribe to enforce any right 

4 or privilege reserved by, or granted to, the Tribe that was 

5 wrongfully denied to, or taken from, the Tribe before the 

6 date of enactment of this Act. 

7 SEC. 7. MEMBERSHIP ROLL. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receiving rec9 ognition, services, and benefits pursuant to this Act, the 

10 Tribe shall submit to the Secretary, by not later than 18 

11 months after the date of enactment of this Act, a member12 ship roll consisting of the name of each individual enrolled 

13 as a member of the Tribe. 

14 (b) DETERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP.—The quali15 fications for inclusion on the membership roll of the Tribe 

16 shall be determined in accordance with sections 1 through 

17 3 of article 5 of the constitution of the Tribe dated Sep18 tember 10, 1977 (including amendments to the constitu19 tion). 

20 (c) MAINTENANCE OF ROLL.—The Tribe shall main21 tain the membership roll under this section. 

22 SEC. 8. ACQUISITION OF LAND. 

23 (a) HOMELAND.—The Secretary shall acquire, for the 

24 benefit of the Tribe, trust title to 200 acres of land within 


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1 the service area of the Tribe to be used for a tribal land 

2 base. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL LAND.—The Secretary may acquire 

4 additional land for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to 

5 section 5 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 5108) 

6 (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’). 

Æ 


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