II 

Calendar No. 219 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 35 

[Report No. 114–139] 

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 6, 2015 

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

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 

Reported by Mr. BARRASSO, without amendment 

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 2015’’. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 35 RS

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds that— 

3 (1) the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians 

4 is a political successor to signatories of the Pembina 

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

6 the State of North Dakota was ceded to the United 

7 States; 

8 (2) the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa of 

9 North Dakota and the Chippewa-Cree Tribe of the 

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

11 political successors to the signatories of the Pembina 

12 Treaty of 1863, have been recognized by the Federal 

13 Government as distinct Indian tribes; 

14 (3) the members of the Little Shell Tribe con15 tinue to live in the State of Montana, as their ances16 tors have for more than 100 years since ceding land 

17 in the State of North Dakota as described in para18 graph (1); 

19 (4) in the 1930s and 1940s, the Tribe repeat20 edly petitioned the Federal Government for reorga21 nization under the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 

22 461 et seq.) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Reor23 ganization Act’’); 

24 (5) Federal agents who visited the Tribe and 

25 Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier at26 tested to the responsibility of the Federal GovernVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:52 Sep 11, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S35.RS S35

emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 35 RS

1 ment for the Tribe and members of the Tribe, con2 cluding that members of the Tribe are eligible for, 

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

4 Tribe eligible for reorganization under the Act of 

5 June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) (commonly 

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

7 (6) due to a lack of Federal appropriations dur8 ing the Depression, the Bureau of Indian Affairs 

9 lacked adequate financial resources to purchase land 

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

11 denied the opportunity to reorganize; 

12 (7) in spite of the failure of the Federal Gov13 ernment to appropriate adequate funding to secure 

14 land for the Tribe as required for reorganization 

15 under the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 et 

16 seq.) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganiza17 tion Act’’), the Tribe continued to exist as a sepa18 rate community, with leaders exhibiting clear polit19 ical authority; 

20 (8) the Tribe, together with the Turtle Moun21 tain Band of Chippewa of North Dakota and the 

22 Chippewa-Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy’s Reserva23 tion of Montana, filed 2 law suits under the Act of 

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

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


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 35 RS

1 for additional compensation for land ceded to the 

2 United States under the Pembina Treaty of 1863 

3 and the McCumber Agreement of 1892; 

4 (9) in 1971 and 1982, pursuant to Acts of Con5 gress, the tribes received awards for the claims de6 scribed in paragraph (8); 

7 (10) in 1978, the Tribe submitted to the Bu8 reau of Indian Affairs a petition for Federal recogni9 tion, which is still pending as of the date of enact10 ment of this Act; and 

11 (11) the Federal Government, the State of 

12 Montana, and the other federally recognized Indian 

13 tribes of the State have had continuous dealings 

14 with the recognized political leaders of the Tribe 

15 since the 1930s. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

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

19 individual who is enrolled in the Tribe pursuant to 

20 section 7. 

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

22 the Secretary of the Interior. 

23 (3) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Lit24 tle Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 35 RS

1 SEC. 4. FEDERAL RECOGNITION. 

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

3 the Tribe. 

4 (b) EFFECT OF FEDERAL LAWS.—Except as other5 wise provided in this Act, all Federal laws (including regu6 lations) of general application to Indians and Indian 

7 tribes, including the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 

8 et seq.) (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Reorganization 

9 Act’’), shall apply to the Tribe and members. 

10 SEC. 5. FEDERAL SERVICES AND BENEFITS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of enact12 ment of this Act, the Tribe and each member shall be eligi13 ble for all services and benefits provided by the United 

14 States to Indians and federally recognized Indian tribes, 

15 without regard to— 

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

17 or 

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

19 on or near an Indian reservation. 

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

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

22 Tribe shall be considered to be the area comprised of 

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

24 of Montana. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 35 RS

1 SEC. 6. REAFFIRMATION OF RIGHTS. 

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

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

4 existed before the date of enactment of this Act. 

5 (b) CLAIMS OF TRIBE.—Except as otherwise pro6 vided in this Act, nothing in this Act alters or affects any 

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

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

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

10 date of enactment of this Act. 

11 SEC. 7. MEMBERSHIP ROLL. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receiving rec13 ognition, services, and benefits pursuant to this Act, the 

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

15 months after the date of enactment of this Act, a member16 ship roll consisting of the name of each individual enrolled 

17 as a member of the Tribe. 

18 (b) DETERMINATION OF MEMBERSHIP.—The quali19 fications for inclusion on the membership roll of the Tribe 

20 shall be determined in accordance with sections 1 through 

21 3 of article 5 of the constitution of the Tribe dated Sep22 tember 10, 1977 (including amendments to the constitu23 tion). 

24 (c) MAINTENANCE OF ROLL.—The Tribe shall main25 tain the membership roll under this section. 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 35 RS

1 SEC. 8. TRANSFER OF LAND. 

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

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

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

5 base. 

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

7 additional land for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to 

8 section 5 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 465) 

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


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 219 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 35 

[Report No. 114–139] 

A BILL 

To extend the Federal recognition to the Little 

for other purposes. Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana, and 

SEPTEMBER 10, 2015 

Reported without amendment 


emcdonald on DSK67QTVN1PROD with BILLS