Like Indian communities everywhere, the Chicago Indian community has a center but no external boundary. Indian people live scattered around the city with a concentration remaining on the north side. They are also usually the first in their family to attend college, which means that high expectations are placed upon the individual by his or her family and community upon completion of the degree. In addition to family obligations, the students have a strong commitment to the overall development of the Chicago Indian community. This continues to be demonstrated through their work in one or more local Indian organizations.
Future goals are quite diverse, but they are always community-related.
Established in 1888 for the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, the territory was carved out of the Greater Blackfeet and other Indian Reservations that allowed for statehood and the passage of the railroad through northern Montana. In 1908 it was allotted by federal law. It was opened to homesteading in 1914. Approximately 1 million acres is in Indian ownership, of which 400,000 acres is tribally owned. The economy is based on agriculture, oil and gas, three tribal industries, and undeveloped coal and geothermal resources.