Our View: Little Shell Tribe deserves to keep traditions alive

Officials of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa indians are hopeful that new rules will make it easier for the federal Interior Department to relent and grant official status for the tribe.

The feds have been reluctant to grant recognition to the Little Shell — though the state of Montana has granted approval — because the tribe largely dispersed  after the arrival of Europeans.

Today, most Little Shell have become part of the mainstream society. Bankers, public relations people, educators and historians throughout Montana are proud members of the tribe, though many people — even friends — don’t realize the people have Native backgrounds.

They may not at first glimpse appear to be Native, but their pride in the rich history of the Little Shell shines through.

The Interior Department and the Bureau of Indian Affairs have rejected Little Shell plans for recognition, saying they don’t fit within federal guidelines as a tribe. Nearly every other tribe remained intact and eventually signed a treaty with the United States.

Little Shell had a tough time remaining intact and keeping their cultural traditions, though maintain the traditions they did.

Their effort for recognition has two fronts.

Tribal members are hoping to work within the Interior Department, convincing authorities to overturn their earlier decision against recognition. The proposed new rules will help that effort.

The tribe is also working to get Congress to grant recognition by, in effect, overruling the Interior Department. The Montana delegation has introduced legislation, but to no effect so far.

It’s time the Bureau of Indian Affairs bureaucracy and Congress move forward to grant recognition.

That would open the door for the tribe to take part in all kinds of federal programs.

It will enable the 6,000 members to be eligible for health and education benefits.

Most important, it would grant formal recognition to the rich tradition and great history of the tribe whose members were Montanans centuries before the arrival of Europeans.