Montana tribe awaits decision on U.S. recognition

MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press BILLINGS

The Bureau of Indian Affairs has delayed for another 60 days its long-stalled decision over whether to grant federal recognition to a landless Montana tribe. The roughly 4,300 members of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians are officially recognized by the state of Montana but have been unsuccessful in their decades-long fight for federal acknowledgment. The latest delay, announced Monday, was needed to continue a legal review of the tribe's case, according to a letter from Acting Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Indian Affairs George Sk...