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Oftentimes Asked Questions

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A listing of oftentimes asked questions about Montana'due south American Indian People.

Which American Indian tribes are located on what reservations in Montana?

What is a reservation?

Who is an American Indian?

Which term is more appropriate to use, American Indian or Native American?

Are American Indians citizens?

What are tribal colleges and who can attend them?

Practise American Indians get a costless higher education?

What is Indian Education for All?

What does the term achievement gap hateful and to whom does it utilise?

Practice American Indians pay taxes?

Do American Indians get coin for just being American Indian?

How are tribes organized?

What does the term "Federally Recognized Tribe" hateful?

What is the human relationship between the United states and the tribes

What is the Federal Indian Trust Responsibility?

What is the relationship between tribes and us?

What are Treaty Rights?

Historically, did all American Indians and Alaska Natives speak a common linguistic communication?

When is American Indian Heritage Day?

Where can I find information about American Indians and American Indian related issues?

Which American Indian tribes are located on what reservations in Montana?

Reservations and the tribal groups that inhabit them
Reservation Tribes Native Names In English
Blackfeet Amskap Pikuni Blackfeet
Crow Apsaalooke Crow
Flathead Selis, Qlispe, Ksanka Salish, Pend d'Orielle, Kootenai
Fort Belknap Aaniiih, Nakoda Gros Ventre, Assiniboine
Fort Peck Dakota, Nakoda Sioux, Assiniboine
Northern Cheyenne Tsetsêhesêstâhase/So'taahe Northern Cheyenne
Rocky Boy'due south Annishinabe, Ne-i-yah-wahk Chippewa (Ojibwa), Cree
Piddling Shell (Bang-up Falls) Anishinaabe Chippewa (Ojibwa)

The Petty Trounce Band of Chippewa Indians are landless simply headquartered in Great Falls. All the tribes listed in a higher place are federally recognized. On December 20, 2019, the Little Crush Tribe of Chippewa Indians gained federal recognition (https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/18/politics/montana-little-shell-tribe-recognition-trnd/index.html) . (See below for an explanation of "federal recognition.") The Niggling Shell Tribe, which had been landless for the by 100 years, will now accept access to funding and programs as well every bit a tract of land.

What is a reservation?

A reservation is a territory reserved by tribes as a permanent tribal homeland. Some reservations were created through treaties while others were created by statutes or executive orders. About often, reservations are comprised of part of a people'due south pre-contact homeland.

Who is an American Indian?

Legally and politically, an American Indian is a member of a tribe. Each tribe creates its own membership requirements to decide whether an individual is eligible for enrollment. Membership criteria varies from a certain degree of American Indian/tribal blood breakthrough to customs recognition every bit a tribal member. Each tribe should be contacted every bit to the specific enrollment qualifications for that tribe. In order to be politically and legally recognized as an American Indian, this political connection betwixt the tribe and the individual must exist, as it is that connection that determines whether the individual American Indian can access rights established by treaties between the tribe and the US Government. Additionally, a tribe must be federally recognized for both the tribe and the private American Indian to admission protections and services established by those treaties.

An private may be full-blooded American Indian, with claret from many dissimilar tribes merely without enough blood breakthrough of any specific tribe to meet whatever tribe'southward criteria for membership. Although this person may be considered an American Indian by others based on his or her "racial" groundwork, he or she would not be considered an American Indian either politically or legally and could non access those federal protections and services established by treaties, nor take reward of most tribal services. A person who is identified politically or "racially" as an American Indian is protected under both country laws and federal laws that protect minorities.

The state cannot legally constitute criteria of tribal membership, because that is a correct solely reserved to each tribe as an attribute of their sovereign identity. Montana'due south M-12 education system, therefore, allows parents to identify their children every bit American Indian for the purposes of state educational programs.

Which term is more than appropriate to use, American Indian or Native American?

When referring to the ethnic peoples of Alaska, Hawaii, or the 48 contiguous states of the U.s.a., it is appropriate to apply the terms "Alaska Native," "Native Hawaiian," and "American Indian" respectively. While the term "Native American" came into the usage in the 1960s, most tribal groups in Montana refer to themselves as "American Indian." "Indigenous" is a term that has recently come into common usage in national and international realms, but being as tribally specific as possible is always the best arroyo to using the correct terms of identification and description. Although Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians are considered Ethnic peoples of the U.S., they are not e'er included in a discussion of the lower forty-viii tribal nations, considering of their unique histories and relationships to the U.Southward.

Are American Indians citizens?

Yes, American Indians are citizens of the tribal group of which they are a member. American Indians became citizens of the The states in 1924 through the American Indian Citizenship Human action and are too citizens of the country in which they reside.

What are tribal colleges and who can attend them?

Tribal colleges exist on each of the seven reservations in Montana. They are Fort Peck Community College (Fort Peck Reservation), Aaniiih Nakoda College (Fort Belknap Reservation), Chief Dull Knife College (Northern Cheyenne Reservation), Little Large Horn Higher (Crow Reservation), Blackfeet Community College (Blackfeet Reservation), Salish Kootenai College (Flathead Reservation), and Stone Child College (Rocky Boy's Reservation). These tribal colleges accept open up enrollment for any interested private but do accept specific programs and resources directed toward the recruitment and retention of American Indian students. Most are two-year colleges, but several offering 4-twelvemonth degrees (didactics, nursing, etc.). Contact each individual tribal college and theAmerican Indian Higher Education Consortium for more than information.

Do American Indians go a gratuitous college pedagogy?

No, American Indians do not receive a gratuitous college education. Montana does have a tuition waiver for American Indian students, just it is based upon educatee financial demand and but covers certain costs. College-bound American Indian students fill out financial aid forms but like whatsoever other pupil, and in all cases, further funding is dependent upon good academic continuing (see theRole of the Commissioner of College Didactics American Indian Minority Achievement Programme for more information).

What is Indian Education for All?

In 1972, Montana rewrote its constitution. The constitutional delegates wrote, in Article Ten, Section ane(ii) "The state recognizes the distinct and unique cultural heritage of American Indians and is committed in its educational goals to the preservation of their cultural integrity." In 1999, the Legislature passed House Bill 528 into law, which codified the constitutional intent as MCA 20-one-501. This law is known as American Indian Teaching for All and states, "Every Montanan, whether Indian or non-Indian, be encouraged to learn about the distinct and unique heritage of American Indians in a culturally responsive manner …all school personnel should have an understanding and sensation of American Indian tribes to help them chronicle effectively with American Indian students and parents ... Every educational bureau and all educational personnel will piece of work cooperatively with Montana tribes …when providing education and implementing an educational goal."

What does the term "achievement gap" hateful and to whom does it utilize?

The "achievement gap" is a term used widely in national education circles to depict the persistent gaps between the bookish achievements of different groups of students in the United States. In Montana, this term applies predominately to the achievement levels of American Indian students equally compared to Non-Indian students in the land. American Indians, on boilerplate, face higher dropout rates, have lower exam scores, take fewer college preparatory and advanced placement classes, and have startlingly lower completion/graduation rates. See the Office of Public InstructionAmerican Indian Student Achievement Data Report for more data.

Do American Indians pay taxes?

Yes, both tribes and individual American Indians pay taxes. Individual American Indians pay federal income taxes and other taxes such every bit fuel and tobacco taxes. American Indians who piece of work on a reservation do non pay land income taxes considering of the state's inability to govern and tax American Indians with the reservation boundaries, a right reserved to tribes. However, American Indians who live and/or work off the reservation do pay state income taxes and all other taxes.

Tribal lands held in trust by the federal regime are non subject to property tax, just equally federal forest service lands are not, because states cannot taxation federal lands. This lack of a property revenue enhancement base is made up past the federal government. Counties in Montana are given Payment in Lieu of Taxes monies to offset these tribal revenue enhancement-exempt lands inside their boundaries. Additionally, M-12 public schools located within reservation boundaries are provided Bear upon Assist which assists local school districts that accept lost belongings tax revenue due to the enrollment of federally tax-exempt federal belongings, or that have experienced increased expenditures due to the enrollment of federally connected children, including children living on American Indian lands. The Impact Assist law provides funds to districts with concentrations of children on American Indian lands, military bases, or other federal backdrop.

American Indians in Montana, like all other Montanans, are concerned about taxes and how tax dollars are spent. The value of water, mineral, gas, oil, timber, and other natural resources extracted from tribal lands over the terminal i hundred years by the state, counties, and individuals far exceeds any country taxes lost on federal trust lands within reservation boundaries.

Do American Indians get money for just being American Indian?

No, American Indians do non receive payments from the federal government just considering they have American Indian blood. An American Indian person may receive distribution funds based on mineral or agronomical lease income on property that is held in trust by the United States or may stand for compensation for lands taken in connection with governmental projects. Some tribes receive benefits from the federal government in fulfillment of treaty obligations or for the extraction of tribal natural resources, a pct of which may exist distributed as per capita among the particular tribe'south membership.

How are tribes organized?

Tribes take the inherent right to operate under their own system of government. Tribal governments have diverse structures. Many take adopted constitutions, while others operate under Articles of Association or other bodies of law, and some notwithstanding maintain traditional systems of government. The chief executive of a tribe is generally chosen the tribal chairperson, merely may besides exist called the principal chief, governor, or president.

What does the term "Federally Recognized Tribe" mean?

"Federal Recognition" is a legal term meaning the United States recognizes a authorities-to-government relationship with a tribe and that a tribe exists politically every bit a "domestic dependent nation." A federally recognized tribe is i that was in existence, or evolved as a successor to a tribe, at the time of original contact with whites. Federally recognized tribes possess certain inherent rights of self-government and entitlement to certain federal benefits, services, and protections because of treaties and other agreements and subsequent federal trust duty.

What is the human relationship between the United States and the tribes?

The human relationship between the tribes and the United States is 1 of a sovereign regime to another sovereign government. This principle has shaped the unabridged history of dealings between the federal authorities, u.s., and the tribes. The US authorities entered into treaties with tribal governments that exchanged tribal lands for federal protection and services. These treaties notwithstanding class the basis of much of the Tribal-Federal relationship.

This relationship is established in the Constitution of the United states. The US Supreme Court, through many cases, has established the Usa Constitution Commerce Clause, Article I, Department viii, every bit the footing of the Tribal-Federal relationship. The Commerce Clause states, "The Congress shall have the power to …regulate commerce with strange nations, and among the several states, and with the Indian tribes.

It is important to recall that tribes pre-date the US Constitution and, as such, tribes are not bound past its provisions. In 1968, the US Congress passed the Indian Ceremonious Rights Act, which established almost, but non all of the US Constitution's Bill of Rights within Indian State.  When the United states of america became a nation, the U.S. honored treaties made with individual tribes past the British and other nations before the Revolution.

What is the Federal Indian Trust Responsibility?

The federal Indian Trust Responsibility is a legal obligation under which the United States has charged itself with moral obligations of the highest responsibility and trust toward American Indian tribes (Seminole Nation v. United States, 1942; Cherokee Nation v. Georgia, 1831). Over the years, the trust doctrine has been the centre of numerous other Supreme Court cases, and it is one of the nearly of import principles in federal American Indian law.

The Federal Indian Trust Responsibility holds the United States legally responsible for the protection of tribal lands, assets, resource, and treaty rights. The Supreme Court suggests the Federal Indian Trust Responsibility entails legal duties, moral obligations, and the fulfillment of understandings and expectations that have arisen over the unabridged course of dealings between the United States and the tribes.

The federal Indian trust duty was the basis of a longstanding lawsuit brought by Elouise Cobell and the Native American Rights Fund (NARF) in 1996 and settled in 2009. Information technology was the largest class-action lawsuit e'er filed against the federal government. The plaintiffs successfully sued the Department of the Interior (DOI) and the BIA on behalf of nearly one-half a million American Indians for mismanagement of trust funds.

What is the relationship between tribes and u.s.a.?

Given that the United states of america and tribes have a sovereign-regime-to-sovereign-government relationship, States do non have any power over tribes within their territories, and vice-versa. The US Constitution vests authority over American Indian Affairs in the federal government and, therefore, tribes and states also operate under a government-to-government human relationship. In fact, in club to become a function of the The states, virtually states, including Montana, had to disclaim any and all rights to American Indian lands inside their territories. Commodity I, Section one of the Montana Constitution (the Enabling Act), approved February 22, 1889, states "… all lands owned or held by whatever American Indian or American Indian tribes shall remain under the accented jurisdiction and control of the Congress of the United States, continue in total strength and effect until revoked by the consent of the United States and the people of Montana."

A tribe and a country tin concur, through compact or other agreement that certain legal relationships exist. Additionally, the US Congress can establish certain laws that create a state-tribal relationship on item issues. Tribes retain the right to enact and enforce stricter laws and regulations than those of the neighboring state. Tribes possess both the right and the power to regulate activities on their lands and over their citizens independently from the jurisdiction of neighboring state authorities.

What are Treaty Rights?

From 1777 to 1871, US relations with individual American Indian nations were conducted through treaty negotiations. These contracts amidst nations created unique sets of rights for the benefit of each of the treaty-making tribes and the US government. Those rights, like any other treaty obligation of the U.s.a., represent, according to Article Half-dozen of the US Constitution, "the supreme law of the state." As such, the protection of treaty rights is a critical function of the federal American Indian Trust Relationship. Treaties exchanged tribal country for certain protections and benefits. Those treaty rights often include, among other things, hunting and fishing rights for tribal members that may extend beyond reservation boundaries, education of tribal children, protection from the state by the federal authorities, and first priority to water rights.

Historically, did all American Indians and Alaska Natives speak a common language?

No, American Indians and Alaska Natives speak many diverse languages. At the stop of the 15th Century, more than 400 American Indian and Alaska Native languages were spoken. Today, some 250 tribal languages are spoken and many are written.

When is American Indian Heritage Day?

In 1997, the Montana Legislature passed into law MCA 20-1-306, designating the fourth Fri in September as American Indian Heritage Day. Under this law, schools are to comport "appropriate exercises during the schoolhouse day." In 2009, the last Friday in September was established as American Indian Heritage Day for the state of Montana for all Montanans to "(1) reverberate on American Indian culture and heritage; and (ii) celebrate American Indians and their culture and heritage in all lawful ways." In add-on, November is nationally designated as "Native American Heritage Month."

Where can I observe information most American Indians and American Indian related issues?

Visit theIndian Education Sectionalization page on the Office of Public Teaching (OPI) website to find bachelor and recommended resources and links.

MSU resource for American Indian related topics include:

Department of Native American Studies

Middle for Bilingual and Multicultural Pedagogy

Indian Education for All Workshops