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History of the Fort Peck Reservation
Welcome to the Fort Peck Indian Reservation and the home of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of Montana. The history of the Fort Peck Reservation was born out of a complex series of reservation periods, warfare, and the steady migration of both Indian and white people to the area. The present day boundaries of the reservation were established by an act of Congress on May 1, 1888. The reservation is located in the extreme corner of northeast Montana and comprises an overall land base of 2,093,318 acres (approximately 3,200 square miles). Of this area, approximately 378,000 acres are tribally owned and 548,000 acres are individually allotted Indian lands. Total Indian-owned land on the reservation is 926,000 acres, less than half of the reservation land base. The Fort Peck Reservation is 110 miles long and 40 miles wide with the Missouri River serving as the southern boundary.
Reservation History
The history of the reservation and its people, begins in 1851 at Fort Laramie in Wyoming where the tribes of Montana and Dakota territory, which included the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes, negotiated with the United States Government for land and peace. Out of this "Great Council" territories were assigned and the Assiniboine originally claimed land south of the Missouri River (or south of the present day reservation). Sioux territory comprised most of Dakota Territory, or what is now the states of North and South Dakota.
In 1855 and again in 1874, the Blackfeet tribes were assigned a territory north of the Missouri River, which extended east from the Rocky Mountains to an area that would become the western boundary of Montana. The establishment of this area for the Blackfeet is significant as bands of Assiniboine and Sioux people were either assigned to the territory or recognized as having common hunting rights on the land, particularly the Sioux who were migrating into the area as political exiles from Dakota Territory and the Minnesota Wars of 1862. During this period, large numbers of Sisseton, Wahpeton, and Wahpekute Sioux bands primarily under the leadership of Standing Buffalo and Yanktonais and Yankton Sioux bands under the leadership of Medicine Bear, Strike the Rees, Red Thunder, Black Catfish, and other principle leaders, moved into the area.
Meanwhile, the Sioux again at Fort Laramie, signed another treaty in 1868 creating the "Greater Sioux Reservation," in Dakota Territory. Repeated violations of this treaty by the United States Government would eventually lead to the famous Battle of the Little Bighorn in 1876, where General George A. Custer and most of his men would lose their lives. The numerous fights between the Sioux and the United States Army before and after this battle would lead to the migration of additional Sioux bands (Tetons) into the present Reservation Area.
There were numerous Assiniboine bands already living in the area during this time of conflict, warfare, and rapid change. The area was prime buffalo country but that would soon change as white buffalo hunters moved into the area and began to slaughter the animals by the thousands. By 1883, the buffalo had disappeared from their northern range and the life style of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes changed dramatically. It was also during this same period that the Assiniboine Tribe lost without "just compensation" the territory outlined by the original 1851 Fort Laramie Treaty. Through a series of actions and without the consent of the Assiniboine, Congress in responding to pressure from white ranchers and settlers, opened the original reservation for settlement.
Finally on May 15, 1886, Congress in an effort to stabilize the area, attached a rider to the Indian Appropriations Act and authorized the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to begin negotiations with the Tribes of the territory. Led by Major Larabee, the Northwest Indian Commission, traveled during one of the harshest winters on record to the area and met separately with the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes to establish the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. Meanwhile, white representatives of Montana Territory were busy lobbying Congress to remove all of the tribes from the territory. On the final document, 137 Assiniboine with Redstone as the chief signatory and 263 Sioux with Medicine Bear as the chief signatory authorized the present reservation agreement.
The People
The Fort Peck Reservation is home to two separate warrior nations, each composed of numerous bands and divisions. Descendants of six of the 33 bands of Assiniboine came to reside at Fort Peck. These are: the Canoe Padddlers, Rock Band, Red Bottom Band, Cree Speakers, Fat Horse and Canoe Paddlers of the Prairie. More bands may have settled here, however, division over the presence of their ancient enemies the Sioux, lead many to move and settle farther west of Fort Peck to the Fort Belknap Reservation. The Sioux on the Fort Peck Reservation represent all of the divisions of this great nation. The largest group to settle on the reservation is the Cuthead Yanktonais bands under the leadership of Medicine Bear, Strike the Rees, and other principle men. The Sisseton, Wahpeton, and Wahpekute bands of Sioux migrated to the area from the Minnesota Wars. And, bands of Teton Sioux also settled the area after the Battle of the Little Bighorn.
Today, there are over 10,000 tribally enrolled members, of whom approximately 6,000 reside on or near the reservation. The major population areas are located in six reservation communities along the southern border on U.S. Highway 2 near the Missouri River. Traveling east to west these are: Fort Kipp, Brockton, Poplar, Wolf Point, Oswego, and Frazer, MT. The two tribes adopted their first written constitution in 1927, but replaced it with a new constitution in 1960. The official governing body of the Tribes is the Tribal Executive Board which is composed of twelve voting members, plus a Chairman, Vice-Chairman, Secretary-Accountant, and Sergeant-At-Arms. All members of the governing body, except the Secretary-Accountant, are elected at large every two years. Tribal headquarters are located in Poplar, Montana.
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