The Little Shell Chippewa Tribe of Montana applied for federal recognition 37 years ago after the Clinton Administration published a favorable finding. It is still waiting for recognition.
The process was reversed by the Obama administration in 2009. This is the one and only instance of the Bureau of Indian Affairs reversing itself.
Now a bill in Congress would recognize the tribe, (the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians Restoration Act), has been approved by the Senate Indian Affairs Committee, although it has not made its way to the floor.
The House Subcommittee on Indian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs has held hearings on the bill but not yet sent it to the full House.
