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The year 1892 was the beginning of a difficult time for the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe living in Montana. While tribal Chief Little Shell was away on a hunting expedition, with others tribal members, a federal Indian agent purchased their land. When they returned, the agent cut them from the tribal roles because they would not accept the sale. Natives as well as whites turned their backs on the band, leaving them to wander and calling them ‘the people without a soul.’

CJ Bishop is a member of the Little Shell Tribe of Montana and owns and manages the Bear Creek Lodge with his wife Karey. They have a new son Kaden.

During a recent interview, CJ Bishop, a descendent of the Little Shell Tribe and owner of Bear Creek Lodge, in Boundary County, ID, shared his recollections and his tribe’s history. This is their story.

Chief Little Shell’s band was part of the Ojibwe; also know as the Chippewa tribe. The two names come from the same word. In Canada, the name used for the tribe is O’chippewa, or Ojibwe. Ojibwe comes from the word “otchipwa” which referred to the pucker of the seams on the tribe’s moccasins. Chippewa is the name used by the Federal government in its treaties. The tribe actually calls itself by the name Anishinabe, meaning “original men.”

The tribe first migrated out west from the Great Lakes area to hunt buffalo. They settled near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota. Eventually, the buffalo herds began to disappear. In order to avoid starvation, Chief Little Shell traveled with 112 families to Montana hoping to find the buffalo. Others of the tribe stayed behind and some went to Canada.

While the hunting group was away, an Indian agent came and bought one million acres of the tribe’s land for ten cents per acre. When the hunting party came back, Little Shell would not agree to the sale.

Tribal records recorded the response of Ed Lavenger, a tribal elder, as he explained what happened next, “The Indian agent just cut us out of the tribal rolls.” This left the band not only landless but also unrecognized! The group scattered.

Later, in 1896, representatives for the government collected the members of the Little Shell band, forced them onto trains and transported them into Canada. The tribal band would not give up. They walked back enduring the harsh weather of the winter. Once returned, however, they found that neither the whites nor the other Indians acknowledged them. In an effort to survive, they wandered a strip of land from North Dakota to Montana between the Canadian border and the Milk River. Others began to call them the ‘people with no souls.’

Lavenger recalled his experiences, during the 1940’s and 1950’s, when they lived in tarpaper shacks. He explained the tribe’s children did not attend school regularly because their families worked at seasonal jobs on scattered farms and ranches. “We just traveled from place to place, living in shacks and tents. It was tough. I can remember going to school and having the kids tease me because I was Indian. If they brushed against me they would say, “watch out now, you’re going to get fleas.” They never trusted the Indians.”

Over time, the tribe’s families dispersed. It was difficult to keep a consistent culture and language. However, records reveal there was a strong Tribal Chairman named Joe Dussome, who ‘held the tribe together for four decades.’ The tribe did what they could to raise money and pay a representative to take their case before the courts. The tribe continued their fight for recognition against all odds.

In order to be recognized, the tribe had to show continuity and be able to trace their lineage over a period of 109 years! During that time, the tribe struggled to access health care and higher education. Another tribe, the Crow, eventually donated medical care to the Little Shell. Then, in 1917, the Federal government turned a former military reserve in Montana into the Rocky Boy Reservation for the Little Shell Chippewa tribe.

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CJ Bishop remembered with pride his heritage as a Little Shell tribal member and described his early years growing up in Montana. “I grew up hunting and fishing and so did my dad. We hunted antelope, pheasant, grouse, sage hen and Hungarian partridge,” said CJ. He explained that hunting is different in Montana than it is in Boundary County because in Montana there are very few trees and lots of coulees, or gullies. To gain the element of surprise, he said they crawl on their bellies to sneak up on the antelope.

He said his father was raised on a reservation, and now runs a hunting guide business in Fort Belknap, near new Harlem, in eastern Montana. According to CJ, Cabelas Magazine lists the business in its guide section. CJ said he goes back during hunting seasons to work as a guide with his dad in Montana.

Bear Creek Lodge has new owners and a new restaurant, the Kodiaks.

CJ further explained how he and his wife, Karey, came to live in Boundary County. They first moved to Sandpoint where they helped her father and uncle manage a motel business after Karey graduated from Montana State University with a degree in management and marketing. When the Bear Creek Lodge in Boundary County went up for sale last year, CJ said he and his wife, Karey went in partnership with her father to purchase it. Along with managing the new business, they are busy raising their new son, Kaden, who was born last June.

Welcome new residents of Boundary County, CJ, Karey and Kaden. We congratulate you on your new business and new baby.

Part II of the Little Shell Tribe history includes an interview with James Parker Shield, current Vice-Chair of the Little Shell Tribe.

Information included in this article also comes from the following sites little shell tribe and geocities