Rocky Boy Indian Reservation

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Rocky Boy Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation of the Chippewa-Cree tribe located in the U.S. state of Montana. The smallest reservation in the state, it was created in 1916 and is located in Hill County and Chouteau County in northern Montana about 40 miles (64 km) from the Canadian border. It has a total land area of 171.4 square miles (443.9 km²), which includes extensive off-reservation trust lands. The population was 2,676 at the 2000 census. Its largest community is Box Elder, although a small part of Box Elder extends off reservation land. Rocky Boy's unusual name came about from a mistranslation of the name of a tribal leader, whose name meant something akin to "Stone Child". The Reservation is governed by the Chippewa-Cree Tribal Council, which is currently chaired by John "Chance" Houle. The land on the reservation cannot be bought or sold, as it is held by a treaty. Thus the non-native population on this reservation is very small.

1 Northern Winz Casino
2 Religion
3 Communities
4 See also
5 Notes and references
6 External links

[edit] Northern Winz Casino

The Chippewa Cree tribe operates the Northern Winz Casino. Construction began in May 2006, with the tribal grand opening occurring in February 2007, and a public grand opening March 30, 2007. The casino is located on US Highway 87, 6 miles (10 km) east of Box Elder, Montana.^[1]

The tribal successorship of the Chippewa Cree is in dispute due to flawed wording in the Act creating the reservation in 1916. The original 1909 Roll of the Rocky Boy's Band of Chippewa was set aside by the Interior Agency by Interior agent James McLaughlin. McLaughlin enumerated mainly Cree from the Little Bear Band of Cree and the Metis under Louis Riel, who had instigated the Frog Lake Massacre and the Riel Rebellion in 1885. These two groups refer to themselves in the 1935 Chippewa Cree Constitution as adoptees. These two groups run tribal government now, despite having origins in Canada and no U.S. Treaty. The reservation was established by an Act of Congress in 1916. There is no treaty between the United States government and the Cree or Metis tribes.

[edit] Religion

This section does not cite any references or sources. (September 2007)
Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed.

The Rocky Boy Assembly of God Church is self governing and self-supporting. Eric and Amanda Reed assumed the senior pastor position in Rocky Boy in the Spring of 2006. They have served as associate pastors for the past 2 1/2 years with missionaries Roger and Linda Siewing in Rocky Boy.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America has long maintained a mission at the reservation. The church is known as Our Saviour's Lutheran Church. Toward the end of 1999, Rev. Joseph W. Bailey Sr. along with christian youth groups from around the country built a new sanctuary and outdoor chapel.^[2]

The Roman Catholic Church church serving the reservation is St. Mary's Catholic Church.

The Baptist mission church was established in late 1999. The church building was erected in June, 2002.