Chippewa Cree Tribe

To get started in American Indian Research

Indians of Montana &gt; Chippewa-Cree Indians

Alternate names: Ne Hiyawak

Tribal Headquarters
Chippewa Cree Tribe RR1 Box 544 Box Elder, Mt. 59521 Phone: 1.406.395.4478 fax: 406.395.4497 Phone: 1.406.395.5705 fax: 1.406.395.5702


 * Tribal Web Site for the Chippewa Cree Tribe

History
The Chippewa-Cree Indian Tribe is a single entity in today's world, but is a combination of portions of the Chippewa Tribe and the Cree Tribe.

The Chippewa or Ojibway Indians are one of the largest groups of American Indians in North America. There are nearly 150 different bands of Chippewa in the northern part of the United States and in southern Canada (especially in Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan). The ancestors of the Chippewa portion of the Chippewa-Cree migrated from the Turtle Mountain area of North Dakota in the late 1800s.

The Cree nation is the largest group in Canada. That tribe had two divisions; Woodland Cree and Plains Cree. A small portion of this very large First Nation in Canada migrated south out of Canada, into North Dakota and Montana, also in the late 1800s. With them came some of the Metis, descendants of Louis Riel.

These two groups of the Chippewa and the Cree united in the 1890's and looked for a permanent home. At various times, all or part of them lived placed under the jurisdiction of the Blackfeet, Flathead, and Fort Belknap Indian Agencies.

During the early 1900's the tribes petitioned the government for a reservation, and in 1916 the Rocky Boy Reservation was established for the Chippewa-Cree Indians.

Under the Indian Reorganization Act, the Chippewa-Cree organized themselves under their Constitution and Bylaws as the Chippewa-Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana. Their Constitution was adopted in 1935 and amended in 1973.

Brief Time Line


 * 1916: assigned to Rocky Boy's Reservation in Montana with the Plains Cree
 * 1935: organized under the Indian Reorganization Act
 * 1953: United States terminated its relationship with the sovereign nation of Chippewa, mandated by House Concurrent Resolution 108.
 * 1968: the American Indian Movement (AIM) was founded by three Ojibwa (Chippewa): Dennis Banks, George Mitchell, and Clyde Bellecourt
 * 1973: Constitution and By-Laws of the tribe was amended.

Additional References to the History of the Tribes
For pre-1916 history and record of the Chippewa see: Chippewa Indians For pre-1916 history and records of the Cree see: Cree Indians

Reservations
Rocky Boy's Reservation

Agencies
The following agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs had jurisdiction over the Chippewa-Cree for the time periods indicated. BIA agencies were responsible to keep such records as census rolls, allotment (land) records, annuity rolls, school records, correspondence, and other records of individual Indians under their jurisdiction. For details, see the page for the respective agency.

The agencies which had jurisdiction over a major portion of the Chippewa-Cree in the United States were:

Fort Belknap Agency, abt. 1890-1916 Rocky Boy's Agency, 1916-present

The following agencies may have had some records of Chippewa-Cree living among the Indians under their jurisdiction for the years indicated, until the Rocky Boy's Reservation was established..

Blackfeet Agency, abt. 1890-1916 Flathead Agency, abt 1890-1916

Census
The Bureau of Indian Affairs compiled annual Indian Census Rolls on many of the reservations from 1885 to 1940. They list the names of individuals, their age, and other details about each person enumerated. For more information about these records, click here.

The following lists the census rolls for the Chippewa-Cree Indians:

Rocky Boy's Agency; M595, Roll 426, 1919-1939; FHL film: 581420

Correspondence
There are several sets of correspondence between the supervising offices of the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the local offices -- agencies, subagencies, etc. The correspondence is often historical in nature, including reports of the conditions among local groups of Indians, hostilities, plans for building facilities, activities of traders or missionaries, etc. Occasionally, there will be names of individuals but little detail about them. For more information about American Indian correspondence, click here.

Treaties
During the latter part of the 18th Century and most of the 19th Century, treaties were negotiated between the federal government and individual Indian tribes. The treaties provide helpful information about the history of the tribe, but usually only include the names of those persons who signed the treaty. For more information about treaties, click here.

Treaties relating to the combined Chippew-Cree Tribe would have been negotiated with the Chippewa Tribe or the Cree Tribe separately.

Tribal Office Records
The Tribal Office is responsible for enrollment records, vital records, tribal police records, tribal court records, employment records and many others. They are an entirely different set of records from those kept by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Most of them remain in the Tribal Office. For details, contact that office at the address for the Tribal Headquarters listed above.

Vital Records
Prior to the Indian Reorganization Act, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, through their agencies, may have recorded some vital events. Some were recorded on health forms, such as the "Sanitary Record of Sick, Injured, Births, Deaths, etc." Others were recorded as supplements to the "Indian Census Rolls." Some were included in the unindexed reports and other correspondence of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Some vital records for the Chippewa-Cree Indians include:

Rocky Boy's Agency, births and deaths, 1924-1939, M595, Roll 426, FHL film 581420

Important Web Sites

 * Constitution and By-Laws of the Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation Montana
 * State Office of Indian Affairs article on the Chippewa-Cree Tribe
 * Tribal Web Site for the Chippewa Cree Tribe
 * Wikipedia article on the Chippewa-Cree Tribe

General

 * Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives; Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
 * Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1906 Available online.
 * Klein, Barry T., ed. Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian. Nyack, New York: Todd Publications, 2009. 10th ed. WorldCat 317923332; FHL book 970.1 R259e.
 * Malinowski, Sharon and Sheets, Anna, eds. The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Detroit: Gale Publishing, 1998. 4 volumes. Includes: Lists of Federally Recognized Tribes for U.S., Alaska, and Canada – pp. 513-529 Alphabetical Listing of Tribes, with reference to volume and page in this series Map of “Historic Locations of U.S. Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Canadian Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Mexican, Hawaiian and Caribbean Native Groups” Maps of “State and Federally Recognized U.S. Indian Reservations. WorldCat 37475188; FHL book 970.1 G131g.


 * Vol. 1 -- Northeast, Southeast, Caribbean
 * Vol. 2 -- Great Basin, Southwest, Middle America
 * Vol. 3 -- Arctic, Subarctic, Great Plains, Plateau
 * Vol. 4 -- California, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Islands


 * Sturtevant, William C. Handbook of North American Indians. 20 vols., some not yet published. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978–.


 * Volume 1 -- Not yet published
 * Volume 2 -- Indians in Contemporary Society (pub. 2008) -- WorldCat 234303751
 * Volume 3 -- Environment, Origins, and Population (pub. 2006) -- WorldCat 255572371
 * Volume 4 -- History of Indian-White Relations (pub. 1988) -- WorldCat 19331914; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.4.
 * Volume 5 -- Arctic (pub. 1984) -- WorldCat 299653808; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.5.
 * Volume 6 -- Subarctic (pub. 1981) -- WorldCat 247493742; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.6.
 * Volume 7 -- Northwest Coast (pub. 1990) -- WorldCat 247493311
 * Volume 8 -- California (pub. 1978) -- WorldCat 13240086; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.8.
 * Volume 9 -- Southwest (pub. 1979) -- WorldCat 26140053; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.9.
 * Volume 10 -- Southwest (pub. 1983) -- WorldCat 301504096; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.10.
 * Volume 11 -- Great Basin (pub. 1986) -- WorldCat 256516416; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.11.
 * Volume 12 -- Plateau (pub. 1998) -- WorldCat 39401371; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.12.
 * Volume 13 -- Plains, 2 vols. (pub. 2001) -- WorldCat 48209643
 * Volume 14 -- Southeast (pub. 2004) -- WorldCat 254277176
 * Volume 15 -- Northwest (pub. 1978) -- WorldCat 356517503; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.15.
 * Volume 16 -- Not yet published
 * Volume 17 -- Languages (pub. 1996) -- WorldCat 43957746
 * Volume 18 -- Not yet published
 * Volume 19 -- Not yet published
 * Volume 20 -- Not yet published


 * Swanton John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin #145 Available online.
 * Waldman, Carl. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. New York, New York: Facts on File, 2006. 3rd ed. WorldCat 14718193; FHL book 970.1 W146e 2006.