Fort Peck Tribal Culture and Heritage

The Fort Peck Indian Reservation lies in northeastern Montana, primarily in Roosevelt County, although small portions lie in Valley, Daniels, and Sheridan counties. The reservation covers 2,093,300 acres of rolling prairie, bounded on the south by the Missouri River, to the east by the Big Muddy Creek, and to the west by the Porcupine Creek.

The inhabitants of the Fort Peck Reservation trace their descent primarily from two separate Indian tribes: the Lower Assiniboine and the Yankatoni Sioux. Most historians believe that the Assiniboine are in fact an offshoot of the Yankatoni Sioux, having broken away sometime during the 1600s and returned as a distinct tribe in the 1860s. Their name, Assiniboine, reflects their original Siouan ancestry—the word "ass-ni-pwan" meaning "stone Sioux," apparently referring to their method of cooking food with hot stones and boiling water.

The Fort Peck Sioux are from a middle band of the Sioux, or the Nakotas. Originally from Canada, the Sioux began their migration west soon after settlers began displacing eastern indigenous populations. During the late 1600s the Nakota language group split into two bands, one being the Yankatoni Sioux who resided on the northern Plains. Some of the Sioux at Fort Peck are descendants of the participants in the Battle of Little Bighorn.

The Fort Peck Tribes are governed by an Executive Board comprising 15 enrolled members, including a chairperson, vice-chairperson, sergeant-at-arms, and twelve voting members. According to the board’s discretion, a secretary-accountant may be appointed either from the board’s membership or from the tribal membership. Board members preside over nine business committees, each dealing with broad areas of tribal policy and business management.

Today, both tribes still practice and participate in traditional native customs including sweat lodges, sundances, powwows, peyote meetings, and local native games.

Resources:

Montana Tribal Tourism Alliance, 2008.  Retrieved from the World Wide Web at http://www.bigskytribes.com/ft__peck.htm

Picture of powwow dancers at Red Bottom Festival, Fraser, Montana.  Montana Kids, 2008. Retrieved from the World Wide Web at http://montanakids.com/history_and_prehistory/indian_reservations/fort_peck.htm

Map of Fort Peck Indian Reservation

The Fort Peck Indian Reservation is located in the extreme northeastern corner of the state of Montana.



 



 

 

 Picture retrieved from Road Trip USA at: http://www.roadtripusa.com/routes/greatnorthern/montana/grn_fortpeckindian.html