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Little Shell Chippewa Tribe Swears in New Council Members

Little Shell Chippewa Tribe Swears in New Council Members

By KFBB News Team

Story Created: Mar 20, 2010 at 5:01 PM MST

Story Updated: Mar 20, 2010 at 10:00 PM MST

After a dispute over election results led to a special election, members of the Little Shell Chippewa Tribe are moving forward.

During that special election, members of the tribe chose new leaders, after a delayed election last year that many called "fraudulent."

Newly-elected Council Chair John Gilbert says that the next order of business is working to gain federal recognition--which the tribe has been seeking for years.

"Federal recognition is always a priority for the Little Shell Tribe,” said Gilbert. “But at this point in time we need to go before the state of Montana and say, 'here's the newly elected governing body. We need you to work with us.' We need to get our things done with the state of Montana first. That'll be a priority."

Tribal officials say repairing their status with the state could allow them to reclaim more than $400,000 in stimulus funds that were slated for the tribe, but were later reclaimed by the state because of auditing and management concerns.

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