Fort Belknap Indian Reservation

Fort Belknap Indian Reservation
Indian reservation
River in Fort Belknap Indian Reservation
Flag
Location in Montana
Coordinates: 48°12′N 108°36′W / 48.2°N 108.6°W / 48.2; -108.6
Tribes	Fort Belknap Indian Community: Assiniboine (Nakoda) Gros Ventre (Aaniiih)
Country	United States
State	Montana
Counties	Blaine Phillips
Established	June 1, 1888
Tribal Council	1904
Headquarters	Fort Belknap Agency
Government [1]
• President	Jeffrey Stiffarm Sr.
Area
• Total	1,014.064 sq mi (2,626.41 km2)
Population  (2017)[2]
• Total	3,182
• Density	3.1/sq mi (1.2/km2)
Website	ftbelknap.org

The Fort Belknap Indian Reservation (Gros Ventre: ’ak3ɔ́ɔyɔ́ɔ, lit. 'the fence' or ’ɔ’ɔ́ɔ́ɔ́nííítaan’ɔ, 'Gros Ventre tribe'^[3]) is shared by two Native American tribes, the A'aninin (Gros Ventre) and the Nakoda (Assiniboine). The reservation covers 1,014 sq mi (2,630 km²), and is located in north-central Montana. The total area includes the main portion of their homeland and off-reservation trust land. The tribes reported 2,851 enrolled members in 2010. The capital and largest community is Fort Belknap Agency, at the reservation's north end, just south of the city of Harlem, Montana, across the Milk River.

In 2013, the tribes received some bison and have reintroduced them to the local range. In June 2015, the U.S. Department of the Interior sent some 3500 offers to buy back fractionated land worth more than $54 million, affecting the future control of 26,000 tracts of land within the boundaries of the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation. This was under the Land Buy-Back Program for Tribal Nations, established as part of the federal government's 2009 settlement of the landmark Cobell v. Salazar suit over federal mismanagement of revenues due Indian landowners under the trust program.^[4][5]