Distinctly Montana Magazine

D I S T I N C T LY M O N TA N A • W I N T E R 2 0 1 7 68 M O N TA N A i n 3 yea rs NATIVE THE YEAR IS 2047. PLEASE DESCRIBE MONTANA'S SURVIVING TRIBAL NATIONS AND HOW THEY MIGHT APPEAR IN THE NEAR-TERM FUTURE. Native people and communities are all about survival! e history of American Indi- ans has been a story of overcoming adversity and surviving. For Native people in Montana, the reserva- tions are key to their continued existence but, likely in a more symbolic sense in the year 2047. Tribes regard reservations as an impor- tant touchstone to their history and culture. Certainly, reservations will still be around in 30 years but it is probable that the majority of Montana Indi- ans will not live on those reserva- tions, simply because of the lack of jobs to sustain a large community. e current population estimates suggests that Montana's Native population will continue to grow. While 6.8 percent of the Montana population is American Indian, 14 percent of the K-12 student popula- tion is Native, suggesting that the Indian population is a fast-growing segment of the population. But, one thing tribes are wres- tling with right now that will have an impact on how those tribes look is tribal membership criteria. At present, many tribes require a blood quantum (usually ¼) to be eligible for enroll- ment. As intermarriage occurs, the number of people who can meet the blood quantum requirements will decrease dramatically in the future. Tribes need to examine their require- ments to resolve this potential declination of membership now in order to continue to exist as a political community in the future. CULTURAL HERITAGE HAS ALWAYS BEEN AN IMPORTANT IDEAL AND FOCUS FOR MONTANA NATIVE AMERICANS. WILL THIS EMBRACE AND EXHIBITION OF HERITAGE SURVIVE OUTSIDE MUSEUMS, BOOKS AND MOVIES? e key to cultural continuity is the sustain- ability of the reservations. So long as there remains a viable tribal community, the cultures will be passed down. Some tribes, like the Apsáalooke, or Crow Indians of Montana, have strong traditions that will still be active in 30 years. ere is a resurrection of interest in tribal customs and traditions. So, the likeli- hood for the Native cultures to be alive and well in the future are strong. NATIVE AMERICAN COMMUNITIES HAVE AN AGE- LESS TIE TO ORAL HISTORY. WILL THERE STILL BE A SEMBLANCE OF ORAL TRADITION IN 30 YEARS? With the advent of technology, tribes have the ability to collect and store their stories and history in digital form. Tribal colleges have benefited from Tribal Histories Project in 2005 when the Montana legislature allocated funds for the collection and preservation of tribal history, much of it in the form of oral stories. ose histories are now housed in tribal college libraries (each reservation has a tribal college). In addition, institutions like the Western Heritage Center (Billings) have had tribal history projects with the Crow and Northern Cheyenne. at being said, the oral tradition in tradi- tional times was a "mouth-to-ear" communi- cation in the Native language. As more tribes are stressed by the loss of their languages, it will be difficult pass along the stories and knowledge in the same way as was the case in traditional times. So, likely as not, the stories will be preserved, but recorded in English. ASSIMILATION SEEMS TO BE ERODING MUCH OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A NATIVE AMERICAN. HOW WILL THIS DISINTEGRATION OF IDENTITY LOOK LATER THIS CENTURY? Even the use of the identifier "Native American" is an example of how identity has been changing. Some argue that the term Native American is meaningless, like people identifying themselves as "European." Today, Native people still identify with their tribal ancestry, like Cheyenne or Salish. What is happening now, and will be even more evident in 30 years is an identity that is less oriented toward being a tribal member and more to identifying as a Native person in a more generic sense of that. For example, HISTORICAL PHOTOS COURTESY OF GALLATIN HISTORIC SOCIETY/GALLATIN HISTORY MUSEUM

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