This means the U.S. government will buy and set aside 200 acres that will serve as a reservation managed by the tribe. Members will also have access to certain
health benefits and other
social services that other federally recognized tribes receive.
The tribe has said some of its members descended from followers of Chief Little Shell of the late 1800s. The tribe argued, in part, that he and his followers were forced off a reservation after he
refused to join other tribal leaders in signing an 1892 agreement ceding territory to the United States for compensation.