MBPC’s Montana Indian Country Index

Aug 29, 2016

Number of federally recognized tribes in Montana : 11

Number of state recognized tribes : 1

Number of Indian reservations : 7

Year the Sioux, Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, Blackfeet, Crow, and Cheyenne territories were officially recognized by a single treaty with the U.S. government : 1851

Year the first two reservations were formally established : 1855

Year Montana became a state : 1889

Number of treaties signed by the Cheyenne : 8

Number of treaties signed by tribes now located in Montana that were never ratified by Congress : 6

Year the last reservation in Montana was created : 1916

Number of reservations in Montana created by treaty : 3

Number created by executive order : 3

Number created by Congressional statute : 1

Number of tribal nations in Montana that reorganized their governing structure under the terms of the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act : 5

Number of tribes that have received Self-Governance status : 2

Number currently operating under a 501(c)(3) status : 1

Percentage of the Montana population that was American Indian prior to 1805 : 100

Percentage in 2015 : 6.6

Percentage of Rocky Boy’s Reservation residents who were non-Indian in 2000 : 3.7

Percentage on Flathead : 73.3

Percentage of American Indians who resided in urban areas in Montana in 2000 : 41.6

Percentage of American Indians working off-reservation who pay state income taxes : 100

Percentage of all working American Indians in Montana who pay federal income taxes : 100

American Indian median household income in 2014 : $30,284

Average number of dollars brought into Montana by tribes annually between 2003 and 2009 : $947,727,265

Number of dollars contributed to the Montana economy by tribal colleges in 2009 : $76,200,000

Number of 2-year degree programs offered at Fort Peck Community College : 18

Number of 4-year degree programs offered at Salish Kootenai College : 14

Percentage of full-time students enrolled at Salish Kootenai College in 2014 who were non-Indian : 23.7

Percentage of non-Indian students enrolled at Blackfeet Community College in 2015 : 4

Percentage of inmates serving time in the state prison in 2014 who were American Indian : 27.7

Times greater that American Indians are represented in the prison population than in the state population : 4.2

Number of American Indians serving in the state legislature in 2015 : 8

Percentage that are female : 63

Average life expectancy of American Indian women in Montana in 2013 : 62

Average life expectancy of American Indian men in Montana : 56

Average life expectancy of a non-Indian man in Montana : 75

Median age of American Indians in Montana : 29

Sources cited are available here. 

 

Montana Budget & Policy Center

Shaping policy for a stronger Montana.

MBPC is a nonprofit organization focused on providing credible and timely research and analysis on budget, tax, and economic issues that impact low- and moderate-income Montana families.