US President Donald Trump signed three bills that gave Federal recognition to the Montana Chippewa Little Shell tribe, Trump tweeted on Friday.
The bills include the Spokane Tribe, native languages and the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), which was signed on December 20.The last act of the bill included the official recognition of the state-recognized tribe.
While NDAA mainly deals with defense, legislators may include other provisions in it seeing as it is likely to be approved.
First described as Indian country by Lewis and Clark in 1805, the term stuck and is still being used today in Montana.
Trump himself thanked “Indian Country for being such an IMPORTANT part of the American story!”Thank YOU Indian Country for being such an IMPORTANT part of the American story! I recently signed 3 bills to support tribal sovereignty....— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 27, 2019
Called Indians by the first Europeans who arrived in the Americas, who mistook the location they were in as India and not a whole new continent, Native Americans speak a distinct variety of languages and have unique cultures, just as Italians are different from Swedes in Europe.