Sovereignty of the Landless:

The Legacy of Chief Stone Child and the Displacement Crisis in Montana History

Introduction

The history of Montana is often narrated through the lens of established tribal nations—the Blackfeet, the Crow, and the Salish—whose territorial boundaries were codified in the mid-19th century through various treaties with the United States government. However, a significant and often overlooked chapter of the state’s historical narrative concerns the "Landless Indians," primarily composed of Chippewa (Ojibwe) and Cree (Nêhiyawak) bands who wandered the plains of Montana for decades without a recognized homeland. Central to this struggle was Asiniiwin, a Chippewa leader known in the English tongue as Chief Stone Child. Due to a translation error by government officials, he became known as Rocky Boy, a name that would eventually grace the last Indian reservation established in Montana. Stone Child’s life and leadership represent a unique intersection of diplomacy, humanitarian crisis, and the persistence of indigenous identity in the face of federal neglect and settler hostility.

Origins and the Epoch of Displacement

Stone Child was likely born around 1851 or 1852. While some early 20th-century historical accounts speculated he was born in Wisconsin, his own testimony and more recent archival research suggest he was a native of the Montana-Dakota region, likely born between Anaconda and Butte. He was the son of Chief Bobtail (Alexis Piche), a figure of considerable influence among the Pembina Chippewa. Stone Child’s early life coincided with the contraction of the fur trade and the increasing pressures of westward expansion, which forced his band to migrate from their traditional homelands in the Red River Valley and the Turtle Mountains of North Dakota toward the Judith Basin and the Sun River valley of Montana.

By the late 1800s, Stone Child’s band found themselves in a precarious legal limbo. Unlike the tribes who had signed the 1851 or 1855 treaties, the "Rocky Boy Band" was viewed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) as "aliens" or "foreigners" with no legitimate claim to Montana land. This situation was exacerbated by the 1885 North-West Rebellion in Canada, which sent waves of Cree refugees into Montana under the leadership of Chief Little Bear. The U.S. government frequently conflated the landless Chippewa and the refugee Cree, treating both as a singular nuisance rather than sovereign entities.

The Shantytown Era: Survival on the Margins

For nearly thirty years, Stone Child led his people through a nomadic existence of extreme hardship. Denied access to reservation resources or hunting grounds, the band lived in temporary encampments on the outskirts of Montana’s growing industrial hubs, such as Great Falls, Helena, and Havre. These settlements were often referred to by settlers as "shantytowns." The most famous of these, located on Hill 57 near Great Falls, became a symbol of the "Landless Indian" crisis.

The conditions were dire. Historical records indicate that the band frequently survived by scavenging offal from slaughterhouses and gathering refuse from city dumps. Despite this poverty, Stone Child maintained a disciplined and peaceful followership, refusing to engage in hostilities with settlers. This strategic non-violence was essential to his long-term diplomatic goals. He understood that to secure a homeland, he had to prove to the federal government that his people were "industrious" and "deserving" of the same recognition afforded to other tribes.

Diplomatic Advocacy and the 1902 Petition

In 1902, Stone Child initiated a formal diplomatic campaign that would last the remainder of his life. He hired an attorney to draft a letter to President Theodore Roosevelt, asserting that his band of 130 people were American-born, self-supporting, and in desperate need of a permanent reservation where their children could be educated. This petition marked the beginning of a long series of bureaucratic maneuvers.

The federal response was initially characterized by attempts to "absorb" the landless band into existing reservations. In 1903, a proposal was made to relocate Stone Child’s people to the Flathead Reservation. However, this was fiercely opposed by Senator Joseph M. Dixon, who sought to keep Flathead lands open for white settlement and resource extraction. The failure of the Flathead proposal was followed by an even more disastrous attempt in 1908. The government attempted to move the band via railroad boxcars to the Babb area near the Blackfeet Reservation. The "boxcar incident" remains a poignant moment in Montana history, illustrating the dehumanizing manner in which landless indigenous populations were managed. The resettlement failed due to lack of infrastructure and the resistance of the Blackfeet, who had not been consulted on the land use.

The Alliance with the "Red Night" and the Artist

Recognizing that political power in Washington was inaccessible to him alone, Stone Child formed strategic alliances with influential white Montanans. Chief among these was Frank Bird Linderman, a writer and politician known to the Indians as "Co-Skee-See-Co-Cot" (Red Night). Linderman became a lifelong advocate for Stone Child, using his literary platform to humanize the landless bands in the eyes of the American public.

Joining Linderman was the famed "cowboy artist" Charles M. Russell. Russell’s empathy for the indigenous condition was reflected in his art and his public statements. Together with William Bole, editor of the Great Falls Tribune, this group formed a "Friends of the Indians" committee that lobbied the Montana legislature and the U.S. Congress. They argued that the presence of landless, starving people on the fringes of Montana cities was a moral failing of the state. These allies provided the political leverage Stone Child needed to survive the hostile rhetoric of local newspapers in Havre, which often characterized his people as "vagrants."

The Battle for Fort Assinniboine

The turning point in the struggle occurred in 1911 with the abandonment of Fort Assinniboine, a large military installation near Havre. Stone Child and Chief Little Bear, supported by Linderman, proposed that the military reserve be converted into a reservation for the landless Chippewa and Cree.

The proposal met with vitriolic opposition from the residents of Havre, who feared the presence of a reservation would stunt the town’s economic growth. Local civic leaders argued that the land was too valuable for "Indian use" and should instead be opened for homesteading. However, the persistence of the tribal leaders and their allies eventually swayed federal officials. They argued that creating a reservation was the only permanent solution to the cycle of displacement and federal relief expenditures.

The 1916 Act and Posthumous Victory

The legislative battle culminated in the Act of September 7, 1916 (39 Stat. 739). This act of Congress officially set aside a portion of the former Fort Assinniboine Military Reservation for the "Rocky Boy Band of Chippewa and such other homeless Indians in the State of Montana as the Secretary of the Interior may see fit to settle thereon."

Tragically, Chief Stone Child did not live to see the formal establishment of the homeland he had spent decades pursuing. He died in early 1916, just months before the act was signed into law. Some oral traditions and historical accounts, including notes from Smithsonian historian John C. Ewers, suggest that Stone Child’s death may have been an assassination tied to internal tribal rivalries or external pressures, though officially his death was attributed to natural causes. Following his passing, leadership of the new reservation fell to Chief Little Bear, who oversaw the final transition of the landless bands into a settled community.

Historical Significance and Legacy

The significance of Chief Stone Child in Montana history cannot be overstated. He was the architect of a unique tribal identity: the Chippewa Cree Tribe. By uniting disparate bands of "homeless" Indians, he ensured that the Chippewa and Cree remained a distinct political and cultural presence in Montana rather than being forcibly assimilated or deported.

Today, the Rocky Boy’s Reservation stands as a testament to his tenacity. It is the smallest reservation in Montana but remains a center of cultural preservation. The establishment of Stone Child College in 1984, named in his honor (using the correct translation of his name), serves as the fulfillment of his 1902 petition for a place where his people could "get an education." Stone Child’s legacy is one of successful diplomacy within a colonial framework, demonstrating how an "invisible" people forced the hand of the United States government to recognize their inherent right to a place on the land.

Works Cited

"Act of September 7, 1916." *United States Statutes at Large*, vol. 39, pp. 739-740. Government Printing Office, 1916. Accessed February 8, 2026.

Chippewa Cree Tribe. *Constitution and Bylaws of the Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy's Reservation, Montana*. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1935. Library of Congress, (https://tile.loc.gov/storage-services/service/ll/llscd/36026087/36026087.pdf). Accessed February 8, 2026.

*Frank B. Linderman Memorial Collection, 1885-2005*. MSS 007. Archives and Special Collections, Maureen and Mike Mansfield Library, University of Montana, Missoula. Archives West, (https://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:80444/xv81400). Accessed February 8, 2026.

Montana Office of Public Instruction. *Montana Indians: Their History and Location*. Edited by Mrs. Kingston, Division of Indian Education, 2015, (https://opi.mt.gov/Portals/182/Page%20Files/Indian%20Education/Indian%20Education%20101/Montana%20Indians%20Their%20History%20and%20Location.pdf). Accessed February 8, 2026.

Rensink, Brenden W. "The Wards of Nobody: The 'Canadian' Cree in Montana, 1885-1896." *Cree (Nêhiyawak) Mobility, Diplomacy, and Resistance in the Canada-US Borderlands, 1885-1917*, PhD dissertation, University of Saskatchewan, 2019, (https://harvest.usask.ca/bitstreams/eede6d65-7294-4e92-963a-fe4348f63150/download). Accessed February 8, 2026.

Vrooman, Nicholas C. P. *"The Whole Country was 'One Robe'": The Little Shell Tribe's America*. Montana Office of Public Instruction, 2015, (https://opi.mt.gov/Portals/182/Page%20Files/Indian%20Education/Social%20Studies/K-12%20Resources/Little%20Shell%20Study%20Guide.pdf). Accessed February 8, 2026.