District V

The District V Office oversees the states of Montana and Wyoming. The District Office provides direct services to four Tribes within the Rocky Mountain Region, as well as, technical assistance to three P.L. 638 programs, one Self-Governance program. The District V Office also houses the following divisions of which Corrections and Victim Assistance fall under the supervision of the Special Agent in Charge: Drug Enforcement Division, Corrections Division, Victim Assistance Division, Tribal Justice Division, Communications Division,

Direct Service Agencies in District V:

Crow Reservation: The Crow Reservation is in South Central Montana and is bordered by Wyoming on the South and by the Northern Cheyenne Reservation on the East. It is the fifth largest reservation in the country, and the largest in Montana encompassing approximately 2.2 million acres. The Crow Tribe has a membership of 11,000, of whom 7,900 reside on the Crow Reservation. The Tribe is originally called “Apsaalooke,” which means “children of the large-beaked bird.” 85% of the Tribe speaks Crow as their first language. The reservation’s economy is derived from the rich resources of the Tribe’s land, which is used to directly support livestock and other operations. The Tribe’s annual celebrations include Crow Native Days in June and Crow Fair and Rodeo in July.

Northern Cheyenne Reservation: The Northern Cheyenne Reservation encompasses 440,000 acres of land, with Lame Deer serving as Tribal headquarters. Nearly 55% of the 9,043 enrolled Tribal members live on the reservation. The Cheyenne Nation is comprised of ten bands, spread all over the Great Plains, from Southern Colorado to the Black Hills in South Dakota. The Tribe call themselves “Tsis tsis’tas” which means “the beautiful people”. The economy is primarily supported by the federal government, Tribal government, farming/ranching, and non-native/native owned businesses. The Tribe is the largest employer on the reservation. The Tribe’s annual celebrations include the Lame Deer 4th of July Pow Wow, Northern Cheyenne Day Celebration and Ashland Labor Day Pow Wow.

Wind River Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation shared by the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes of Native Americans in the central western portion of the U.S. state of Wyoming. It is the seventh-largest Indian reservation by area in the United States, encompassing a land area of 3,473.272 sq mi., or land and water area of 3,532.010 sq mi., encompassing just over one-third of Fremont County and over one-fifth of Hot Springs County. The reservation is located in the Wind River Basin, and is surrounded by the Wind River Mountain Range, Owl Creek Mountains, and the Absaroka Mountains. The 2000 census reported a population of 23,237 inhabitants. The largest town is Riverton. Headquarters are at Fort Washakie.

PL 638 Tribal Programs Operations/Corrections in District V:

The Fort Peck Reservation, headquartered in Poplar, is the second largest reservation in Montana covering over two million acres of land. There are an estimated 11,786 enrolled tribal members, of whom approximately 6,000 reside on or near the reservation. Fort Peck Reservation is home to two separate Indian nations, the Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes, each composed of numerous bands. The Assiniboine refer to themselves as "Nakona" and the Sioux call themselves "Dakota". The Tribe supplies the majority of the employment, which provides work to 400 employees in government. Fort Peck Tribes annual celebrations include Red Bottom Celebration in June, Badlands Celebration in June, Fort Kipp Celebration in July, Wadopana Celebration in August and Poplar Indian Days in September.

Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, headquartered in Fort Belknap Agency, is ranked fifth in land base with 652,000 acres. There are 6,693 enrolled Tribal members, of whom 3,429 live on or near the reservation. The reservation is home to two Tribes, the Assiniboine and the Gros Ventre. The Assiniboine refer to themselves as "Nakoda" meaning the generous ones. The Gros Ventre call themselves "A-A-NI-NIN" meaning the White Clay People. The main industry is agriculture, consisting of cattle ranches, raising alfalfa hay for feed and larger dry land farms. The Tribe's annual celebrations include Lodgepole Pow Wow in June. Milk River Indian Days in July and Hays Pow Wow in August.

Self Governance Program in District V

The Blackfeet reservation headquartered in Browning, is the third largest reservation in Montana encompassing approximately 1.5 million acres. The reservation is home to 56% of the enrolled Tribal members and is the largest Indian population in Montana. There are three branches of the Blackfeet peoples-the Northern Blackfeet (Siksika), the Blood and the Piegan or Pikuni. The Tribe call themselves "Niitsitapi" (nee-itsee-TAH-peh) meaning "the real people." The reservation's economy is primarily agriculture based. The principle crops are wheat, barley and hay. The Tribe's annual celebrations include North American Indian Days and the Heart Butte Society Celebration.

The District is led by Acting Special Agent in Charge Lenora Nioce