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[[File:Little Shell, model for Massachusetts Coat of Arms.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Portrait of Little Shell, {{circa|1892}}]]
'''Thomas Little Shell III''' ({{circa|1830}} – 1901) (''[[Ojibwe language|Anishinaabemowin]]'' '''''Esens''''' ("Little Shell" or "Little Clam") and recorded as '''Ase-anse''' or '''Es-sence''') was a chief of a band of the [[Ojibwa]] (Chippewa) tribe in the second half of the nineteenth century, when the Anishinaabeg (Ojibwa peoples) had a vast territory ranging from southwestern Canada into the northern tier of the United States, from the Dakotas and into Montana.

== Negotiations ==
{{see also|History of North Dakota|History of Minnesota|History of Montana}}

===1850s to 1870s===
{{unsourced|section|date=December 2018}}
During the 1850s, the United States (US) began to negotiate with the [[Anishinaabe]]g of [[North Dakota]] to get them to cede their land in exchange for payment and settlement on a reservation.

Much earlier, probably during the mid or early 18th century, the Anishinaabeg had begun to migrate into the Great Plains of Canada and the United States from their historic territory around the Great Lakes, partly in response to encroachment by Europeans and Americans. By the time Canadian and United States immigrants made their first permanent settlements in the Pembina and [[Saulteaux]] lands on the plains, the Ojibwe territory had advanced to southeastern [[Alberta]] and much of present-day [[Montana]].

Little Shell was one of the Anishinaabe signatories of the 1863 Treaty of Old Crossing, which ceded Anishinaabe land in [[Minnesota]] and [[North Dakota]]. In 1864 he refused to negotiate with the United States further about ceding more land. For almost another 30 years, Little Shell refused to negotiate with the United States over land. Together the Anishinaabeg occupied an area of over {{convert|63000000|acre|km2}}. Much of that land was in North Dakota and [[South Dakota]], but also included Pembina land in Montana, which may have reached all the way to the [[Rocky Mountains]].

===1880 to 1901===
Around 1880, Little Shell moved his band from southern Canada to the [[Turtle Mountain (plateau)|Turtle Mountains]] of north-central [[North Dakota]], where he protested encroachment by Americans and the government's lack of concern for Chippewa land title.<ref name=miller>Miller, David, et al. (2008). ''The History of the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, Montana, 1800—2000'', pp. 178-79. Poplar, Montana: Fort Peck Community College.</ref> Because of persistent food shortages, he and his band hunted [[American Bison|buffalo]] as far as Montana and southern [[Saskatchewan]] during the late 1880s. When they returned to the Turtle Mountains in the early 1890s, they faced a series of events that led to the exile of Little Shell's and other Chippewa people from the Dakotas.<ref name=miller/>

In 1892 Little Shell met with American representatives and attempted to reach an agreement about ceding his people's remaining land. European-American immigrants did not wait for treaties but squatted on Native American lands in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota.{{cn|date=December 2018}}

Little Shell attempted to sell his remaining lands for $1.00 per acre and be allowed to have at least {{convert|10000000|acre|km2}} of remaining lands in Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota set aside as a Reservation. The Americans offered to pay 10 cents an acre (which became known as the infamous "Ten-Cent Treaty"<ref name=miller/>) and refused to set aside the {{convert|10000000|acre|km2}} reservation. No agreement was reached. The United States agent brought in 32 other Chippewa leaders who signed the treaty.{{cn|date=December 2018}}

Little Shell's Montana lands started at the [[Missouri River]] on the Montana-North Dakota border, then followed the [[Yellowstone river]] to its beginning, and probably included the [[Big Belt Mountains]] and [[Little Belt Mountains]], and may have reached to the Rocky Mountains near Augusta. Of course, the plains Anishinaabeg shared their Montana lands with the [[Assiniboine people|Assiniboine]] and probably the [[Gros Ventre people|Gros Ventre]], as well.{{cn|date=December 2018}}

==See also==
*[[Native Americans in the United States]]
*[[Chippewa Cree]]
*[[Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana|Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians]]
*[[Little Shell Band of Chippewa Indians]]
*[[Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Little Shell, Thomas}}
[[Category:American Ojibwe people]]
[[Category:1901 deaths]]
[[Category:Year of birth uncertain]]
[[Category:19th-century Native American leaders]]

Thomas Little Shell - Revision history

imported>Wikitribal at 17:33, 11 November 2024