Northern Cheyenne Tribe

Northern Cheyenne Tribe, doing business as Northern Cheyenne Fire Protection Dept., is a federally recognized tribal government headquartered in Lame Deer, Montana, that acts as a prime recipient of federal grants across social services, transportation infrastructure, environmental protection, public safety, and tribal governance programs. The tribe operates on a 447,000-acre reservation in southeastern Montana with approximately 4,667 residents and 12,340 enrolled members, and competes in full-and-open grant competitions without set-aside restrictions.

The tribe's grant portfolio spans multiple federal agencies and domestic assistance programs, with particular concentration among the Department of the Interior Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Community Living. Recent prime grant awards include a $17.63 million RAISE transportation infrastructure grant from the Federal Highway Administration for the Northern Cheyenne Rosebud Cut-Across US 212 to MT 39 project (CFDA 20.933, awarded July 2024), a $1.598 million Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) block grant from the Office of Community Services (CFDA 93.568, awarded October 2025), a $3.32 million Child Care and Development Block Grant from the Office of Child Care (CFDA 93.575, awarded October 2025), a $999,999 Treatment Court Discretionary Grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to develop a DUI treatment court program (CFDA 16.585, awarded October 2025), and a $1.001 million Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program cooperative agreement from the Department of Transportation for the Lame Deer Regional Multi-Use Pathway Planning Project (CFDA 20.943, awarded September 2026).

Capability breadth reflects the tribe's role as a self-governing entity delivering comprehensive community services. The tribe operates employment and training programs for Native Americans, including career services, occupational training, and follow-up employment support under CFDA 17.265 grants; manages child care development funds and subsidies under CCDBG and CCDF programs; delivers behavioral health services including suicide prevention, substance abuse treatment and recovery, and mental health crisis response through SAMHSA grants; administers child welfare social services, family violence prevention, and victim services programs; operates public transit on the reservation under Federal Transit Administration formula grants; manages transportation infrastructure planning and construction through FHWA tribal transportation programs; and oversees environmental protection including brownfields remediation, water quality monitoring, and climate mitigation planning through EPA grants. The tribe also operates the Northern Cheyenne Fire Protection Department as a contracting entity delivering small-dollar services including Tribal Employment Rights Office (TERO) support to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ($32 thousand to $33 thousand definitive contracts awarded annually from 2022 through 2026) and utilities services to the Indian Health Service.

Activity trends show 541 total awards (501 prime, 40 sub) across the portfolio with annual awards declining from 35 in 2022 to 7 awarded year-to-date in 2026. Twenty-four awards face ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, representing recompete exposure for those programs. The tribe receives sub-awards from Montana state agencies including the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, the Montana Office of Public Instruction, the Montana Department of Transportation, and the Montana Department of Military Affairs for pass-through funding in food assistance (FDPIR, WIC, school nutrition), child welfare (IV-E), and safe roads programming.

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe operates as a subsidiary entity under parent Northern Cheyenne Tribal EMP R, a tribal enterprise structure. The tribe's award footprint reflects direct federal funding to tribal government for reservation-based community service delivery rather than contract competition; grants flow through formula allocations, tribal consultation frameworks (particularly for historic preservation under the National Historic Preservation Act and consultation on the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site), and tribal-set-aside grant programs. The tribe has demonstrated sustained capacity across federal grant administration, 2 CFR Part 200 compliance, and program delivery in underserved and economically disadvantaged tribal communities.