The Chippewa Cree Tribe Of The Rocky Boy Reservation

The Chippewa Cree Tribe Of The Rocky Boy Reservation, a federally recognized American Indian tribe headquartered in Box Elder, Montana, operates as a tribal government recipient of federal grants across social services, infrastructure, justice, environmental management, cultural preservation, and economic development programs. The tribe competes for and receives awards predominantly as a prime recipient under tribal-designated set-asides and formula grant allocations; 92% of its recent awards are prime grants, with 8% flowing through as sub-recipient allocations from state and federal pass-through entities.

The tribe's federal footprint is heavily concentrated in social and human services, driven by formula-based grants from the Department of Health and Human Services. Across recent years, the tribe has received repeated annual awards for child care and development services (CFDA 93.575, 93.596), child support enforcement (CFDA 93.563), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Low-Income Home Energy Assistance (LIHEAP), and Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) programs. The tribe also administers Older Americans Act programs including nutrition services and caregiver support for Native American seniors (CFDA 93.047, 93.044). Justice-related grants from the Department of Justice Bureau of Justice Assistance fund tribal reentry programs, healing-to-wellness courts for substance abuse and youth offenders, victim services, and law enforcement capacity building. The tribe received a $4.57 million Tribal Cybersecurity Grant Program award from FEMA (CFDA 97.137, September 2025) to establish governance structures, conduct risk assessments, and deploy security controls across tribal government operations. Environmental grants from EPA Region 8 support solid waste management and recycling programs under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, including a cooperative agreement for comprehensive solid waste program development. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has funded energy development roadmap planning ($329,902, CFDA 15.038, September 2025) and orphaned oil and gas well remediation ($2.006 million, CFDA 15.018, October 2024). The tribe received $875,260 from the Federal Transit Administration (CFDA 20.509) to operate the Rocky Boy Tribal Transit Program on fixed-route and demand-response service. Cultural and library services grants from the Institute of Museum and Library Services support Native American library services basics, community programming, and digital archival of tribal history and language materials. The tribe holds representation on the Economic Development Administration's Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy planning for Chouteau and Hill counties ($153,000, October 2025; prior CEDS awards). A $700,000 COPS Office community policing grant (CFDA 16.710, October 2024) and $455,398 police hiring grant (October 2022, extended through September 2027) fund law enforcement staffing and equipment.

The tribe's recent contract work is minimal and narrow. Five small definitive contracts with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission fund the tribe's Tribal Employment Rights Ordinance (TERO) program, ranging from $30,000 to $33,000 annually for fiscal years 2021–2026, with no set-aside category applied. These represent the only federal contracts in the source data; all other awards are grants and cooperative agreements.

Federal grant activity has remained relatively steady, with 34 awards obligated in 2022, 40 in 2023, 32 in 2024, and 27 in 2025, declining to 4 recorded awards year-to-date in 2026. The combined obligated value across all awards reaches $379.9 million against a combined potential value of $817 thousand, reflecting heavy utilization and drawdown of block and formula grants. Thirty-eight awards carrying combined potential value of $33 thousand reach ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months and face recompete. Sub-award flow is modest: the tribe receives pass-through subawards from Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services for WIC and Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR), from Montana Department of Transportation for road safety and emergency management programs, and from the Department of Military Affairs for emergency protective measures and infrastructure repair following disasters.

The tribe's capability posture is that of a tribal government operating an integrated portfolio of human services, justice, environmental management, cultural, and infrastructure programs funded through federal grants designed specifically for Indian tribes. The tribe does not maintain a commercial contract capability or subcontract footprint with private federal contractors.