Fort Peck Indian Reservation

Updated: February 3, 2026

The Fort Peck Indian Reservation in northeastern Montana is home to the Assiniboine (Nakoda) and Sioux (Dakota) tribes and is the third-largest reservation in the state by land area. A major Fort Peck Tribal Industrial Park in Poplar remains one of the largest employers in the region. The park and nearby sites house enterprises such as metal fabrication, production sewing, warehousing, and other service businesses, and the reservation also supports electronics, energy, and related industries. Farming, ranching, and oil and gas extraction continue to contribute significantly to the reservation economy.

Fort Peck Community College (FPCC), located in Poplar, serves the reservation and the wider Hi-Line region with associate degrees in arts, sciences, and applied fields, along with one-year certificates and workforce training. Degree and certificate options include programs such as Business, Education, Science, Information Technology, Nursing preparation, and Cultural Arts. FPCC maintains a tribal law library and is expanding cultural programming, archives, and student services; projects include community agriculture, health awareness, youth development, and language and arts preservation under its Community Services division. A newer wellness center project in Poplar is also under way to provide health, therapy, and prevention services to tribal members.

Points of Interest

• Upper Missouri Dakota & Nakoda Cultural Lifeway Center and Museum in Poplar, a developing cultural facility intended to house Dakota and Nakoda objects, support ceremonial renewal, and interpret tribal history for both community members and visitors.
• The town of Fort Peck and the historic Fort Peck Dam area (just west of the reservation), which offer lake recreation, a historic theater, and exhibits on the Missouri River and dam construction.
• Tribal cultural and historic sites in and around Poplar, Wolf Point, Frazer, Brockton, and Fort Kipp, where many community events and powwows are held.

Events

The Fort Peck Reservation hosts a full season of powwows and celebrations that draw dancers, singers, and visitors from across the Northern Plains. Major annual events include the Red Bottom Celebration near Frazer, the Badlands Celebration near Brockton, the Wadopana Celebration in Wolf Point, the Fort Kipp Celebration, and Poplar Indian Days near Poplar. Visitors are welcome at public powwows and are encouraged to observe arena rules, ask permission before taking close-up photos, and support local vendors and cooks.

History and Cultural Background

The Fort Peck Assiniboine share much early history with other Nakoda/Assiniboine groups, including those at Fort Belknap. Historically, the Assiniboine were a northern branch of the Sioux who separated from the Yanktonai and moved west and north from the woodlands around the upper Mississippi and Lake Superior into the Northern Plains. By the 1700s and 1800s, they were established across what is now Montana, North Dakota, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba and had become highly skilled buffalo hunters and horse people.

The Sioux portion of the Fort Peck tribes includes bands from the Dakota and related Nakota branches of the broader Oceti Sakowin, or "Seven Council Fires." These bands share a common heritage with other Sioux groups across the Dakotas, Montana, Nebraska, Wyoming, Minnesota, and Canada, and historically they defended their homelands against enemy tribes and U.S. expansion. Warfare, for many Sioux warriors, emphasized courage and status; "counting coup"-touching an enemy in battle without necessarily killing him-was one way to show bravery.

During the 1800s, a series of treaties and federal policies greatly reduced Sioux and Assiniboine homelands. The Fort Laramie Treaty of 1851 and later agreements recognized large territories for the tribes, but railroad building, settlement, and the discovery of gold in places such as the Black Hills led the U.S. government to break or reinterpret many promises. The rush into the Black Hills after gold was confirmed there in the 1870s, and the government's attempts to purchase or seize the area, became a major source of conflict and is remembered by many Sioux people as a deep betrayal.

As the buffalo herds collapsed and military pressure increased after the Great Sioux War of 1876-77, many Sioux and Assiniboine bands were confined to reservations, including Fort Peck, which was established by federal action in the late 1800s. Today, the Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes continue to rebuild their communities through education, economic development, cultural renewal, and language and arts programs, while also asserting their treaty rights and responsibilities along the Missouri River and across their remaining homelands.

For more information about the Fort Peck reservation contact:

Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes
P.O. Box 1027
Poplar, MT 59255
406-768-5155

Fort Peck Tribes

VisitMT - Fort Peck Reservation

Updated: February 3, 2026