THE TURTLE ISLAND MESSENGER

Chief Little Shell - "Aissance"
Last hereditary chief of the Pembina Band of Little Shell

Chief Little Shell III, or Aissance (Little Clam) was the last of the hereditary chiefs of the Pembina Band of Ojibwe (1829-1900). Also known as Ayabe we we tung, "He who rests on his way", he became known for his resistance to signing the McCumber Agreement of 1892 when the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa was created and ceded 10 million acres of what is now most of northern North Dakota.

His father, Little Shell II signed the Red Lake Pembina Treaty in 1863 as chief of the Pembina Band. This treaty also known as the Old Crossing Treaty acknowledged the existence of the Pembina Nation Chief Little Shell Band. Based around present day North Dakota around the Pembina River, the band was part of the larger Anishinabe (Ojibwe) which occupied territory west of the Great Lakes.

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CHIEF LITTLE SHELL POWWOW 2012

Dunseith, North Dakota

The Chief Little Shell Powwow held annually since 1988 was created as a way to honor the last of the hereditary chiefs of the Pembina Band of Chippewa.