https://pembinachippewa.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/CHIEF-LITTLE-SHELL.pdf
In 2020, Chief Karyence Ronald Delorme wrote to the United Nations to ensure that history did not forget a people who have endured immense challenges. This powerful narrative outlines the enduring struggle of the Little Shell Pembina Nation, led by Delorme, the Acting Head Chief of the Little Shell Band of North Dakota, also known as Little Shell VII. The story traces the historical journey from the 1863 Old Crossing Treaty to contemporary efforts for recognition and justice.
In the mid-20th century, Ronald Kayrance Delorme, in collaboration with Attorney Lawrence Wells, the Little Shell (Louis Delorme and son Ronald Delorme), and the Red Bear family (Elmer Pat Brunelle and son Albert Dennis Lambert), pursued legal action to assert the rights of the Little Shell and Pembina Bands. These efforts emphasized their independence from reservations like White Earth, Red Lake, and Turtle Mountain. Recognized by the Secretary of the Interior in 1956, these actions underscored their distinct identity and treaty rights.
Despite the challenges faced, including forced assimilation and cultural genocide, the narrative highlights the injustices endured, such as the experiences at assimilation boarding schools and policies like forced sterilization.
Today, many groups like the Pembina and Little Shell Bands strive to exist generation after generation through self-identification as a distinct indigenous people, which they consider their family. They call upon the international community for support, urging the United States to honor its principles of justice and rectify historical wrongs.
This declaration, addressed to the United Nations, is a testament to the resilience and determination of the Little Shell Pembina Nation to preserve their identity, rights, and ancestral lands for future generations.