The Little Shell Band of Chippewa Native Americans were the historic sub-band of the Pembina Band of Chippewa Indians led by Chief Little Shell in the nineteenth century. Based in North Dakota around the Pembina River, they were part of the large Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) tribe that occupied territory west of the Great Lakes by that time. Many had partial European ancestry from intermarriage by French-Canadian fur traders and trappers. Some began to identify as Métis, today recognized as one of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada. Located in the 17th century in the areas around the Great Lakes, they gradually moved west into North Dakota and Montana.
Recognized successor apparent bands include the federally recognized Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians, based in North Dakota. The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana is recognized by the state of Montana and it has been seeking federal recognition.
The Ojibwe/Chippewa, earlier located around the Great Lakes and part of Woodland Culture, migrated into the northern Great Plains from present-day Michigan, Wisconsin and Minnesota beginning in the 17th century. There they adopted the use of horses, and gradually modeled some of their culture on other Plains tribes.
They were pushed westward to present-day North Dakota out of Minnesota by European-American encroachment. Many settled in the area around the Pembina River in northeastern North Dakota, where the Little Shell Band of Chippewa were living in the nineteenth century. Due to intermarriage with French-Canadian fur trappers over the years, this settlement became a center for the Métis people, who developed their own culture, related to, but separate from, the French and Ojibwe. They have since recognized as an independent First Nation by Canada.