Members of the Crow Tribe of Montana are continuing to challenge the Bureau of Indian Affairs' approval of a recent constitution.

Tribal activists say the current leadership is illegal and have formed their own government. They are operating under an 1948 constitution and have enlisted the support of American Indian Movement activist Russell Means.

"This is not a band of malcontents," Means told The Billings Gazette. "These are not dissidents or hostiles or savages."

The BIA approved a new constitution in 2001 but the group says tribal leaders at the time had no power to act. A lawsuit is pending in tribal court over the validity of the new document.

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Activist aids anti-BIA Crow group (The Billings Gazette 7/30)