The Fort Belknap Indian Community of Montana held the "Corps of Recovery" on Thursday, a counter celebration to the Lewis and Clark bicentennial.

Leaders of the Gros Ventre Tribe and the Assiniboine Tribe organized the event to highlight their continued perseverance. They held a four-hour prayer meeting, a breakfast and a 1-mile fun walk. Tribal employees were given they day off and everyone was given a t-shirt that stated, "Recovering from 200 years of Lewis and Clark."

"Nobody discovered us," said Raymond Chandler, vice president of the tribal council, according The Great Falls Tribune. "Our people were always here. This is our homeland."

The Corps of Discovery II, the National Park Service's traveling tour of the Lewis and Clark expedition, was to stop on the reservation this week but tribal leaders wanted to do something that represented their feelings towards the expedition.

Get the Story:
Fort Belknap celebrates survival of Indian culture (The Great Falls Tribune 5/27)

Relevant Links:
Fort Belknap Indian Community - http://www.fortbelknapnations-nsn.gov
Stop Lewis and Clark - http://www.stoplewisandclark.org

Related Stories:
Opinion: Lewis and Clark not welcome at Fort Peck (05/03)
Rally in North Dakota aims to 'stop' Lewis and Clark (10/14)
Lewis and Clark re-enactors run into problems (10/05)
Man wants Lewis and Clark group to skip Pine Ridge (09/16)