News

Council Dispatch #140   January 26, 2023

Nkwusm

• Stephen Smallsalmon informed council there is going to be a coyote story tomorrow and the council was invited to attend. Nkwusm has been in existence for 21 years and Stephen has been a teacher there for 20 years. Nkwusm needs to have more room and money. There are enough teachers that know how to teach the language and there was talk about having a second Nkwusm in Ronan. Stephen asked about the fence at Nkwusm. Council told him the paperwork was completed so it should be getting installed in the near future.

Mission Valley Honor Guard

• Council received a report about what the Mission Valley Honor Guard has been doing this past year. The report will be sent to the national office so they can hopefully get some funding. It shows the memorials they attended for veterans, members of the Honor Guard that were lost, what their expenditures were spent on, and the donations they received. Len TwoTeeth talked about the Honor Guard being an intricate part of what we do here and posting the colors is one of the most important ceremonies. Len would like to establish an annual donation of $10,000 to be included in the Tribes’ annual budget to help support the Honor Guard.

Tribal Council

• Chairman McDonald gave a report on the governor’s state of address. Tom was able to meet the cabinet folks. Troy Downing, Auditor, wants to give a presentation to the council. Tom had a discussion with the Department of Livestock regarding Yellowstone bison management.  Tom met with Joe Read about his hunting bill, and he spent some time with the governor. The governor received a standing ovation on his comments about getting the debt paid being meaningful for future legislative sessions and taxpayers. There was also a section on MMIP, which was well received. The governor talked about the community college in Miles City and the educational opportunities they are engaged in. It does many of the things the council has spoken to the Salish Kootenai College Board of Directors about. They focus on training, online learning, and getting high school students credit for working in vocational trades.  Tom would like to encourage SKC to expand into those areas. Miles City has a meat-cutting program for certified meat cutting as part of the curriculum.  Tom encouraged the council to look at their website.

• Terry Pitts thanked Ellie Bundy for setting up the meeting with the Law & Order Task Force and he thought it was a good discussion. Ellie does a good job keeping council updated and involved. Terry thanked the task force for all they do.

Tribal Education Department

• Council received a presentation on the annual Indian Education Report for the St. Ignatius School District and took action to accept the report.

• Council received a presentation on the annual Indian Education Report for the Polson School District and took action to accept the report.

Natural Resources Department

• Council approved the advertisement for a 30-day public comment period for the proposed changes to the Tribal Member Regulations.

Personnel Department

• Council approved Amendment 1 to Tribal Personnel Ordinance 69D. The changes included changing the language regarding personnel action forms to be initiated by departments, the addition of holidays for Juneteenth and Indigenous People’s Day, paid leave due to any emergency leave applies to all employees within the organization, the leave sharing policy was changed to 360 work hours allowed per calendar year, the market based increases language changed from “shall receive” to “may receive”, and changed the steps in the old pay plan when employees are placed in an acting capacity to line up with the minimum, mid, and maximum points of classification and cannot exceed the mid-point when placed in a position in an acting capacity.

Financial Management

• Council took action to adopt the recommendation from Administration for the employee cost index and the longevity schedule as presented.

NOTE:  The official Council Minutes will contain more complete details about lengthy discussions and should be considered the official record of Council. Dispatches are written from notes taken live and may occasionally contain partial information, over-simplified characterizations or an occasional error. Council reviews and corrects the draft minutes before approving as the official record.  Comments (both affirmations and concerns) are part of change and are expected and encouraged. Along with any specific comments, please also share what you would like to hear more about in upcoming communications. The email address for comments is: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Council Dispatch #139                  January 24, 2023

Dr. Lee and College Students

• Chairman McDonald welcomed Dr. Lee, College Professor, who is from the Midwest and is here visiting the area with his students. Dr. Lee teaches college in Illinois. The group met with Salish Kootenai College yesterday and will be meeting with Joe McDonald this morning. The outcomes of this visit include the students learning about intercultural competency, ethical citizenship, and establishing a sense of wonder.

Tribal Member

• Calvin Bourdon discussed his concerns about the solid waste fee, the form, and bears getting into the trash containers. He suggested a solution is to have tribal members show their tribal ID so they can get a fee waiver to dump their trash.  Calvin received a form from Lake County requesting personal information on land ownership, property taxes, and his address. Chairman McDonald commented that Lake County has talked about reconstructing it to address the bear problems. The fee is not due to the bears; it is a fee for the county to provide solid waste as a service.  Lake County is not required to provide the service. If individuals pay property taxes they do not have to pay the dump fee; the county wants to know about the property tax information so taxpayers are not billed twice for the service. Solid waste is not a free service and the property taxpayers have always paid for that service for everyone. It was a great benefit that Lake County provided to the community, but the cost is too high to continue providing the service at no cost. The council is looking at ways to possibly help tribal elders.

• Calvin Bourdon talked about transparency. He wants more transparency so the membership knows what the council members are doing when they travel. There should be a narrative in the Char-Koosta News about their trip. Calvin wants to know what they are doing when they go on trips. The reports should include the purpose of the trip, what was discussed, and the outcome. Chairman McDonald took Calvin’s comments and suggestions under advisement.

Forestry Advisory Committee Board

• There are four vacancies on the board that were advertised, and two letters of interest were received. Council took action to approve the two letters of interest qualifying candidates to the Forestry Advisory Committee Board and appoint Dan DePoe and Tommy Haynes, and advertise the remaining two vacancies.

Committee Appointment

• Mary Stranahan and members of the Montana Indigenous Leaders Founders Group are coming to Montana. They are focused on funding wildlife conservation and food sovereignty. Mary requested CSKT appoint two tribal representatives to serve on the local state committee. Council reached a consensus to appoint Jordan Thompson and Whisper Camel-Means as the representatives and Tom McDonald and Carole Lankford as the alternates.

Financial Management

• Council approved by resolution modification 7 to the fiscal year 2023 total budget allocations. Prior year Indian Affairs self-governance awards and increases in Contracts and Grants are available to appropriate in fiscal year 2023 to the programs, services, functions, and activities approved by the Tribal Council.

Legal Department/ Culture Committees/Tribal Preservation Office

• Council took action to approve the NAGPRA comments for submission to the Department of Interior.

Leadership Montana

• Members of Leadership Montana met with council for a meet-and-greet. Montana Leadership is a nonprofit collaboration of leaders coming together to form a strong partnership for the betterment of Montana. The cohort of Leadership Montana alumni have been coming together to experience an innovative cultural immersion program through a series of multi-day in-person visits and learning the history of Montana’s Indigenous communities, culture, and opportunities. The Indigenous Immersion Initiative is designed to provide Leadership Montana alumni with the opportunity to listen and learn from Indigenous leaders across Montana by combining presentations on culture and history, tours of local businesses and institutions, and providing a continuation of meaningful conversations and relationships to build a better future for all.

Tribal Health Department

• Staff met with council for a Tribal Health Committee meeting. Topics discussed included an overview of Pharmacy operations, updates to the program, Narcan training and availability, the need for user population surveys, staff shortages, employee retention, employee exit interviews, staff training, increasing services, remote workers, increased services in Elmo, a financial summary, the organizational chart, and vacancies within the department.

NOTE:  The official Council Minutes will contain more complete details about lengthy discussions and should be considered the official record of Council. Dispatches are written from notes taken live and may occasionally contain partial information, over-simplified characterizations or an occasional error. Council reviews and corrects the draft minutes before approving as the official record.  Comments (both affirmations and concerns) are part of change and are expected and encouraged. Along with any specific comments, please also share what you would like to hear more about in upcoming communications. The email address for comments is: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Council Dispatch #137                  January 12, 2023

Personnel Department

• There was discussion on whether to modify the Temporary COVID-19 Pandemic Leave Policy to provide up to 40 hours COVID-19 leave per employee, with the ability to donate up to 20 hours, for calendar year 2023. Employees will have to use their PTO if the policy is not retroactive. Departments have not submitted any personnel action forms since COVID-19 leave is not available this year.  Council took action to approve the resolution modifying the Temporary COVID-19 Pandemic Leave Policy by approving option 1 to extend the leave through calendar year 2023.

Tribal Council

• Bing Matt discussed a letter the pow wow committee received from the Director of Administrative Services containing bills in the amount of $1,940.00 for the RV dump and sewer costs at the pow wow grounds. The pow wow committee is a volunteer committee. The Maintenance Department should have taken care of it. The maintenance work at the grounds needs to be done prior to the next pow wow. The only improvements done so far was the carpeting being installed.  Council talked about the need for the executive team to keep the council updated on issues. Chairman McDonald would like to have a schedule of improvements that will be done at the pow wow grounds so they can be tracked.

• Carole Lankford informed council there is a homeless lady living in the field in Arlee and her boyfriend lives in a trailer. They went to take a shower at the Fitness Center, but the staff would not allow the boyfriend to take a shower. He went there again and the same situation happened. The Director of Tribal Member Services is following up on the matter.

• Carole Lankford informed council of an individual that needs assistance with getting her power turned back on. Carole asked that the staff follow up. Jim Malatare provided the information to the Director of Tribal Member Services. The individual lives in Evaro and needs her power turned back on. She gets her power from Missoula Electric and he does not know the amount that is owed to the power company.

• Council discussed a request from a nontribal member to be allowed to use the showers at the Fitness Center. The Tribal Health Department has an internal policy to charge nontribal members to use the Fitness Centers. Carole Lankford did not think the policy was valid since it was not approved by the council. 

Bureau of Indian Affairs

• Craig Adams, Shane Hendrickson, and Cheryl Finley met with council for a meet and greet. Hendrickson was hired as the new Superintendent. Mr. Adams will be vacating his post as Acting Superintendent now that the position has been filled. Mr. Adams will follow up on the appraisals at the Portland office.

Natural Resources Department

• Council approved by resolution submission of an invasive species grant from the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The funding will be used for aerial herbicide application to curtail Ventenada spread and restore native bunchgrass species to improve Bison Range rangeland habitat.

Financial Management

• Council received an overview of the CSKT ranking of priorities for fiscal year 2025 Indian Affairs budget formulation and requested approval to submit the rankings to the Northwest Regional Office. The deadline for submission is January 13, 2023.  Council took action to approve submission of the rankings.

• Council reached consensus to submit a nomination application for the Honoring Nations 2023 All-Stars award to the Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. The HPAIED invited CSKT to nominate itself for the award for its management of trust resources. The deadline to submit the nomination application is January 31, 2023.

Early Childhood Services

• Council received orientation on the Early Childhood Services program.

Salish Kootenai College Board of Directors

• Council received orientation on Salish Kootenai College.

Division of Fire

• Jim Durglo expressed his support for George Waters. There was information provided to the Inter-Tribal Timber Council about the workforce portion of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill that has a pay incentive of $20,000.00 or 50% of a firefighter’s salary as a recruitment benefit. The statute says those eligible for firefighter retirement and as tribes compact/contract federal programs that provision is not included in those and our firefighters are not entitled to that compensation package. Letters containing our concerns were sent to the Secretary a couple of months ago, and there has been no response.  George stated that is blatant racism to exclude the tribal firefighters. George has helped the Tribes in the past and he is not afraid to speak up. Funding for the tribal firefighters will be included in the 2024 budget cycle, but there probably will not be any retro pay associated with it.

S&K Gaming

• Dan Hansen met with council for a meet and greet. Bryon Miller resigned as the Chief Executive Officer and the board appointed Mr. Hansen as the interim Chief Executive Officer while the vacancy is being advertised. Dan had worked as a consultant for S&K Gaming for three years before being appointed to the S&K Gaming Board of Directors.  Dan was then hired as a Chief Executive Officer for a gaming facility and had to resign from the board. He was later hired as the General Manager for the Gray Wolf Peak Casino. S&K Gaming will have a presence at the legislative reception. The corporation was asked to create a table and will have some materials available at the reception.

Tribal Lands Department

• Mark Couture discussed the house located in Pablo that will be used as a temporary location for the staff and residents of Second Circle. The repairs were made to maintain heat in the house. The department did not have time to follow the procurement policy. Council took action to approve the request for a waiver of the procurement policy to authorize the purchase of a furnace in the amount of $3,029.00.

• The staff followed up on the fencing for Nkwusm. Lands had been waiting for a third bid as required by the procurement policy, but only two bids were received. Council took action to approve the request to enter into a sole source contract with Ferrier Fencing. 

• Council received an update on the Indian Agriculture Council trip. Brandy Bigby and Kayleen Howard were the youth selected to attend the conference. Pete White attended the caucuses as a representative of the region and he was named the vice-chairman. The caucus brings forth issues that will go to the IAC to be discussed in Washington, DC at the policymaking level and how to better serve tribal producers. They looked at the upcoming Farm Bill and discussed streamlined access to USDA programs and what the Inflation Act can do for Indian country and tribal producers.

NOTE:  The official Council Minutes will contain more complete details about lengthy discussions and should be considered the official record of Council. Dispatches are written from notes taken live and may occasionally contain partial information, over-simplified characterizations or an occasional error. Council reviews and corrects the draft minutes before approving as the official record.  Comments (both affirmations and concerns) are part of change and are expected and encouraged. Along with any specific comments, please also share what you would like to hear more about in upcoming communications. The email address for comments is: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..