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..