Council Dispatch #187     August 22, 2023

 

Tribal Council

 

  • Jennifer Finley informed council that she and Jim Malatare attended the Rocky Mountain Tribal Leaders Health Conference in Billings last week. Jennifer went to a presentation on the importance of nutrition and treating depression, anxiety and addiction. The presenter reported that 90% of addicts are victims of trauma, in addition to nutrition and trauma are connected and need to be treated. She went to a presentation on alternative medicine. Jennifer would like the Tribal Health Department to do a survey and include questions about alternative medicine, asking what services they would like, including if they want acupuncture, chiropractic and naturopathy care.

 

  • Martin Charlo informed council he attended the fire meeting in Plains. It was well attended. The Camas side is pretty well protected and our crews are doing a good job protecting that area. The meeting was streamed online.

 

  • Martin Charlo informed council there is a disc golf tournament in Kalispell/Whitefish this weekend and he wants CSKT to pay a $100.00 platinum sponsorship. It was the consensus of council to approve the $100 sponsorship.

 

  • Martin Charlo attended the fire meeting in Arlee. The crews are doing a great job on the Big Knife fire.

 

  • Jim Malatare informed council that he and Carole Lankford went to Elmo last Sunday morning. Mike Kenmille did an honor song for the firefighters and everyone dealing with fires, including Hawaii. The fire crews were moving out, and they appreciated the honor song. It was a good thing to honor the firefighters. It’s a tough job and is an important job. Jim thanked the firefighters.

 

  • Martin Charlo reminded council that Michelle Mitchell sent out an email about PIR Day. Shadow Devereaux will be interviewing council members and they need to respond to that email so they can get the schedule done. Martin will forward the email to council again.

 

  • Jennifer Trahan informed council that the Economic Development Office is in the process of scheduling the midyear shareholder meeting at Kwataqnuk and asked if council was available on September 14 or 21. Council scheduled the meeting for September 14.

 

Senator Tester’s Office

 

  • Peter Matt and Gabriella Black met with council to check in and see if there are any issues that need to be addressed. Council discussed issues related to the hope that Senator Tester will support bringing in any federal resources to help with the fires, Mike extended his gratitude for the extension on the Progress Act rulemaking, advocating for resources for mental health and addiction, the deadline is nearing soon for the Tech Mining operations in the Kootenai River in Canada, advocating to include Indian Tribes in the solution to the pollution in the Kootenai River, CSKT continually advocating for equal treatment as states and request for support with the federal excise tax, the senator’s support for the Wildlife Restoration Act bill that includes funding for Native American tribes, more funding to fund language teachers, and the status of the Truth, Healing and Reconciliation Act and request for the boarding schools records to be released.

 

Bureau of Indian Affairs

 

  • Shane Hendrickson and the Incident Command Team gave an update on local fires. Mike Barron’s team was overseeing the three large fires and the team was split into two teams; one was in Elmo and one was in Arlee. We received some rain and they were able to get a handle on these fires. The Nirada and Mill Pocket fires are now 100% contained and there has been no parameter growth. The Niarada fire is 20,365 acres in size and the Mill Pocket fire is 1,800 acres in size. The total cost for both fires is about $9 million. They are currently backhauling the equipment off the hill. 20-30 people will do the repair work. There will be a meeting at the Plains High School today at 5:30 p.m.

 

  • Council approved a request from Brent Olson, Incident Commander for the Northern Rockies Team, for a closure of a portion of the lower Flathead River to all surface water use from the CSKT reservation border upstream to the Perma Bridge. The purpose of this closure is to mitigate conflict between river users and firefighting forces, including aerial resources. The history of the River Road East Fire is one of exponentially swift growth potential and a closure would help mitigate access and egress conflict to areas of the fire in the future, should it continue to grow in the direction of the proposed closure. The concern is interference with dipping operations. They are getting people in rafts and boats drifting into the fire and walking into the fire to take photos.

         

Facilities Maintenance

 

  • Council took action to approve SKMM Task Order 17 in the amount of $402,695.00 for 5 paving projects. The areas included in the paving project are the Elmo Clinic parking lot, Elmo Kootenai Hall parking lot, Fish & Game/Fisheries Compound in Polson, and extend the Long House parking lot and the DEWR parking area at Kicking Horse.

 

  • Council took action to approve modification 1 to SKMM Task Order 12 in the amount of $319,929.95 to complete the work at the Elmo Pow Wow grounds at the same time as Task Order 17.

 

  • Martin Charlo mentioned the Arlee Pow Wow grounds paving was not done yet, and he wanted to know its status. Chad Cottet explained there were time constraints to get it done before the pow wow. It was determined they need to develop a one-,  three- and five-year plan to make sure the short-term plans meet the long-term goals so they would not end up in a time crunch. The plan is to get with the Project Manager and stakeholders and identify those so it can be accomplished without a rush next year. Chairman McDonald would like to have the conceptual designs expedited. It has been disappointing for the council that a year and a half year later we still have nothing. Len TwoTeeth stated there are a number of long-term goals that were identified for both pow wow grounds, and this contract addresses a few of them. A main one is we should look at doing a proposed amendment to this contract to include the construction of the RV sites on the Elmo Pow Wow grounds. They want to do at least 15 RV lots at the entrance of the pow wow grounds. Len  wants the process started and have it done before the next pow wow, and he wants the Pow Wow Committee to participate in the planning process. Jennifer Finley hopes they will make every effort to work with native architects for the Visitors Center and other projects. It will be a flagship building project for the Tribes. Jennifer asked if there were any discussions with the  Natural Resources Department about where they want to be located.  John Neiss responded the department head has not said anything about that.

 

Financial Management

 

  • Council approved by resolution modification 15 to the fiscal year 2023 Total Budget Allocations. Increases and decreases in General Fund and increases in Compacts, Contracts, and Grants are available to appropriate in fiscal year 2023 to the programs, services, functions, and activities approved by the Tribal Council. The net increase is $44,355,656 which brings the revised allocations to a total of $350,509,656.

 

  • Chairman McDonald informed Ruth that the council had discussed the direct funding from BIA to build a new building and wants to know if that’s a better way to go. Ruth Swaney answered it is not a simple answer. We should explore the opportunities to get the lease funding for the facilities we already built that programs are occupying. For example, in the new Complex the Lands Department is wholly funded with BIA and also IIM accounts. The space they occupy we can recoup the costs through lease. It is the same with Tribal Health, like the old hospital in mission and the clinic in Polson. If we built a building it could be proposed for lease. There’s a way we can recoup principal and interest for construction if we had a loan. There is no direct federal funding to build our facilities, such as IHS, which has a priority system. If IHS built it they would give us funding to staff and equip it. Ruth has provided information to Rick regarding compact programs and the staff and space they are currently using. There may be less indirect cost reimbursement due to shifting the costs. There would need to be funding for the upkeep of the building.

 

Mission Valley Power Utility Board

 

  • Council took action to approve the Energy Keepers, Inc. power confirmation documents. Energy Keeper’s Inc.’s power confirmation to Mission Valley Power must be in their hands no later than August 25, 2023, to enable them to be able to make power reservations for the irrigation block. Without the power reservations, there is no power to provide to the Flathead Irrigation pumps. The rate at which MVP purchases the irrigation block is adjusted upwards on September 4 due to the CPI.

 

  • Council took action to approve the second confirmation for April 1, 2024 through September 4, 2024. Michael Wheeler and Ryan Rusche will determine who should pay the transmission or wheeling charge in the long term. A legal analysis will be done. MVP is paying that charge right now. Michael Wheeler and Teresa Wall-McDonald are working together to find options to shift that burden off Mission Valley Power, and they will inform council at the completion of that deal.

 

Flathead National Forest

 

  • Carol Hatfield, Ryan Powell, Marcus Chin, and Tad Wehunt met with council to introduce Carol Hatfield, Acting Forest Supervisor, and to continue consultation and discussion with the Council regarding partnership opportunities between the Flathead National Forest and the CSKT.

 

Walk-In

 

  • Dan DePoe, Art Caye, Ron Couture, Brian Brazil, Bob Bell, Leonard Michel, and Deano Thomas had some questions about the off-reservation bison hunt regulations. Dan read some questions he received from concerned tribal members.  They feel the membership was left out of the process. They questioned why such strict rules were put into effect, what are the outcomes the Tribes are looking for, when will the regulations come into effect, and won’t it harm the hunters by decreasing access for tribal members and elders.

 

Legal Department

 

  • Council approved by resolution a 13-month sole source/noncompetitive contract with Mercury Public Affairs, LLC.

 

Aligned at Work

 

  • The consultants gave an update on the discovery phase report.

 

 

 

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..