Council Dispatch #188 August 24, 2023
Tribal Member
- Glen Gardipe informed council he has been homeless for the past 18 months and has been living in a tent. Patricia Hibbler, Tribal Member Services, will follow up to find a possible solution.
Tribal Council
- Carole Lankford attended the Tiwahe training in Salk Lake City. The training reviewed ways the funding can be used. It is a smaller version of self-governance set up with those programs. There are opportunities that will work for our people instead of using the federal agency process. There is about $4 million in total funding available. The initial start-off funding is $500,000 to be used to do the plans. She wants the council to review the plan to make sure it fits their desires. It is possible to do car repairs so people have transportation to get to work. Documentation on why they need the car repairs would be required. The funding also provides funding to hire attorneys to help people that need defense counsel when their families are in trouble and help families with reunification.
- Chairman McDonald informed council that yesterday the Northwest Power Planning Congressional group toured Blue Bay to observe fisheries management and there were 40 individuals that participated in lake trout netting, which gave them insight into management issues for long-term funding. The Bonneville Power Administration has increased its participation in the lake trout reduction efforts. We had other meetings with the Department of the Interior about lake management. During the climate change workshop we did this spring, there was a presentation that took pictures from a slideshow talking about predictions for rainfall and snowpack.
- Council appointed Rich Janssen as the tribal council appointee voting member on the Western Montana Conservation Commission.
- Council appointed Martin Charlo as the council representative on the Commission and Mike Dolson as the alternate.
Natural Resources Department
- Council approved a resolution authorizing the continued membership to the Native American Fish & Wildlife Society. Bing Matt is the delegate and he asked if there has been any meetings and if the organization is still active. Whisper informed council that the national conference took place in April and they are also meeting this week. She will send the information to Bing in the future.
- Council took action to authorize the department to sign on as a co-applicant for a grant proposal to do field surveys of native and mixed native and invasive plant structure and function that will be conducted by Salish Kootenai College students and Bison Range staff using multiple plots established in bison grazing areas. Combined with regular soil carbon sampling, these will probe the impacts of bison herbivory on primary productivity and ecosystem carbon storage.
- Council was invited to attend the Building Drought Resilience in a Changing Climate with Upper Columbia and Missouri Basin Tribes Workshop that will take place September 26-28 at the Kwataqnuk Resort.
- Council received a presentation from USGS on the results of the collection permit to survey and correct geological surveys on the Bison Range.
Tribal Lands Department
- Len TwoTeeth asked if the Lands Department has identified any land for the Food Sovereignty program. Mark Couture responded the staff has been working with Dana to find a location that meets the program needs.
- Council took action to terminate Agriculture Lease 4528, due to a conflict of shared landownership.
- Council showed interest in purchasing Allotment No. 4246 from Jeanine Allard, containing 10 acres.
- Council showed interest in purchasing Tract 1058 and Tract 4564 from Leonard Gray, containing 160 acres, with a ten-year leaseback option along with a fence.
- Council showed interest in purchasing 75 acres of Tract 201 from Gary Plouffe, located in the St. Ignatius area, and allow a fee patent for the remaining 5 acres.
- Council showed interest in purchasing Tract 1181 and Tract 1181-A from Allen Sloan, and approve a life estate for Allen and his wife.
- Council showed interest in purchasing Tract 588 from Marie Stockstad, Shannon May, Fred Tapia, and Constance Tapia.
- Council showed interest in purchasing Arlene Groepper’s share and Rochelle Allison’s share in Allotment 99, located in the St. Ignatius area.
- Terry Pitts asked if the Lands Department has been contacting landowners to find out how we can assist them due to the fires. Mark Couture advised the staff is working with the National BAER Team for fencing or any other type of mitigation. The landowners were contacted to fill out the necessary paperwork to receive funding for their losses. The USDA RCNS Tribal Liaison is familiar with the fire impact grant funding that is available for costs not covered by the BAER program. Landowners can be fully reimbursed for their lost forage for this season and possibly next season due to the severity of the fires.
- Bing Matt asked if a tribal parcel of land will be landlocked if a nontribal member purchases it and if there will be any issues with the Tribes gaining access. Mark Couture did not believe access would be an issue. There is a road system on the back side where the Tribes have perpetual use to access the tribal trust parcel and it should not be landlocked.
- Len TwoTeeth requested the status of a request from the Polson Volunteer Fire Department. Mark Couture responded the Polson Volunteer Fire Department made a request for a small tract of land for a rural station to house their apparatus and be able to respond to emergencies in the Rocky Point area much quicker. There are some volunteer firefighters that live in that area. The Lands Department is still waiting to receive the design of the footprint and Mark will return to council once the documents are received. There is a tract of land near King’s Point that has potential for a well to be drilled so they can pump water, but the details have not been worked out yet. The Fire Department is concerned about the seasonal out-of-staters that are not aware they are on tribal property and have started fires due to ATV use. Chairman McDonald suggested they consider the Monticello Club since it is a half-mile away, is a community property with a well, and may be owned by the county. It would be more cost effective to develop that property, and their response time would only be a couple of minutes. The Lands Department will follow up and return to council to discuss options at a future date.
Tribal Member Resources
- Council took action to approve the Challenge Cost Share Agreement between the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the USDA, Forest Service, Kootenai, Flathead, Lolo, and Bitterroot National Forests for a Forest Coordinator position for the Tribes.
Montana Department of Corrections
- Terry Boyd presented a slideshow of current duties with the Montana Department of Corrections and current issues. The DOC has 1,300 employees and 42 facilities/offices. Mr. Boyd serves as a subject matter expert and advisor to DOC staff; acts as a liaison between the department and tribal councils; delivers training and information on Native American culture related to correctional practices; and communicates with Native American inmates and families about concerns regarding culture and correctional practices. Native Americans make up 19.8% total DOC population, despite being 6.6% of Montana’s total population. In Montana prisons, 21% of the males and 37% of the females are Native American. Challenges include obtaining Native American volunteers from the communities to assist with religious ceremonies and cultural activities, and striking a balance between safety and security while ensuring access to religious opportunities and artifacts and helping inmates and families understand the balance. To help ensure the successful return of Native American inmates to Montana communities, the DOC delivers culturally specific programming, along with religious opportunities at its facilities. The DOC is preparing to transition to the Integrated Correction Program Model, which includes integrating multiple programs into one to address all criminogenic aspects of the risk, needs, and responsivity model; it includes a specific track for Native Americans; staff training is scheduled for this fall; and providing religious and cultural programming opportunities that includes drum groups, pipe ceremonies, smudging, sweats, and talking circles. The sweat lodge was rebuilt in June.
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