Council Dispatch #189     August 29, 2023

 

Walk-Ins

 

  • Mary Whitsett met with council to discuss various topics. She lives in Hot Springs and is a nontribal member. Mary’s children attended school in Ronan and she went to Salish Kootenai College. She wanted to give council a report from the west end of the reservation and what she is seeing both on and off the reservation. Mary calls nonmembers immigrants and the people coming to our borders she calls refugees. She does freelance anthropological excursions. There are people that have the means to buy whatever land that is for sale. There is a threat to habitat. Mary learned about wetlands while she was in college. Mary appreciates everything the Tribes do.

 

  • James Taylor informed council Bob Stahl used to work for the Tribal Court as a Law Clerk, but he had to resign to care for his wife. Bob passed away in May. Mr. Taylor handed out a copy of Bob’s obituary. Bob wanted the tribal council to know that the work he did at CSKT was the most important work he did in his career and he appreciated working for the Tribes and tribal people.

 

Division of Fire

 

  • Council received an update on local fires. The crews are doing the rehab on the Niarada and Little Ridge fires. The Division of Fire will take over the Big Knife fire at 6:00 a.m., and Robert Bernie will be the Incident Commander for that fire. No charges have been filed yet for the Butte Communication Fire. The River Road East Fire had 670 acres on the reservation. Bing Matt went to the South Fork and drove around. There were a lot of spots smoldering and stumps here and there burning, but there were no large fires up there. He asked if the crews would be going up there and putting out those spots that are burning. T. responded that the Incident Commander will determine next steps.

 

Tribal Council

 

  • Council approved a resolution for tribal council board positions.

 

  • Council conducted an interview and appointed Kelly McDonald to fill the Chief Justice vacancy for a four-year term.

 

Food Sovereignty Program

 

  • Council received an update on the program and priorities moving forward and took action to approve the Headwaters Foundation budget and accompanying letter.

 

 

 

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..