Title: Tribal Officers
Narrator: Law enforcement on our reservation consists of state-certified tribal officers and non-tribal county, city or state officers. They work together to keep us all safe. When someone reports a crime, and the parties involved are non-Indian, the dispatcher calls non-tribal officers. But when the parties involved are Indian. The dispatcher sends Tribal police. Sometimes, the dispatcher doesn’t know if the parties are Indian or non-Indian. So they ask for the nearest police to respond. If Tribal Officers respond to an incident with a non-tribal offender, they can put the offender into custody and hold him or her until a county, city, or state officer arrives. This works the other way too. If it’s a traffic situation, and a non-Indian officer can’t respond in a timely manner, he or she can give permission to arrest a person. Tribal Police also do investigations in felony cases and turn the information over to the court handling the case, whether it is Tribal or non-tribal. So, Indians and non-Indians alike should simply obey the law.
Title: College Education
Narrator: This is a college. These are Indian students. This is the Tribal government that sometimes offers some financial aid to enrolled CSKT students who qualify. This is the Federal government that sometimes offers some financial aid to enrolled CSKT students and non-Indian students alike who qualify. But this is how most native students pay for their education. While a fortunate few may earn a full-ride scholarship, most struggle to pay for their educations one bill at a time.
Title: Government Checks
Narrator: A Per Capita disbursement is a sum of money distributed to a group of people. A common misperception is that per-capita disbursements to Tribal members comes from the federal or state government. In reality, the disbursements are individual tribal members’ share of any profits made by the Tribes and their many business ventures. Most of the money comes from the leasing of the Kerr Dam. The money from this lease of the dam to power companies enables the Tribes to disburse $8 million dollars annually, the Tribes’ largest single expenditure. At CSKT, each of the 7,200 tribal members age 18 and older get a $400 payment three times a year in winter, spring and summer. For tribal members who are minors, half the money is placed into an Individual Indian Monies account until they are legal adults. Parents or guardians receive the other $200. Tribes in states with different gaming regulations sometimes have large casinos that allow for much higher per capita payments. But, while it is true that a number of tribal programs receive federal and state funding, none of this money is distributed by per capita payments to individual tribal members.
Title: Largest Employer
Narrator: An estimated one thousand and one hundred employees work for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribes, with another 250 at organizations like Salish Kootenai College, Best Western KwaTaqNuk Resort and Casino, and S&K Electronics. The Tribes hire tribal members and Indians from other nations as well as non-tribal members. In fact, about 25 percent of Tribal employees are non-Indian. The CSKT payroll infuses about $30 million annually into the local economy, with another $35 million going to vendors. A recent report funded by the State of Montana showed that the Tribes actually contribute a whopping $317 million to the Montana economy every year. That’s a lot of jobs for a lot of people.
Title: Sovereignty
Narrator: Sovereignty refers to the inherent right or power to govern a people or territory. For example, most people are citizens of a nation. And they follow the laws and government of that nation. They are part of a sovereign nation. Before this continent was colonized, there were lots of people who belonged to lots of separate, sovereign nations. Each with their own sets of laws and government. But then non-native people arrived who wanted the land for themselves. So they made treaties with the native people. Treaties are agreements between two nations so, by signing treaties with the native peoples, the United States Government recognized the sovereign status of tribes, treating them as foreign nations and left them to regulate their own affairs. But the colonies kept growing and the colonists wanted more land so they made more treaties and more treaties…
Until all of the territory was part of the United States, except for a small portion of the land, which was made into reservations for the native people. But the native people still had treaties, which meant that they were still sovereign nations. So the United States government declared that the federal-tribal relationship would be one of “domestic dependent nations” to whom the federal government had a fiduciary relationship. U.S. Presidents used to call themselves the “great father” to Indian people. So they made legislation that treated the U.S. Government as the guardian of Indian peoples. Most Indian land is held in trust by the United States and the United States has overriding power over Indian Affairs. But, because tribes were recognized as sovereign nations in those treaties, they still reserve the rights they have never given away, like the right to govern themselves. Unless a treaty or federal statute removes a power, the tribes are assumed to possess it. And state laws generally do not apply to Tribal members in Indian country. So here on our reservation, most native people are members of the sovereign Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, or nations and are self-governed. But they are also U.S. citizens. It is a complicated nation-within-a-nation system. That keeps Indian Law attorneys and administrators on their toes but preserves a fundamental right and freedom for native peoples throughout the United States.
Title: Different Laws
Narrator: Members of the Salish, Kootenai and Pend d’Oreille tribes on the Flathead Reservation occupy a unique legal position. On the one hand they are citizens of the United States and are entitled to the same legal rights and protections under the Constitution that all other U.S. citizens enjoy. On the other hand, they are members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, which, under federal law, retain a great deal of sovereignty. This means they are self-governing. They have to follow all the rules of the United States Government…
But they are also under the jurisdiction of the tribal government. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have their own court system, which handles mostly non-felony court cases for all people who are enrolled members of an Indian tribe. There is even a tribal court of appeal. But, again, only for enrolled members of any tribe. For civil matters, the tribal courts may be open to non-Indians as well. So, on our Rez, Indian people answer to the government here. And here. And are subject to all the rights and laws of both.
Title: Influence
Narrator: Fear mongerers from every decade have tried to scare the non-Indian population on our reservation with rumors of the Tribes working to remove the non-Indian population. But the truth is that none of the stories about scary Tribal influence are true. The fact is that the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes work hard to help and support the surrounding non-Indian community. For example, the Tribes run Mission Valley Power, a federally-owned power company that brings crucial power to all residents of the Valley. The Tribes also manage and control the beds and banks of the southern half of Flathead Lake, providing key access to this great treasure for everyone and making sure it stays a vital resource for the entire community. Tribal wildlife management keeps the land and animals healthy. They use a public hearing board to get input from both Indian and non-Indian residents and they maintain laws that allow access to tribal lands by everyone and permits hunting on exclusive tribal areas as well. Tribal law enforcement works shoulder-to-shoulder with city, county, and state police agencies. And the Tribes are the largest employer in all of Lake County. In fact, about 25 percent of those employees are non-Indian. The Tribes even donate land to parks, schools, fire halls, baseball fields, community water and sewer facilities, Head Start Centers and more. All places that benefit Indians and non-Indians alike. So, as lots of folks will tell you, tribal influence on our reservation is a good thing for all people who live here.
Title: Land and Homes
Narrator: Originally the Treaty of 1855 said the 1.3 million acres of the Flathead Indian Reservation was reserved for the sole use of tribal members of the Salish and Kootenai. And in 1910, against Tribal will, the land was opened for homesteading. The land was broken into farms and ranches. Tribal members were given some of these ranches and farms but many Indians were unfamiliar with this new life style forced upon them and were unable to survive. Many of them lost their lands because they fell into disuse and some were swindled out of their homes. Until finally, most of the land became non-Indian owned. What’s more, federal agencies also took land to create future park sites and more land to create wildlife refuges and then more land to create schools. Worst of all, some of the best land, like all the land surrounding the lake, was officially deemed unusable for farming and was put up for sale. Finally in 1934, a Federal law passed that allowed CSKT to create a Tribal Council government system and the council voted to stop the removal of land from the Tribes. Since then, CSKT has been on course to purchase back as much land as possible. Current levels bring the Tribes’ ownership of land on the reservation to about 62 percent. Finally, the Tribes own trust land, which is held in trust by the federal government, and the Tribes own what’s called “fee land”, which generates tax dollars for the county. Many non-tribal members own fee land on the reservation. Anyone can purchase fee land.
Title: Free Health Care
Narrator: In 1855, the Flathead Reservation was formed when the Bitteroot Salish, Kootenai and Pend d’Oreille Tribes signed the Hellgate Treaty. The Tribes ceded over 22 million acres of land. In exchange they kept 1.3 million acres now known as the Flathead Reservation, payment installments received by the tribes totaled $120,000 dollars, and were told they would be given health care and education with the establishment of a hospital and school. Today, the Indian healthcare system receives just over half the funds needed for providing a bare minimum of care for Tribal people. There is simply not enough funding for basic preventative checks like colonoscopies for elders. In fact, most tribal members must also use private insurance. Tribal members struggle with health care costs just like everyone else.