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Betty Schall was honored for being the eldest tribal member at the Summer Quarterly.

Recent retiree Tom Haynes and DHRD employee Sherry Clairmont were among nine people honored at the summer quarterly, the others were not in attendance.

Brothers Drum singer Donald Stanger busts out an honor song along with his fellow singers that includes his father, Frank.

PABLO — It was a sparce masked crowd at the truncated Summer Quarterly meeting but more were tuned in on Zoom. The thoughts of the 4th of July weekend and Arlee Powwow were probably on the minds of many in attendance and those not. As a result the Tribal Council kept in on the down low with the agenda. 

Betty Schall was honored for being the eldest tribal member at the Summer Quarterly.

Pend d’Oreille Elder Stephen SmallSalmon recalled some prime life-changing advice he got way back in the day from Pete Beaverhead who told him to quit drinking as it would make him a better person. He took Beaverhead’s advice to heart and has been sober for 55 years. 

At this time of the Arlee Powwow Celebration SmallSalmon said his thoughts have been about all the people who have passed on to the next plain of existence since the last Arlee Powwow in 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic put the skids on the 2020 and 2021. However, there was a one-day Memorial gathering to bid farewell to those who traveled to the Spirit World.

One person on his mind was Séli?-Ql?ispé Culture Committee Director Tony Incashola, who passed on June 7th. “It was sad to lose Tony,” he said. “Who are we going to get to take his place? We need someone who can help the Elders.”

SmallSalmon lamented the passage of time and how modernity has covered in dust or buried some of the old ways of his youth. 

“Seems like the Old Ways are gone. Things have change. We used to go hunting for our food, now all we have to do is go to the store,” he said. In his youth hunting meant setting up hunting camps and staying for days with other families, mainly the Beaverhead, Incashola and Woodcock families but those days are gone. “Maybe that was just a dream but today I am happy to have lived through that time. Today, I’m sad but happy. I want to go dancing.”

Former Tribal Council Chairman Ron Trahan said an important issue the Tribal Council has to address are land issues. He said the Tribal Council has to work expeditiously on is the return of the school trust land to the ownership of the Flathead Nation.

“We are starting to get an influx of people here,” Trahan said. He cited the Arlee subdivision proposal that was recently voted down by the Lake County Board of Commissioners. It is probably just down for an 8-count and could come back off the canvas under a different proposal schematic with less houses per se. “We have to get buy back all the land we can.”

Trahan also expressed concern about the Ravalli container dump site on North Valley Creak Road that is built on Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes land but will now available for use to those who pay $180 annual fee.

Iris Caye expressed concerns about the Personnel Ordinance 69D and its grievance policy and the fact that there is no option for the Tribal Council to be involved in the process. 

Tribal Council Chairman Tom McDonald said the Tribal Council is not the arbitrator of personnel issues and that employees have to follow the grievance policy stated in 69D as it provides the due process for employees in that situation. He said there could be revisions to Ordinance 69D. 

Caye also expressed concern about non-CSKT members being hired instead of CSKT members.

“You all need to look after tribal members first,” Caye said. “You guys work for us… Thank you guys for doing a good job.” 

Brothers Drum singer Donald Stanger busts out an honor song along with his fellow singers that includes his father, Frank.

• Ronan District Councilwoman Carole Lankford said she has been working with the Ronan City Council and mayor on a dog ordinance and the area animal shelter is in dire straits when it comes to operational finances. She suggested that affected parties — tribal, municipal and counties — work to form a co-operative agreement to address the dogs and cats’ issues on the Flathead Reservation. She lauded the no-kill policy of the shelter.

Lankford expressed concern: about the tribal member “homeless community” and the need for a shelter for them to go in the winter months; the aquatic invasive species issue and the potential for the zebra and/or quagga mussels to infest Flathead Lake; the staffing issues at the Flathead Reservation-Lake County Boys and Girls Club; and, the shortage of some food staples at the Ronan Breadbasket.

Lankford concurred with McDonald about the potential to revise Ordinance 69D in relation to hiring tribal members first.

• Dixon District Councilwoman Anita Matt, who has been dealing with health issues for a month or so, said the Dixon Agency clean-up in April went well and thanked Councilwoman Lankford for her assistance in pulling it off. She also thanked the Two Eagle River School and Dixon School students and tribal programs that helped with the effort.

Matt said the Agency Community Center will now be used as a satellite voting office in upcoming elections.

• Hot Springs District Councilman Michael Dolson discussed a field trip to the Swan Valley where the CSKT own property with bull trout habitat. He reminded folks that he conducts district meetings every 4th Friday of the month and he can be contacted at 406-741-2838.

• Polson District Councilwoman Jennifer Finley said she was really proud when Indians do will and that the Tribal Council should formally laud the tribal members that graduate from college, and that all tribal members are of import to the Flathead Nation. She expressed concern about the pollution of the Kootenai River by runoff of selenium due to mining in British Columbia, Canada.

• Arlee District Councilman Jim Malatare lauded fellow Tribal Councilmember Lankford for the “awesome” job she does working with various community and Lake County entities on issues that pertain to them and the CSKT. 

• Arlee District Councilman James “Bing” Matt lauded the effort needed to prepare the Arlee Powwow grounds ready for the 122nd Arlee Powwow. However, he said there still is a lot of work that needs to be done beyond emergency repairs before the next Arlee Powwow.

Matt said he recently traveled to Virginia along with The Brothers Drum for the dedication of the USS Montana Virginia Class submarine. “A lot of people there never heard Indian music before,” he said. “It was a real honor to be there.”

Matt also expressed concern about the British Columbia, Canada mining runoff into the Kootenai River, as well as for all the tribal people who have passed on and were honored at the Thursday (June 30) Memorial event at the Arlee Powwow. “Last night the Memorial brought back a lot of memories of those who are gone now,” he said. “You just don’t know if you’re going to be here one day after the other.”

• St. Ignatius District Councilwoman Ellie Bundy thanked all the tribal employees for the work they do for the Tribes. “I hope you know that you are valued,” she said, adding that she is continues to be involved with the Missing and Murdered Indigenous People effort, Salish-Kootenai Housing Authority, and the animal shelter.

• Pablo District Councilman Martin Charlo expressed concern about the effects of climate change and it’s time to get serious about the issue. He cited the effects of climate change on the Alaska Indigenous population who are feeling its effects first hand with rising sea levels and melting permafrost. He reminded folks of the 1855 Treaty of Hell Gate gathering at Council Groves Saturday, July 16, and the dedication of the Beartracks Bridge in Missoula on Monday, October 10. The renamed bridge dedication was originally scheduled for July 16 however the reconstruction project is ongoing so it had to be rescheduled.

Charlo said the Elders should be provided with home care in their residences and many Elders have passed away recently and many due to the effect of COVID which is here to stay. “COVID is still here like a cousin on your couch that won’t go away,” he said. “It just keeps coming back.”

• Elmo District Councilman Let TwoTeeth announce that the Tribal Council has been in a lot of discussion about increasing the thrice a year $400 per capita payment to the enrolled CSKT membership by the December payment. 

On the issue of the transfer of the state school sections on the Flathead Reservation to CSKT ownership TwoTeeth said the effort has turned into negotiations on “troublesome items” recently brought up by state. 

• Chairman McDonald said the Flathead Nation will receive $1 billion in discretionary funding sometimes this year related to the Flathead Nation’s Federal Reserved Water Rights Compact. He said the Tribal Council will use it to the best of its ability but will focus on the membership and the landscape. However, there won’t be any per capita payments due to legal stipulations in the water rights settlement. 

On the Bitcoin issue, McDonald characterized the discussions were preliminary but were “portrayed” in the media like it has already happened. 

McDonald said the Tribal Council will be looking at increasing the tribal member burial funds in the upcoming fiscal year.  

Recent retiree Tom Haynes and DHRD employee Sherry Clairmont were among nine people honored at the summer quarterly, the others were not in attendance.

The Summer Quarterly honored seven recent retirees: Ruth Christ, maintenance coordinator; Tom Haynes, Fish and Game; Charlotte Hunter, Tribal Health Department; Cheryl Mathias, Legal Department secretary; Charles Matt, van/bus driver; Robert McCrea, Division of Fire operations specialist; and Darwyn Parker, Fish and Game officer II.

The Department of Human Resources Development Elders Program a pair of ladies Betty Schall, 97, the eldest member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and Sherry Clairmont, VIP caregiver.

“We appreciate the all the years of service the recent retirees gave us,” Chairman McDonald said. 

Mary Antiste said she felt that there was a lot of inappropriate things are going on in tribal system, mostly in the personnel area related to firing employees and “hiding behind” Ordinance 69D policies. She chided the Tribal Council for going on off-reservation trips and not being on the reservation. “Your job is here,” she said. “You need to concentrate on what’s going on here, not nationally.”

Antiste alleged that the S&K Gaming casinos were being mismanaged and its financial situation was not transparent. “Everyone says they’re bringing in money, where is it going?” she said.

She also said there are tribal people who get paid for doing nothing and they just use the money to party and take drugs while the tribal members that work don’t get any recognition from the Tribal Council.

Antiste said too much deference is given to non-Indians on the reservation. “Do you think white people like us? They don’t care about you,” she said. “This is our reservation, why act like we’re doing something wrong.

“I’m just really unhappy with everything,” she said. “You guys need to wake up and start thinking about us.”

The Brothers Drum provided the Flag Song and an Honoring Song.

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