A political dispute on the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council is starting to have real impacts outside of the once-again locked down tribal headquarters in Browning.
On Nov. 18, Blackfeet Chairman Willie Sharp Jr. said the tribe has been unable to pay employees or vendors since the beginning of the month. He said in the coming weeks the tribe would be unable to give stipends to tribal members away at school or even buy the necessary chemicals to treat drinking water in Browning or East Glacier.
“People are suffering because they don’t have any money to pay for anything,” Sharp said. “It’s a bad situation.”
At the center of the “bad situation” are two factions of the tribal council who have been unable to see eye-to-eye on just about anything, including where to meet, since early October. On one side are Chairman Sharp, Forestina Calf Boss Ribs, Paul McEvers, Bill Old Chief and Cheryl Little Dog. On the other side are Sen. Shannon Augare, Chief Earl Old Person, Roger “Sassy” Running Crane and Leonard Guardipee.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Indian Affairs has distanced itself from the growing conflict on the reservation. On two different occasions in the last week, law enforcement, including officers from the Department of Homeland Security, have entered tribal headquarters in Browning, claiming they were acting on a BIA directive. In a statement to the Great Falls Tribune, BIA spokesperson Nedra Darling said the BIA never ordered officers into the building.
“The Bureau of Indian Affairs Blackfeet Agency did not issue a directive or any order to the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council or to the Tribal Court for the removal of any members of the Tribal Council from their tribal headquarters,” Darling wrote. “Blackfeet Tribal Homeland Security and Blackfeet Tribal Police personnel, acting on the Blackfeet Tribal Court order, responded to remove the three council members from the facility.”
Darling also said reports that officers brandished “military style rifles” during the incidents were untrue, a statement that contradicts an account provided by Sharp.
“They had military-type rifles and guns and whatnot,” Sharp told the Beacon after officers entered tribal headquarters on Nov. 8. “They were dressed like they were ready for battle.”
On Nov. 12, police officers again entered tribal headquarters and had court orders signed by Chief Judge Allie Edwards to arrest McEvers, Little Dog and Old Chief. No such actions were taken before the police left.
Since the tribal council impasse began in October, the tribe has only been able to issue paychecks once. Now Sharp says the bills are piling up. On Nov. 18, he said the tribe would not be able to buy chemicals to treat drinking water, food for the reservation’s Head Start program, pay stipends for tribal members in college or even help pay for funeral services. In response, Sharp’s faction declared a state of emergency Nov. 15 because “there is now an immediate threat to the financial stability of the Blackfeet Tribe, as well as serious threats to the health and safety of people on the Blackfeet Reservation.”
Because paychecks are not being issued, many tribal employees are not coming to work. Sharp said the tribal headquarters have once again been locked down.
Both sides met briefly last week in hopes of appointing a new treasurer (who was fired by Sharp after they did not cut checks to Little Dog, McEvers and Old Chief when they were reappointed), but were unable to come to an agreement. Sharp said he did not know when the two sides would try and meet again.