Page 14 - Flathead Beacon // 2.10.16

Blackfeet Tribe Begins to Rewrite Constitution Constitutional reform e orts continue after two years of dysfunction on tribal council
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
A grassroots e ort to reform the Blackfeet constitution is gaining steam east of the divide.
In January, Blackfeet Commu- nity College hosted a two-day constitu- tional symposium to talk about ways the tribe can improve its government. Now, tribal members are gathering weekly to begin drafting a new set of governing documents.
Tribal council member and one of the constitutional reform organizers Joe McKay said the e ort to remake the Blackfeet constitution has been nearly two years in the making.
“The January symposium was the conclusion of a year and a half process of educating ourselves on how (constitu- tional reform) works,” he said. “We want a constitution that gives a clear de nition of what government should do as well as a strong and independent judicial system.”
WHITEFISH
Contaminated Soil Detected at White sh City Hall Site
Contaminated soil has been detected at the site of the new White sh City Hall and parking structure, causing another nancial pitfall in a project already fac- ing budget overruns.
In a Feb. 1 report to the White sh City Council, Mike Cronquist, the owner’s representative of the project, estimated that between 50 and 60 cubic yards have been discovered below ground, in the basement area of the construction site on the northeast corner of Second Street and Baker Avenue.
“We have found some contaminants in the basement area,” Cronquist told the council. “We don’t think it’s exceedingly extensive, but I won’t say it’s minimal. I don’t think it’s too extensive at this point but I won’t minimize it either.”
City manager Chuck Stearns said the source of the contamination appears to be an underground fuel storage tank located across the street in the past, when a gas station operated there.
Stearns said the city has hired Roger Noble of Applied Water Consulting to assess and monitor the situation, and that there is concern concern about surface or ground water spilling into the excavation site, which could increase the costs.
He explained that an underground tank that helped heat the former City Hall for nearly a century needed to be removed, and the change order for the
One of the biggest criticisms of the Blackfeet government – or any tribal gov- ernment established through the Wheel- er-Howard Act of 1934 – is that there is no separation of powers and the tribal coun- cil controls everything.
The aws in the Blackfeet tribal gov- ernment were on full display in 2012 and 2013, when the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council split into two factions. The split led to numerous government shutdowns and tribal employees were not paid for weeks at a time because neither side had the authority to issue checks.
The actions of the tribal council, led by then Chairman Willie Sharp Jr., drew ire from Blackfeet members and pro- tests outside tribal headquarters. Sharp and other council members were ousted during the last tribal election and a new council took control under the leader- ship of Chairman Harry Barnes. Among the new members is McKay, who ran for council advocating reforming the tribe’s
government.
McKay said although he is helping run
the reform e ort, he is doing it as a citi- zen, not a tribal council member. He said the reform e ort is a grassroots e ort and not directed by the tribal council.
In 2015, community members began meeting to talk about possible reforms and in July an informal poll asked tribal members if they wanted a new form of government. The nal vote tally was 412 people in favor of change and 255 against. After taking a few months o for the sum- mer, community members began meeting again and studying government reform e orts on other reservations, including the Crow Nation in 2001. McKay said the group also studied two failed reform e orts on the Blackfeet reservation in 1974 and 2010. Although they have taken notes from those e orts, McKay said this current attempt is not a continuation of those previous.
“We’ve wiped the slate clean and
we’re starting from scratch,” he said. McKay said the new constitution will slowly take shape in the coming months and the group hopes to present a draft to the tribal council this summer. Once the council approves it, the document will be sent to the Bureau of Indian A airs for review. Tribal members will then vote on
the new constitution within six months. One possible impediment to consti- tutional reform is the fact that 2016 is an election year on the reservation. At least half the Blackfeet Tribal Business Coun- cil faces re-election this year, which could impact the government reform. The cur- rent council, however, appears to support the reform e orts, particularly Chair-
man Barnes.
“This is a bad form of government,”
Barnes told the Beacon last year. “Now that I’m in it I can see where all the weak-
nesses are.”
jfranz@ atheadbeacon.com
NEWS
CITY BEAT
UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Crews work on the pedestrian underpass tunnel near Glacier High School. After four months of work, crews are making progress and poised for a big spring of activity
on the U.S. 93 Alternate Route in Kalispell. Roughly 750,000 cubic yards of dirt has already been moved with another 300,000 remaining
for the coming year. Crews with LHC have worked through winter storms and muddy days to stay on schedule with a tentative timeline of next November still possible for completion, according to o cials. A total of ve miles of new road is being built, as well as ve bridges, a wall near Empire Estates and a tunnel near Kidsports Complex connecting path systems.
GREG LINDSTROM | FLATHEAD BEACON
work cost an additional $20,000.
“The contingency continues to dimin- ish, so hopefully once we get out of the ground those unknowns go away,” Stea-
rns said.
The council has already approved a revised project cost of just over $16 mil- lion, exceeding the previous budget of $14.95 million that was set by council last June.
The budget overrun is attributed to the rising costs of labor and materials, and the city is working to lessen the shortfall.
news@ atheadbeacon.com
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FEBRUARY 10, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM