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FLATHEADBEACON.COM
MAY 13, 2015 | 17
REBUILDING A NATION
Two years after a governmental crisis led to protests and arrests, a fresh slate of leaders looks to rebuild the Blackfeet Nation
BY JUSTIN FRANZ
BROWNING – TWO YEARS AGO, THE DOORS OF THE BLACK- FEET TRIBAL HEADQUARTERS WERE OFTEN LOCKED. ¶ POLICE WOULD STAND GUARD BY THE ENTRANCE AND PROTESTERS FREQUENTLY LOITERED OUTSIDE. TRIB- AL MEMBERS WHO WANTED TO ACCESS THEIR GOVERN- MENT WERE TURNED AWAY. AND SOMETIMES, WHEN THE SPLINTERED TRIBAL COUNCIL COULD NOT AGREE ON WHO WOULD SIGN PAYCHECKS, THE GOVERNMENT SIM- PLY SHUT DOWN.
But today, the doors are open.
It’s a Thursday morning in early May and the Blackfeet tribal headquarters in Browning is alive with a flurry of activity. Shortly before 9 a.m., secretaries are rush- ing around with paperwork and binders as members of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council prepare for their regular meet- ing. Sequestered in a back office, Chairman Harry Barnes quickly reviews the agenda before taking a few minutes to talk with some visitors about the progress his gov- ernment has made over the last 10 months.
Barnes discusses rebuilding the tribal government and restoring trust with its members. Then he turns his attention to work that has begun on a gamut of projects that could change the course of history on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, including constitutional reform and protecting the culturally and environmentally significant Badger-Two Medicine area.
A few minutes after 9 a.m., Barnes apol- ogizes to his visitors that he has to run. He grabs a stack of papers and walks down a hall to a conference room where the nine- person tribal council is about to meet.
“Time to get to work,” he says as he en- ters the room.
IN 2012 AND 2013, the government on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation east of the divide was in shambles. Divisions on the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council began almost immediately after the 2012 election and over the next year and a half numerous council members were illegally suspended or appointed. The actions of the tribal council, led by then Chairman Willie Sharp Jr., drew ire from Blackfeet members and protests outside of tribal headquar- ters were common. At one point, in August 2012, Sharp called in law enforcement from off the reservation and declared a state of emergency that lasted for nearly two years. Many worried violence would break out.
Under the guise of the state of emergen- cy, protestors and opponents of the council were often arrested under questionable cir- cumstances. In one instance, Native Ameri- can activist Bryon Scott Farmer was arrest- ed for a comment he had made on Facebook. Sharp said the arrest was made because Farmer, a tribal member who lived in Great Falls, was trying to incite violence. But crit- ics accused the council of using an obscure law, Ordinance 67, to stifle free speech.
The situation took a turn for the worse in October 2013, when the tribal council split