Page 10 - Flathead Beacon // 9.16.15

NEWS
Effort to Banish Drug Dealers Raises Legal Questions Blackfeet Tribal Business Council votes to use banishment as punishment
BY JUSTIN FRANZ OF THE BEACON
Attorneys who specialize in tribal law say an effort by the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council to banish accused drug dealers may raise legal questions, but it also highlights a growing law enforce- ment concern in Indian Country.
On Sept. 3, government officials on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation announced they had passed a motion to begin banishing accused drug dealers, or “undesirables.” Native American tribes have used banishment as a punishment for centuries, but only recently have they revived the practice to deal with growing drug problems.
In an interview with the Beacon,
Chairman Harry Barnes said the tribal council passed the motion in response to several drug cases falling through the cracks because federal prosecutors are often busy with other cases. Tribal courts can only handle misdemeanors and all felony crimes on the reservation are transferred to U.S. District Court. Barnes cited a recent incident in which Blackfeet law enforcement charged someone with making and distributing meth, yet three months later charges still had not been filed.
“The idea that an accused person that has not been convicted of a crime by a jury of their peers could be banished does raise some civil rights concerns,” said Gabriel Galanda, a Seattle attorney who
focuses on Indian law. “If precautions are not taken, a banishment or exclusion could be disastrous for a tribe, in fact, it could backfire.”
Banishment is when a tribe kicks out one of its own members, whereas exclu- sion is when a non-tribal member is ordered to leave the reservation.
Galanda said if someone were ban- ished from a reservation, they would have to exhaust all efforts in the tribal legal system before taking it to federal court where they could perhaps argue that the tribe violated the American Indian Civil Rights Act. If the banishment was found illegal there could be big repercussions for the tribe.
However, Kalispell attorney Thane
Johnson said he understands why a tribe might want to take the legal risk to start banishing accused criminals. John- son has practiced law on the Blackfeet for more than 20 years and was a tribal judge from 2002 to 2006. Johnson said it is frustrating to see major crimes, includ- ing sexual assaults and drug offenses, fall through the cracks because the tribe can’t prosecute felonies. Johnson said the only way to resolve that issue is to improve the judicial system on Ameri- ca’s reservations.
“The tribe has a point because there is a problem with the system and a lot of crimes go unpunished,” he said. “I under- stand why they’re doing it.”
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Group Raising Funds to Acquire Gateway Community Center United Way leading campaign to secure $1 million by end of September
BY DILLON TABISH OF THE BEACON
A collective of local nonprofit orga- nizations is trying to raise $1 million to purchase the former Gateway West Mall in Kalispell.
The United Way of Northwest Mon- tana, one of a dozen agencies operating inside the large site off U.S. Highway 2 West, is spearheading the campaign to raise funds by Sept. 30. The one-time fundraising effort would secure the future of the Gateway Community Cen- ter and allow the agencies to continue growing the space as a centrally located social services campus. If the groups do not raise the needed funds by the end of the month, the campaign will still con- tinue but it will be less publicized so as
not to interfere with the United Way’s annual fundraising campaign, accord- ing to Sherry Stevens with United Way. The agencies have the site leased through 2018.
American Capital Group, a private equities firm headquartered in Califor- nia, owns the former mall and has leased it to the agencies since 2008. The com- munity center is home to the Flathead Food Bank, United Way and Volunteer Center, Literacy Center of Northwest Montana, CASA for Kids, Summit Inde- pendent Living Center and other locally based nonprofits that serve roughly 1,700 clients each month, according to administrators.
Acquiring the site would prevent the agencies from being uprooted and would
allow the community center to expand its services and programs. A proposed activ- ity center is planned as a venue for larger events, meetings and youth and senior activities. The goal is to have 19 agencies that provide a total of 50 different pro- grams and services, administrators say.
Since 2009, 3,042 volunteers have donated 23,341 hours of time to the Gate- way Community Center project, accord- ing to administrators. In-kind contri- butions of lumber, sheet rock, build- ing materials and a multitude of other resources totaling more than $200,000 have been invested into the project. A total of $162,222 has been invested in cash.
In May, American Capital Group attempted to sell the property on Auction.
com, with a starting bid of $600,000. The property failed to sell online.
The 60,645-square-foot section of property where TeleTech operates will not be part of the sale.
The property is adjacent to the Mon- tana Department of Health and Human Services facility, which includes Child and Family Services and Welfare-to- Work related programs.
Originally called the Gateway West Shopping Center and Plaza, the mall opened in the spring of 1973 on an open section of 26 acres on U.S. Highway 2 West. It began to transition from being a retail center in the 1990s before sitting vacant for years until the community center was developed in 2009.
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