The report, required by a 2005 law, tallies the relationship between Montana state government and tribal governments.
“In many ways, we are leading the entire nation in these concepts,” Schweitzer said in an interview after representatives from many Montana tribal governments met Wednesday to release the new report. “We're in uncharted territory.”
The tribe's gambling compact with the state expired on Nov. 30. The tribe wants to renegotiate the compact to give them jurisdiction over all gaming on the reservation. They refused an offer from Schweitzer to extend the compact signed five years ago in which they ceded jurisdiction the state to allow both tribal and non-tribal members to operate Class III gambling on the reservation.
The governor has said only the Legislature, which meets here in January, can give that jurisdiction to tribes. The tribes disagree.
Without a state compact, all Class III gaming on the reservation, which includes keno and poker machines, became against federal law on Dec. 1.
Rob McDonald, communications director for the tribes, said in a phone interview Wednesday that people shouldn't “read anything negative into our lack of presence there because that would be untrue.”
Tribal Chairman James Steele Jr.'s father recently died and the chairman cleared his schedule to attend to his family, McDonald said. The tribal government has also been very involved in preparing for Christmas.
“James has been home with his family taking care of those most important to him right now,” McDonald said.
One of the highlights of the report was Schweitzer's October recognition of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians. The tribe has been landless and scattered across the Hi-Line and Rocky Mountain Front since 1892, when their Chief Little Shell refused to sell tribal lands and cut his tribal membership.
Also in 2006, Montana for the first time included figures from reservations in the state's official economic picture. In the past, detailed information from reservations, which typically have higher unemployment and poverty rates, was omitted.
The report also touted the formation of the state's first Montana Indian Business Alliance, a group formed to promote economic development on Montana's reservations. It also detailed money divvied out through the Indian Country Economic Development Program, which gets $500,000 a year from the Department of Commerce for economic development grants to Montana's tribes.
The Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boys Reservation received $105,000 over two years to study building an ethanol plant. The Crow Tribe got $55,000 in 2006 for small, revolving loans for start-up businesses.
Schweitzer typified his administration's relationship with tribal governments as earnest, but not always perfect.
“We take two steps forward and one step back,” he said, adding that the gaming compact stalemate with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes is one of the “steps back.”
Report online
To see Gov. Brian Schweitzer's Tribal Relations Report 2006 and other related documents, visit http://www.missoulian.com/123/gainreport.pdf, http://www.missoulian.com/123/gainecon.pdf, http://www.missoulian.com/123/gainappendix.pdf, and http://www.missoulian.com/123/gainagencies.pdf.
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