The anonymous advertisements in a local weekly claim the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council plans to turn the tribes' government into a corporation that will turn its back on language and culture, and put profits first and services last.
“Nobody in our leadership could even imagine the origins of these rumors,” CSKT spokesman Rob McDonald said Wednesday. “I guess as with any political election, there will be some people who try to take things and turn them into things that they are not.”
“Our Council will always embrace and cherish activities that work to preserve our language and traditions,” McDonald wrote. “I take extreme exception to the allegation that we have forgotten our traditional ways. The Tribal Council is currently struggling with substantial budget concerns, but our leaders nonetheless continue to fully support culture and tradition.”
The two ads, which appeared in the Dec. 6 Valley Journal under the headings “Tribal Members BEWARE!!!” and “Tribal Members BE VERY AWARE!!!” urge tribal members to elect new representatives to the council.
Voters on Saturday will send at least one new face to the council. Four incumbents face challenges as well, and half the council's 10 seats are up for election.
One incumbent, Lloyd D. Irvine of the Pablo District, was ousted in an extremely close race in last month's primary election, and another, Elmer “Sonny” Morigeau, finished second in the Dixon District.
Morigeau advanced to the general election, where he will go up against Terry L. Pitts. Pitts received 365 votes to Morigeau's 353 in the primary. The two defeated four other candidates, who split 689 remaining votes, to advance.
While the seats are divided into geographic districts to ensure representation from across the Flathead Indian Reservation, all voters on the reservation can cast ballots on all the seats up for election.
On Saturday, they'll decide whether to return four incumbents to the council. They include:
n Morigeau, who has served on the council for 32 years. His challenger, Pitts, is a retired Arlee educator.
n Tribal chairman James H. Steele Jr., who got the most votes in the primary, more than 50 percent, in a four-way race in the Arlee District. His opponent is former council member Jami Hawk-Hamel.
n Michel L. “Mike” Kenmille, who seeks a second term from the Hot Springs District. He faces Michael H. Dolson, chairman of the Native American Studies Department at Salish Kootenai College.
n Ron Trahan, running for re-election in the St. Ignatius District. His challenger is Charles L. “Charlie” Morigeau, a tribal game warden.
The fifth seat is in the Pablo District, where Joe Dupuis and E.T. “Bud” Moran outpolled Irvine in a close race.
Dupuis, longtime executive secretary of the tribal council who filed for office after the council reassigned him to new duties at the Kicking Horse Job Corps Center, got 396 votes in the primary.
Moran, a retired Bureau of Indian Affairs employee, received 369 votes, enough to advance to the general election ahead of incumbent Irvine, who finished with 356.
The paid advertisements in the Valley Journal were not signed by anyone and did not endorse any specific candidates, but called on tribal members to “hold the incumbent Tribal Council members accountable with their vote.”
“It is our duty to reject an agenda that ignores the traditional values and principles taught us by our ancestors,” the ads state. “We must prevent the Tribal government from modeling itself after white corporate America. We must not tolerate arrogant, condescending behavior, we deserve better.”
One ad alleged that a plan to turn tribal government into a corporation was being hatched behind closed doors by “a non-Indian consultant who does not understand Tribal governments and trust holdings.“
McDonald said that Chuck Johnson, a non-Indian who has more than 20 years of experience working with tribal governments across the nation, is working as “an in-house coach” to help CSKT department heads highlight areas that are working and what needs improving.
“The tribes are working hard to improve our infrastructure so we can provide better services to our members,” McDonald said.
The second ad claims “certain council members have owed thousands of dollars for overpayment of travel expenses,” and that millions of dollars have been transferred out of the tribal credit program “to bail out failing corporations and their bloated budget. For the first time ever, CSKT has a projected shortfall of millions of dollars in next year's operating budget.“
It goes on to charge that the budget problems threaten tribal services and per capita payments.
“I'll say point-blank that the per capita payment is not in danger,” McDonald said. “Longtime students of our elections tell me the per capita payment is thrown out almost every election in an effort to scare the voters.”
There are budget concerns, McDonald said, adding that “budgets are formed on projected revenues, and there are times those projected revenues don't come in.“
“For instance,” he said, “Forestry may have a tough fire season, or a sale that doesn't come in. The council may have to reach into the general fund to replace that money, but it's always reflected in the council minutes for all the membership to see.”
Also putting a strain on the budget, McDonald said, are upcoming water rights negotiations.
“We've been setting aside a pool of money, I don't have an exact figure for you, but it's in the millions, for water rights negotiations,” he said. “They are a new cost and an expensive thing, and are very important to our people and retaining our sovereignty. It's important to our people, and therefore important to the council. That's why we're looking at challenges in the budget.”
Sovereignty is always an important issue during a tribal election, and candidates have also been discussing tribal health care, gaming and blood quantum levels that determine who can enroll in the tribes, among other things.
The eight polling places on the reservation are open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday. Voters can cast their ballot at any of them, but if someone votes outside their home district the ballot is automatically placed in a “contested” pile and not tallied until election officials can ensure the person did not vote in another district as well.
Final and official results are not released until the following Wednesday.
Reporter Vince Devlin can be reached at 1-800-366-7816 or at vdevlin@missoulian.com.
CSKT election
Here are the 10 candidates for five seats on the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council (i denotes incumbent):
Arlee District
Jami Hawk-Hamel
James H. Steele Jr. (i)
Dixon District
Elmer “Sonny” Morigeau (i)
Terry L. Pitts
Hot Springs District
Michael H. Dolson
Michel L. “Mike” Kenmille (i)
Pablo District
Joe Dupuis
E.T. “Bud Moran
St. Ignatius District
Charles L. “Charlie” Morigeau
Ron Trahan (i)
Polling places: Arlee Indian Senior Citizens Center, Dixon Senior Citizens Center, Elmo Community Center, Hot Springs Indian Senior Citizens Center, Pablo New Tribal Complex, Polson Indian Senior Citizens Center, Ronan Indian Senior Citizens Center, St. Ignatius Indian Senior Citizens Center.
Polls are open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m.
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