Reznet

Strong Attendance for Blackfeet Constitutional Reform Workshop

By Lona Burns, Public Relations Coordinator

Browning, MT and Seattle, WA —October 22nd, 2009— The Blackfeet Constitutional Reform Committee (BCRC) http://www.blackfeetvoice.org/ held a well attended workshop in Seattle on October 17th, 2009. Over 80 Tribal members participated and heard from the BCRC Committee as well as from Councilman Rodney Gervais and Secretary TJ Show. The workshop ran more than six hours, and all in attendance were afforded ample opportunity to voice their ideas and concerns.

“The crowds exceeded our most optimistic expectations,” said Greg Gilham, Chairman of the BCRC, “and the input from members was tremendous. Estimates are that there are over 4,000 Blackfeet in Western Washington, so we needed to come here and listen. We are so gratified to see so much interest and hear so much passion as we all work together to fix our Constitution. The suggestions and ideas we heard today were invaluable and insightful.”

One of the top topics of the day had to do with Enrollment, something that the Committee and Councilmen made clear is NOT part of the proposed changes to the Constitution.

“We know that the current Enrollment rules are far from perfect and need to be fixed,” said Councilman Gervais. “But first we need to focus on Governmental Structure and Separation of Powers issues. Based on the experience of other tribes, if we try to throw in Enrollment changes at the same time, the vote will fail, everybody loses, and we are right back where we started.”

Attendees were told that the main purpose of Constitutional reform is to create a government that works better through greater checks and balances and accountability. For example, the United States has three branches: executive, legislative, and judicial, and each has the ability to restrain other branches, even to the point of stopping abuses of power and taking corrective action.

The current IRA Constitution that the Blackfeet Tribe along with other tribes in the United States adopted over 70 years ago essentially makes the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council the President, Congress, Supreme Court, business managers, and human resource directors all rolled into one. This has created dysfunction because in the past, Councils have abused their power to create monopolies of control over Tribal resources for themselves and family members. In many cases this has led to unchecked access and misuse of resources. Moreover, Tribal members have used the Council powers as a means of instant gratification, including demanding to the Council that family members be released from jail, court decisions be overturned, that Tribal employees be hired or fired, and even demanding money. All this contributed to a crippling $20+ million dollar deficit, not to mention a pervasive distrust of government, enabled by our current IRA Constitution.

A Constitution that separates governmental powers will prevent the vast majority of such abuses by Council members, Tribal employees, and Tribal members. There will always be a few bad apples that will find a way to cheat the system, but to do so they will have to work against and outside the system, not within a faulty system that enables and protects wrongdoing. That means they will be caught and punished.

So a new Constitution can restore accountability, transparency, fairness, and individual rights while preserving and growing our resources and Tribal dollars. The result will be stability and continuity, and the Tribe will attract people and businesses that want to invest their money, ideas, time, and energy. Thus, the Tribe as a whole benefits through increased job opportunities, better monetization of our natural resources, and overall economic growth to create a healthier local economy.

Secretary Show told the crowds: “I am here at this workshop to ask you: how can I and the Council best serve each of you as members and the Tribe as a whole? How can we gain your trust and support so that all 16,000 members are working together to make a brighter future? What form do you want government to take? There aren’t many Tribal Councils in Indian Country that would hand over their job descriptions and their power to an independent body like the BCRC and say ‘consult the Tribe, craft member input into a new Constitution, and that’s what we will put on the ballot.’ But that is exactly what we have done. I am proud to be a member of a Council that has the courage and vision to put the good of the Tribe ahead of their own jobs.”

Also discussed at the workshop was the fact that off reservation members feel disenfranchised from the Blackfeet community. “We have no representation on the Council, and we can’t vote for anyone anyway unless we go to Browning,” said one member in attendance. “We are Tribal members with no voice in government, and little opportunity to contribute to solutions. We have families and loved ones and are not trying to take away from our homeland --on the contrary, we want to do our part to restore the Tribe to pride and prosperity. But sometimes we are treated like ‘urban Indians.’ We are Blackfeet people, too, and are just asking for the same opportunities because we are struggling just as the rest of our people are.”

One important note is that the Constitutional Reform Referendum vote will be in the form of a Secretarial Election administered by the BIA, which is different from a Tribal election. All members, including those off-reservation, will be sent out a registration letter in the mail when the time comes. So please make sure the Blackfeet Enrollment Department has your current address. The BCRC is working and negotiating with the Bureau of Indian Affairs on the election process in order to accommodate and count the votes of all members of the Blackfeet Tribe, wherever they live.

Nine meetings have been held throughout the Browning and surrounding areas, and more will be held in the future. People are encouraged to keep checking the BCRC website www.blackfeetvoice.org to see when meetings will be held, and to post comments on what they want in a tribal government.

Also, a survey will be available on the website as well as throughout the community to allow the committee to reach as many Blackfeet voices as they can, you can download the survey online at the website and drop them off at the BCRC office, or at the P & M Convenient Store located in Browning. You can also email them to bcrc@blackfeetvoice.org.

The mission of the Blackfeet Constitution Reform Committee is to identify the concerns, views, inputs, and suggested solutions of the Blackfeet People in order to develop an effective Blackfeet Constitution that will contribute and enhance the success and lives of the people of the Blackfeet Tribe.

Specific BCRC goals are:

* To educate the Blackfeet public about the Constitution and how it relates to them.
* To encourage the Blackfeet public to form ideas, views, and concepts of how they would like the Constitution changed.

* To provide the Blackfeet public with outlets to express views, ideas, and concepts.
* To encourage the Blackfeet public to participate in community meetings and forums.
* To develop a new Constitution or Amendments in accordance with the will of the Blackfeet public.
* To hold a secretarial election so the Blackfeet public may vote on proposed changes to the Constitution.

About the Blackfeet. With 16,000 enrolled members, we are the largest Indian tribe in Montana and one of the largest tribes in the United States. Our rugged, picturesque 1.5 million acre (3,000 square mile) reservation in Montana has a population of about 10,000, including 8,500 enrolled Blackfeet and several hundred Blackfeet descendents. The other 7,500 Tribal members are scattered all over the world. Our largest town and seat of government is Browning (population 3,500, including surrounding areas). Other towns include Heart Butte, Blackfoot, Starr School, Babb, Saint Mary, Kiowa, and East Glacier. Visit our website at www.blackfeetnation.com