The National Bison Range
This problem, although seeming a local one, concerns people all across
America.
The Salish and Kootenai Tribes are again negotiating with Fish, Wildlife and Parks to enter into a compact to manage the National Bison Range. Here
are the important points on this issue:
#1) In a January 1996 letter to a county resident, former tribal Chairman Mickey Pablo is quoted as saying "basic funding will not change under tribal
management of our National Bison Range. Our Federal Government funds the management now, and will under the tribes proposal." He goes on to say,
"hiring will occur according to tribal practices which falls wholly within the bounds of federal law."
Tribal practices legal under Federal Law are the following in ORDER OF PREFERENCE:
1. Enrolled members of the (governing) tribe.
2. First generation descendants of the (governing) tribe.
3. Enrolled members of other tribal reservations
4. Non-Indians.
In other words, "Preference in Hiring" will happen on Federal land with Federal dollars. At the present time, the Bison Range is an equal
opportunity employer.
When questioned about “Tribal Preference in Hiring” occurring on federal land with federal dollars, Duncan Brown, Native Liaison to the FWS
answered, “When we have signed an Annual Funding Agreement, we’ve already decided we want to do business with the tribes; if we come to an agreements
to let them do that. It is theirs to run with their own people. Our government is going with the tribe that they will have a role in some
program and it is up to the tribe to staff as they wish. If a white person has been discriminated against by an Indian tribe he needs to take that up
with the tribe. Equal Opportunity Employment (EOE) doesn’t apply. We don't interfere in tribal hiring practice.”
He added, “We wouldn’t consider an EOE clause in a compact. Indian tribes
are bound by the Indian civil rights act. This would be an issue between the tribe’s and whomever is complaining. Not our concern.”
#2) Many are not aware of the amount of or location of the land actually being included in these negotiations. The NBR operations include land not
contained inside the reservation, including Swan River National Wildlife
Refuge, Smith Lake, North Flathead Lake, Kila Refuge areas and Creston Fish Hatchery. Also on the list were the “Conservation Easement” and “Partners
for Wildlife Program”, which included contracts some area NON-members had signed with the FWS. Many of those contract holders, having no voice in
Tribal government, were uneasy about the Tribe having control of the contracts.
#3) Another issue for many is the question of why the tribe was wanting full control of the range. Former Chairwoman Rhonda Swaney had been quoted in
the Missoulian, May 14, 1995, as saying about the Bison Range "we feel we'd be able to make our case to Congress to get more money..."
In fact, according to the law, U.S.C. 458cc., Sec. 403 (j), “...All funds...shall be treated as non-Federal funds for the purposes of meeting
matching requirements under any other Federal law.” What this means is it may be possible for the Tribes to obtain through matching grants double or
even triple the current Federal monies available for these programs.
#4) We need you to realize the true nature of the Flathead Reservation If the purpose of turning over the NBR is to benefit the local community, we
would like to remind you that 3/4 of the population on the reservation are
not Tribal members. The Salish and Kootenai Tribes are a minority. Please do not turn over a program of national interest to this local
political body.
#5) in 1972, the Indian Claims Commission paid the Salish and Kootenai Tribes 6 million dollars plus interest for all lands within the Reservation
boundaries, including the NBR. All though we don't know the actual amount, with interest tabulated over a 60 year period the actual payment may have
been as much as 70 million dollars. We believe this payment is further evidence that the United Sates Government has tried to be fair.
#6) The National Bison Range (NBR) has been deemed "Inherently Federal". In general, a lot of the major decisions can't and shouldn't be turned over
to another entity. With the Tribe unable to take over these decisions,
these programs can never truly be considered self-governance. And so the Bison Range, among other National resources deemed "Inherently Federal",
should not be considered transferable under the Indian self-Determination Act.
#7) Lastly, A Sept. 1995 draft note stated that the first compact, (at that time assumed to be “Transfer of the National Bison Range “) “will set
precedence for all Service policy regarding future tribal agreements on
Service lands.” These lands could include any National Park Service (NPS) Program, National Fish Hatchery, Ecological Service Program, Bureau of Land
Management Program, Bureau of Reclamation, Endangered Species Programs, or any geological survey where a tribe could show connection to a geographic or
cultural program.
Here is the full history:
Under the Tribal Self-Governance Act of 1994, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CS&KT), of the Flathead reservation, were the first Tribe
to request to compact with the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS).
They weren’t able to claim it as an Indian program. A 1926 article written by Cora E. Van Dusen noted that the NBR was established in 1909 for the
purpose of preserving the American Bison. Also, a letter written to then
Rep. Pat Williams in the summer of 1995 reiterates that the purpose of the Range was “...for a permanent national bison range for the herd of bison.”
and “...as refuges and breeding for native birds.” Many of the NBR programs
have also been declared "Inherently Federal."
Despite this, when requesting to manage and operate the NBR the CS&KT argued that the Range was a place of historical, cultural, and spiritual
significance to their people and requested to fully manage the entire NBR
complex, which included not only the entire NBR operations on land within the reservation boundaries but also NBR land not contained inside the
reservation. These included Swan River National Wildlife Refuge, Smith
Lake, North Flathead Lake, Kila Refuge areas and Creston Fish Hatchery. Also on the list were the “Conservation Easement” and “Partners for Wildlife
Program”, which included contracts some area NON-members had signed with the FWS. Many of those contract holders, having no voice in Tribal government,
were uneasy about the Tribe having control of the contracts.
As word spread, many people, surprised by the magnitude of the tribe’s request, became concerned. At issue was what some considered CS&KT history
of poor resource management, including what some believed to be inadequate weed control and a failed 1981 attempt at raising buffalo. Many others were
concerned about federally sanctioned tribal hiring discrimination on federal lands with federal dollars.
And despite public perception of the relationship between tribes and buffalo, some questioned even that as a motivation. While CS&KT Chairman
Michael T. Pablo wrote in his request for compacting, "Buffalo, then and now, form an inextricable bond between our people and our earth", his
ancestor and Bison herd entrepreneur, Michel Pablo, according to the book "Hides, Heads, and Horns", told companion Kootenai Brown he "saw where he
could sell his buffalo to parks and museums and make a good thing of them.” and Michel Pablo's partner, Charles Allard, wrote in 1886; "buffalo
breeding is as good an investment as real estate," for hides sold for $100 a
piece, and mounted heads at $200 to $500."
Furthermore, in April of 1995 Harry Schildt of the Blackfeet Reservation stated to me, “...we are having a meeting very soon and I am going to talk
to (CS&KT) about making the buffalo on the NBR available only to Indian Tribes within Montana. Other tribes can go other
places for their buffalo.” And the Inter-Tribal Bison Cooperative has also sponsored bison auctions, inviting potential buyers to the Rushmore
Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City in October of 1995 for buffalo hors d’oerves and refreshments.
The original impetus for the national movement for the preservation of the Buffalo began with the American Bison Society in 1905. The National Bison
Range was established in 1908 at the request of President Theodore Roosevelt on lands reserved from mostly unallotted lands
on the Flathead reservation. Total appropriations for the 18,500 acres, fence and miscellaneous items, including the payment to CS&KT, was $50,700.
This amount represented fair appraised value at the time. Later, in 1972, when the tribe determined that they desired more for the entire reservation
land, including the Bison Range, and US Claims Court agreed, Congress paid the Tribe a second time. This time, over 6 million dollars plus interest.
The Bison themselves were purchased by the American Bison Society with $10,560 they raised through the donations of the American public,
including the nickels and dimes of children throughout the nation. With
that money, thirty six head of Buffalo were purchased from the Conrad estate in Kalispell and donated to the Federal Range. Two more buffalo were
donated by Charles Goodnight of Texas, although the male died before it
arrived. These Thirty-seven formed the original herd and arrived to the Range on October 16, 1909. The Bison Range is now home to a variety of
animals, the originals of whom were donated by Boone and Crockett Club of
New York, Yellowstone Park, the city of Missoula, Montana, and the Canadian National Parks Service. For the past 91 years, the FWS has successfully
managed the range and has become a leader in the nation for its biological weed control.
So in 1995, locals, enflamed by what they saw happening, held two rallies and a four week petition drive garnering over 4000 signatures. As a result
of the pressure, Chairwoman Swaney sent to Regional Director Ralph Morganweek in December of 1995, a letter requesting that any “public notice
relating to the ongoing government to government negotiations ...will occur only with the mutual consent of both parties.” and "any agreement reached
at the negotiation table will be recorded and signed at the time agreements reached." Although FWS guidance policy in the fall of 1995 stated, ”
participation of the general public could be critical to the success of a program/activity that the Tribe chooses to contract.” and “Not only is thispolitically astute, it may allay some of the fears the general public may
have concerning the intentions of the tribe regarding the resource,” the Chairwoman’s letter rendered "due process" and public input impossible.
In December of 1996, after being told second hand that the Dept. of Interior would not be listening to the people of Western Montana on the
issue any longer and that the only people they may listen to would be elected State officials, a resolution was set before the Montana legislature
to send to the Federal Government opposing Federal contracting, compacting, or delegating management authority for non-Indian benefit programs to Indian
Tribes, (specifically the Bison Range). “We had a bad hearing,” State Rep. Rick Jore said later. “No one was in
there.” By the time the Bison Range Resolution came up in committee, most Republican legislators had gone to other
committees, leaving the Republican chairwoman and three Democrats. However, the spectator chairs were still full. There were six supporters
of the resolution present, including this reporter. Testimony submitted in favor of the resolution included written testimony from a
former Bison Range manager, verbal and written testimony about the Bison Range, the initial payment to the CS&KT from Congress in 1908, Range
history, other national Parks targeted for similar compacts, and the federal lawsuit in 1971 that awarded the CS&KT well over 6 million dollars for all
the land within the reservation, specifically including the Bison Range again.
The rest of the chairs were filled with those opposed; members of the Tribal Council and a small Mission Valley group of tribal supporters headed
by Rob Sands. Testimony from opponents included statements from CS&KT Vice
Chairman Mickey Pablo that the land within the Bison Range had never been paid for and that negotiations do involve the public. “The tribe has a good
history of working with the public.” he stated. Sands, in written testimony, stated, “I believe that tactics
that whittle away at tribal self-governance are based on misinformation
and/or greed. Whichever it is, the result is ultimately racist...”
State Rep. George Heavy Runner, a member from the Blackfeet reservation, asked several questions and indicated that a move against the Bison Range
management takeover was anti-Indian. Rep. Gillan said this is a
“neighborhood squabble” that Jore was pulling the legislature into. Rep. Heavy Runner agreed.
The resolution failed in Committee, but despite this apparent victory, the tribe itself went ahead and stymied the negotiations.
The Tribe continued to insist on full management of the entire complex and reports from two
sources are that on a trip to Washington DC to discuss the issue, former Chairwoman Swaney approached a Dept. of Interior official in fury and the
Tribal administration frequently ignored FWS attempts to negotiate.
Now, four years later, the Salish and Kootenai Tribes are again negotiating with Fish, Wildlife and Parks. We hope that this time, someone will
finally take time to hear the facts and protect the rights of the full citizenry.