Two Eagle River students organize, host tribal candidate forum
Nicole Tavenner
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Election candidates answer questions during a forum hosted by Two Eagle River students.
Nicole Tavenner
Community members and students listen to the candidates respond to questions.
Nicole Tavenner
Wade Hendrickson, St. Ignatius
Nicole Tavenner
Britton Salois, Pablo
Nicole Tavenner
Dennis L. Clairmont, Pablo
Nicole Tavenner
Gene Lozeau, Hot Springs
Nicole Tavenner
Leonard W. Gray, Hot Springs
Nicole Tavenner
Troy Felsman, Arlee
Nicole Tavenner
James (Bing) Matt, Arlee
Nicole Tavenner
Nicole Tavenner
Nicole Tavenner
Nicole Tavenner
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
PABLO – In an effort to hear what the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal election candidates think about current issues before the General Election on Dec. 12, students from Two Eagle River held a forum in their school on Wednesday evening.
Seven of the 10 candidates running for five seats on council sat on a stage in front of dozens of community members while the students asked important questions. And in typical forum style, the students respectively cut the candidates off when they went over their two-minute time limit to give everyone on the panel an equal amount of time to speak and to make sure the event wrapped up by 8 p.m.
The event was part of a history class project to help the students learn about local government. History teacher Jaimie Stevenson said the idea for the project came from current tribal council member Shelly Fyant.
And from the students’ questions, the candidates explained where they stand on several issues including cultural involvement, the expansion of the Gray Wolf Peak casino, and the construction of a drug and alcohol treatment center.
Wade Hendrickson is running to represent St. Ignatius on the council, and he was the first to take the microphone. He feels that more money should be earmarked for education. He also thinks that a drug and alcohol treatment center needs to be built “yesterday.” He is also against the expansion of the casino.
Britton Salois, Pablo, said that he has “nothing against the water compact” but he wished that people had more input into the decision process. He said that he wanted to be on the council to give people more voice. He is against the casino expansion, and would like to see a treatment center built along with a rest home for seniors.
Dennis L. Clairmont, running for the Pablo seat, said he hopes to promote business development on the reservation for better-paying jobs. Education is very important, he said, and he thinks that the tribe should allot more money to schools on the reservation. He added that a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center was a good idea, but it would be too expensive.
Gene Lozeau said that he wanted the Hot Springs seat on the council to help promote areas related to food, shelter, education and jobs. He discovered the importance of those four elements during his time as a social worker. Regarding drug and alcohol rehabilitation, he said people need to utilize Tribal Health and talk with medical providers. He also said that education programs were a good way to curb drug use citing the success of the tobacco campaign that encourages people to stop smoking.
Incumbent Leonard W. Gray, Hot Springs, said that a treatment center would be nice but the cost “would be enormous.” He also said that he doesn’t think expanding the casino “will help with the drug issue.” He said it was important that the tribes continue to push the water compact until congress approves it.
Troy Felsman, Arlee, began by answering the students’ questions in Salish. He said he hopes to see more done to help revitalize the language. The other candidates agreed. He said he is running to help enhance education and economic development. He is opposed to the casino expansion in its current location. “It needs a better location,” he said. He also said that the drug and alcohol issues need to be considered from a cultural standpoint, with community support.
Incumbent James (Bing) Matt, Arlee, agrees with the expansion of the casino because it will create about 140 jobs. His goals in the past were to help get the water compact to pass and to get the dam purchased. He spoke about the need for more funding for schools, and said that a treatment center would be costly.
Student Esperanza Orozco-Charlo, 16, said the event got pretty intense when the public was able to ask the candidates questions. One woman stood up and told the candidates that if they wanted her vote they needed to consider the people, build a drug and alcohol treatment center and develop more housing.
Student Isaic Smith, 17, said he listened to the candidates for information about issues that were important to him.
“We need more housing and the schools need more money,” he said.
Student Jenna Mullaney, 16, said it was good to be able to hear from the candidates about what they thought about certain issues rather than relying on rumors. She said the casino expansion was a big topic of discussion during the forum.
“I would like to hear more about where the money is going from that,” she said of the future profits.
Danielle Adler, 16, said that she learned a lot about local government. She said she didn’t even know what a candidate forum was before the event.
“I learned that it’s not easy running for this stuff,” she said, adding that she was impressed with the way the candidates handled some of the emotional questions from the audience. “They kept calm and answered the questions.”
And she has her own opinions.
“I think more money should be spent on education,” she said. “If we can afford a dam, we can afford to spend more on education.”
Adler said her future was affected by learning more about government. She hopes to one day be on the tribal council.
“Anything to help my tribe,” she said.
The students involved with organizing the forum included Adler, Isaiah Adams, Lynsey American Horse, Shay-Lyn Andrews, Gabby Big Beaver, Megan Caye, Jaylen Ducharme, Dante Finley, Darius Finley, Matt Howard, KataKiyKam Kenmille, Ross Martinez, Jeri Matt, Misty Mendoza, Tyra Michel, Matilda Pablo, Mars Sandoval, Isaic Smith, Payton Sorrell, Naomi Stevens, Bailey Wippert and Casadi Wunderlich.
