Group forms against tribal corruption
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Members from at least five of Montana’s eight Indian tribes, including two Salish and Kootenai tribal members, gathered in Havre on Oct. 2 and set up a statewide Native American organization to expose corruption on reservations.
Tribal governments are “using a smokescreen of tribal sovereignty to violate civil rights,” according to G. Bruce Meyers of Box Elder, a tribal member and former coordinator for the Office of Indian Affairs, State of Montana.
The group formed even before national newspapers and TV stations broke an Associated Press story on Oct. 7 about Native American tribes misusing taxpayer money.
The tribal members in Havre brainstormed and decided the problem of corruption is that the system is broken due to Bureau of Indian Affairs negligence and abrogation of trust responsibility.
On a sheet of paper they listed issues and problems brought about by the “fractured system,” such as civil rights violations, no separation of tribal government powers, corruption, no federal oversight of tribal law, tribal council officials not representative of tribal people, and no equal opportunity employment with federally funded programs.
The group is planning a trip to Washington, D.C., to meet with the United States Senate Select Committee on Indian Affairs, chaired by Sally Jewell. A planned visit in October was jettisoned by the government shutdown.
