Quarterly meeting addresses concerns
Berl Tiskus
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Councilmember Vernon Finley, center, visits with constituents after the quarterly meeting on the Fourth of July.
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PABLO — Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Chair Ron Trahan said the Fourth of July is a celebration of freedom and people. A lot of servicemen and women give their lives to keep this land free, and a lot have had their lives changed very drastically because of wounds they’ve suffered.
Trahan was speaking at the CSKT quarterly meeting on July 4, a short gathering with tribal members asking questions and commenting.
Britt Salois asked what was going on with Energy Keepers, Inc., since he’d heard rumors that the corporation needed $30 million.
Energy Keepers, Inc., CEO Brian Lipscomb spoke to Salois’ comment.
The conveyance price for Kerr Dam was set at $18.3 million. To purchase the dam, there also have to have to be reserve funds in place and capital improvement into the future. The land rental payment to the CSKT continues into the future.
“The first day we take it over that land payment is due,” Lipscomb said.
All total that’s about $60 million, $31 million from the Kerr acquisition fund and the rest EKI is working with the CSKT Council to loan to them.
Salois asked, “Where is the money coming from that you are going to be borrowing from the tribe?”
Vern Clairmont, CSKT director of financial management, said the tribes would use a $65 million dedicated trust fund to finance the EKI start up, with interest rates and requirements for payment.
“That’s the Salazar money that was set aside, right?” Salois asked.
“Right,” Clairmont answered.
Salois commented he thought the tribal people should have been asked with a straw vote or with notices sent out to them.
As far as the water compact, Salois said the tribal council didn’t ask the tribal people through referendum. He asked that the council keep the people in touch and be transparent.
“(The water compact) was shoved down people’s throats; we didn’t have any say on the water compact. We never heard anything, and the next thing we heard it’s going through the legislature,” Salois said.
Sue Antiste asked that the burial fund be brought up to $6,000 or $7,000. Caskets are expensive, she said.
A year after a person’s death, the Kootenais have a feast and give the person’s things away, but the family still has to buy groceries for the feast.
She also said she thought Koostatah Hall should be made into a kid’s center since it’s just sitting there. The kids need to have somewhere to go, Antiste said.
Travis Benoist asked the council to consider a rope course for young people. There are staggering numbers of young people going to jail, and the rope course would be a partial solution, he said.
Kevin Howlett commented, saying he was speaking as an individual. He had to respectfully disagree with Salois on the water compact.
“Part of our legacy as a tribe is this homeland, is the resources we were given an granted,” Howlett said.
Howlett said he was on the tribal council with Mickey Pablo, Jim Steele and Laurence Kenmille, and they knew this day would come. They set up hunting and fishing jurisdictions and in-stream flow records, multiple things they did so the tribes could fight this fight.
Changing to another subject, Howlett said, “There’s a way to change the direction of the tribe. It’s called an election.”
About education, Howlett said, “If we don’t invest in education — and it’s an investment — we guarantee one thing. We’ll have lots of issues with (kids) down the road.”
Speaking about the Salazar settlement, Howlett said if the tribal council had laid out a plan for what to do with that money … purchase Kerr dam, education, elderly assistance … and said, “We’re going to give you $10,000, they’d have all been heroes.”
“Thank God they reserved half of the Salazar money,” Howlett said, “for things we need down the road. There are no more settlements coming, folks. … It wasn’t us who earned it, it was the ones before us.”
The meeting was short, and Chairman Trahan adjourned the meeting so people could attend the Arlee celebration.
