Tribes not ‘stealing’ from anyone
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Editor,
The recent statement of Scott Biggs that the tribes are “stealing your water rights” demands a serious rebuttal. I am a professional who has worked with and for the tribes more than 20 years and have firsthand knowledge that such behavior would be profoundly out of character.
The tribes continue to be decidedly professional in their actions. The caliber of their science has been top-drawer for decades and that is what has driven the negotiations, not deceit. Personal concerns with the tribes can be voiced without resorting to inflammatory expressions that have no basis in fact.
Reservation residents can be assured that the tribes are looking out for everyone’s best interest. And I do not say that because I know “which side my bread is buttered on.” Had this not been a first-class professional environment, I would have long since departed.
We need to remind ourselves this is not the State of Montana — it is, however, a place where white power and privilege often fails to provide in the usual fashion. And it does not matter that non-Indians predominate. This is Indian Country (18 USC 1151) regardless of land ownership. Moreover, “Indian-ness” is not defined by something as trivial as blood quantum; that was a convenient bean-counting tool devised by the BIA. Indian culture is a unique and powerful worldview that the rest of us may sense, but never fully understand. It defines a culture that cannot be readily found off this land they have occupied since time immemorial. The tribes deserve our understanding and respect, not our hostility.
And it must be further understood that sovereignty was never granted to the tribes, but was derived from them, and can only be extinguished by them. State government doesn’t rule here, and a simple “no” vote on the water compact will never change that. Under the circumstances, a “no” vote is a serious error in judgment that can never be reversed.
Remember, treaties are the “law of the land” and it doesn’t take rocket science to perceive who will end up with empty pockets, and the short straw, if this issue goes into litigation.
Bill Bennington
Polson
