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[article provided by Lona. Thanks!]

02/29/2000
Montana Indians need larger voice in government

By Ron Selden
Today correspondent

BILLINGS, Mont. - An American Indian legislator from the Crow Indian
Reservation is proposing creation of a new Montana Department of Indian
Affairs to help Native people further integrate into state government.

Rep. Bill Eggers (shown left), a Democrat and an enrolled member of the Crow
Tribe, broached the proposal during a Feb. 18 Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders
Council meeting in Billings. Eggers, among others, maintains the new agency
is needed so Indians can have a stronger voice in government.

"We don't need to be a second-class citizen in this state," he told the
council. "We need a Native American department. We need a cabinet-level
department."

Eggers said he is already drafting a bill that would create the new agency.
He wants tribal leaders across the state to add their input so the proposed
legislation fits all of their needs.

Eggers told the group he believes the current state Indian affairs
coordinator post, which operates out of the governor's office, doesn't have
enough clout. A full-scale department would elevate Indian needs to a higher
level and would allow tribes to get more involved in policymaking and
programs in all areas of state government.

Montana tribes have grappled with the future of the coordinator's position
for years. While many reservation leaders maintain the coordinator's
workload is too heavy and appointees to the post get stretched too thin,
others like the close access to governors, especially to those that support
tribal initiatives.

The 1999 Montana Legislature approved a bill to study whether the
coordinator job, held by Louie Clayborn, should be replaced by an Indian
Affairs commission. Eggers' proposal would potentially expand tribal
influence even further.

"We don't want a token representative up there (in Helena)," Eggers said of
the challenges faced by having only one person in state government whose job
is helping Indians.

At the very least, said Blackfeet Tribal Chairman Bill Old Chief (shown
right), the coordinator's job should be elevated to a cabinet level. There
should also be money allocated to hire more staff and give the coordinator a
raise, he said. He added that tribes, and not the governor, should be
responsible for appointing the coordinator.

Old Chief said Indians in Montana can no longer sit on the sidelines and let
state government craft programs and make decisions without having their
viewpoints aired.

"Anything from now on has to have the input from the tribes," he said. "If
we're not there, we will be forgotten. Those days of non-Indians putting
plans and policy together (for us) are over."

Rep. Carol Juneau, D-Browning and a Mandan-Hidatsa, said that the state
coordinator must contort to the political whims of the governor, whomever
they happen to be.

"I don't think that creates a good advocate for tribes," she said.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mike Cooney, who serves as Montana
secretary of state, attended the meeting and said he's committed to
expanding the role of Indians in state government. He was not asked,
however, if he supports creating a new Indian affairs department.

"We have to have our Native Americans represented at the

table daily" and at all levels, Cooney said, pledging to work with tribes
any way he can if he's elected governor.

Juneau told council members that for the time being, they need to provide
answers to a long list of questions about the proposed commission. She said
it must be determined whether the commission would replace or simply
complement the state coordinator. The commission's size and scope of work
also need to be established, as well as whether the proposed panel should
serve as an advisory body or one that can make decisions and set policy.

A bill to create the new commission will be submitted to the 2001
Legislature if the Law, Justice and Indian Affairs Committee determines
there's enough support. As with the potential creation of a cabinet-level
department, questions will also need to be addressed about funding, she
said, and Montana tribes must decide whether they're willing to pitch in to
get a new system, whatever its form, off the ground.

©2000 Indian Country Today
 

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