Fort Peck Tribes Swearing In Ceremony

Rehberg focuses on Indian issues

Rep. Dennis Rehberg, R-Mont., talks about legislation to create a House Indian Affairs Committee in Washington on Thursday. Darryl Red Eagle of the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana, right, closely observes. Rehberg also promised on Thursday to introduce legislation on Feb. 1 seeking federal recognition of the Little Shell Tribe.

WASHINGTON - Rep. Denny Rehberg, R-Mont., took an ambitious step Thursday toward trying to push his legislative agenda through a Democrat-controlled House by introducing a proposal to create an Indian Affairs Committee. "I felt this is the time, with a new majority, a new speaker and, while I don't have a lot of seniority, I think people would listen to me from the perspective of a Republican from a rural state with seven reservations," Rehberg said.

The Senate has long had such a committee. The well-publicized scandal involving Republican convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff became public largely because of hearings held two years ago in the Senate Indian Affairs Committee. In the House, the Natural Resources Committee handles legislation that deals with Native Americans, along with issues that affect Interior Department agencies and the U.S. Forest Service. "I thought that odd, because (Indian) issues are so complex, they're emotional to a certain extent and to a certain extent they're being ignored," said Rehberg, who sat on the Natural Resources Committee until two years ago. In a meeting with Rehberg on Capitol Hill Thursday, members of the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council praised the legislation. "We've had a long history of the Indian Affairs Committee in the Senate and it's about time we have one in the House," said James Steele, Jr., chairman of the Confederated Salish-Kootenai Tribes, which are located on the Flathead Reservation. "Sometimes our Indian issues get kind of lost in the shuffle of the other bills."

The new Democratic chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, Nick Rahall of West Virginia, disagreed. "The committee has a long history of expertise on matters of importance to Indian Country," Rahall said in a statement. "There is no serious consideration being given to proposals to divest the Natural Resources Committee of its jurisdiction over Indian affairs. Montana tribes asked Rehberg to also seek more federal dollars for health care and water projects on the reservations.

Construction of a new drinking water treatment plant on the Fort Peck Reservation has come to a halt because bids came in over budget, said tribal council member Darryl Red Eagle. The plant would be part of a new $200 million water system that will serve both the reservation and surrounding non-Indian communities. In part due to Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq War, the cost of building materials has gone through the roof and money from Congress is not keeping up, Red Eagle said. The treatment plant will allow tribal members to get their drinking water from the Missouri River rather than from contaminated wells. "What Mr. Rehberg can do for us is let Congress know we need more money and let them know the importance of bringing clean, healthy drinking water to the reservation," Red Eagle said after the meeting.

Tribal leaders also asked Rehberg to help Indian nations plan for the new requirement that U.S. and Canadian citizens must show passports whenever they cross the border, starting in June 2009. The Kootenai, Blackfeet and Sioux nations have reservations on both sides of the Montana-Canadian border and tribal members frequently cross over to visit relatives and friends. Under the Jay Treaty of 1795, Indians are entitled to trade and travel between the U.S. and Canada.

Betty N. Cooper, a member of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council, said she recently attended a summit in Canada where Indian leaders discussed creating a First Nations identification card that would serve in place of a passport. "It would be really wonderful if the Montana tribes hosted a summit in Montana to address the border issues," Cooper said.

Congress gave final approval on Tuesday to a bill to allow the tribes on the Fort Peck Reservation in Montana to lease their water to surrounding communities. The bill authorizes the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes to enter into a lease or other arrangement as part of their water compact with the state. The tribes plan to sign a deal with the Dry Prairie Rural Water Association needs. The bill now goes onto President Bush for his signature.

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The Fort Peck Tribe recently completed a feasibility study for a 200-megawatt wind farm in northeastern Montana. This would create enough electricity for about 10,000 homes and good-paying jobs for between 30 to 40 "windsmiths." "We're about as close as you can get without actually building it," said Stoney Anketell, coordinator for the tribe's Wind Energy Project. The tribe began looking into wind power in 1994 after it received a $250,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The tribe used the money to identify two sites that had average annual wind speeds of about 19 mph. To be commercially viable, the site needs to have average speeds of 15 mph, Anketell said. "Every mile per hour above that is profit," he said. "Depending on the size of the wind farm, it could be millions." The tribe hopes to erect up to 200 wind turbines, each would be 200-feet tall and produce more than 1 megawatt of electricity.

The tribe is working with potential investors right now. An outside group would own the turbines to take advantage of federal tax incentives - worth about 1.7 cents per kilowatt hour on wind energy - but the tribe would have an ownership stake and would earn royalties off each turbine. Using the latest technology, the turbines could sell electricity for about 4 cents per kilowatt hour and still make a profit. Current utility rates are closer to 7 cents per kilowatt, and are expected to rise another 20 percent in coming months, Anketell said. "Wind power just makes great sense now," he said. "This could be a great source of income for rural Montana, especially with the price of wheat what it is. We can harvest a crop of wind and still farm around these wind turbines. You can grow two crops and one lasts all year long." Unlike the old towers, which were a lattice-work of steel girders, the towers being considered by Fort Peck would be sleek tubes.

Tribal Councilman Thomas 'Stoney' Anketell - This has been a project for the tribal people that Anketell has worked for. "This is the council that will get things done," said Anketell.

This past month a significant first step forward towards economic self-sufficiency occurred when cement foundations for two wind turbines were put into place next to the Medicine Bear Complex. Tribal members employed by the Enterprise Community and Natural Resources poured the cement for the two 50 kilowatt wind turbines. The two turbines will be set up on two 80 foot-three leg SSV Towers with three epoxy/glass fiber blades. When the turbines are fully operational testing will begin and energy output will be monitored by computer equipment. "This is a dream come true," stated Fort Peck Tribal Councilman Stoney Anketell. A wind energy project that will take advantage of the wind levels on the reservation has been a long desired project for Anketell.

Previously, a feasibility study for a wind energy project stated that the reservation ranks in a class 4-6 utility wind regime. Anketell stated that "The tribe is committed to harnessing this renewable resource to better our community now and well into the future." Anketell also provided the following information: "The inherent integration of technology and natural resources is a logical extension of our culture. The idea of renewable energy fits within our social and cultural values. For example: the Sundance is a traditional Assiniboine and Sioux ceremony that represents life and rebirth. This perpetual circle, the using up of a resource (life) and the renewing of that resource (rebirth) is central to American Indian beliefs. The estimated 363,000 kilowatts of power generated by these turbines will reduce the electrical cost for the tribal and BIA offices that make up the Medicine Bear Complex. The wind energy power harvested from this project will result in utility savings for the tribes.

Also, as a result of this renewable energy project, there will be an improvement in the economic and social development status for the tribes, as well as an increase in tribal self-sufficiency through the efficient harnessing of wind power. The mini-turbines generate electricity that is registered directly on the MDU meters attached to the medicine Bear Complex. In the best case scenario, once the electrical energy produced meets the electrical energy need of the complex, any excess energy will be purchased by MDU. MDU is required by state law to purchase this extra energy. The variable that controls electrical energy production is how much wind actually passes through the turbine blades. The entire project is the result of a $350,000 DOE grant that the tribes applied for and received. The tribes provided approximately $80,000 as an "in-kind" contribution. The tribes also paid for the concrete, rebar and labor involved in building the footings for each wind turbine.

Fort Peck Tribes and Montana Laborers

The Fort Peck Reservation has a major problem with their drinking water. They are rolling out a federally funded project of over $200 Million to correct it. They needed training for tribal members who want to work on the MRI project, and the Laborers offered their help. A Tribal Labor Agreement ensued and training took place almost immediately. Opportunity for both entities came together in a Perfect Partnership.

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Montana Laborers Website >>

Kitchen and Dining Hall Restoration

Today, the Fort Peck Tribes are presented with a historic and culturally significant opportunity. The neglected historic structure known as the Kitchen and Dining Hall building located within a National Register Historic Site with the recommended level of significance as "National," on Government Row is to be razed, if the Fort Peck Tribes does not find funding for its preservation. The Fort Peck Service Unit (Indian Health Service) have made it clear that they want to destroy the structure to make way for what they see as an economic opportunity in the form of a large parking lot space. While the Fort Peck Service Unit sees the short term gain in replacing the historic building with a large parking lot, it does so while ignoring and undermining the historic base that has proven to be the bedrock of the neighborhood.

The Fort Peck Tribes understood this bedrock when in 1968 they began the process to recognize the historic value of the Fort Peck Agency. These early efforts were met with skepticism, which often pitted historic preservation against economic development. Thirty-eight years later, although the arguments remain the same, the Fort Peck Tribes recognize that historic preservation and economic development are not on opposing sides, but work hand in hand to amplify each other. Today, the Kitchen and Dining Hall building, once red-lined and maligned as blighted is now motivating Fort Peck citizens with their own historic pride and economic possibilities for their own futures. The same is true for the Fort Peck Agency site.

The Fort Peck Agency buildings along Government Row on the Fort Peck Reservation have long been unprotected buildings in need. Originally built in 1915, this masonry and wood building Old Fort Peck Agency (originally called the Kitchen and Dining Hall) has been vacant since the 1970's.

All Fort Peck Agency buildings are part of a fifty-acre nominated site. The only building that has long been neglected is the Kitchen and Dining Hall building. The Fort Peck Service Unit (Indian Health Service) has proposed to the Fort Peck Tribal Executive Board to demolish the building and develop a parking lot, citing development concerns. While the Fort Peck Service Unit has been, for the most part, a responsible health care provider for our area, the Fort Peck Tribes understands it's listing of the Kitchen and Dining Hall in the National Register does not guarantee full protection from demolition. Moreover, the Fort Peck Tribes understands that any development project, especially the Indian Health Service if they are to utilize federal money or requiring a federal permit must undergo Section 106 review, required by the Historic Preservation Act, to consider the impact the project might have on nearby sites that are on or eligible for the National Register.

The Fort Peck Tribes - joined by a Fort Peck historic preservation group actively objects to the demolition of the historic building and is disappointed in the Fort Peck Service Unit's lack of vision. The challenge for Fort Peck's community leaders and developers is to grasp the opportunity to reuse this historic building. Innovative projects like the Tribal Archives and Interpretive Center will put a historic building "back to work," as a positive part of the economic and social fabric of the Fort Peck community.

It is to this end that the Fort Peck Tribes has applied for a Save America's Treasures grant, to consider the opportunity here in the preservation of Government Row by adaptively reusing the building to both serve the immediate needs of the surrounding community while recognizing its historic past.

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