Fort Belknap tribal council candidates speak in Havre forum

Fort Belknap Community Council is holding elections tomorrow, and a number of candidates spoke in Havre in a candidate forum Friday.

All of the candidates were also invited to speak at another candidate forum tonight at 6 p.m. in the Kills At Night Center in Hays.

Candidates Mike Fox and Wes KillEagle Sr., who are running for Gros Ventre at-large, both were at the forum in Havre .

Fox said the reason why he wanted to run again for the council was that he wants to see the tribe improve on both economic development and social issues. He added that he served on the council in 2009 and 2013. 

He said that economic development is a way to strengthen the tribe as well as make the tribe sovereign from the federal government. He added that he wants to see Fort Belknap have a thriving economy and become an economic hub for the north-central Montana region, and the way the tribe can do that is through economic development.

Island Mountain Development Group, an economic development group at Fort Belknap, is a great resource, he said. Since it was founded, he said, it has grown from 30 to 40 employees to having more than 200 employees and has also, in the past year, given back to the tribe more than a million dollars to go into the tribes' general fund. He added that rather than the tribe putting that money in the general fund it should be reinvesting it in economic development. 

This can create good-paying jobs to attract young professionals who have moved off of the reservation back home, he said.

Another issue he wants to focus on is law enforcement, he said. The drug problem has only gotten worse in the past years and meth a large problem the tribe needs to get a handle on. He added that the tribes can attack it from a law enforcement side but also need to look at people who are threatening and look at getting more law enforcement. 

KillEagle said that he wants to get involved in the council again because he wants to increase accountability and total transparency in the tribal government. He said he prides himself in acting for the best interests of the people, including people who are not living on the reservation, adding that every tribal member, living on and off the reservation, deserves to know what is going on in the government.  

He said he accomplished a number of things when he was previously on the council, as well as gaining experience and learning a great number of things he can use to help the tribes.

One of the things he did while he was on the council was put together a committee to help get a pool of money set aside for tribal members to use to bury their loved ones, he said.

"I believe that everybody has a right to that," he said, adding that at the time the mortuaries were charging people more than they could afford and this allowed everyone to have a proper burial.

He said that he is a former police officer, and he learned a lot of important life lessons in that job. He said with everything he has learned he wants to help take the tribes to a place of sovereignty, where the tribes are able to be independent and have a strong foot to step forward with.

John Allen and incumbent Brandi King are the candidates for Assiniboine at-large. Allen was at the event and spoke about his campaign, but King was not able to attend.

Allen said it is important that the tribe invest in fighting the growing meth problem on the reservation. He added that the tribes and law enforcement need to fight the gangs, which are present on the reservation and bringing the drugs in, and assure the safety of the people. 

"They are here in small town U.S.A., Montana," he said.

He said that one way the tribe can fight the problem is through law enforcement, but  another way, which the tribe needs to invest in, is through treatment, treating the people who are struggling with addiction.

"You really can't turn your back on your own relatives, your own people; you really can't give up on them," he said.

Allen said that drugs and alcohol are largely impacting the community both on and off the reservations, and the council needs to look to correct this epidemic.

He added that the council should also work to protect the reservation land.

"One of the main things you do is to protect your sovereign community," he said. "If you want to protect your image as an Indian, then you have to maintain your land. If you don't have your land, you're just another person on the street."

People on the council also need to have thick skin and let the community know what is going on in the council, he said. He added that the council also needs to be held to higher ethical standards.

"It's a different type of job," he said.

If elected, he said, he also wants to establish more programs for children to help them stay away from bad influences.

Incumbent Curtis Horn is facing off against challenger Judith King for the council seat of Assiniboine at-large representative. Horn was at the event and spoke on his campaign but King was not able to attend.

Horn said that, when he was growing up, his father was on the council, and told him not to make any promises while campaigning, rather let his actions speak for themselves. He said that when he was first elected to the council he was unaware of everything it entailed, but he committed himself to reading everything, understanding the tribal constitution and understanding what he was voting on. 

He said that when he was first on the council he was put on a committee focused on law enforcement, which was a difficult place to be and required a lot of work, but he gathered other people on the committee, people who were in or had backgrounds in law enforcement and knew the rules for how things needed to operate.

He said he always focuses on trying to bring something back to Fort Belknap, adding that he advises everyone to do the same, telling people when they leave the reservation for anything, to always think about what they can bring back for their people.

He added that the tribal is in a tough place, with a large amount of debt facing the tribe. He said that he doesn't know how it got to this point but it is 10 times more than it was in 2001.

"You need to learn from your mistakes," he said, and moving forward the tribe needs to focus on managing their funds and making sure that the people are the ones benefiting.

Arlene Cochran and incombent Dominic Messerly are facing off for the council seat of River Gros Ventre district representative. Cochran was at the event and spoke about her campaign, but Messerly was not able to attend.

Cochran said she thought that though her life experience she has learned that the Native people are all one people, all related in some way and they need to look out for each other because nobody else will. 

She said that she has an associate degree in science, a bachelor's degree in science and is a registered nurse. She said the council is not following rules and regulations and it is of vital importance someone is elected who will work for the people rather than themselves.

"If you just follow the rules and tell the truth, you"re going to be OK," she said.

The tribe has a number of issues that need to be addressed and only through a joint effort can they be corrected, she said. But the tribal council has no accountability and gives people high hopes of change, but members don't follow through with their promises.

She added that council members, if elected, need to be a servant to the people, and show up to council meetings.

"You're letting your people down, that's a vote wasted," she said. "... Enough is enough." 

The council's job is to make tough decisions and to serve the community. If the council cannot do it, then it is not an effective council, she said. People are in danger, people are struggling with abuse and drug addiction, people are having their power shut off, and the council needs to work to correct these issues.