[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 60 (Thursday, April 23, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4661-S4663]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       STATE OF THE INDIAN NATION

  Mr. TESTER. Mr. President, Montana has a long history with its first 
citizens, the Native American Indian people that comprise my State's 
eight tribes. Montana's history with our tribes, like those at the 
Federal level, has fluctuated greatly over the years. At first 
treatment was shameful, characterized by war and violence. After the 
wars, the Federal Government engaged in neglect, by placing Indians on 
remote reservations and trying to forget about them. At long last, we 
have moved to the more progressive and enlightened policy of today--
self-determination. This shift has been a long time in coming, but it 
is critical. Under this new policy, we appreciate tribes as sovereign 
units of government and work with them in that capacity to become self-
sufficient through self-determination.
  One of the good things Montana does on a biennial basis is ask an 
elected tribal chairman to address a joint session of the Montana 
Legislature and present a State of the Indian Nations speech. On March 
10, 2009, James Steele, Jr., who is both chairman of the Confederated 
Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation and, the 
recently elected Chairman of the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders 
Council, addressed my former colleagues in the legislature. I found his 
speech to be a thoughtful call for cooperation in addressing the 
current economic problems we face. It was also a fascinating 
description of the history of State/tribal relations. I think my 
colleagues in Congress will appreciate, and learn from it. I therefore 
ask unanimous consent to have Chairman Steele's speech printed in 
today's Record.
  There being no objection the material was ordered to be printed n the 
Record, as follows:

       Good afternoon.
       Thank you House Speaker Bob Bergren.
       Thank you Senate President Robert Story.
       Thank you also to Margarett Campbell, a Fort Peck Tribal 
     member and the first Indian House Majority Floor Leader.
       Thank you for the opportunity to speak in this 
     distinguished chamber and for the opportunity to speak to the 
     leaders of Montana, who have gathered here for this State of 
     the Tribal Nations address.
       I also thank the Montana National Guard that presented the 
     colors. You have served our Nation well in putting yourself 
     in harms way and you continue to serve through your community 
     service. As United States Senators John McCain and Dan 
     Inouye--themselves both war heroes have often pointed out--
     American Indians have a proud tradition of serving in the 
     military in the highest percentage of any ethnic group in the 
     United States. We ask our Creator for Godspeed for all 
     Americans that serve this great country in places far away 
     and pray for their families who also make tremendous 
     sacrifices for the freedoms we have.
       May I ask Bruce Sun Child from the Chippewa Cree Tribe to 
     lead us in a prayer.
       (Sun Child speaks in the Cree language.)
       Thank you Bruce for your words of prayer.
       I am pleased to introduce the Tribal Government leaders 
     that have joined us today.
       (Identifies tribal leaders by name)
       Tribal leaders, I am honored to represent you today, as 
     Chairman of the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council and as 
     Chairman of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.
       Honorable Governor Brian Schweitzer and Lieutenant Governor 
     John Bohlinger, thank you. Throughout your administration, 
     you have opened the front doors of the Capitol to the Tribes 
     and we have walked through those doors many times. We look 
     forward to continuing our government-to-government 
     relationship throughout the next four years.
       I thank the distinguished members of the Senate and House 
     of Representatives and in particular, the American Indian 
     legislators of Montana:
       Representative Shannon Augare, House Majority Whip
       Representative Tony Belcourt
       Representative, Frosty Calf Boss Ribs
       Representative Carolyn Pease-Lopez
       Representative David Roundstone
       Senator Carol Juneau
       Senator Sharon Stewart-Peregoy, and Senator Jonathan Windy 
     Boy
       We look to you for leadership and guidance as the 
     legislative session continues.
       I would also like to recognize the state-wide elected 
     officials in attendance today Superintendent of Public 
     Instruction, Denise Juneau, the first Indian woman to be 
     elected to state-wide public office; Attorney General Steve 
     Bullock; Secretary of State Linda McCulloch and State Auditor 
     Monica Lindeen.
       There are members of the Governor's cabinet present today, 
     as well as representatives from the offices of Senator 
     Baucus, Senator Tester, and Representative Rehberg.
       I would especially like to thank and honor today Mr. 
     Gilbert Horn, Sr. an Assiniboine of the Fort Belknap Indian 
     Reservation, who, like the more storied Navajos, used the 
     Assiniboine language with Gerald Red Elk of the Ft. Peck 
     reservation to create a code our enemies in World War II were 
     never able to break. At one point in the war Gilbert Horn 
     successfully attacked a Japanese machine gun post and despite 
     finding his uniform riddled with machine gun bullets managed 
     to survive unscathed. He was awarded the Congressional Medal 
     of Honor but this humble man felt like he didn't deserve 
     special recognition because he was only doing his job. Thank 
     you Gilbert Horn for your service to this country.
       Thank you all.
       Elected leaders, tribal elders, ladies and gentlemen: On 
     behalf of the Tribal Nations across the State of Montana, I 
     am honored to present the State of the Tribal Nations 
     address. My name is James Steele, Jr., and I am the Chairman 
     of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the 
     Chairman of the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council.
       We live in times of tremendous change, politically and 
     economically. We have seen history made in the election of 
     President Barack Obama and his appointments of the most 
     diverse cabinet in the history of the nation.
       And we have also lost a great leader. This past month, Crow 
     Tribal Chairman Carl Venne passed away--a tremendous loss for 
     the Crow Nation, Montana, and the Country. Carl was a former 
     Chairman of the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council and 
     gave this address during the 2007 legislative session. Please 
     let us honor the passing of this great leader, this great 
     man, and my friend, with a moment of silence.
       The Charles M. Russell painting that dominates this Chamber 
     serves as a reminder of the historic relationship between the 
     Tribes and those who came west to this great country. Charlie 
     Russell recognized that the coming of Lewis and Clark had a 
     profound impact on the Indian people, as our way of life

[[Page S4662]]

     was changed forever. In 1805, the economies of Native America 
     were strong and thriving. In fact, in his orders to Lewis and 
     Clark, President Jefferson instructed the two captains to 
     take note and report to him on the economic activities of the 
     Tribes, for Jefferson knew they were vibrant. Our families 
     were strong units. We depended on each other for our 
     survival. There was food, clothing and shelter with a strong 
     religion and value system. An interesting aspect of Thomas 
     Jefferson is that he had studied the governing structure of 
     the six nations that comprise the Iroquois Confederacy and he 
     was fascinated by the idea that there could be independent 
     tribal governments who had autonomy from one another but who 
     also coalesced for their common good. Historians believe that 
     the relationship between those tribes influenced Jefferson 
     and played a role in the crafting of the Constitution and the 
     establishment of the United States.
       The Russell mural depicts an event that took place on 
     September 4, 1805 when Lewis and Clark's journey embarked on 
     Salish territory at Ross Hole. The encounter between them and 
     the Salish tribal people was a monumental event that 
     ultimately led to the success of the expedition. The Salish 
     people graciously provided the explorers with fresh horses, 
     food and other vital supplies that were needed for their trek 
     across the Bitterroot Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.
       Without our assistance at Ross Hole and that of other 
     tribes along the way, who knows what the outcome of the 
     journey would have been. These people came looking for a new 
     life, for opportunity, for the freedom to practice any 
     religion they chose. They came looking for hope and 
     opportunity, and we as Indian people hold that in common with 
     them today. Maybe if Indian people had a strong policy on 
     immigration things might have turned out quite differently!!
       Today, we begin another partnership. It is a partnership 
     that must be based on mutual respect and an understanding. We 
     all must benefit if we as a state are to move forward. What 
     is essential if we as Indian people are going to survive is 
     that the State of Montana accepts the most basic premise that 
     Indian tribes are sovereign units of government. It should be 
     noted that the Constitution of the United States identifies 
     three units of government and those are federal, state and 
     Indian tribal governments. We are not racial groups who 
     happen to live on a particular land base and want what other 
     interests groups want. We are the successors in interest to 
     those who signed treaties with the United States that allowed 
     for Montana to be created. The United States does not sign 
     Treaties with interest groups, they sign treaties with 
     governments and our treaties were ratified by the United 
     States Senate. They are binding contractual agreements in 
     which we reserved to ourselves the rights of self-government 
     and when the western states joined the Union their enabling 
     acts committed them to respecting that authority. There 
     are times when this phenomenon has created jurisdictional 
     problems but to a great extent Montana, particularly in 
     more recent years, has come to understand that our 
     relationship is one of two governments that must be built 
     on mutual respect. I believe that by carrying out this 
     relationship in a mutually respectful fashion we can 
     better the lives of the people who live on Indian 
     reservations as well as those who do not. I believe that 
     Indian reservations are good for Montana and can in fact 
     significantly aid Montana in the area of economic 
     development.
       At this time it is important that we focus on economic 
     development, job creation, education and health care. These 
     things go hand in hand and our concerns are the same as 
     yours. For too long our people have struggled in economically 
     depressed communities. Our country is in the most severe 
     economic downturn in a generation. But for Indian Country, 
     this is not new as reservations have long suffered with high 
     levels of unemployment. The question is how can Montana help 
     its tribes develop and how can those tribes in turn assist 
     Montana to develop its economy? One source of information 
     that I would ask Montana's officials to look at is the study 
     funded by the State & Tribal Economic development Commission 
     and the University of Montana called the Uncovering Economic 
     Contributions of Montana's American Indian Tribes.
       Montana's reservations contribute to the state economy by 
     purchasing goods and services from surrounding communities 
     throughout the state with revenue generated from natural 
     resource-based jobs, tribal businesses, federal funds that 
     support some tribal operations and revenue from tribal 
     assets.
       Cooperative agreements between the Tribes and State will 
     improve the economic conditions of the reservations and would 
     benefit the State of Montana.
       State and tribal leaders, consider these areas for 
     cooperative agreements:
       Partnerships focused on bringing a business development 
     approach to tribal communities though technical assistance 
     and strategic partnerships.
       Improve management skills and the ability to land job-
     creating grants by using tribal colleges to train the 
     workforce.
       Assist Tribes with due diligence on energy development 
     technologies.
       These are just a few items to consider in the efforts to 
     improve the health and well-being of our communities.
       The Salish and Kootenai Tribes are mapping out our future 
     as energy providers. This effort will reach a new stage in 
     2015 when CSKT purchases Kerr Dam and becomes a supplier of 
     hydroelectric energy. CSKT has also successfully managed our 
     local electric utility, Mission Valley Power, for the past 20 
     years and now serves 14,000 Indian and non-Indian customers.
       The great Crow Nation has taken a bold step and signed an 
     agreement with the Australian Energy Company to form the Many 
     Stars Coal-to-Liquids Project. This effort will bring 
     significant opportunities to the Crow people and to all 
     Montanans, through the creation of 4,000 Montana-based jobs, 
     an increased tax base, and will have a vast positive economic 
     impact.
       The GROS Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort Belknap 
     Reservation have used their Indian Country Economic 
     Development funds for the creation of the Little River 
     Smokehouse. This has brought great pride to the Assiniboine 
     and Gros Ventre people. Thank you for this important program 
     and please continue its funding this session.
       The Little Shell Chippewa Tribes continue to receive our 
     support in their endeavors to gain federal recognition. 
     Senators Max Baucus and Jon Tester and Congressman Denny 
     Rehberg have also supported the tribes in their 31-year 
     effort for recognition.
       The Northern Cheyenne is delicately balancing energy 
     development to create jobs while being environmentally 
     conscience with their traditional values.
       The Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck 
     Reservation are proud to report that they were the first to 
     sign a revenue sharing agreement with the State of Montana to 
     eliminate duplicate taxation of new oil and gas development 
     on the reservation. This creates a competitive business 
     environment on the reservation, leading to more development 
     of tribal oil and gas resources and increased economic 
     opportunities for tribal members.
       The Chippewa Cree Tribe is engaging in energy development 
     on and around the Rocky Boy's Reservation that will create 
     more jobs, generate revenue, and provide direct control over 
     development of land and resources. The Tribe has partnered 
     with Native American Resource Partners (NARP) to create a 
     tribally-owned energy company for exploring and developing 
     oil and gas resources. The priorities will be on natural gas 
     exploration and development followed by wind energy 
     progress.
       The Blackfeet Nation is working to upgrade Pikuni 
     Industries to manufacture materials for Defense Department 
     contracts; and oil drilling efforts have increased on the 
     western side of the Blackfeet Reservation. The Tribe is also 
     in discussion with wind energy producers about several wind 
     projects on the Reservation.
       These are just a few examples--from among many--of the 
     efforts tribal governments are making to improve the health 
     and well-being of our peoples.
       Even with high rates of unemployment, the seven Indian 
     Reservations of Montana and the state-recognized Little Shell 
     Band of Chippewa, contribute a combined total of $1 billion 
     annually to the Montana economy. Those numbers may surprise 
     some people, but to those of you who work every day to make 
     your home communities better for your people, these figures 
     come as no surprise.
       This is an important time to come together. It's important 
     to remind ourselves and our surrounding communities that 
     together, we are greater than the sum of our parts. An 
     example of that played out when Transportation Director Jim 
     Lynch reached out to Indian Country to coordinate conference 
     calls about economic stimulus dollars and transportation 
     funds. Our Nations are hungry for improvement and the tax 
     status of Indian reservations can be attractive to industry.
       In the more immediate term, during this legislative 
     session, you will hear many ideas to help make Montana, even 
     better.
       The Governor has already signed into law Senate Bill 39, 
     sponsored by Senator Carol Juneau, extending the duration of 
     the Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission. I thank Senator 
     Juneau, this legislative body, and the Governor for taking 
     quick action on this bill, which is so vital to the economic 
     future of my people and all Montanans. SB 39 will allow the 
     CSKT and the State the time to negotiate a water compact that 
     is fair for all who live on the reservation.
       While there are many bills worthy of support, I must urge 
     your support in particular for several bills that are vital 
     in Indian Country because of their effect on our economies:
       House Bill 161, sponsored by Representative Shannon Augare, 
     ratifying the Blackfeet water compact. This bill represents a 
     vital step in the journey towards fair and just water rights 
     for the Blackfeet Tribe and tribal members, and I thank 
     Representative Augare for sponsoring the bill.
       House Bill 135, sponsored by Representative Tony Belcourt, 
     funding the Peoples Creek mitigation account, as part of the 
     Fort Belknap water compact. With this bill, the State begins 
     to fulfill its obligations under the compact to the people of 
     the Fort Belknap Reservation. Thank you Representative 
     Belcourt--or Landslide Tony as some of us call him--for your 
     sponsorship.
       Senate Bill 201, sponsored by Senator Jesse Laslovich, 
     revising the Crow water compact. This important bill allows 
     the Crow Nation to access their interest earnings on funds 
     appropriated as part of the State of Montana's obligation 
     under the compact. With these monies, the Crow will be able 
     to set up their

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     water administration office, as well as complete the 
     ratification process of their water compact in the U.S. 
     Congress. I thank Senator Laslovich for sponsoring this 
     legislation.
       House Bill 158, sponsored by Representative Shannon Augare, 
     allowing for direct tribal access to economic development 
     funding. This bill allows tribes to directly access the 
     state's Big Sky Economic Development program funding. 
     Representative Augare understands that the tribes will need 
     to access all the resources they can to help their peoples 
     during these times of economic crisis.
       Senate Bill 456, sponsored by Carol Juneau, exempting 
     tribally owned property from state property taxes, just as 
     all governments in Montana are exempt from state property 
     taxes. I am thankful for Senator Juneau's persistence in 
     sponsoring this important bill, which is a simple matter of 
     fairness and an important symbol of respect for the state-
     tribal government-to-government relationship.
       I thank you for supporting the Indian Country Economic 
     Development program, contained in House Bill 2. This program, 
     established as part of the Governor's budget in 2005, has 
     been a critical engine of economic growth in Indian Country, 
     and is now more important than ever given the economic 
     crisis.
       Legislators, as you deliberate in making laws and decisions 
     that affect the great State of Montana, let Charlie Russell's 
     painting remind you of your obligation to include Native 
     peoples as your neighbors, partners and friends. Let us move 
     forward together.
       Thank you.

Lem Lemts.

                          ____________________