During the time I was doing my work, there were few other institutions on the reservation that reflected the conflicting interests that existed in the Ft. Belknap community than the treaty committees.
The A’aniiih and Nakoda are two entirely different tribes with similar but very different cultures. They share similarities in their way of life as they were nomadic, equestrian buffalo hunters. They lived in the northern plains with numerous other tribes and ideas and technology were often borrowed back and forth between groups. It was the shared cultural elements between groups of a region that formed the basis of Alfred Kroeber’s Culture Areas of Native North America. The environment and resources were primary drivers of these cultural similarities. Kroeber was a student of Franz Boas, who I discussed in my last blog. The A’aniiih and Nakoda belonged to Kroeber’s Plains Indian Culture Area. The A’aniiih and Nakoda, however, had very different ways of life. In fact, the A’aniiih and Arapaho had far more in common than did the A’aniiih and Nakoda. As noted in an earlier blog, the A’aniiih and Arapaho were the same tribe until sometime in the late 1700s. No one knows for certain why the groups split, with the Arapaho staying south in the Wyoming area and the A’aniiih north in the area of Montana and up into Canada. The A’aniiih are an Algonquian speaking people and the Nakoda language belongs to the Siouxan family. The languages of the A’aniiih and Arapaho are mutually intelligible.
The Ft. Belknap Reservation was formally established as the home of both the Gros Ventre and the Assiniboine. Would life have been easier and less complicated if each had been given a different reservation? Absolutely. The Federal Government, however, wasn’t making these decisions based on the interests of these tribes (or any tribes across the country for that matter). They were getting these tribes the hell out of our way with the least amount of hassle and expense. Serendipity ruled the day, and unadulterated mayhem was the result. It was not at all unusual for tribes with long histories of animosities to be forced to share a reservation or neighboring reservations. When they are on the same reservation, they don’t just get to share space … they also have to share their political, economic and social systems. It can be a trying arrangement. But who cares, because we’ve moved them the hell out of our way … and what we don’t have to see, doesn’t have to bother us.
Much of this history hasn’t been taught in our schools, because who wants to feel badly about treating our indigenous peoples like crap. All the negative stereotypes about Indians were reinforced in our popular culture in movies and literature. Somehow, we made these people who we so significantly shat upon into the bad guys. We might not be honest, but we can sure be creative. It wasn’t until our recent past in movies like Little Big Man, that Indians and American history began to be depicted in a more realistic manner. Our honest American history, including the truth about old stereotypes, has only occurred in recent times. And with the current trend of not wanting white children to have their feelings hurt with facts, it’s hard to tell where we’re headed. The banning of books in libraries and schools is a dangerous proposition, particularly for minorities in our country who have dealt with our most dangerous prejudices and discrimination, i.e., Native Americans, African Americans, Japanese, Chinese, and the ever-popular Jews…. I have not the slightest idea what is going to happen with the way we learn our history. I actually had the thought that if General Custer were alive, Trump would probably put him in charge of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. We are not in a good place however you want to slice and dice our present sociopolitical chaos.
While the reservation was formally established as the home of the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine, the Federal Government negotiated separate treaties with each of the tribes. Thus, when there was legal work involving each of the tribes, such as with the Indian Claims Commission, the tribes were dealt with as separate entities. Each of the tribes had a separate treaty committee on the reservation. The Gros Ventre Treaty Committee is composed of Gros Ventre. The Assiniboine Treaty Committee is composed of Assiniboine. And never the twain shall meet. Both treaty committees are represented by different legal counsel.
Over the years, there has been significant intermarriage between these people, and yet, their identities remained distinct. Even people with mixed blood, and that includes everyone on and off the reservation, often emphasized one identity over another. Individuals with both Gros Ventre and Assiniboine blood, even equal amounts of both, were and are required to select one of the tribes as their formal membership. An individual is required to belong to only one tribe. Membership and identity are not the same phenomenon. All this stuff is incredibly complicated.
And to complicate matters further, the Cree or Chippewa-Cree or Metis (you figure it out … I’ve struggled for fifty years to figure out this group on Ft. Belknap) are sometimes referred to as ‘landless Indians’ because they are not formal members of Ft. Belknap. They are obviously not members of either the Gros Vente or Assiniboine. Most (not all of them) are considered Indian … and I will talk about, by whom, momentarily. They came to and settled on the reservation as a refuge and because of the location of St. Paul’s Mission. Over the years, they have also intermarried with the A’aniiih peoples.
The formal Ft. Belknap Community is composed of Gros Ventre (or A’aniiih) and Assiniboine (or Nakoda). The entire community, save for the Cree, is represented by the Tribal Council. The business of the reservation is conducted by this council. In the 1930s, the Tribal Council was incorporated, so they are both a political body and they are also a business entity. There are an even number of members on the council from each tribe and if the chairman is Gros Ventre, then the vice chairman has to be Assiniboine. In the olden days, the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine were enemies. Even with the decades of intermarriage, those animosities did not entirely diminish. They tend to watch each other closely to be sure that one tribe is not favored over another.
I was not close with the Chairman of the Tribal Council, but I was able to get to know him well enough. We had a number of informal and formal conversations, and I understood his perspective. He was half Gros Ventre and half Assiniboine. During a time when per capita payments were being made from treaty claims, he had to decide which tribe he was going to be a member. Again, tribal membership and identity are not the same thing. He was formally a member of the Assiniboine tribe, but he identified as belonging to both tribes. His full brothers are both Gros Ventre.
The Chairman respected the treaty committees and the importance of their work, but he felt that these organizations were also a barrier to the kind of collective cooperation he sought for his community on Ft. Belknap. He believed that the best course of action for economic development on the reservation was to have both tribes working together. The treaty committees reinforced the separate activities and goals of each of the tribes, as opposed to a more collective identity. He wanted people to work together for the benefit of the entire Ft. Belknap Community, as opposed to having each tribe focused on separate, and at times, competing interests. Collective cooperation was the way things got done in both traditional cultures.
Tribal membership is determined by blood quantum. An individual inherits half of their ‘blood’ from their mother and half from their father. If you blink really quickly, it sort of looks like Mendelian Genetics. The Bureau of Indian Affairs (Department of the Interior) determined that each recognized tribe in the U.S. has the right to decide what blood quantum should be required for membership. Most of the tribes in the U.S. use one-quarter degree blood for membership, and this is also the case for the Gros Ventre and Assiniboine. This one-quarter degree blood is a very big deal because it forms the basis of eligibility for many important benefits. If per capita payments are being made from treaty claims with either the Gros Ventre or Assiniboine, membership determines whether you will receive the money. Only individuals with this membership are eligible to obtain modern housing and they also receive preference in hiring.
Separate from the definition of tribal membership is the definition of being an Indian. It is the BIA that defines this requirement, and on Ft. Belknap, the importance of being an Indian applies most directly to the Cree. The landless Indians are not members of either tribe, nor are they formal members of the Ft. Belknap Community. As such, they are not eligible for any of the benefits that accrue to being members of either entity. Almost all of them, however, meet the BIA requirement of being Indian. A person can be a little of this and little of that so long as when you add up all the piece parts that you acquire through mom and dad, it adds up to one quarter Indian. The piece parts have to be from tribes that are recognized by the federal government. Gaining this recognition after the treaty period ended in 1871 requires excruciatingly complicated legal gymnastics. This recognition is monumentally important. Federally recognized tribes are minorities that we treat like crap, but who receive the benefits from being Indian. Tribes that are not recognized are just minorities that we treat like crap.
As noted, this definition is extremely important because there are benefits attached to formally meeting the requirement of being an Indian. They are eligible for education grants which essentially result in a free education at a technical school or college. These Indians are also eligible to use the Indian Health Service (Public Health Service). Their entire medical care is subsidized through this agency. If the local IHS hospital is not equipped to treat a health issue, people are often sent to a medical center in Havre or Billings. This care is also subsidized by the IHS. So, while being a Gros Ventre or Assiniboine or Ft. Belknap Community member is a big deal from the perspective of benefits, being an Indian is also extremely important. And of course, a Gros Ventre and Assiniboine member is also an Indian.
The whole blood quantum thing is incredibly complicated in every direction. Let’s start with where this entire concept derives and its significance. For most groups, and even for the A’aniiih in the olden days before whites brought unadulterated mayhem into their lives, an individual’s membership in the tribe had absolutely nothing to do with inheritance of degree blood. That whole concept would have been totally foreign to the people. A person identified as A’aniiih and was considered a member of the tribe because they spoke their language and practiced/shared their way of life. I’m A’aniiih by virtue of who I am, what I do and believe and what I share with others in my group. I’m going to teach this way of life and my language to my children, and they will identify as A’aniiih and be members of our tribe.
So, what happened to this basis for membership and identity? Well, to start, white people had an entirely different set of values and social, political and economic institutions and practices. The entire membership based on blood quantum definition arose when the federal government began to implement the allotment act. The entire goal of the federal government was to make every Indian in the U.S. into a white man/woman. The tribes were motivated and directed by collective actions and goals. The western and American values were driven by individualism and personal responsibility, pretty much the exact opposite of tribal values. Land ownership was an entirely foreign concept to the tribes. People used the land and resources to live, but it wasn’t something that could be owned. The federal government was going to give individuals land, make them into farmers and ranchers, and thus, have them adopt white values. Well, hocus pocus, what they got was cultural chaos.
To be eligible to receive land, a person had to be a member of the Ft. Belknap Community … they had to be one-quarter Assiniboine or Gros Ventre. As there was a tangible value involved in this ‘benefit’ the government wasn’t about to accept self-identification as proof of membership. Additionally, as English was becoming the first language for the A’aniiih and as the culture was undergoing rapid and dramatic change, membership was becoming more difficult to base on those cultural factors; those that were the basis of identity and group membership going back to the beginnings of human existence.
Thus, the government came up with the concept of membership and eligibility for these benefits based on inherited degree blood. It all started with the generation of people who were alive when allotment was being implemented. The government began the process of establishing tribal membership rolls. These lists were constructed by the government through interviews with each individual Gros Ventre and Assiniboine. These tribes didn’t have birth certificates which formally identified how much tribal blood mom and dad possessed. The reality of this situation was that it would have been impossible for people to really know their ’blood quantum.’ Intermarriage between tribes occurred on a regular basis. When white trappers and traders appeared in their backyards, ‘white blood’ was introduced into the tribal gene pool. There’s no way that blood quantum was in the least bit accurate. No one had genealogical records, and DNA wasn’t a thing in those days. If I said that I was a full blood A’aniiih, it would have been difficult to dispute my claim … and if I told the government that I was a full blood A’aniiih, I likely believed that I was. Thus, the Indians were telling the government representatives how much blood they had from what tribe or tribes and how much white blood they might have. Given the history of government agents, they likely didn’t care about any of this one way or the other.
Allow me an example of just how inaccurate, complicated and crazy this whole blood quantum thing could be. Edith was 7/8 Gros Ventre and 1/8 Creek. The Creek are a tribe located in the deep southern United States. How is it that Edith and her siblings are 1/8th Creek. Is it possible that a Creek Indian lost their sense of direction, walked about 2,000 miles west, fell in love with an A’aniiih person, started having children with them, and lived happily ever after? Well, perhaps, but not likely. It’s more likely that when Edith’s great grandparents were being interviewed about blood quantum and tribal membership, Mr. Gone to War said something about the children playing in the creek. The government official recording these conversations, and who cared not one iota for what they were hearing, wrote down that they had some Creek … does one-eighth handle it? That sounds about right … A’aniiih with a smidgen (one-eighth) Creek.
While the whole blood quantum thing always made my head blow up (because it was entirely inaccurate and crazy land), I was always left with, well, how else would you decide this membership. Again, membership has very real and critically important implications for an individual and family. Self-identification wouldn’t work, because no one would ever be able to prove (or know) an accurate genealogy. Finding an A’aniiih gene isn’t going to happen, so a biological definition would never work. And letting a community decide who belongs and who doesn’t belong would cause mayhem on an unimaginable scale. So, the inaccurate and crazy blood quantum is where we land. Blood quantum is usually discussed and treated like each person’s degree blood came directly from the burning bush. The reality is that it only matches what people from that single generation knew and understood when the tribal rolls were being established by the government. Could they have known about more than one or two generations before them? Did everyone know their complex family histories, including the traditional times when a man could have more than one wife?
So, voila. This entirely inaccurate, fabricated, crazy method for determining tribal membership has evolved into an important bureaucratic mechanism that has taken on a reality that belies the cultural and biological fairy tale. Unfortunately, its existence is mayhem, but without it, the mayhem would be exponentially worse. If the goal of the federal government was to make these people's lives as unpleasant as possible, they couldn't have consciously devised a more diabolical strategy.
To review … the A’aniiih and the Nakoda are two different tribes with different languages, cultures, interests and goals. Sometimes these interests align, and sometimes they do not. The tribes and the treaty committees are separate from the Ft. Belknap Community and the Tribal Council. At times, their interests and goals align, and sometimes they do not. The tribes and treaty committees and the Ft. Belknap Community and Tribal Council are separate from the landless Indians who are defined as Indian by the BIA. At times their interests and goals align, but most often, they do not.
Intermarriage is going on all over the place. A’aniiih and Nakoda are intermarrying with each other, and they are marrying members from other tribes. There are seven reservations in Montana, and there are extensive interactions between the people on these reservations. People from Ft. Belknap are intermarrying with Crow, Blackfeet, Cheyenne and on and on. The amount of intermarriage between the A’aniiih and Cree is extensive and has been going on for generations. And the intermarriage between members of all these groups and whites is also extensive. With each generation, the degree blood of the tribes is being significantly diluted. People just don’t often think about blood quantum when they start having children. That reality is an afterthought. Love is a many splendored thing. Consequently, the numbers of people who qualify for tribal membership with one-quarter degree blood is diminishing, and the numbers of people who have one-eighth degree blood is growing.
Many of these one-eighth’s have parents who are members of one of the tribes, they are Indian, but they do not qualify for tribal benefits … and particularly, the money that comes from per capita payments from treaty claims. They are close enough to eligibility to be pissed about being excluded. They are also upset because it isn’t a great mystery about just how arbitrary the whole crazy proposition appears when considering how Edith got to be one-eighth Creek. The entire notion that there is a thing that one can refer to as the one-eighths is crazy land to the max. The interests and goals of the one-eighths can align with tribal members, but often they do not.
At the time we were on the reservation, there were 2,000 Gros Ventre. About half of them lived on the reservation and half of them lived off the reservation. Many people leave the reservation to serve in our military and end up staying off the reservation. Some of them marry members of different tribes and leave to live on the reservation of their spouse. Some marry whites and leave the reservation. Most of them leave the reservation for employment opportunities, because there are not nearly enough jobs on the reservation for all of the inhabitants. There were large Gros Ventre communities in Spokane and Seattle. I wrote about the relocation program in the history of the reservation. I’m going to guess that these were cities that had relocation programs. Those Gros Ventre living on the reservation had different interests and goals as those that had left the reservation, and this was particularly the case when it came to the money involved in the Indian Claims Commission cases.
All of what I have described adds up to sociopolitical and economic mayhem. All these divergent interests and goals complicate every decision, plan and program on the reservation. The economic challenges caused by their geographic isolation, the lack of resources, and federal government incompetence are exacerbated by the different groups with divergent interests and goals pulling in different and sometimes opposite directions. We watched this dynamic constantly over our two years on the reservation and it was most explicit in observing the activities and decisions being wrestled with among the A’aniiih Treaty Committee.
Ray told me that many of the people on the reservation think that George Horse Capture is wasting their money and is not doing a good job.
He is a good friend of mine and someday these people who criticize him so much will change their minds. He was born and raised in Berkeley, but he has become very interested in his people and has collected a lot of information about the traditional culture. Someday the traditional culture will be entirely lost, and then the people will have to go to him to learn about what the culture of their people was like. He is doing a very good thing for his people.
I also knew George as he had a background in history and anthropology and was supportive of my work. I shared Ray’s perspective. George was spending money that some people thought should be used in a per capita payment … the conflicts in this case arising from different groups with divergent interests and goals.
Ray explained to me that the sacred pipes that were given to the Gros Ventre by the Great Spirit are today being desecrated.
One of them is in the attic of Jeanette Warrior’s house and the other is in the shack next to Happy Doney’s house. These pipes should be moved to a museum. That is one of the reasons why it would be nice to have a museum on the reservation for the Gros Ventre artifacts – that was one of the projects which the treaty money was being used for. This museum was a part of George Horse Capture’s project.
There are many people who say that they would not touch these pipes, because that would also be a desecration of these pipes. JJ Mount said that he would never touch these pipes, because he does not have the right to do so. I would pick them up and take them to a museum and put them in a glass case where they would be in a place of honor instead of being desecrated the way they are today. The only way I wouldn’t touch the pipes is if I got a sign not to do so, like in a dream for instance.
Ray shared with me the following history of the treaties and the treaty committees.
In 1855 there was a settlement between the Blackfeet, Gros Ventre, and Assiniboine with the federal government. The settlement was for lands lost – or taken - by the government. It was the Laramie Treaty. The three tribes were given $12 million which was split between the three tribes according to the population size. There was a Washington DC law firm which handled the settlement, and they took 10% of the 12 million; the Indians had no say about this at all. After this 10% was taken out, the remainder was used to pay for annuities that the government gave to these tribes, such as wagons, plows, cattle, seed, food, clothing, etc. The government kept subtracting from this fund each time annuities and commodities were distributed. There was about $4 million left for the Gros Ventre. In about 1972 the government gave these tribes a per capita payment from these funds. The per capita payment was made on the stipulation that the interest on this money, which was about $440,000, would be used for some type of community development program. The tribes promised, and the per capita payment was finally made; after a wait of over 100 years. Each enrolled Gros Ventre received $996, and each Assiniboine received a little less than that, about $990. The next problem for the Gros Ventre was what kind of community development program could be implemented with the $440,000. The Gros Ventre treaty committee is charged with coming up with a plan to use these funds. John Capture was the chairman of this committee.
The major problem that the Gros Ventre Treaty Committee has in implementing the community development program is that there is almost nothing that they can do with this money that would be shared in only by the Gros Ventre people. The community is composed of Assiniboine and Cree and Gros Ventre. Any type of recreation center or community project would be shared in by all these tribes. Also there has been so much intermarriage between the tribes that not even one family could share the funds with only the Gros Ventre. The Gros Ventre do not want to use the funds in a project that would be used by the other people, because they have their own money and settlements. The result is a stalemate, and no one really has a solution to the problem. The Crees have nothing on the reservation; they are not enrolled and do not have any of the benefits. Their enrollment is at Turtle Mountain, South Dakota. If we had something in the community, they would share it, and this money belongs to only the Gros Ventre. These are Cree, different from the Chippewa Cree of the Rocky Boy reservation.
The BIA has a new program which allows the Indian people to use funds for offices or departments that are not doing anything for the particular reservation where they are located. They called this new project self-determination. Many of the people here do not trust this program because they are afraid that it is the predecessor to termination. The Indian people have been ripped off by the BIA. The BIA should have made the native people competent. That was and is their responsibility, but they haven’t at all. They do not want to make us competent because if they do, they will be out of a job. Also, the BIA is supposed to help the Native American financially, but most of the money that is supposed to go to the Indian people never reaches. The BIA has so many people working for them, that by the time the salaries of all these people are paid, the Indian people do not get what they are supposed to. If we were self-sufficient, we would no longer need them, and they would no longer have a reason to exist.
It is not hard to understand why we do not trust the BIA and these programs. They left us in a $1 million debt. A man came to the reservation, and he was going to set up a business for the Native American people. They built a big metal building, and they were constructing houses up there (the Agency). They had all kinds of plans, and then this guy and his company pulled out and left the Tribal Council with a $1 million debt. The building is now a warehouse and the tribal office. Now we do not trust anyone.
John Capture was the chairman of the Gros Ventre Treaty Committee. They had meetings to see what they could do with the money (interest) that was supposed to be used for a community development project (promised to the government so that they could have the per capita payment). They ran into a stalemate because of the problem with coming up with a project that would be used for only the Gros Ventre. John got fed up with this stalemate and decided to resign from his position as chairman. This stalemate will exist so long as there are bitter feelings between the Gros Ventre, Assiniboine, and Cree.
Another problem is that the off reservation want a per capita payment from this money. They would have no use for any project on the reservation. They want the money in their hands. There are about half of the Gros Ventre living off the reservation and they do not want the money used for something on the reservation; they want the money.
I’ll tell you what will happen. The money will sit in the bank, while all these arguments are going on, and the $440,000 will collect interest until it about doubles. Then they will end up giving out a per capita payment, because they will not be able to decide on a project that will be used for only the Gros Ventre. The most ridiculous part of it is that the money for each individual will amount to nothing. They could use that money to put someone in business in Hays so that the community would have all the shops and services that a community needs – a bakery, grocery store, garage, hardware store, barber, etc. But the people would not allow that because they would not want anyone to make a profit from this and they cannot see the usefulness of having these services here, weighed against having the money. They would rather take the small per capita payment than see the Assiniboine and Cree share in the money through some type of community development project.
I was speaking with a middle-aged man who shared similar thoughts to what Ray expressed about the treaty committee. He went further, however, by talking about the Cree on the Ft. Belknap.
The Cree and Assiniboine on the reservation make it difficult to use the Gros Ventre treaty committee money. The Gros Ventre have a lot of money. They can’t do anything with it though because they cannot find a project that could be used just for themselves without having to share it with the Crees and the Assiniboine. They cannot get the Crees off the reservation because there is so much intermarriage. At one time the government asked the Gros Ventre if they wanted them off the reservation, but there was so much intermarriage that there was nothing they could do. Someday there may be no Gros Ventre left on the rolls if the intermarriage continues like it is. The kids will be less and less Gros Ventre until they are all less than one quarter, and then there will be no more Gros Ventres left. The Cree on the reservation are from Turtle Mountain, South Dakota. They are in the process of getting some settlement money from the government.
Gordon told me that there was going to be a Gros Ventre treaty committee meeting on November 23rd. This meeting will be open to all the Gros Ventre (enrolled) on and off the reservation. This meeting concerns the use of the $440,000. Many people want a per capita payment of this money. Some other people have offered other suggestions for the use of the money, i.e. a recreation center for the kids in Hays.
Gordon and Ray have both told me that they would like to see this money invested in some way so that they can receive benefits in the future from this money. The per capita payment would be small when split up between 2000 Gros Ventres, but if they invested in the future, they could receive benefits from this money later as well. Gordon mentioned investing the money in a large corporation such as Bethlehem Steel and collecting the dividends on the investment. Gordon said that he could understand why the people who are older (he said over 40 years) want the per capita payment. They want the money in their pocket and want to be able to spend it while they can. He said that the younger people should be more concerned with the future, so that we have something for our children and grandchildren; not just to be concerned with ourselves. Gordon said that the off-reservation Gros Ventre want a per capita payment because they cannot receive the benefits from a project conducted on the reservation. They will have a strong representative at the meeting next week and they will also have signed petitions stating what they want done with the money. Each of these names is a vote, and they want the per capita payments, because they do not want the money used for anything on the reservation which they could not use.
Gordon said that there is a meeting tonight in Seattle with all the Gros Ventre that live in the Seattle area. The meeting is concerned with the Treaty Committee meeting; they are deciding what they would like done with the money. They will then send a representative to the meeting on the reservation. The same is being done in Spokane, Washington, where there is another large group of off-reservation Gros Ventre. This will be done in other places where there are a lot of Gros Ventre. All of these off-reservation Gros Ventres want the per capita payment, and they are very well organized.
Gordon asked us what we thought of having a museum of Gros Ventre materials on the reservation. Susie and I told him that we thought that this was a really good idea. He said that he thought so also and would like to see some of this money used to support a project for establishing this museum. He also said that he didn't think that there was a chance of this ever coming about.
Gordon said that there were some people on the reservation fighting to change the degree blood enrollment requirement from one-quarter to one-eighth blood. The one-quarter blood requirement is stated in the Ft. Belknap constitution. Gordon said that this idea is just crazy. He said that it is one-quarter on all of the other reservations, and for all the other tribes, like the Blackfeet. Gordon said that there were an awful lot of one-eighths on the reservation. He said that they were mostly Crees. They want to change the qualifications for enrollment because they want to share in the benefits that go to enrolled Gros Ventres.
Edith told us that they adopted one of their sons. She said that he's not enrolled yet. He’s a full-blood Indian. One of his grandfathers is Gros Ventre and the other is Assiniboine. They plan to enroll him as a Gros Ventre.
Gordon thought that Jim Snow was the last full-blood Gros Ventre.
In 20 or 25 years there will be no more Gros Ventre left. They are becoming extinct. There will be only one-eighths and less. I tell my children that they are really thinning out the blood when they marry outside of a Gros Ventre. If they marry a Blackfoot or a Sioux, this will thin out the blood. Edith is 7/8 Gros Ventre. They made a mistake on the tribal rolls and said that she is one-eighth Creek.
Gordon said that there was another group of Gros Ventre in North Dakota, but they are different from us. They are called the Lower Gros Ventre and sometimes are called the Hidatsa. I don't understand the connection. Our languages are entirely different. (Leave it to the French).
Gordon said Fiddle’s father was one of the last Gros Ventre full-bloods. There is a Gros Ventre tribal roll that goes back to the 1800s.
Gros Ventre Treaty Committee Meeting, November 23, 1976
Mission All-Purpose Room
I took extensive notes at the meeting. I am including all of my notes, because the dynamic involving the Gros Ventre factions are so well represented in the discussion that took place. My hope is that in the almost fifty years since all this occurred, the Gros Ventre and the Ft. Belknap Community have figured out how to resolve all these complex and divisive issues.
Lymon Young is chairman of the Gros Ventre treaty committee, and Madeline Cauliflower is the secretary-treasurer. About 150-200 Gros Ventres (GV) attended in the mission grade school all-purpose room. At 7:50 the meeting was called to order. Young said that they had a quorum of the treaty committee (TC). Then he raised the first issue on the agenda: the operating budget of the TC. He said that they have a problem; they have run out of money. They need approval from the people to spend any more money, and they are asking for $17,835 for operating costs. The people have asked for an accounting report for the 1968-1976 budget of the TC. From 1968 to 1976 they spent $61,000 for their operating budget.
Rusty Farmer: (superintendent of the BIA on the reservation). GV claims (petitions); the people's money does not belong to the councils and committees. It is in the U.S. treasury. The people have asked for an accounting audit from October 21, 1968 to June 1976. The people want to know (GV members) how much money the GVTC has spent; they have to account for the $61,000. I support the TC, but they must account for the money spent. There are complaints of money being ripped off. They are protesting the attorney’s fees; the museum money ($21,000); operation of the neighborhood facility; interest money, and the $75,000 for the mission gym. The people want to know what the government structures are doing. I will honor the people's petition for an audit of the TC. Then they should budget the other money. At the October 12, 1976 meeting, John Capture resigned. The TC was surprised and elected Young. I accepted him, but it has to be decided by the process of the GV people; they have to confirm him. He is only an interim chairman now. I have a high regard for the Indian people. I will not approve him unless the people allow it. In 1974, the tribe had an 80% per capita payment (PCP) and 20% of the money was programmed for community development. The GV now would like the balance of the PCP. I do not know if this is possible. I will approve it if the GV want this money. I would try to get you the PCP on the balance. I would also like you to consider the museum project and to get a secure place for the sacred pipes. The young people do not understand the importance of the two sacred pipes. We do not know how to open (unwrap) the pipes, nor the ceremony. We could ask the Arapahoe who may know. At one time the pipe was opened the wrong way, or misused. They did not know how to handle the pipe. It should be secured properly. If not a museum, at least a secure place that could not be vandalized. There was $1,800 questioned as litigation expense. It was not explained in the audit repost. I do not know, and I will have to check this with the auditors. It might have been paid out after the award (no one knew for sure). On the PCP- $25,000 was paid to the expert witness contracts. We must seek the best council for the settlements.
Benny Stiffarm: (representative of the Urban Indians (UI)) We have a problem with finding out about what’s going on with the TC. We get no answers from our correspondence. We called the day before the meeting. We couldn’t get a representative or an agenda for this meeting. We would like representation of the UIs on the TC.
Farmer: All GV should be represented. There must be an approval of expenses. There’s a problem of communication, so something must be done. I have dealt with UIs before. They usually do not care about the reservation. When the termination issue arises, they are the first to sign off. We must deal with the UI.
Benny Stiffarm: We have a petition for a PCP from 53 Seattle GV.
Farmer: The six GV members of the tribal council should serve as the TC. There is a problem between the authority of the tribal council and the TC. The authority is with the people. It must be clear; the people must confirm the TC. Also, you must establish guidelines for how to budget money. There are too many assumptions, and it causes trouble. I do not like assumptions. People ask what was established first: TC or tribal council. The TC was first, but was not active until 1968 when the claim arose. The GV people are not taking advantage of the elders. The TC deals with claims (money) and has to be decided by the people. Ill-feelings developed from spending funds (TC spending).
Jack Plumage: Ft. Belknap Community Council Chairman. The Council went on record in March/April and decided to recognize the TC. (What was established first). In 1934, under the Indian Reorganization Act the tribal council was set up. The tribal council goes back to the origins of the tribe. Looking at it in historical perspective, the councils were here before the TC. The councils were in the tribe from the beginning, but the TC did not exist when there were no treaties. When treaties arose, that was the first need for the TC. Before there were treaties, the tribe had councils, so the councils were here first.
Farmer: There is a pending claims appeal from the 1/8th GV who are not enrolled in the San Francisco 9th circuit court. The GVTC appealed the court decision.
Community Person: The TC is fighting other GV. The TC is trying to perpetuate their own jobs. This case is GV vs GV, using the TC to fight against other GV. There are 178 1/8th bloods fighting to get on the tribal enrollment to get some of the claim’s money. They are one-quarter or more Indian. A vote of the members should decide. There is $6100 held up in the courts; and the court costs in this case are $3,500.
Young: There was a meeting held, and it was decided not to pay this $3,500 for the lawyer who fought the TC’s case. But the lawyer asked for almost twice this amount. The $3,500 split the difference, so we paid it. This money ($3500) has nothing to do with fighting the protest. This was the legal representation for the percentage of the claim’s money to the Blackfeet and that for the GV. The 1/8ths appealed the decision. The BIA office in Billings decided that the 1/8ths should get paid the claims money. This is the decision that is being appealed by the TC. The decision and appeal to pay the 1/8ths is costing a lot of money. The attorneys will get more than would be paid out to the 1/8ths. This is money out of everyone’s pocket. This is costing everyone a lot of money. You should confirm the committee, all the people who are on it.
Farmer: The TC members have all been elected and they are confirmed. Even though John Capture resigned as the chairman, his replacement was already a member of the TC.
Janice Hawley: I make a motion to confirm the TC as a whole, all the members. Whether we should continue with the present TC or not.
Dave Hawley (Member of both the TC and Tribal Council): The TC will take care of all the claims. The council will not have anything to do with it; just the TC - not the council, not the Assiniboine. The council has nothing to do with the treaty business. We do not want the GV and Assiniboine business mixed. There will always be GV and always Assiniboine and we should not mix business. The council will approve anything that the TC wants to do. It has the same function as the BIA for the council. I don't want to sound like a bureaucrat, but that’s the way it has to work. The TC will get the confirmation of the council and they in turn will get the confirmation of the superintendent. I guess we could call this “self-determination.” (everyone laughed).
Community Person: Were all the members of the TC elected members?
Bertha Snow (TC Member): Not all were voted on. Me and Lymon were appointed by John Capture; he used his powers as chairman to appoint us.
Dave Hawley: Everyone is concerned with dollars and cents; we are concerned with our children and grandchildren. If we cut the TC down to three members, we would save money. We should do the same with the tribal council.
Community Person: What about volunteers? (laughs)
Dave Hawley: We need to decide the degree blood for enrollment as a GV. We should decide these guidelines here. The money that is being held up for 1/8ths has been set aside. It is invested and collecting interest. Are the Indian claims going to be 1/4 or 1/8?
JJ Mount: If the appeal goes through, we will be the only reservation holding at one-quarter.
Community Person (to Young): How did you get to be chairman?
JJ Mount (TC member): John Capture resigned at the meeting at the high school in October. The law firm was there; we had to report to the law firm. We needed a replacement and a chairman. At the meeting we elected Young. John Capture did not notify the TC about his resignation beforehand.
Community Person (to Young): Is the chairman running his own election?
Young: We did not hold a general election at the last meeting because it was not on the agenda.
Benny Stiffarm: (from Seattle): Why do you need an agenda for an election, like a Whiteman.
Farmer: You need guidelines. People on the other side of the reservation could vote in their own chairman if they wanted.
Community Person: It is embarrassing to vote for the chairman with him in front of us.
Community Person: There is a motion on the floor.
Dave Hawley: You should allow input from off the reservation. I am on two committees (TC and tribal council). You should have an UI member on the TC. I will make it easy for you, I'll resign. I'll make room for someone besides someone from the BIA. I know how you people feel about the BIA. You do not like BIA people. I've been working for BIA for over 30 years. I have missed a lot of TC meetings; but I heard that this would be a dandy meeting, so I came right over. I’m not giving you good representation. You can pay someone from Seattle to come here to represent UIs at the TC meetings.
Jack Plumage: It’s good to have a person on both the TC and also a member of the tribal council. They can help to solve problems when they arise between the council and the TC. In the resolution in April to recognize the TC, the passing of the resolution had a lot to do with Davey Hawley. Also, you should consider what number of GV constitutes a legal general council (how many GV in attendance needed before can conduct business). Council is a chartered corporation; it is a recognized council.
Bertha Snow (TC member): This is the biggest crowd we’ve had at a treaty committee meeting. We decided that we could not serve lunch but we figured that if you were interested, you would come. Very few people have come to the meetings, even when they were advertised. We needed meetings because the lawyers were there, and we needed elections. We have no guidelines for a quorum. Most of the business in the GVTC has been done by a few; but there were no protests and no comments. We hope that there will be a lot more money. We conduct the business to the best of our ability. Most people do not understand the claims and treaties. I have been on the TC for one year, some people think illegally. I do not understand everything. If you want me off the TC, tonight would be a good time to do it. Our prime purpose is to settle the treaties and get the money for the people. The blood requirement for enrollment was voted on by the people and ok'd by Congress. The TC did not question the eligibility of these questionables (1/8ths). My own grandchild is less than GV and Rusty Farmer said to me, why don’t you protest it on the claim’s money. I did not protest. That was the requirement, 1/4-degree blood. If these 1/8ths (178 people) get the money, there will be hundreds more 1/8ths who will want it. There are more 1/8ths than sitting here today.
Community Person: Omaha Rule - if only one person comes to a meeting, they can conduct business; a quorum on the TC meetings is four members.
Bertha Snow: The protest for less than 1/4 …1959 they set the enrollment requirement for claims money at 1/4 blood for the GV. All those enrolled before 1959 got paid. The enrollment rule was changed in 1959.
Farmer: There are three kinds of Indians here: GV, Assiniboine and the 1/8ths, are a combination.
Bertha Snow: After 1959, enrollment had to be GV.
Community Person: The people making the protest should get the money, because they may have been born before 1959. They may be 1/8th, but did not know about the rule change, especially if they are living off the reservation.
Jack Plumage: The enrollment ordinance (trying to clear up degree blood discussion) - before January 1959, 1/8 GV and 1/8 Assiniboine and 1/8 other Indian could be enrolled in the Ft. Belknap Community. After 1959 a person must be Indian (meaning GV or Assiniboine) to be entered on the tribal rolls. Must be GV to be a member of the GV community. If 1/8 GV and 1/8 Assiniboine can be enrolled in the Ft. Belknap Community, but I don't know what this means about “judgement funds.”
Young: But the TC is different.
Bill Fox: (from the BIA Billings Area Office) The degree blood for judgement is approved by Congress. They site who is eligible, but it usually goes along with the judgement of the Indian community of the tribe.
Community Person: Resolution in 1968; who will be eligible for the judgement money. There were 140 GV at the meeting and they voted for the blood requirement. This requirement must be out-voted if you want to change the rule to 1/8th. Maybe you would need more than 140 people to vote against this requirement.
Farmer: Let’s go back to the motion on the confirmation of the TC as a whole; vote by raising hands. You should be GV when you make this vote (people cheered).
The vote was 48 for and 1 against. (When the motion passed, people cheered).
Farmer: I don't think I should be chairman of this committee (laughs!).
Madeline Cauliflower: Confirmation of chairman. You just voted; now don’t you think he should be chairman. (People yelled "yes" and applauded and laughed).
Farmer: We should establish guidelines for replacements, also for removal, and to set up terms of office.
Madeline Cauliflower: We will work on guidelines in the TC and bring them back and present them to you at another meeting. We will go the Whiteman way with it.
(Laughs and applause).
Dave Hawley: I have some doubts about how we will sit on the TC. The TC will sit here as long as there are treaties. There are some sharp young people with good educations who could do a better job. We should set terms of office. We had a really big loss with John Capture. We always have to go to his home, because we need information from him. Well, this is water under the bridge, he resigned. We should set terms tonight. After the settlements, we don’t need a TC. Every other committee has a term of office.
Madeline Cauliflower: The terms of office would cause a problem. Part of the old TC should stay on. I don't want a big turn-over. I suggest a lifetime membership. We are going different ways (away from the traditions). We should at least stagger the terms of office; and also provide for procedures of removal in case someone “messes up.” We should form a corporation of the GV tribe; and that way we would operate more legally.
Community Person: How long has the treaty committee worked on any one certain claim.
JJ Mount: 1942 started the payment, the last PCP; and the interest money we are now kicking around. The general accounting claim was in the mill since 1942, and it will take another 2 to 3 years.
Community Person: A one-year term is not realistic; the claims take too long.
Rusty Farmer: I have a suggestion; the TC is traditional; the claims do take years. You should consider two issues:
1. You should elect the TC members one time for a lifetime membership. You need continuity in the treaty committee. You do not want to stagger terms. People would come in and would have to go over the process all the time. People bring in different attitudes and new ways of dealing with the claims process.
2. You should only set up procedures for removal and replacement of TC members. Without lifetime membership, you will run into problems. Other tribes have run into problems without life memberships on their TC.
Community Person: We should have UI representation on the TC; we should have an added seat on the TC.
Benny Stiffarm: There should be a requirement for representation for UI on the TC, but it could be a local person; just so long as they maintain communication with us and provide representation for us on the TC (present our views and opinions). If one of the present members represented us, it would keep down the TC’s expenses. The representative of the UI to the TC could be a local person.
Vote: 48 for 1 opposed - motion carried.
Rusty Farmer: Motion: lifetime membership; establish guidelines for removal and replacement of TC members.
Benny Stiffarm: I want it recorded that the motion was made by a Blackfoot (Farmer - Ft. Belknap Superintendent).
Farmer: What kind of UI representation is at this meeting. People raised their hands. There are 7 present at this meeting.
Community Person: Let a TC member already on the TC represent them and communicate with them.
Benny Stiffarm: We sent the TC a message two weeks ago and were never answered.
Madeline Cauliflower: I promise you that all UIs will hear about the meetings and the business of the meetings (minutes). I will get a mailing list and send them this information to all the UIs and the urban centers all over the U.S. I can get a mailing list from the Camp Crier.
Benny Stiffarm: The UIs should have input on all negotiations; there are 500 GV in Spokane, Seattle and Portland. We are incorporated in Seattle, and we have by-laws. We are the Ft. Belknap Association of Seattle.
Community Person: I don't want to sound like a Whiteman but what will it cost to have UIs represented on the TC. It is going to cost us.
Benny Stiffarm: In Seattle we are an incorporated committee; we will have our own money for expenses. These are federal expenses.
Community Person: Maybe the council could charter them; the tribe would have overriding authority. They would have to clear the money, but it would not cost us out of the claim’s money. It would be grant requests for federal money.
Community Person: The GV in California should be represented too! Not just Seattle GV.
Community Person: There is an office for the TC in the CAP office. We never get any correspondence from the UIs. We have the minutes from the meetings in our office, but we never get anything from them.
Farmer: We route all the TC information to them in the CAP office.
Farmer: We have two motions on the floor:
1. to have Benny Stiffarm represent the UIs.
2. to have a TC member represent the UIs.
Community Person: Who’s going to pay for the UIs to represent other UIs. It’s going to break us.
Farmer: We’re broke now! (laughs) Should we pay him or not to come to the meetings?
Motion: should he represent the UIs - the UIs from all over?
Community Person: Benny Stiffarm would be a mistake; the minutes are so long. We should send one copy to each organization; let them worry about it. It costs like heck.
Community Person: Most GV are gone from the reservation. They could not afford to come to vote, but they want an input on decisions, and they want communication.
Benny Stiffarm: There are a lot of good local people around in Montana that can represent the UIs, go to the meetings and the UIs can go to him for a voice and for input. The UIs knew nothing about the gym or the guy traveling all over the country (George Horse Capture).
Community Person (woman from Seattle): Over half of the GV live off the reservation. If you came to us for meetings, you would create an expense if you came to us. We want an input on decisions. We have our own program in Seattle. If the other off-reservation people want input, let them put together their own organizations.
Farmer: Should we pay a representative from UIs to come to the TC meetings?
Community Person: Is that for transportation and lodging?
Community Person: Do all the TC members get paid for coming to the meetings?
Farmer: Yes. Should all UIs get paid to come to the TC meetings?
Janice Hawley: People are worried about money. They came to this meeting to find out how the TC is spending their money. If people vote for a Seattle representative, they will need one from all cities where there are GV. We will have to pay through the nose. If a TC member has volunteered to communicate with the UIs, why not take advantage of it. If they are interested enough, they will come to the meetings.
Community Person: There is a motion on the floor to vote for a representative for UIs. Let's table this motion.
Community Person: There are no benefits for off-reservation people on what is paid for on the reservation.
Farmer: If you decide on the PCP, we do not need to worry about the UI representative. Let’s table the motion until after we discuss number 4 on the agenda about a PCP.
Frank: Question: How can we have a PCP if you told us you are broke? (laughs)
Farmer: We (TC) have no operating money, but there is $340,000 left.
People: Well, pay it out!! (laughs, applause).
JJ Mount: On this PCP; we made an agreement with the government to take the money in a PCP minus the interest and promised to program this interest money; we agreed to program it. If we put it over by resolution (PCP on interest money) we may be able to get it.
Farmer: I would push it for you, if you pass the resolution, but there is no assurance that the government will go along with it. The government may hold to their agreement, and the government may turn it down (resolution).
JJ Mount: In the Distribution Bill, we promised the government that we would program the interest money for reservation development.
Community Person: We should make an investment of this money so we can get more back.
JJ Mount: It is invested. Some of the money was withdrawn for the museum project. What will we do if the government does not allow the PCP. There is no time limit on the reservation development program. The money we are talking about is only the interest, from August 1968 (20%). The PCP would come to $40-45.00 a piece.
Dave Hawley: At one time we had about $400,060. This was before the gym and the $25,000 for the youth center. We wanted to invest in an office building (planning committee of the TC) and the previous superintendent said that was ok. Our number one priority was and should be education, but we could not use the money for education because the government says that we cannot duplicate government money. We wanted to invest in an office building, and it would have been a good investment - a sure thing. The BIA assured us that they would have rented offices at $50-60,000 a year and we would have easily paid off the $650,000 - the cost of the building. The PHS, the tribe, and the BIA would have used it. Then we tried again to get the building, and the superintendent would not approve it. They said that they do not want the GV to own a building alone, and they don’t want the GV to own land. It killed the whole idea. We tried to buy land, which would have been a good investment, but the council said that the GV cannot buy land. Then we tried to get an outside manufacturer. Nothing worked out, so we decided that we had better pay out the money.
Motion: Resolution for a PCP of the remaining money.
Community Person: We have a petition of 354 persons for a PCP.
Benny Stiffarm: We have a petition of 53 GV from Seattle for a PCP.
Community Person: We made an agreement with the federal government; what would it take to rescind this Distribution Act; what would it take to change this.
Farmer: They (government) may go along with us.
UI: We would like it on the record that we have a petition from the Havre GV (don't remember the number of people) and from Billings with 110 signatures.
Jimmy Main: If we pay all this money out, we cannot afford number 6 on the agenda, and we could forget about the TC.
Bertha Snow: For those who are afraid of a PCP, we should set aside some of this money for other programs. The $45.00 is nothing with today's costs. Some people passed away without the money. The older people have to live on welfare and social security which is a drop in the bucket against what they need for today’s prices. We should set some of this money aside for families in need, such as for a burial fund. Some people have no jobs, no homes and no place to go for help. The tribal council helps, but we should help also. Even those on the outside, maybe they would want to be buried here, but can’t afford it. Think about it, it would be worthwhile.
Jack Plumage: I have been on the tribal council for almost 3 years. The Council and the Housing Authority, in the way of social services, cannot meet all the people’s needs. You can invest the money more wisely than a $45.00 PCP. You need a nursing home, a recreation center, and a day care center. The tribal council cannot do all of this. We are not in a position to. Our primary goal right now is to provide housing for everyone on the reservation. The GV could program the money for building something like this.
Seattle woman: What about UI input? Don't you have a nursing home?
Jack Plumage: The elders on the reservation are being neglected. There is a small place for old people, but it is only for 3-5 people.
Seattle woman: There are others off the reservation with the same problems.
Jack Plumage (very angry): Remember, your life blood is from this reservation. If it were not for our elders, you would not be an Indian, and you would not have any of this money. Remember where you came from!!
Community Person: If you (TC) were not able to develop a program in 4 years, what makes you think you can do it now. Can you? Pay it out; why keep fighting it.
Dave Hawley (to Farmer): Do you have the final say on this?
Farmer: If this is the say of the people, I’ll endorse it. I don't know if the government will go along with it. No one has tried this act. All the other tribes have programmed this money; they have not tried to change it to a PCP.
Dave Hawley: We could invest this money and not allow any expenses (from TC) on it.
Madeline Cauliflower: We set aside $100,000 for a museum for the pipes; to build two permanent homes for the pipes and to pay for the ceremonies to go along with it. $25,000 was taken from this $100,000 museum fund (George Horse Capture). We could pay out the $346,000 PCP and use the remaining $75,000 for a burial fund and to build the pipe buildings and the ceremony that goes with it.
Dave Hawley: We have neglected the Indian beliefs. I talked to one man who takes care of one of the pipes. I don’t know if it was handed down to him. I asked him if he would put it in a museum. He said there was no way it would be put in a museum or taken away.
Madeline: We would build a strong structure; that could not be vandalized, to protect the pipes; not a museum where people could see them. And the ceremony would be included with it. We could call in the Arapahoes who know the ceremony.
Dave Hawley: I’m not sure. I’m not much of an Indian, but the pipe may have to be in a person’s possession - in someone's home. And another tribe may not be allowed to handle or go near the pipes (Arapahoe).
Bertha Snow: This is what Ironman told to my father. He said that the sacred pipe was not passed down like it should be, from one medicine man to another. When Bull Lodge died, he left elaborate-detailed instructions on what to do to bring him back to life. But the chiefs at that time were afraid of him and would not carry out the instructions; they left him dead. They did not know how to take care for the pipe. The pipe was left an orphan. It is an orphan pipe. There was not a successor to the powers of the pipe. Curly Head left the pipe to his daughter to care for it, but she does not have the powers of the pipe. There is no pipe ceremony - it is gone. The pipe is the property of the GV people. No one has the right to say that the pipe is mine. The pipe is abandoned now in a log cabin; for all we know it could be torn apart.
JJ Mount: We could build a place for the pipes. One of them is at Jeanette Warrior’s place. She would like the pipe put in a safe place. The Old timers want this; it’s up to you. We could do one last thing for them. No one living in the community knows how to handle the pipes.
Community Person: The reason there are so many problems on the reservation and in the community is that the pipes have been mishandled and mistreated.
Community Person: According to the traditions, the pipe belongs in a person’s home.
JJ Mount: One of the pipes is in a private home; but one is in a log cabin, and for all we know, it may be torn apart.
Community Person: I don't want to sound stupid but I have a brother in Canada who can put up a lodge, and pipes can call in our pipes and these pipes can talk to ours. Then the pipes will tell you what to do (the ceremony and the correct way to handle them). They may not come in; the pipes may not want to come into the lodge. The pipes would also talk in GV, and we would need someone who speaks GV to come into the sweat lodge to translate what the pipes say.
Community Person: No other tribe is allowed to go in there and bother the pipes. They are sacred and you cannot fool with stuff like that.
JJ Mount: We believe in it, but we do not know what to do (how to handle the pipes). The old people would want it.
Community Person: You have to be quiet in front of the pipes - people are afraid.
JJ Mount: There's more to it than we realize.
Community Person: $340,000 PCP, and set aside $100,000 for a museum.
JJ Mount: The museum project was shelved because there was too much dissention about the museum. There is $75,000 left from this money.
Farmer: $100,000 was set aside for the museum. $25,000 has been spent already (George Horse Capture), which means $75,000 is left. $346,000 (20% interest) from the development program in the Distribution Act; we want for a PCP. Actually, of the $25,000, George Horse Capture has spent only $14,000 for research and to buy books.
Community Person: We have $14,000 dollars’ worth of books. (laughs).
Farmer: Young has $7,000 in his possession from this museum money that George Horse Capture returned and did not spend. George is sending us a report of his spending. We could have a PCP of the $346,000 and use the $75,000 for the pipe project and research and for a burial fund.
JJ Mount: The money has already been earmarked for funds for the museum project. The $75,000 is really about $82,000.
Madeline: George is sending us his books for an audit.
Farmer: For the museum, no one will give us grants or matching funds; so, we decided to drop the museum project. This is what we have left of the money, plus a lot of books.
Farmer: Motion: $346,000 for a PCP.
Community Person: I would like to explain why I was against the motion. The TC is not leaving itself operating funds and there is another claim coming up.
Farmer: We have $75,000 of the museum money left.
Benny Stiffarm: In the last audit there was $88,000 of the museum money left, and there was $222,000 of the protest money (1/8th) left. If the TC wins the court appeal, the $222,000 will be given back to the tribe.
Farmer: Do you want to take care of the pipes?
Bertha Snow: We should set aside, not knowing the cost, about $30-35,000 to take care of the pipes and then use $50,000 for burial funds. We should invest the $50,000 and use only the interest for burial purposes; and see how long this money will last (interest on $50,000) this way. How much is justifiable for each family - the tribe gives $200.00. The family would not have to pay this money back. We would not have to touch the principle. I do not expect that the government will let us pay out the PCP and so we can take the TC’s operating expenses out of that money ($346,000). We could give out $300 for each burial. And we could invest the $50,000 in some way to get the interest - maybe CD’s. For the GV there are about eight deaths a year. Then we could use the $35,000 for the pipes.
Vote: 51 for, 1 against.
Farmer: There will be some interest on the $346,000 which could be used for operating expenses. But it will take time to get this money.
Jack Plumage: At 6.5% interest, there would be about $22,000 a year.
Farmer: You have a copy of a resolution - the TC expense budget. I want the people to approve it, before I will allow the money to be spent. Since 1968 the TC has spent $61,000 in operating expenses - such as the tribal roll, the planning committees, and the taxes paid on salaries. Also, we need a secretary - I don't care what anybody says! There will be another accounting claim, and a lot of correspondence. We owe her one-month salary, and we don't have the money to pay her. Madeline keeps the books; she is the TC’s secretary treasurer. She makes out the checks. She withdrew $7,000 from the First National Bank of Havre, from the museum fund. This money is in the BIA office in the care of myself. To release this money to the TC, I want to have, and we need, the people’s approval. We would use this money for the TC operating expenses until the other money comes through (interest on $346,000).
Seattle woman: If the $7,000 were released for operating expenses, would we be reimbursed for coming here to this meeting.
Elmer Main: Summarizing what took place here tonight, it is very interesting. It was voted to pay $346,000 in a PCP. Also, if the 1/8th protest this PCP (and want their share of it) this will be taken off of the $346,000. We will get an accounting of the $61,000 and $14,000 for operating expenses of the TC and the museum fund. We have $50,000 for a burial fund. If a person is less than GV, can he be buried with this money? What if less than 1/4, but some Assiniboine - how will it be decided? As for the sacred pipes, what procedures will be used to put them in their final resting place. The pipes are the property of the GV people, and they should have a final resting place. Knowing today’s costs of labor and materials, $40,000 would not be enough money - it would have to be small buildings. Maybe we could work something out where one of us or a group could do the building. There is $17,000 for TC operating expenses. All this information should be placed in an orderly fashion and the minutes should be prepared and given out in a short time. We should have the expenses ($17,000) of the GVTC and find out what is the breakdown of the TC’s operating expenses before now. All these questions are on the minds of the GV people. In this meeting we tried to get information, and we tried to spend the funds intelligently in the best way. We decided on a PCP. How much do any of you have left from your last PCP? Do you have any of this money left? What do we do when this PCP is gone?
Janice Hawley: Who authorized a reimbursement for the Seattle group to attend this meeting (to us: they were here on the reservation for a funeral - they were here anyway).
Community Person: Why not pay us who came from people’s creek or three buttes. (laughs).
Farmer: We only sent them a notice of the meeting; there was no money authorized.
Seattle woman: What about the audit of the $61,000. Who gave the permission to spend the treaty money for the museum or the gym. We only want expenses for travel.
Bertha Snow: The authorization for this spending came from meetings like this.
Farmer: We will give you an audit of the $61,000 spent by the TC and a breakdown of our books. We will tell you who has gotten paid what of the members of the TC. And we will give you a report of the spending on the museum project. Now, on the $17,000 will the TC get it or not?
Janice Hawley: Motion: to let the TC have the $17,000 for operating expenses; Vote: passed.
Farmer: This $17,000 will last the TC for one year until October 1, 1977. Now if we are going to give some money to the off-reservation people, we will need more money, because we are going to really stick to this budget on the $17,000 of operating expenses.
Janice Hawley: What about the other people from off the reservation. If you pay these people from Seattle, you will have to pay all the off-reservation people who come to the TC meetings. That could become a lot of money.
Community Person: Motion: Will pay the Seattle people for coming, this one time and one time only; and we will leave it up to the TC as to how much they should pay the Seattle people.
Passed.
Farmer: What would be a good amount for travel expenses for these Seattle people.
Benny Stiffarm: What are the expenses for all the TC members. Do you go through this whole procedure every time you give money for expenses to each other on the TC. Do you go through this every time you want money and use it. Does everyone on the TC tell how much money they use?
Farmer: The two Seattle people will get $200 each for travel back to Seattle.
Madeline: The TC will not make anymore donations, such as for the dance committee. This money was coming out of the TC’s operating budget. We will only make a donation for a pipe ceremony.
Farmer: The $7,500 will be given to the TC immediately. Then the balance of the $17,000 (to make a total of $17,000) will be given to the TC and the rest will be put back into the TC fund. They can use this money ($7,500 given immediately) to pay their debts and then use the balance for operating expenses.
Community Person: Motion: to add the $7,500 given to the TC to the $17,000 already given them; $24,500 altogether.
Vote: Passed.
Dave Hawley: I talked to Jack Plumage (in the bathroom of all places). We thought that there might be a problem with the burial fund. The tribal council puts out $200 for each burial. We might sit down and talk with the council about the burial fund. If we give $300 for each for each burial, the council may deny the $200 so that it wouldn’t be unfair to the Assiniboine. Would the money be given to everyone?
Farmer: It would be like a wake fund. We cannot weigh the expense of a wake, and the expense to the family. There are unforeseen expenses to a wake, and many other family problems and expenses. This money could be used for these expenses.
Community Person: Let the Assiniboine worry about it. We shouldn’t worry about it.
Dave Hawley: I’m on the mission school board. The Assiniboine could only give us $15,000 for the gym. That’s the best they could do. They only have about $66,000. They do not have that kind of money. It could cause bad feelings between GV and Assiniboine and between GV. A boy came up to me (about the council’s burial money) and asked me “do they still pay the $200 bounty on GV.” The man he was talking about was his father. I just want to get along with the Assiniboine. I sit across from them on the tribal council. I just wonder how this will set with the rest of the community.
Community Person: They (Assiniboine) could set it (burial fund) up if they wanted to.
Benny Stiffarm: You have made plans for the burial fund and for the pipes. The TC will bring these plans up to the people for approval. And you also promise to notify all the UIs of the TC’s plans.
Jack Plumage: I share your concerns here tonight. I invite you to all our council meetings. There will be a council meeting in Hays on December 4th at 10:00 am. We have planned these quarterly meetings so that we can report on our business to the people. I was a GV and that is why I am concerned with what has gone on here tonight. I was a GV until 1972; and by an act of Congress I became an Assiniboine. I still have two brothers who are GV.
Farmer: meeting adjourned - 11:30 pm.
After the meeting I went up to Jack Plumage outside of the mission school to say hello. He
said:
People would have voted differently if there had been a secret ballot. Also, the people would not have confirmed all the members of the TC if the people had voted in a secret ballot. This is one of the prices you pay for a democracy!
After the meeting when I was with her in the school kitchen, Beatrice said:
My grandfather taught me not to talk about the pipe. I don’t because we don’t know anything about them. I don’t know what they’re going to do with them. I don’t like talking at the meetings (GVTC); the others know more than I do; and they will have to decide.
Anthropologist: Yikes.
Madeline Cauliflower came up to the trailer to see me two days after the Gros Ventre treaty committee meeting. She asked me if she could borrow the notes I took at the meeting. She said that she noticed that I took lots of notes. I told her that she could have them. She said that Bertha was working the tape recorder but for some reason the tapes didn’t come out. I asked her if she was interested as to why I was taking notes, and she said that she was. I told her that I was an anthropologist, and she said, Oh, what’s that? I explained in great detail. She said that I should come over and talk to her and her husband, and I said that I would.
And then the thought occurred to me that taking those notes at the meeting might have been the most important contribution I made to the community during my two years in Hays. Had I not taken notes, the tribe would have had to rely on the oral tradition to remember all those discussions, motions and votes. Given the gravity of the subject matter, that might have been sort of nightmarish.
The photographs below are from my trip to Hays in 2014.
There are two log homes in this photograph. These are located near the center of Hays. While we lived on the reservation, one of them was where one of the sacred pipes was stored. These are abandoned and the people were concerned about the pipe being there alone. There were two sacred pipes. The Flat Pipe and the Feathered Pipe. I don't know which pipe was in one of these cabins. I can only hope that the people found an appropriate final resting place for their sacred pipes.
I'm standing up on a ridge above the home where Ray and Irma lived. In 2014, this was Cyndee's home (their daughter). I was staying with Cyndee on my visit. I am looking toward the center of Hays and the Little Rockies are in the background.
The home below to the right is Cyndee's place. Off in the distance to the above left is Whitecow Canyon, one of the main area of homes in Hays. Whitecow Canyon that goes up into the Little Rockies is behind the residences. Ghost Pines are also located in this area. I will describe the Ghost Pines in a later blog.
It was fall when I visited Hays in 2014, and it was beautiful. As Cyndee, Stephon (her grandson) and I were driving up to Mission Canyon, I asked her to stop in front of the McMeel's place. Johnny and Opal lived in this home for years. Susie and I were staying on their land in a trailer that belonged to his daughter. It was really sad to see their home abandoned and overgrown with vegetation.
Stephon and I climbed up on the ridge above their home. There were horses grazing in this field. The Little Rockies are in the background.
I always loved this stand of trees, and in the fall, they were beyond beautiful. These trees are near the center of town across from where the trading post was located. There wasn't a cloud in the sky. Very typical, spectacularly beautiful Montana.
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