Lawmaker says Indians not 'normal' people
THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 2002
http://www.indianz.com/SmokeSignals/Headlines/showfull.asp?ID=pol02/01102002-3

A Montana state lawmaker is being criticized for saying that tribal members who
are returning to reservations are "incapable" of working like "normal outside
people."

"They’re unwilling or incapable of working like normal outside people do," Sen.
Ed Butcher, a Republican, was quoted in The Billings Gazette as saying. "The
elders or the parents, and I hear this all the time, are encouraging them to
move back home."

Butcher comments came during a meeting of the Legislature's interim State-Tribal
Relations Committee, which is planning to hold statewide meetings to address
various issues, including welfare reform. One of three non-Indians on the
six-member committee, Butcher remarked that urban Indians shouldn't be a concern
because they "are off the reservation and are making their own way," the paper
quoted him as saying.

The three Indian members said they were outraged about Butcher's statements.
Previously, Butcher was criticized for calling reservations "ghettos" when he
questioned why the Legislature would support the federal recognition bid of the
Little Shell Chippewa Tribe.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Indian-state meeting plan debated
By ERICKA SCHENCK SMITH
Gazette State Bureau
http://www.billingsgazette.com/index.php?display=content/local/indian.inc

HELENA – Divisions within the Legislature’s interim State-Tribal Relations
Committee were highlighted Wednesday during talk about bringing state and tribal
leaders together to solve several lingering problems.

The three non-Indian members of the six-member committee questioned plans by the
governor’s office to hold meetings in which as many as 300 state and tribal
officials from across the state would try to end longstanding disputes over how
the governments handle education, corrections, economic development and health
and human services.

At one point, Sen. Jerry O’Neil, R-Kalispell, asked why the meetings are
necessary, since the interim committee is already planning to visit the
reservations.

He said that rather than spending $36,000 to bring tribal representatives to
Helena for a meeting, he could “offer them a roll of postage stamps.”

Indian Affairs Coordinator Bruce Meyers explained that none of the money would
come from the state. Meyers said he is working on getting grants from private
foundations and corporations that want to see better government-to-government
relations between states and Indian tribes.

Rep. Ken Peterson, R-Billings, said he wanted assurances that Indians who live
outside reservations would be allowed to contribute to the meetings.

O’Neil agreed that urban people should be a part of the meetings, but Sen. Ed
Butcher, R-Winifred, wanted to know, “What’s the big heartburn here for these
people who are off the reservation and are making their own way?”

As for Indian people living on the reservations, Butcher complained that, with
welfare time limits pending, some Indians in Montana are moving back to their
reservations, where the time limits do not apply.

“They’re unwilling or incapable of working like normal outside people do,”
Butcher said. “The elders or the parents, and I hear this all the time, are
encouraging them to move back home.”

The three Indian members of the committee said they were dismayed by what was
said, especially by Butcher. He drew criticism from Indian legislators during
the 2001 session for calling reservations “ghettos.”

“I really take offense, personal offense, at some of the words Senator Butcher
has chosen to use,” said Rep. Carol Juneau, D-Browning. Juneau, originally from
North Dakota, is Mandan-Hidatsa.

Sen. Gerald Pease, D-Lodge Grass and a Crow tribal member, said he, too, was
offended.

“I’m still astonished that this thought is still out there,” Pease said.

Meyers said Wednesday’s discussion merely highlighted the need for the meetings
– “so stereotypes like these and prejudicial statements can be rectified,” he
said.


Vincent Goes Ahead, vice-chairman of the Crow tribe, who attended the committee
meeting Wednesday to support the proposed town hall meetings, said: “There’s two
worlds, and you’ve got to open yourself up to both worlds. You can’t live in a
box.”

“This is an excellent opportunity to bring everyone to the table,” said Rep.
Norma Bixby, D-Lame Deer.

Meyers said he hoped that the first town hall meeting, on education, would be in
late May or early June.


Updated: Thu Jan 10 06:10:40 CST 2002 Central Time Copyright © The Billings
Gazette, a division of Lee Enterprises.

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