Tribal representatives meet with Zinke, discuss Farm Bill
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
1 of 3 free articles.
PABLO — Several Tribal representatives gathered at the CSKT Complex to meet with Congressman Ryan Zinke on April 12 to discuss their concerns and hopes for the bipartisan farm bill currently being drafted.
Attendees included representatives from Blackfeet, Little Shell, and Ft. Belknap Tribes, as well as individuals from the Intertribal Ag Council and several representatives from the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. One of the top priorities voiced by attendees from recognized tribes throughout Montana was how the farm bill could help with the Tribes’ self-sufficiency in terms of food and conservation.
One approach discussed was how to support their beef producers through an expansion of producer support programs such as grant funding, loans, and even the Livestock Indemnity Program. The Indemnity Program provides benefits to livestock producers for livestock deaths in excess of normal mortality from adverse weather or animal attacks.
The ability to control their sources of food and grow a market through a labeling, processing, and food safety training system led by the Tribes and established by working with the USDA was also brought up.
Pete White of Tribal Credit with the CSKT and an Intertribal Ag Council representative posed the questions, “How can we build something for our community? … How can we provide opportunities and utilize products from our members and grow a market?” He also commented, “We want to be able to work within conservation … so that we’re able to provide assistance and direction for young producers who are entering the field.”
Firefighter treatment within the Tribes was also a big issue addressed during the meeting. When the salaries of government firefighters were increased, the Tribes were not included, and Tribal firefighters did not receive the $20,000 retention bonus that other firefighters received. This exclusion has been not only tough on morale, but hard on recruitment and retention of crucial first responders.
Because the pay is not equal between the federal and Tribal firefighters, as soon as Tribal firefighters get the skill set required and the qualifications checked off, they transfer to federal or state firefighting. They are using CSKT firefighting as an entry job, explained an attendee from CSKT Fire.
“The problem is the job is similar, or sometimes more challenging, and you shouldn’t be a feeder, you should be a destination,” Zinke responded. “I’m seeing some struggle from what I’m hearing.”
“Last year we burned more acres than in the ‘80s and ‘90s,” an attendee from CSKT Fire stated. “It seems like everything’s increasing except the funding … We want to provide sustainability, and other tribes are under the same situation.”
Additional concerns over funding, forestry, and bear populations were touched upon during the meeting as well, but the overarching theme concerned autonomy for the sovereign nations.
“We’re really not sovereign unless we can feed ourselves,” one attendee stated. “I think that expanding the reach within the farm bill to have those programs in place so that we can have a say in where our food comes from.”
“Food security is national security,” Zinke commented. “The farm bill is Montana’s big voice, and we just want to make sure our issues are in this draft. I’ll be a frequent flyer here on a number of issues.”
The farm bill is currently in draft stages and won’t go before national legislators until approximately next summer. Conversations are expected to continue in the interim.
