Fort Belknap split over Cobell money

A dispute over how to best divide up money Fort Belknap received under the massive Cobell v. Salazar case settlement has boiled over.

Tribal council voted Tuesday to give all 7,200 enrolled members of Fort Belknap tribes $850 each. That is half of Fort Belknap’s $12.5 million allocation.

The remaining money was to be kept in the tribal treasury.

The vote was 4-3 with three members absent.

William Main, a former tribal council chair, said the decision angered many people who thought the entire allocation should be divided among the tribal member, giving them $1,700 each..

Main said petitions are being circulated in protest to the decision.

Main said the regularly scheduled meeting was planned for Wednesday, but neither Chair Mark Azure nor Vice Chair George Horse Capture would go to chambers to convene the session. Under the tribal constitution, he said, only the president or vice president can convene a meeting, so no business was conducted.

Main said petitions are being circulated in opposition to tribal council’s action.

He said the opponents would like to see all of the money given to tribal members, or at least a greater share. They also want an accounting as to what the rest of the money will be spent on.

Tribal council‘s decision came after a series of hearings held at Fort Belknap Agency, Hays, Lodge Pole, Dodson and Havre, seeking input on where the money should be spent.

Main said most people said verbally that they wanted all of the money to be given out to members, though many people did not fill out survey forms that were handed out.

For instance, at the Lodge Pole meeting, 52 people signed in, 16 wanting a 100 percent payout and two people favoring using the money for debt reduction.

Tribal council members felt that meant only 16 of the 52 people attending wanted a 100 percent payout, Main said.

“That’s a flawed analysis,” he said.

Azure said this morning that he had no comments on the matter except to say that the council will continue to review the matter.

He said he expected the council would explain its decision as the matter moves along.

Under the Cobell settlement, Native tribes were reimbursed for decades of mismanagement of Native land trusts by the federal government.

More than a decade of litigation took place after Browning resident Eloise Cobell filed the suit. Under the out-of-court settlement, the U.S, government agreed to pay $3.4 billion to tribes in what many believe is the largest class-action settlement in U.S. history.

Of that amount, $1.4 billion was to be divided among eligible tribes.