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The Nation |
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Tribal Report of the Northern Cheyenne Nation (June 2006 Vol. I No. 7) |
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Page 3 |
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Wireless Telecommunications on
Reservation Supported by the State of Cell phone service is
nonexistent on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. Even though there are a handful of random
areas in high elevation where cell phones can be used, nonetheless the
reception remains inconsistent and is not reliable. At this time last year the Tribe
prioritized wireless telecommunications as a significant means of furthering
future economic development on the reservation. It that would create an
infrastructure to provide the Tribe, local businesses, and Tribal members
with access to technologies that off-reservation non-Indian communities
regularly take advantage of and capitalize on. As a result of
identifying the local tribal need for not just wireless telecommunication,
but also telecommunication in general, the Economic Development Committee
took proactive steps in planning and implementing a project for providing
basic telephone service to tribal members at low-costs. In order to achieve this goal the Tribe
entered into a consultant agreement on June 6th, 2005 to conduct a project
feasibility study and provide technical support with Turtle Island
Communications, Inc. (TICOMM), which is an American Indian Owned and Operated
Company based out of On August 1st, 2005
the Tribal Council selected Economic Development Committee Chairman L. Jace Killsback to serve on the Montana State-Tribe
Economic Development Commission (STEDC).
The STEDC is comprised of Tribal Leaders from the seven (7) This resolution
established five distinct and culturally-appropriate “Development Principles”
as requirements for all economic development projects and initiatives. One of these principles is specific and
requires any consultant group or project financer to provide adequate
training and job opportunities for Tribal members. It was within these guidelines that
Councilman Killsback, as a STEDC member, submitted a grant proposal on behalf
of the Tribe to the State for the wireless telecommunication project. The Tribe received the ICED funds on
January 2006 which allowed TICOMM to then hire Tribal member Benjamin Bahr as
the project coordinator for the duration of the study. The final feasibility study was completed
in March 2006 and it was presented to the Tribal Council. |
The Tribe always
knew that cell phone service was possible, but did not have the technical
background to effectively assess the development until the Tribe established
its partnership with TICOMM. The Tribe
became educated and learned much more about the real potential for actual
development of a Tribally Owned and Operated Utilities Company that would
provide both wireless and basic telephone services to the entire reservation. The Tribe is aware of
the current telephone services provided by Range Telephone Cooperative which
has neglected Tribal members’ need for one local telephone number prefix that
would eliminate long distance calls within the reservation borders. Also, the Tribe has experienced various
complaints of the discrepancies in Tribal members’ services, fees,
disconnection charges and Right-of-way issues across tribal lands, especially
when compared to non-Indian and off-reservation customers. Although Range Telephone Cooperative issues
with Tribal members are important in this discussion, the original topic of
discussion is about simple cell phone service on the reservation. However it is not as simple as it seems. The Economic
Development Committee followed up with the feasibility study and met with a
number of cellar service providers for constructing cell phone towers on the
reservation. The Committee became more informed about the numerous
regulations, cell phone frequency licensing, and available “air space.” The crucial disadvantage of having major
cell phone companies like Version or T-Mobil, or even smaller local
cooperatives like Mid-Rivers Co-op or Chinook Wireless, to construct cell
phone towers for the Tribe is that these particular companies would not
provide service for the entire reservation.
They would only erect towers along the Highway 212 corridor. The reason for putting towers along Highway
212 is clear, it is to profit from “roaming” charges of passersby or
truckers. Profits are usually the
primary motive for such companies to build towers in rural Another major
drawback in working with these wireless providers is that the Tribe would not
benefit from the millions of dollars given by the Federal Communication
Commission (FCC) for subsidized programs that service low-income
costumers. Such programs allow
low-income costumers to make monthly payments for cell phone service at rates
as low as $1 per month. The FCC’s main
role is to enforce federal laws and endorse the notion that every American
Citizen is guaranteed basic telephone service. The Tribe was given the choice to between a
“quick fix” solution for cell phone service, which would take 18 to 24 months
to construct by a non-Indian company who would receive most of the financial
benefits and ultimately limit the Tribe’s sovereignty, or a true
“sustainable” economic development goal for attaining total tribal ownership
and receiving full financial benefits that would take a period of 2 to 3
years to complete. Is it worth the wait? The Tribe believes
it is worth waiting for because the advantages of tribal ownership far
outweigh any quick fix solution’s disadvantages. Moreover, the Tribe is confident that with
the completed feasibility study, potential project financers will help
expedite the development phases which would accelerate tower construction to
within 18 months. In order to ensure
the Tribe is tapping every resource available for the project, the Tribal
Council authorized TICOMM to submit an ANA Grant proposal for 1.2 million
dollars on March 20th, 2006 for the predevelopment and construction of the
wireless telecommunication project.
The Tribe will be notified later in August 2006 on whether the
proposal was successful in securing the much needed funding or not. Tribal
Report of the |
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Court Talk Judge John J. Robinson [Northern Exciting changes are underway
at the Court. The Tribal Council exercised its lawful authority by reassigning
Judge Maria Russell-Bigfire as Trial Judge, and
appointing me as Chief Trial Judge. My goal is for the Court to gain the
trust and respect of our It will not happen overnight.
Some of the immediate steps taken have been a reorganization of the internal
Court procedures with emphasis on realignment and clarification of staff
duties, staff training, and staff accountability. All cases are under review
with hearing and trial dates being put on the calendar. If you have a case
pending before the Court and have not heard from the Court, please contact
either Roni Rae Brady for juvenile and civil
matters, or Keisha Howe for criminal matters. New policies are being
implemented almost daily. In response to concerns of the community, tougher
sentencing is in place for persons convicted of driving while intoxicated,
drug abuse, and crimes of violence. Our Court will take every precaution to
decrease the risk of injury, death, or property loss of the innocent victims
of these crimes. Tougher sentencing also gives the drug or alcohol abuser a
greater incentive to seek treatment. Probation will not be a
consideration unless the crime committed is a first offense and the probation
officers make the decision that the person convicted may be rehabilitated.
The Court is very fortunate to have hired Danetta
Fisher and Brandi Bends in the Probation Department. Danetta
is establishing a Court Social Worker position, and Brandi has accepted the
Juvenile Probation Officer. Joseph Weaselbear
remains the Adult Probation Officer and the line supervisor for the Probation
Department. We have a proposal before the Tribal Administration to move the
Probation Department to the offices formerly occupied by Dennis Limberhand located across from the west entrance to the
tribal office. If
you are on probation and are not in compliance with the terms of your
probation, you need to contact your probation officer immediately. The
probation officers and prosecutors are adhering to the new policy that if a
probationer is not in compliance, a motion to violate the probation will be
filed and a Judge will issue a Bench Warrant. During the last year and a
half, the number of probationers rose to an incredible 600 persons. This will
be reduced to a more manageable number of 25. If you owe a fine, this must be
paid and you may be eligible to enter into a payment plan. Other requirements
may be waived provided you have not re-offended since you were sentenced, or
you have performed an |
alternative
that is acceptable to the probation officers. A court administrative team
consisting of Clerk of Court Lucy Gardner, Deputy Clerk of Court Roni Rae Brady, and myself was
established in May. The purpose of the team is to divide the responsibilities
between program administration tasks and judicial tasks. The program
administration tasks are the primary responsibility of Lucy and myself, and the judicial tasks are the primary
responsibility of Roni Rae and myself. The
administrative tasks are the drafting of the budgets for FY 2007, monitoring
compliance with the FY 2006, and drafting proposals for other funding. Lucy,
Roberta Harris, and Danetta have been meeting
regularly seeking funding to replace the Circle Grant that will not be
refunded. If we are unable to locate new funding, we stand to lose our
probation department and the process server as of October 1, 2006. This would
be a tremendous blow to our ability to provide much needed services to the
Northern Cheyenne Reservation. The judicial tasks I share
with Roni Rae are called case management. This is a
system of receiving a filing such as a juvenile, criminal, or civil
complaint, or a petition, and developing a process whereby the case is
reviewed and acted upon in a timely manner. There are a multitude of tasks
that must be performed upon each case filed, and the deputy clerks must pay
painstaking attention to detail and accuracy. Roni
and I are providing ongoing and in-house training to Keisha and Gary
Sherman. We
have identified some goals for improvements, and a number of tasks to achieve
these goals. Some have already been accomplished, and other goals will be
achieved through the next months until October. By then, we will have set our
goals for 2007, and identified the corresponding tasks. Suggestions from the
community on how the Court system can be improved are welcome. Please put
your suggestion in writing and send it to me at Tribal Report of the |
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Editor’s Note: Leo Killsback [Tribal Report
Editor] Welcome to the Tribal
Report, June Issue, Volume 1, No. 7.
As you may have noticed the Tribal Report has gone through some format
changes. We have a new email address, but
the mailing address and phone number are the same. We are still located in the same area at
the |
Tribal Report of
the |
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