Indian Council Affairs meeting.
By YVETTE TUELL
Tribal Policy Analyst
BOISE — The Indian Council on Indian Affairs (ICIA) had its 2019 Fall meeting at the Statehouse in Boise on Thursday, October 3.
The Council is comprised of state legislators and tribal leaders of the five tribes of Idaho and discussed a variety of issues from legislative issues, education issues, Medicaid expansion, and Missing and Murdered Indigenous People issues.
Tribal representatives include Coeur d’Alene Tribal Chairman Ernie Stensgar, Kootenai Tribal Chairman Gary Aitken, Jr., Nez Perce Tribal Chairman Shannon Wheeler, Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Chairman Ladd Edmo and Shoshone-Paiute Tribal Chairman Ted Howard. Legislators assigned to the ICIA include Sen. Jim Guthrie R-Inkom, Sen. Cherie Buckner-Webb D-Boise, Rep. Chris Abernathy D-Pocatello and Bobbi-Jo Meuleman, from the Governor’s Office. Elections were held for the Idaho Council on Indian Affairs (ICAI), with Sen. Guthrie continuing to be Chair, and FHBC Chairman Ladd Edmo was voted as the new Vice Chair.
Idaho Governor Brad Little addressed the Council by identifying his top priority education and literacy. He is seeking to find commonality in tribal issues, and is reaching out to the tribes to emphasize potential opportunities to retain our people in Idaho, for education and skilled employees. The goal is to create an environment in Idaho to keep our kids here in Idaho, and not have them leave for other states. He said there are several tribal representatives on his Task Force’s, including Education, Salmon Recovery, and Broadband. Governor Little said Tribal input is welcome to his office and that It is critical for tribes to indicate what we can do to improve.
Nez Perce Tribal Chairman Shannon Wheeler asked the Governor keep an open mind to salmon recovery in his work group discussions, as it is beneficial to have salmon return to Idaho’s waters. Coeur d’Alene Tribal Chairman Ernie Stensgar reported problems with local counties not recognizing CDA’s Tribal Identification cards. The Governor was not familiar with the issue, and committed to investigating the situation and will provide further response to the CDAs. Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Chairman Edmo asked for the Governor’s support for tribal economic development, education and cultural resource protections in the State.
Also on the agenda was a report on other state’s legislation on Missing Murdered Indigenous Women. After hearing about other state efforts, the ICIA directed that a task force to be established to address Missing and Murdered Indigenous people (MMIP) for the five Idaho tribes. The biggest problem is collecting local data on MMIP, which results in underreporting or no reporting. Membership of this Task Force should include: Tribal leaders, grassroot organization leaders, the Idaho Attorney General, Public Safety agencies, Sheriffs, social workers, Tribal police chiefs for both rural reservation and urban areas.
Idaho Governor’s representative Bobbie-Jo Meuleman, will work directly with state police and with the Department of Justice to share resources, to identity what data is available now. It was clear that additional information was necessary, to better educate the State Legislators on the problems of MMIP in Idaho, after a question was raised as to the need for this Task Force.
Other topics discussed included, Matt Wimmer, Medicaid Administrator, for the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare reported on tribal consultation efforts on proposed state amendments for Medicaid Expansion. Also reported were openings for the Idaho Historical Museum Foundation, Idaho State University Foundation Board, and the Northwest Nazareth College of Business, all of whom are seeking tribal representatives to sit on their boards.