A view of the Crow Reservation in Montana. Photo from Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Crow Tribe of Montana saw a dramatic decline in coal revenues, prompting extended furloughs for a number of its employees. The tribe was expecting as much as $2.8 million in royalty payments but ended up receiving just $1.6 million, The Billings Gazette reported. Without that money, the tribe had to put some employees out of work and they might not be able to return for five months or even longer, the paper said. “That’s what our attorney advised us to do so we don’t sell ourselves or our employees short," Chairman Darrin Old Coyote told the paper. Coal prices have fallen so that contributed to the decline. But Old Coyote also blamed President Barack Obama -- who was adopted by a Crow family -- for instituting policies that he said have hurt the energy industry. The tribe depends on revenues from the Absaloka Mine and is seeking to open the Big Metal Mine. That development relies on approval of the controversial Gateway Pacific Terminal in Washington state. Get the Story:
Coal cocked: Crow Tribe furloughs might last 5 months (The Billings Gazette 1/26)
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