Clara Caufield
Northern Cheyenne coal: Some oppose, some support, but many are in the middle
By Clara Caufield
A Cheyenne Voice As explained in earlier segments, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe in Montana has long debated potential development of its rich coal reserves (considered by many experts to be some of the best in the country.) Some tribal members strongly oppose potential development because of cultural and traditional values; others, employed by industry and their relatives strongly support development because of job opportunities. And, other tribal members are in the middle. A decision about such development will perhaps soon be decided by a Referendum vote, a measure urged by popularly elected Tribal President Llevando “Cowboy” Fisher. “We need to let the People speak” he said in a recent statement to the Surface Transportation Board, in charge of decisions related to the controversial and proposed Tongue River Railway which would move local coal reserves. “Until the people decide via the ballot box, the Tribe takes no position on the railroad, no matter what you have been told” he formally advised the Board. If we develop our own coal, we will need a way to move it to markets. The exact date of the proposed tribal referendum vote must be established by a majority vote of the Tribal Council. Fisher will pose that question to the Council in April, confident it will pass. He suggests a referendum vote in the spring of 2014. The Surface Transportation Board is in charge of the proposed Tongue River Railroad which would transport coal from Otter Creek, one of the largest potential surface coal mines in North America, located on the border of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. The Northern Cheyenne Tribe is party to an agreement with the Montana Land Board supporting development of the Otter Creek Coal Mine. Under that, the Tribe stands to gain employment, training, contracting preference and royalties in an effort modeled after agreements the Tribe gained in the 1980’s with Montana Power and Western Energy in Colstrip to settle issues related to environmental monitoring, employment and other impacts of the Colstrip coal development and electrical power generation. The current Otter Creek development proposal was ratified by a tribal referendum vote, approved by the Tribal Council, confirmed by the Montana Land Board based upon the support of major corporate developers and the Northern Cheyenne. Development of the Otter Creek coal reserves would guarantee employment opportunities for Cheyenne tribal members and reap other financial gains to the Tribe. The Otter Creek notion once again raises the question of tribal coal development located next to those reserves. Such development could only occur with permission from tribal members. Some such as Homer Limpy (descendant of the esteemed Limpy, warrior at the Battle of the Little Big Horn) ask: “Why do we have to vote again? We voted for coal development in 2006.” Homer refers to a 2006 vote where tribal members were polled on two questions: Do you favor coal development or coal bed methane? The majority voted in favor of coal development, but declined coal bed methane. But, under the administration of then Tribal President Geri Small, tribal lawyers determined that the 2006 vote did not count because it was not properly conducted, even under their watch. “It was only an opinion vote” opponents and the anti-development folks say. Back to history: In the 1960’s the Tribe convinced Congress to cancel massive coal leases on the Reservation then guided by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and won a Supreme Court case (Hollowbreast) in the 1970’s making it clear that the Tribe, rather than individual allottees, owns and controls all reservation mineral rights. Also during that time the Tribe became surrounded by area coal development, including the neighboring Crow Tribe, Decker coal mines and Colstrip. The Tribe has since been the major “hold-out” for development. In the 1970’s the Tribe assembled a group of scientists (the Northern Cheyenne Research Project) to gather information about tribal resources, serving tribal decision makers. Thus, the Tribe had amassed significant data regarding its resources, including air quality. On August 5, 1977, that scientific research and information enabled the Northern Cheyenne Tribe to become the first entity (the very first) in the United States to gain Class 1 Air Status from the Environmental Protection Agency. Under the first EPA Class I Air Act, certain areas, significant large land-based National Parks and Wilderness Areas such as Yellowstone, Glacier and the Teton Wilderness, were mandated by Congress as automatically eligible for Class 1 Air. The burden of proof for other areas to gain Class 1 Air rested upon other areas, such as the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. “The Tribe’s case involved a lot of documentation and public hearings,” said Jay Littlewolf who has been involved in Northern Cheyenne Air Quality monitoring for 25 years. Littlewolf also explained the details of the collaborative tribal and corporate air monitoring effort. He corrected an earlier assumption presented in the last part of this series which purported there were four levels of initial Air Quality. “In the 1970’s” Jay said “the Environmental Protection Agency declared that the entire United States had Class 2 Air. They anticipated a third level for degraded areas such as Los Angeles or Detroit, but never did that. Congress mandated that certain areas, such as larger National Parks and Wilderness Areas would automatically receive Class 1 Air and set a deadline to declare that. “We beat that deadline by gaining Class 1 Air Status two days before that took effect,” Littlewolf confirmed. Littlewolf also proudly notes. “That put the Tribe in the driver’s seat to negotiate with the coal developers at Colstrip regarding air quality.” “I think about six other Tribes in the Nation (including two in Montana) have followed our example by getting Class 1 Air Status” Jay noted, “But I still believe that Northern Cheyenne has one of the most comprehensive Air Quality Monitoring system in North America.” In the next issue, look for details about how the MPC/Northern Cheyenne Agreement enabled hundreds of Cheyenne to get trained, go to work at Colstrip, earning good wages and thereby transform the lives of their many dependents. Details of the Northern Cheyenne Air Quality Monitoring Project and other aspects of the Agreement will be included in the next installment of this series. (Clara Caufield can be reached at acheyennevoice@gmail.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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