<div>Char-Koosta NewsELMO — A group of over 30 people attended the first of three enrollment listening sessions on September 17. The meeting was closed to the media, but some who attended the meeting were willing to anonymously share their comments and concerns after the meeting. Many expressed concern that there wasn’t enough time to properly address the issue of enrollment. All agreed that opening enrollment to lineal descendants should not be an option. Some feel that enrollment doesn’t need to change while others are in favor of counting other Indian blood under certain circumstances. Another listening session was held in Pablo at the Arlee Charlo Theater at Salish Kootenai College on September 24. The last listening session is scheduled for October 1 at the Arlee Community Center from 1-4 p.m. CSKT employees may request a change of duty to attend. Although there are no answers for questions people have about enrollment, the listening session gives tribal members an opportunity to voice their concerns, express opinions, find solutions, and understand different perspectives regarding enrollment. <ul><li>“Personally, I don’t think we need to deal with it right now. I think we have a strong, healthy tribe, and I’m not sure if it’s because of rumors that our population’s declining, but I don’t see that. I think we’re okay. So we’ve never been told specifically why Council’s doing this, although there’s rumors, and I didn’t attend the first meeting. So it’s interesting. I think there’s a lot of options out there that the committee has brought out, and it’s been discussed. Not sure where it’s gonna go, but keep attending.” </li><li>“The committee has thought of several options, so we thought, well let’s go see what the people have to say. Maybe they are thinking of something we haven’t thought of. That’s what, to me, is the purpose, because we’ve been meeting and tossed everything around, and now we’re like, okay, maybe people have a lot of concerns and everybody on the committee wants it to be fair to everyone.” </li><li>“A lot of the Kootenai community are pretty much on the same page when it comes to this topic, and then we all recognize that this is something that’s going to be completed by December. So they’re going to have to rethink that.” </li><li>“It’s not going to just take a few meetings to get this situated. It’s not when it comes to the lives of the people on the reservation and our tribal membership and for generations to come. It’s not something that we should make a hasty decision about, and having three months is not something that’s going to happen.” </li><li>“The other good thing that I like about this is that everybody came to share their perspective. That’s what our people are about. That’s what we’re about. Listening to each other, learn from what they knew, what they remember, that’s always a good thing.” </li><li>“First and foremost, remember to put the culture first. I hope that the people that are doing this and are going to be making decisions, always lean on Nupika first. That’s who we have. That’s why we survive. That’s what we do, and that’s what we should do first as people.” </li><li>“This isn’t a discussion that had been just brought up. This has been a discussion since the beginning.” </li><li>“That lineal descendancy and split families is an option or a topic when it shouldn’t be because it was already voted down and it shouldn’t even be discussed or an option at this point.” </li><li>“I am for adding other Indian blood, as long as they were raised here and all they identify with is Kootenai or Salish. Those people that are from here feel it in their heart. They’re connected to the land, they’re connected to the water, they’re connected to the animals. You feel that deep sense of who you are in this community and how you help. And there’s a lot of people that don’t, and that’s what scares me, is that those people are going to get on the rolls and they’re going to destroy what little we have left.”</li></ul>The Enrollment Advisory Committee appointed by Council is studying the issue of enrollment with the study expected to conclude by December 1. Enrolled tribal members aged 18 and over are invited to submit written public comments until November 1. Comments must include full name, enrollment number, and current mailing address. Written comments that do not include the required information will be rejected. Comments may be mailed to CSKT Enrollment Advisory Committee ATTN: Jennifer Trahan, PO Box 278 Pablo, MT 59855; emailed to comments@cskt.org (include “Enrollment” in subject line), or dropped off at the tribal complex during normal business hours.</div>

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Enrollment Listening Sessions Give Tribal Members Opportunity to Voice Concerns

ELMO — A group of over 30 people attended the first of three enrollment listening sessions on September 17. The meeting was closed to the media, but some who attended the meeting were willing to anonymously share their comments and concerns after the meeting. Many expressed concern that there...