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Anchor: Antonia Gonzales
Lake County commissioners Monday proposed an ordinance to withdraw from an agreement to provide law enforcement services on the Flathead Reservation.
Montana Public Radio’s Aaron Bolton has more.
The state, Lake County, and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes opted into the federal law known as Public Law 280 in the 1960s.
The law requires Lake County to provide law enforcement services on the reservation, but county commissioners say the state isn’t paying for the cost of those services, estimated at $4 million annually.
The Lake County commissioners’ resolution says their attempts to get the state to pay for those costs have fallen on “deaf ears”.
In a statement, Gov. Greg Gianforte (R-MT) spokesperson Brooke Stroyke says the governor’s office has tried to help the county find solutions, but wrote “The legislature, not the governor, has the authority to fund PL 280.”
Gianforte signed a bill passed by the state Legislature in 2021 to reimburse Lake County for law enforcement costs under PL 280. The bill appropriated $1 for that reimbursement.
That bill also allowed Lake County to withdraw consent to enforce criminal jurisdiction on behalf of the state.
Lake County Commissioners say local taxpayers can’t afford to pay for the law enforcement services and that the county will withdraw from the agreement early next year, forcing the state to pick up the work.
The county will take public comment on the resolution January 3 before officially voting on the measure.
CSKT spokesperson Shane Morigeau said the tribes decline to comment on the matter.
By Jill Fratis, KNBA News
The film “The Wind and the Reckoning” was one of the highlights at this year’s Anchorage International Film Festival, where it won first place in the narrative feature category.
The film has been recognized for its authentic portrayal of Native Hawaiians.
It’s set in the 1800s just as colonialists overthrow the queen and take control of the land.
“The Wind and the Reckoning” takes place in the height of a leprosy outbreak, when Hawaiians suspected of having the disease are banished and forced to separate from their families.
The film’s based on a true story about a rebellion against the provisional government – one that’s not well known, even among Hawaiians.
Stuart Featheran plays Paoa, one of the Hawaiians who was arrested by the government. He says it’s a story about love, strength, and a passion for justice – and for him, the movie is more than playing a role, but a responsibility to share the story.
“It’s even deeper than that. As well as it’s like our duty. Like we have to do this. And it just grows deeper and deeper with us.”
Featheran says the movie is an immersion experience in Hawaiian language, history and culture.
“The Wind and the Reckoning” has won numerous awards for its cinematography and storytelling.
At the San Diego film festival, it was selected as the “Audience’s Choice.”
An Indigenous language that has been suppressed by the British government for the past three centuries is now legal, following approval by King Charles this month.
Seo McPolin reports from Dublin, Ireland.
The Identity and Language Bill was negotiated by the Irish and British governments two years ago, but it wasn’t approved until this month by royal assent.
For the first time in history, the Gaelic language now has official status in Northern Ireland, the six counties controlled by the UK.
The bill also repealed a 1737 law which banned the use of Irish in British courts.
The next step is implementation through the appointment of two commissioners, one for the Irish version of Gaelic and the other for its Scottish counterpart.
A longtime language activist called the new law “historic” and said Gaelic’s community of speakers have been discriminated against and marginalized.
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