Elaine Willman. Photo from Village of Hobart, Wisconsin
After years of antagonizing the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, a leading figure in the anti-Indian movement has moved to Montana to focus on a new target. Elaine Willman was the director of community development and tribal affairs for the Village of Hobart. She spent the last seven years fighting the Oneidas on land-into-trust, taxation, jurisdiction and sovereignty issues, losing basically every battle. The Oneidas can rest easy now that Willman has resigned her position. But now she's moved to the Flathead Reservation to fight the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, The Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights reported. More specifically, Willman is fighting a water compact that the state finally approved in June after years of debate. The agreement is controversial among conservative Republicans and non-Indians who live on and near the reservation. The deal awaits Congressional ratification. "I so seriously believe this peril is a fight worth fighting that I have walked away from an excellent employer and moved my family, household, and consulting business to Ronan, Montana," Willman wrote in July. The compact will be discussed at a conference of the Citizens Equal Rights Alliance in Kalispell on Saturday, The Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights. Willman serves on the board of the anti-Indian group, which claims that federal Indian policy is illegal and racist. Incidentally, Willman claims "direct Cherokee" ancestry. She is not a member of any of the three federally-recognized Cherokee tribes. Get the Story:
Anti-Indian Escalation in Montana (Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights 9/17)
"Anti-Indian" group puts water compact on conference agenda (The Missoula Independent 9/17)
“The Revolutionary War for Citizens of Montana” (Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights 9/10)
CSKT to File Water Claims While Compact Awaits Congressional Approval (The Flathead Beacon 6/18) Also Today:
Plaintiffs defend challenge to dam sale (The Daily Inter Lake 9/20) Some Opinions:
Rachel Carrol Rivas and Chuck Tanner: Say no to anti-Indian bigotry (The Missoulian 9/21)
Gary Krueger: Misrepresenting the Water Compact (The Flathead Beacon 9/19)
Related Stories
Montana tribe takes control of dam within reservation boundary (9/9)Village sues DOI over Oneida Nation land-into-trust documents (3/3)
Supreme Court won't hear suit over fees on Oneida Nation land (5/27)
7th Circuit blocks village from imposing fees on Oneida Nation (10/23)
Opinion: Tribes exploit loopholes in America's political system (10/23)
Village debates appeal after losing Oneida Nation taxation case (9/7)
Oneida Nation wins lawsuit over local taxation of trust property (9/6)
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