Dana Eaglefeathers, Busby District Chairman, inspects debris in unfinished Busby Community Center. Photo courtesy A Cheyenne Voice

Botched Community Center angers Northern Cheyenne
By Clara Caufield
Native Sun News Correspondent
www.nsweekly.com

BUSBY, Mont. –– Frustration about a long unfinished and botched community center recently fueled the re-election of new district officers in the small community of Busby, non-paid positions recognized under the tribal constitution.

Dana Eaglefeathers, new district chairman, stated “We have been ignored and overlooked by our tribe for years, victimized by political graft and corruption. That will not happen anymore. We intend to be heard.”

At the heart of the matter is the Busby community center project, financed by a grant from the Shakopee Tribe, tribal insurance monies and district funds, meant to replace a similar building which burned down more than twenty years ago, tribally insured but never replaced by the tribal government. In 2012, then Tribal Council member R.D. Bailey, put together a funding package of approximately $276,000 to build a steel building, including kitchen, bathrooms, bleachers and other amenities necessary for a community center which would be available for a variety of activities such as district meetings, youth sports, pow wows, handgames and family celebrations.

Started just before the primary election in 2012, it was an intended key in Bailey’s bid for re-election. He spear-headed the effort, gaining Tribal Council approval to sole-source the project to a tribal member owned firm, Small Construction, the owner Clayton Small Jr. not available to comment on this article, spending winters in Arizona. Neither was Bailey available for comment.

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(Clara Caufield can be reached at acheyennevoice@gmail.com)

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