"As I looked out across the North Dakota prairie, a flare burned near an oil storage tank like hundreds of other well sites on or near the Fort Berthold Reservation. Lately, when I come home, oil-producing, well sites constantly remind me our reservation will never be the same.

I have a busy schedule as a full-time graduate student, majoring in environmental studies, law and creative non-fiction writing. Even so, I felt it was important to participate in the election for tribal chairman of the Three Affiliated Tribes. I boarded a train Saturday to make a 22-hour roundtrip to Fort Berthold where I plan to vote in Tuesday’s tribal election.

This particular election is one of the most important in the history the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation for several reasons, many which have been pointed out by chairman-candidate Whitney Bell, now senior accountant of the Three Affiliated Tribes. To begin: Unprecedented oil production on tribal lands requires smart leadership to maximize financial gains while also ensuring protection of the tribe’s natural resources. The oil revenue can — and should — be used to lift the tribe out of poverty and raise it into prosperity.

Our tribe needs smart, sound and trustworthy leadership to make this shift. The last two tribal administrations have failed in all these leadership categories. A 2009 financial statement audit shows the Three Affiliated Tribes is carrying nearly a $100 million debt. Bell, formerly the chief financial officer of the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, notes $76 million of the current debt is a carry-over from the Tex Hall administration.

The tribe’s debt load increased during the Marcus Levings’ administration and could have been paid down, considering the tribe has netted $70 million in oil taxes and revenues acquired in the last three years. The tribe is also earning at least $1.5 million in oil revenues monthly. Additionally, the tribe receives money through the Four Bears Casino. Finally, the tribe clears interest revenue from a multimillion-dollar Joint Tribal Advisory Committee, JTAC, trust fund that allows the tribe to fund essential tribal programs."

Get the Story:
Jodi Rave: Three Affiliated Tribes deserves a strong leader (Buffalo's Fire 9/20)

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