County official in Montana brought up 'drunken Indians' in jails

Monday, November 25, 2013  

An official in Ravalli County, Montana, said law enforcement authorities complained about "drunken Indians" in the jail system, drawing a rebuke from a leader of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

Jan Wisniewski, the county's planning board chairman, used the slur at the end of a meeting where the tribe explained the significance of the Medicine Tree, a tribal sacred site.

"We are citizens of the United States," council member Steve Lozar said at the meeting, The Ravalli Republic reported. "We serve in the military at a higher rate than others. This is our homeland. I'm offended by those comments."

The county is opposing the tribe's land-into-trust application for the Medicine Tree.

Get the Story:
County discusses Medicine Tree plan (The Ravalli Republic 11/22)
Meeting About Tribal Land Ends with Slur (AP 11/24)

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes discuss sacred site (11/22)
BIA approves land-into-trust application for Montana tribe (06/26)
County challenges Salish and Kootenai Tribes land-into-trust (05/30)