Flying Finns
Ecosystem Management and Tribal Self-Government on the Flathead Indian Reservation, Montana
Nestled next to the Mission Range of the Rocky Mountains in western Montana, is the Flathead Indian Reservation, home to three Confederated Indian Tribes: Salish, Pend d’Oreille, and the Kootenai (CSKT). Today there are over 7,012 enrolled members of which about 4,545 reside on the reservation. In 1855, our leaders were forced to negotiate the Treaty of Hellgate. This established a 1.314 million acre reservation for the exclusive use and benefit of the CSKT. In the early era several historical events, including allotments and homesteading, resulted in over one million acres of reserved lands leaving trust status. Since 1935, the CSKT strived to regain its reservation. Today we are proud to report that approximately 61% of the land base within the exterior boundaries of the Flathead Indian Reservation, are owned and managed by the Tribes.
A Brief History
Indian men over the age of 18 participated
in CCC development of the Flathead Indian
Reservation by building roads, telephones
lines, bridges, lookout towers, etc. Left
to right: Dave Mahseelah, Joe Antiste,
and Joe Couture, 1930s.
The Tribes understood that both Indian-lit and lightning fires shaped the forest. Here in the Northern Rockies, fire, more than any other factor except climate, shaped the structure of our forest. It determined the kinds and ages of trees, how close together they grew, and the number and types of openings that existed. These structural characteristics in turn, determined the kinds of plants and animals that lived here. The tribes also used fire to manage the forest where they lived. From the stories of elders, the historical accounts of early Europeans, and the finding of modern scientific research, we know that Indians have been purposefully burning in the area for at least 7,000 years (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes 2000).
Timber harvesting activities on the Flathead Indian Reservation began shortly after the signing of the Hellgate Treaty. These activities were limited only to the local Indians and the Catholic Jesuits. The priests built the sawmill and they and the Indians used the wood to build the missions (Historical Research Associates 1977).
The U.S. government played a key role in establishing forestry activities on the Reservation. While forestry projects escalated, the 1930s marked a turning point, when the Indians of the area began to see more employment in the logging industry. The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 motivated tribes to establish tribal governments in order for them to manage their own land. The CSKT were the first in the United States to approve a constitution and a corporate charter in 1935 (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes 1994).
While the Tribes were seeking to come into their own, the Tribes and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) had logged almost every accessible acre on the Reservation, especially during the 1940s and 1950s (S. McDonald 2003). It is important to understand that a great amount of high grading had a detrimental genetic impact on the structure of the forest. Moreover, because the logging was uncontrolled and unsupervised, there was extensive soil degradation, poor road locations, and theft (Corse 2004).
The Reservation forests of the 1960s and 70s needed repair (Corse 2004). A new forest management plan, in 1962, slowly began to change the face of forestry on the Reservation. They reaffirmed that the forest had more to offer than just timber products.
With the adoption of the Forest Management Plan in 2000, the Tribes have chosen to designate 236,013 acres of the total forested area of 459,408 acres as administratively available. Administratively available are forested lands which are actively managed. Other forested acre designations include 166,383 acres as administratively unavailable and 57,011 acres as administratively restricted. The area that is unavailable includes the Mission Mountain Wilderness (MMW), South Fork Primitive Area, Lower Flathead River Corridor, the Chief Cliff area, and the MMW Buffer Zone. This is a significant measure, because it “reflects the economic and cultural needs of the Salish and Kootenai people (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes 1993).” This meant that the Tribes felt so secure in their resource management beliefs that they were willing to forgo a portion of their revenue producing resources and preserve part of the “area’s natural conditions in perpetuity” (Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes 1993).
Indians of the area lit fewer fires after the 1880s. Since 1910, the policy has been to exclude fire altogether (except for a limited amount of prescribed burning). The fire exclusion policy, as well as logging and grazing practices have brought about drastic changes in forest structure and composition. Recently the tribes have written a Fire Management Plan to allow wildfires to burn for resource benefit, especially, since the basic precepts in the new Forest Management Plan acknowledge wildfire as an important ecosystem function.
Current Forest Management
It is essential to understand that managing Tribal lands is different than managing Forest Service or National Park lands. Tribal lands are held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the CSKT; they are not public lands. Management of these lands is performed under requirement of 25 CFR 163 and the laws and regulations of the CSKT. The CSKT establishes objectives for forest management which reflect an ecosystem perspective.
In 1995, the CSKT Forestry Department compacted with the federal government under PL 93-638. This allowed for the Tribes to play the leading role in forest management decisions on their land. The Forest Management Plan (FMP) of 2000, the first management plan written since the self-governance compact, is one method the Tribes will employ to secure their sovereignty.
Currently, the forest management plan is focused on ecosystem management and a modified restoration approach. Forestry activities are driven by forest health concerns, forest stand structural characteristics and goals, and fire regimes for each of the identified landscapes. The forest management plan also includes a cultural, community, and ecological tone. Whereas previous forest management plans focused primarily on timber values. Because ecosystem management is a fairly new concept compared to past forest management plans, the Tribes are formulating their perception as to how this management strategy is most suitable for their land, culture, and People. Because past forest management activities were focused on timber production, the relationship with the Tribal community was less than ideal. However, the Tribal Forestry Department recognizes that they are managers of Indian resources, and they are striving to improve these relationships.
Early logging on the Flathead Indian
Reservation. Left to right: Unknown
non-Indian man, Joe
Antiste, and Phillip Kallowat, 1930s.
Community-based Ecosystem Management
In 2003, the CSKT Forestry Department began a community-based ecosystem management project with the Salish-Pend d’Oreille Elder Council, and the Kootenai Elders Council. The Tribal Forestry Department understands the importance of involving not only the issues of natural resource management, but also includes deliberate attention to the tribal cultural view when dealing with projects on Reservation lands. In the beginning of the project, the working groups determined there was a cultural gap. While the elders’ time-honored points-ofview of the forest were unclear to the Forestry Staff, the technical jargon from the Forestry Program baffled the elders. The goals of the program were to improve the understanding and create dialog about the Tribes’ unique cultural perspective on the management of the environment. Therefore, the Forestry Department chose the elders councils, as two intact groups representing a wide array of viewpoints of the forest and the Tribal community, as their allies in order to attain landscape management goals.
Parts of the Flathead Indian Reservation Forest Management Plan (2000) were translated into the Salish and Kootenai languages. Native place names of proposed logging units were also identified. This project was intended to narrow the cultural gap between the Culture Committees and the Forestry Department. Through this work, elders of both the Salish-Pend d’Oreille Elders’ Council and the Kootenai Elders’ Council have depicted a unique viewpoint of the forest. Through each of the different languages and their literal translations, images of particular areas on the Flathead Reservation are portrayed in considerable detail. All of the translations relate to an aspect of nature. Some of the place names refer to what grows there: the “structure” of the trees, geological formations, animals in that area, and there are also incidents or names of people associated with the areas. This suggests that language is an important praxis in understanding nature from the Native American viewpoint.
As the project progressed, the Forestry staff and the elders’ councils began visiting Reservation landscapes. The Forestry staff used this opportunity to inform the elders of their plans and gain cultural input. This also dispelled any hearsay regarding controversial forest activities on the Flathead Indian Reservation. The elders also hosted field trips sharing areas of cultural significance allowing the Forestry staff the tools to adjust their implementation of ecosystem management. The working groups certainly gained an improved understanding of critical issues by all groups. This project also instilled better planning and management decisions.
The CSKT have recognized these issues in their homeland, and they have asserted their sovereignty and self-governance in many ways. Self-governing the Reservation forests is quickly becoming another victory. As the CSKT develop their rules and regulations for guiding decisions concerning natural resources, they are realizing the importance of inviting the Reservation citizens to become involved in these processes. They have also developed a working process by acknowledging the importance of balancing cultural, spiritual, economic, social, and environmental values in managing the health of the forests on the Reservation through the Forest Management Plan.
References:
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes 2000. Flathead Indian Reservation Forest Management Plan. Pablo, Montana.
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes 1994. Flathead Reservation Comprehensive Resources Plan: Existing Conditions, Volume I. Pablo, Montana.
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes 1993, Wilderness Buffer Zone Management Plan. Pablo, Montana. Corse, Tom. 2004, Personal communication.
Historical Research Associates 1977. Timber, tribes, and trust: a history of forest management on the Flathead Indian Reservation, Montana, 1855-1975. Missoula Montana.
McDonald, Steve 2003, Personal interview.
Jim Durglo
Forest Manager, Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
human need to use natural resources is fundamental to our continued presence on earth."