Central Montana Times

U.S. Senator Steve Daines, during a Senate Indian Affairs Committee hearing, emphasized the potential benefits of his bipartisan "Crow Tribe Water Settlements Amendments Act" for the Crow Tribe, energy security, and job creation.

Daines questioned Crow Chairman Frank White Clay on the bill's impact on the tribe. Chairman White Clay highlighted its critical importance for the community. Daines also advocated for his "Crow Revenue Act," which aims to support the tribe while allowing the Bull Mountains mine to continue operations.

Senator Daines stated: "Chairman White Clay, the Crow Tribe Water Settlement Amendments Act and the Crow Revenue Act both bolster tribal sovereignty, increase energy security and we both know fund much needed resources on the reservation. Could you explain to the committee why both of these bills need to be enacted this year and how they will affect access to services on the reservation?"

Chairman White Clay responded: "Thank you, Senator. Yes… it’s detrimental that we don’t have those bills in place. I mean, for the Crow tribe, this is a 10-year riddle. Clean water is a basic human right and to have all this funding and to not figure out how we can get water to every community. And to have to make that decision on which community doesn’t get water, that’s a decision no leader should make."

He added: "So, this bill would support all the communities getting clean water and the folks that live in the country would have clean drinking water."

Discussing the Crow Revenue Act, Chairman White Clay explained: "The Crow Revenue Act is a bill that basically keeps the tribe afloat for the next 10 years with the closure of one of our single sources revenue, which is the Absaloka mine. Our main customer shut down. We have no revenue coming in from coal… Which would completely replace it wholly… but it will make it viable for the tribe to find other sources of revenue and diversify our portfolio."

Chairman White Clay further elaborated on financial challenges faced by their community: "The Crow tribe didn’t get to participate in all government funding that came down because of a problem that we had with a Do Not Pay list that the tribe was unjustly put on. So, all good government money that was coming down and all grants...we weren’t available to participate in that."

He continued: "So, all services that we provide ourselves for social services—MMIW (Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women), Search and Rescue—the Crow Tribe is ground zero for MMIW right now...and that's done on general funds without federal grants."

"We are on a reimbursement basis meaning that, to get federal funds, we have to expend our own funds first," he concluded. "So, [the] Crow Revenue Act would actually give us some room to breathe on that [and] keep our head almost above water."

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