Montana Tribes issue statement against Initiative 147 (cyanide leach mining), October 30, 2004

International Indian Treaty Council

CONSEJO INTERNACIONAL DE TRATADOS INDIOS

	“WORKING FOR THE RIGHTS AND RECOGNITION OF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES"

Tribes issue statement against Initiative 147

By Tim Leeds/Havre Daily News/tleeds@havredailynews.com
Oct. 29, 2004

http://www.havredailynews.com/articles/2004/10/29/local_headlines/tribes.txt

The governments of Rocky Boy's and Fort Belknap Indian reservations are
asking people across Montana to oppose an initiative that would restore cyanide
heap-leach mining in the state.

The Fort Belknap Indian Community Council sent a letter to the governments of
the other six Indian reservations in the state asking them to oppose I-147,
which seeks to overturn an initiative passed in the 1990s that banned cyanide
mining.
The Rocky Boy tribal council last week approved a resolution stating its
opposition to the initiative.

"We just wanted to let it be known that we have firm support for our fellow
tribe over there," Rocky Boy council member Jonathan Windy Boy said today. "The
devastation they have is tremendous."

Supporters of the initiative say technology allows the use of cyanide to
extract minerals from ore without damaging the environment, and that the
initiative includes strict regulations to protect the environment.

Opponents say the initiative includes no new environmental-protection
provisions.

The tribal government at Fort Belknap has sued the state over its plan to
clean up the Zortman-Landusky mines adjacent to the reservation's southern
border, saying the state's plan will not adequately reduce the danger contaminated
water at the cyanide heap-leach mine poses to the reservation.

Julie King Kulbeck, secretary treasurer of the Fort Belknap tribal council,
said the council hopes its stance also persuades people outside of the
reservations to oppose the initiative.