Judge tosses out Salazar lawsuit
PABLO — Last week, a lawsuit that aimed to distribute 100 percent of the Salazar settlement to enrolled members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes was dismissed by a judge in tribal court.
A CSKT press release announcing the decision said that Judge BJ Jones determined that monies allocated through the settlement “were clearly not intended for individual tribal members, although nothing prevents the tribal government from making a decision to distribute that way.”
Jones wrote that, “[t]he Salazar settlement simply did not vest any individual tribal members with a legal right to demand any of the settlement proceeds.”
The dispute over the CSKT’s appropriation of the Salazar funds dates back to 2012, when the federal government reached a $1 billion settlement with 44 tribes over the mismanagement of natural resources and money held in trust for the tribes’ benefit. The CSKT tribal council voted to give half of their $150 million share to tribal members, who received $10,000 apiece in Sept. 2012. Since that time, how to spend the remaining $72 million has been the topic of heated debate.
The plaintiff in the dismissed case was a local organization called the People’s Voice, which has been actively seeking to have the full 100 percent of the Salazar windfall given to the tribes’ membership.
Despite the ruling, People’s Voice president Sharon Rosenbaum responded with a press release that indicated that the fight is not yet over, expressing hope that the four newly elected members of the tribal council could help shake things up.
“With the change of four new council members, we are hopeful that there will be better communication between the people and the tribal council,” the release stated.
Rosenbaum also noted that “nothing in this decision would prevent [the People’s Voice] and its members from seeking to challenge by referendum any future action of the [CSKT] to expend the balance of the Salazar settlement.”
Although the tribes have not yet determined how to spend the remainder of the Salazar payout, public meetings have helped to identify four potential areas of investment — care for the elderly, preservation of language, cultural programs and economic development.