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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Tribe Seeks Way To Clarify Authority Nez Perce Want To Meet With Batt Over Jurisdiction Disputes

Associated Press

More than three months after Gov. Phil Batt tried to ease the friction between the Nez Perce Indians and local governments, a tribal leader says some other solution is needed.

Tribal Executive Committee Chairman Samuel Penney said Nez Perce leaders want to meet separately with Batt when he gathers with the state’s tribes in the next month.

The problem arises from 24 government entities banded together as the North Central Idaho Jurisdictional Alliance to attack the jurisdiction of the tribe and reservation boundaries, he said.

Penney pointed out the state attorney general’s office filed a friend-of-the-court brief in a Nez Perce County case to support the alliance.

Batt has distanced himself from the attorney general office’s action. The case, which could have settled the jurisdictional issue, was wrapped up out of court.

Deputy Attorney General Clive Strong said his office intervened to protect the state’s interests in the event the Idaho Supreme Court hears the case.

“This issue is polarizing communities,” Penney wrote in a Monday letter to Batt. “We need to pursue mediation or some other type of settlement to this problem to avert this ever-growing problem.”

In January, Batt convened a meeting between tribal and local governments who agreed it opened a door for more communication.

Penney also would like to discuss the negotiations over returning the Idaho Lottery to the reservation. The lottery pulled all its machines from 29 reservation outlets three years ago after negotiations hit an impasse.

State Lottery Director Dennis Jackson in February assured the Nez Perce a new offer would be forthcoming, Penney said.

“Since that time, we have read press reports suggesting that this issue will be thrown into the gaming committee mix, even though an amendment to the lottery statute was passed by the Legislature to allow the sharing of revenues with tribes.”

Batt believes a high-profile discussion of the lottery would complicate the work of the committee studying gaming, said Batt’s spokesman, Frank Lockwood.