Bill Targets State-Tribe Relations Proposal Would Set Up Permanent Council

Idaho’s Indian tribes and the state need strong, open communication on the issues they face together.

That’s the premise behind a bill that the House State Affairs Committee agreed Tuesday to introduce.

In the works for a year, the measure would give Idaho its first, permanent Council on Indian Affairs, with representation from each of the state’s five tribes, the Legislature and the governor.

“I think it’s a good move,” said Jaime Pinkham, a member of the Nez Perce Tribe’s executive committee. “One of the things we’ve always wanted to do is elevate the relationship between the state Legislature and the tribes, and this is the forum to help do that.”

No one on the 21-member State Affairs Committee objected to the idea, which was proposed by the Nez Perce and Coeur d’Alene tribes, with input from other tribes.

For the past four years, tribes met regularly with former Gov. Phil Batt to air state-tribal issues, opening what many called a new era in state-tribal relations in Idaho. The improved relations came despite high-profile legal conflicts between the state and tribes over gambling, ownership of Lake Coeur d’Alene and jurisdictional questions.

Gov. Dirk Kempthorne has pledged to continue the close relationship Batt forged with the tribes, and he invited tribal representatives to his office for a ceremony the day of his inauguration.

The proposed new council would meet at least twice a year. Its membership would include two senators and two representatives, which along with a governor’s appointee, would balance the group 5-5 between tribes and the state.

“So you could probably expect there wouldn’t be majority votes coming out unless there was pretty broad agreement,” David Kerrick, a former state senator who’s now the lobbyist for the Nez Perce, told the committee.

The council’s only power would be advisory, Kerrick said. Ideally, any legislation that might be proposed regarding Indian tribes would be referred to the council for review before it came to the Legislature.

“The intent is to create good will and facilitate good dialogue between state government and tribal governments,” he said. Bill Roden, a former legislator and longtime lobbyist, attended the meeting in support of the bill, on behalf of the Coeur d’Alenes.

Rep. Jeff Alltus, R-Hayden, proposed several minor wording changes in the bill but said he liked the concept.

“We have to treat them (tribes) as a sovereign nation within our borders,” he said. “If Japan were within our borders, we would certainly have a council to talk about what Japan needed done.”

“To open up the dialogue I think is really good,” Alltus said.

Kerrick said he was encouraged by the committee’s receptiveness to the idea of the new council. It would not be worth pursuing, he said, unless lawmakers want to do it.

Rep. John Campbell, R-Sandpoint, said he hopes the council won’t evolve into some type of “super-oversight” group with regulatory powers. But, he said, “I have no problem with the concept.”