Buffalo's Fire » Iris Pretty Paint

Good tribal governance: Blackfeet Constitutional Reform Committee

Jodi Rave — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 16:55:52 +0000

I recently met with some members of the Blackfeet Tribe here in Missoula who are helping create a constitutional reform survey for the Blackfeet Nation. The survey for the nation is expected to be complete in a few weeks, according to Wendy Running Crane and Linda Juneau. Running Crane and Juneau are both members of the Blackfoot Project, an education think-tank working together for the good of the tribe.

Meanwhile, the tribe has created a Blackfeet Contstitutional Reform Committee (see link on Buffalos Fire home page) which is dedicated to the following principles:

* To educate the Blackfeet public about the constitution and how it relates to them.* To prompt the Blackfeet public to form ideas, views, and concepts of how they want the constitution to be.

* To provide the Blackfeet public with outlets to express their views, ideas, and concepts of the constitution.

* To encourage the Blackfeet public into participating through community meetings and other media outlets.

*To develop a new constitution or amendments through the Blackfeet publics views, ideas, and concepts.

* To have a secretarial election in order for the Blackfeet public to vote and approve/disapprove the changes to the constitution.

The BCRC marks a monumental step forward for the tribe to govern its people in way that is best for the people, a governance model that reflects Blackfeet values. I’ll keep readers posted on the tribe’s progress.

Jodi Rave

Indigenous perspective on higher ed: Blackfoot Project meets at Chief Mountain

Jodi Rave — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 21:55:34 +0000

Lightning flash upon Chief Mountain. Photo: Riley McClelland

Charlene Burns, Alvina Blood and Gertrude Heavy Runner (right) at the base of Chief Mountain on the Blackfeet A in Montana.

Jodi Rave and Tierra Rave at Chief Mountain on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana.

CHIEF MOUNTAIN, Mont. — On Wednesday, I joined members of the Blackfoot Project — a multifaceted group of Blackfeet tribe educators and leaders — at Chief Mountain on the Blackfeet Reservation. Dr. Iris Pretty Paint is leading the project, which aims to support students working towards master’s and Ph.d. programs. The project is being framed within an indigenous perspective of education. The Blackfoot group has been meeting for more than a year. I’m looking forward to blog more about the group in days to come because I believe the group is on the cutting edge of something quite spectacular. I expect universities around the country will be interested in learning how the Blackfoot Project is uniting indigenous thought with Western science in an academic setting. Since forming and setting group goals, the Blackfoot Project is already blossoming in a way no one imagined, said Pretty Paint. “It’s unethical to get people excited something and then do nothing,” she said. In this situation, no one is sitting around wondering what to do next.

Iris Pretty Paint (left), Lola Wippert and Carol and John Murray at Chief Mountain on the Blackfeet Reservation in Montana.

I visited with Pretty Paint after the one-day meeting at Chief Mountain. She told me the Blackfoot Project received $10,000 from Montana State University at Bozeman to research traumatic stress. Also, the Blackfeet constitutional review committee plans to award the Blackfoot Project a $10,000 grant to research a proposed amendment to the Blackfeet constitution, a change that would create a separation of powers between the executive, judicial and legislative branches of Blackfeet tribal government. At this point, the Blackfoot Project is emerging as a think-tank for the Blackfeet Nation. I think other tribes may be duplicating the project. The group will meet again Sept. 14-18. The group was originally formed to support the efforts of a group of Blackfeet members who wanted to earn their master’s or doctoral degrees as part of a greater vision to help their community.

Jodi Rave

Blackfoot Project moves forward

Jodi Rave — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 06:05:26 +0000

Dr. Iris Pretty Paint, a sociologist, continues to work with members of the Blackfoot Project, a group of professionals and cultural leaders working towards master’s and doctorate degrees. The group will meet Wednesday in Babb, Mont. near Glacier National Park. Here’s a video I made one year ago on the project when the group last met in Babb. Also, here’s a story I wrote about the Blackfoot Project, a project that could very well change the landscape of higher education by emphasizing Native belief systems.

I’ll be joining the group Wednesday. We will meet in Babb. And then we will go to Chief Mountain, a sacred site among the Blackfeet Tribe. Check in later. I plan to post some photos of the occasion.

Jodi Rave