Feds object to $380 million Crow Tribe land bill

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By The Associated Press

Story Published: May 15, 2008 at 11:01 AM MST

Story Updated: May 15, 2008 at 11:01 AM MST

BILLINGS - The head of the Bureau of Indian Affairs says he opposes a Congressional measure that would loan Montana's Crow Tribe $380 million to consolidate land on the reservation.

The tribe owns less than a quarter of its 2.2 million acre reservation along the Montana-Wyoming border. The rest is owned by individuals, including 700,000 acres by non-Indians.

A bill introduced last year by Montana's Democratic U.S. senators, Max Baucus and Jon Tester, would loan the tribe money to purchase non-tribal land and put it into a trust. The land could then be put to use for agriculture or other purposes that would generate tribal revenue.

But Indian Affairs Director Jerold Gidner told a Senate panel Thursday that his agency is concerned about the size of the loan and who would pay for property appraisals.

Sunday, May 18 at 12:08 PM Lila Taylor wrote ...

Reservation land should be owned by Natives only, as Europeans and Asians at times cause trouble for Natives. This land was set aside for Natives many years ago..and should stay as Native land controlled by the tribes as assigned to them. They need rangeland for their own cattle, sheep and horses, as well as for their homes. Natives also need nursing homes on reservations for their elderly people. And the BIA offices need to increase Natives income, as so many of them are living in poverty.

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