Page 23 - Flathead Reservation News Today

A ballot initiative seeking to allow landowners to hunt elk, deer and black bears on their property hit a setback Wednesday when the Environmental Quality Council voted not to support the measure.

The effort promotes “food sovereignty” for reservations and tribal members off reservation, and to reclaim aspects of Native American food and culture that flourished in North America for thousands of years before the arrival of European settlers.

Members of the Kootenai Tribe have spent decades and more than $500 million since the 1980s to restore fish populations in North Idaho, and despite pleas to lawmakers and mining

Many reservations are food deserts where prices are high and processed food is often easier to come by than fresh food.

A proposed ballot initiative that could have a broad impact to elk, deer and black bear hunting in Montana, particularly on tribal lands.

“You have my commitment that – no matter what happens going forward – if you call 911, we're coming,” Lake County Sheriff Don Bell said during a crowded meeting at the Lake County Courthouse last Thursday. “We don't care, frankly, who the bad guy is until we know everybody's safe,” he added.

Native American leaders see bison herds and ancestral gardens as ways to bring healthy eating to their people.

Currently, tribal sovereignty gives only tribal fish and wildlife agencies the authority to issue big game hunting licenses and regulate hunting within reservation boundaries.

A proposed ballot initiative that could have a broad impact to elk, deer and black bear hunting in Montana, particularly on tribal lands.

The state Environmental Quality Council voted Wednesday not to support a ballot initiative that, if it became law, would allow non-tribal members to hunt big game on private property inside