Historian

Tribe Proud to Send Nutritious Aid
by Jared Miller, Regional Reporter
Great Falls Tribune - 5 October 2005

FORT BELKNAP, MT — Nearly two tons of donated bison meat from Montana's Fort Belknap Indian tribes is finally on its way to hurricane evacuees and relief workers in Texas.

Volunteers loaded boxes of burger and steaks from 10 bison onto a refrigerated truck Tuesday night in Malta. Its destination is 2,300 miles away in Terrell, Texas.

The burger will help feed 380 to 400 evacuees of hurricanes Katrina and Rita who sought refuge in Terrell. Relief workers also will share the food.

Another 100 pounds of tenderloin steaks will be sold as part of a benefit dinner to raise money to cover relief costs, Terrell Tourism Director Sarah Kegerreis said. She expects the meat to arrive early next week.

"(Four) thousand pounds of meat is very significant and will certainly go a long ways to provide nutritious, healthy meals for people," Kegerreis said.

Getting the meat to this stage was no easy task.

Tribal leaders offered the bison from their private herd shortly after Hurricane Katrina made landfall in the Gulf Coast.

They watched media coverage of the vast devistation in the New Orleans area and knew they had to act, said Janice Hawley, coordinator of the tribes' efforts.

Located east of Havre on the Hi-Line, the Fort Belknap Reservation is home to the Fort Belknap Assiniboine and Gros Ventre tribes.

The tribes, which have their own stories about hunger and homelessness, were compelled to support the relief efforts, Hawley said. "We associated with the needs and the hurting of the people who were affected by the hurricane," Hawley said.

The link between Terrell and the reservatoin was established by two friends who live in the respective communities.

They stayed in touch as the hurricane unleashed its wrath on the Gulf Coast and eventually put tribal leaders in touch with the Terrell Chamber of Commerce, Kegerreis said.

The cash-strapped reservation, where unemployment and poverty rates are much higher than the rest of the state, had no money to offer, so tribal leaders opted to donate buffalo from its herd of 600 to 700 animals. Their efforts hit a snag when tribal officials couldn't find transportation for the meat.

Terrell Chamber of Commerce employee Danny Booth solved the problem when he used his connections to find a company willing to bankroll the shipment.

Dependable Auto Shippers of Mesquite, Texas, stepped forward with $1,300 to cover the bill.

The bison, which many tribal members consider sacred, were blessed in a pipe ceremony early last month.

Then they were slaughtered and butchered at the tribally owned meat packing plant in Malta.

About six volunteers spent five days processing and packaging the meat. A U. S. Department of Agriculture inspector was on hand during the work.

The meat will be stored at a Wal-Mart cold storage facility once it reaches Terrell.

A quick Internet search showed the price of ground bison at about $5 a pound. At that rate, the tribes' in-kind donation amounts to roughly $20,000.

Almost 700 evacuees initially fled to Terrell when Katrina hit. The town of 14,000 is six hours from New Orleans and 25 miles east of Dallas.

Many displaced families simply drove north from New Orleans until they found a hotel room or apartment. Another wave of evacuees arrived after Hurricane Rita smacked the coast.

Those who remain in Terrell today occupy about 43 apartments and 85 hotel and motel rooms. Many are expected to make Terrell their permanent home, Kegerreis said.

The Terrell Chamber of Commerce has served as a clearinghouse for local relief efforts. The chamber continues to furnish twice-daily meals to 150 to 200 people.

In addition to the bison meat, the Fort Belknap tribes donated clothing, schools supplies and hygiene products.

Tribal members who wanted to get involved also donated blood at a Sept. 21 blood drive, Hawley said.

Hawley acknowledged that the blood donations probably will never directly reach hurricane survivors.

But giving blood provided solace to those who wanted to help out but had no money to offer, she said.

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"Be good, be kind, help each other. Respect the ground, respect the drum, respect each other."
--Abe Conklin, Ponca/Osage (1926-1995)