ment. Meanwhile, the site turns ….
ment. Meanwhile, the site turns the complaints over to county health departments.
Tribal nations have the power to invoke emergency rules on reservations, but enforcement is another issue, even as Native Americans in Montana face disproportionately high rates of COVID hospitalizations and deaths. Some have taken steps to isolate their communities, such as Blackfeet Nation leaders’ decision to close their border with Glacier National Park. But that’s not so easy on some reservations. For instance, the Flathead Reservation overlaps four counties, and members of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes are in the minority.
“It’s unfortunate, because we as the Flathead Nation don’t have that ultimate authority in enforcement,” said Tribal Council Chair Shelly Fyant. “So we’re trying to appeal to people’s hearts from a cultural perspective.”
The tribal nation has focused its efforts on a campaign to use music, art and videos to sway people to wear a mask for the protection of those vulnerable to a risky COVID infection, especially elders.
Flathead County Attorney Travis Ahner said he hasn’t sought injunctions against businesses yet because he hasn’t seen proof that a store’s lack of mask use led to COVID cases. The mask mandate is intended to reduce spread, however, not penalize those who cause cases after the fact.
The Flathead County District Court denied the state’s request for temporary restraining orders ahead of court hearings for the businesses that allegedly overlooked mask mandates. Ahner said that shows state enforcement isn’t as simple as the governor saying he made a rule and everyone needs to follow it. Legal experts across the nation have said states have the authority to take public health emergency actions. Some of the Flathead cases are scheduled for hearings this month. Whitefish, a destination ski town in Flathead County, didn’t want to wait and see whether the state or county would force businesses into line. The city council approved a temporary order tightening COVID restrictions over the Halloween weekend to prevent superspreader events. That created a way for the city to issue fines of up to $500 for businesses out of compliance.
“This has been pushed into our laps,” said city council member Steve Qunell. “It’s our turn to take leadership on this.” But the city has yet to pass long-term rules to keep that power as it continues to weigh how to take on what much of the state hasn’t figured out.
