Governor Presents Tribal Flag To Fort Peck Board

Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte made an appearance during the Fort Peck tribal council meeting on Thursday, April 21.

His visit included returning the first Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux tribal flag to fly over the tribal flag plaza at the state capitol in Helena.

Gianforte explained the first tribal flags are being retired and returned to each of the reservations. New flags are taking the retired flags’ places.

“We are bringing the flags back to their homes,” Gianforte said.

Tribal chairman Floyd Azure said the flag will be showcased at the facility.

“We’re very happy to return your flag,” Gianforte said.

In addition, the governor announced that Fort Peck will receive $62,500 through the HEART fund to address addiction and mental health issues.

Introduced by the governor during his first week in office as a central component of his budget, the HEART Fund invests $25 million per year to provide for a full continuum of substance use prevention and treatment programs for communities. In addition to supporting nonprofits and NGOs that serve Montana’s urban, rural and tribal communities, the HEART Fund provides $500,000 in grants directly to Tribal Nations each year for substance use disorder prevention and treatment.

On Thursday, Gianforte joined Department of Public Health and Human Services director Adam Meier to announce the distribution of $500,000 to Montana’s eight Tribal Nations through the Healing and Ending Addiction Through Recovery and Treatment Fund.

“Acting with the urgency the drug crisis requires, we made a historic investment last year in substance abuse prevention and treatment programs through the HEART Fund. Rather than create bigger government, we designed the program to be community-led, because communities know their local needs best,” Gianforte said. “With these eight grants, the state is partnering with tribal nations to close gaps in treatment and prevention and help those combating addiction regain their health and rebuild their lives.”

Dale Fourbear, director of Fort Peck’s Spotted Bull Recovery Resource Center, said in a press release that he is eager to put this funding to use on the Fort Peck Reservation.

“We appreciate this funding, and we are committed to improving our chemical dependency/ behavioral health continuum of care,” Fourbear said. “This funding will be used to enhance our efforts in providing culturally-based and strength-based chemical dependency/behavioral health services in the areas of prevention, intervention, and support for the communities of the Fort Peck Tribes. There is much work ahead, but this is a great start and we’re grateful for this partnership to tackle such important issues.”