Information


Name: Fort Belknap

Tribe: Assiniboine & Gros Ventre

Population: 3,115

Native: 94%

Counties: Blaine,
Phillips

Sheila Martin nods, glancing out the picture window down the mile of dirt road that leads to the store.

"There are three police officers that live in Hays," she says. "Why couldn't someone come? We're ready to quit. People don't understand that we're here for the community, but the community won't help us out."

"And the safety commission is a joke," Gerald Martin adds. "Nothing will change. Who's going to get fired? There aren't enough officers as it is."

Both police and citizens agree that law enforcement is severely understaffed and underfunded.

"There are 10 police officers, and two vacancies," Ironmaker says. "That's not adequate. We need to have 15 to 20 officers on the ground. Back in the '70s, we had 10 or 12 officers. Now there's more housing, but the law enforcement budget never did go up." In fact, budgets have gone down in recent years.

The BIA gives each reservation an allocation based on its size and population. But after the Sept. 11 attacks, reservations across Montana began receiving fewer resources, and as a result departments are cutting staff and reducing wages—regardless of whether the employee is a police chief or a rookie.

"Since the war, our BIA funds have decreased by roughly $200,000 to $400,000," Dionne says. "It's a lot. Think about what we could be doing with that."

After working for more than 17 years, Dionne made $12.50 an hour. The police chief ccouldn't afford to cut himself anything more than that, because there isn't enough in the $1,047,386 yearly budget.

"If we're expected to be out there and provide top service to our community, then our officers need to get paid more," Dionne says.

And although there are three officers living in Hays, Dionne says he doesn't call them to a scene unless they're dealing with a gun or rape case. The salary is one reason; the lack of manpower is another.

"That's why it took me so long to get out to Martin's Grocery," the police chief adds. "I was the only one on duty, and the officers I'd sent home to rest had been working for upwards of 36 hours. Of course I'm not going to get them up to take that call."

Salaries and staff numbers aren't the only things taking a hit.

Fort Belknap can't afford to open its new jail, an almost $2 million facility. They're short more than $600,000 in a budget for staff, food, and jail supplies.

The current jail has eight cells and houses 16 inmates.

"Sometimes we have 20 people in there though," Clerk and Recorder Cheryl Hansen says.

Hansen doesn't know if or when the BIA will come through with enough money to turn the new jail into a working facility. She hopes soon, particularly because as crime rates rise, so does the need for more holding space.

The spike in crime is being attributed to many factors—higher use of drugs and alcohol, the recession, and juvenile delinquency.