Flathead flier paints economic, demographic picture

HELENA - The first-ever Flathead Reservation "Flier," which Gov. Schweitzer unveiled in late December along with similar brochures for the state's other tribes, contains a wealth of interesting facts about the area.

According to the one-page introduction, written by Michelle Robinson of the Montana Dept. of Labor and Industry (DLI) Commissioner's Office, most of the reservation's jobs are provided by the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, to the tune of more than 1,000 employees.

That, Robinson writes, translates to an average bi-weekly payroll of $1.3 million.

Salish Kootenai College has 345 employees, S&K Electronics has 105 employees, St. Luke's Hospital and Health Care Network has 308, St. Joseph's Hospital has 180, The New Jore comes in at 196 employees, Lake County Government has 204 employees, the reservation's public schools employ a total of 588 people, and S& K Technologies employs 243 (27 employees on the reservation and 216 employees worldwide, from Alaska to Iraq).

Put together by the DLI's Research and Analysis Bureau, the state department of commerce's Census and Economic Information Center, and the Governor's Office, the flier includes charts detailing annual local average wages and types of employment, the population according to age groups, income levels, occupations, labor force statistics, education levels, agricultural statistics, housing information, and population numbers for various areas of the reservation.

For example, in 2005 Lake County had a total population of 28,297. Of that, 6,656 are Native American, according to the flier. Between 2000 and 2005, the county's total number of residents increased by 1,790; during that same time period, the number of Native Americans living in Lake County increased by 350.

Local government is by far the biggest employer here, paying wages higher than any other industry. Next biggest, as far as number of people employed, are service fields such as hospitality, accommodations, food services, and drinking places.

The 1,244,000-acre Flathead Reservation, the fourth largest reservation in Montana, is home to 4,550 - or 64.5 percent - of the 7,052 enrolled Confederated Salish and Kootenai tribal members.

"The CSKT Department of Human Resources Development invests substantial funds in workforce development in the form of work experience contracts for low-income persons and on the job training contracts with local employers, who in turn make a commitment to the employee for employment based upon the performance of the participant," Robinson states in her introduction. "From October 2004 to September 2005, there were 268 active work experience participants (garnering an average wage of $6.18) and 23 on-the-job training participants (garnering an average wage of $9.39)."

Tribal members under the age of 18 make up 26.5 percent of the on-reservation population.

The Tribes' Education Department works with 25 school facilities within seven school districts, providing financial incentives to the nearly 800 seventh to twelfth grade students for academic achievement and attendance.

According to Robinson, during the 2004-2005 school year the Tribes paid $22,900 in semester incentives and $6,400 ($200 x 32 members) to students who graduated from high school in 2005.

She also notes that in 2005, the CSKT Tribal Council enacted the "most important piece of legislation, requiring enrolled members with Individual Indian Money accounts to complete high school or obtain a GED and complete 20 hours of financial literacy prior to accessing their accounts at age 18."

Additional incentives, she writes, include scholarships to young tribal members pursuing post secondary education - emphasizing the Tribes' investment in workforce development endeavors.

The Tribes support a diversified economy, Robinson points out: "CSKT Department of Human Resources Development offers training in a variety of professions including customer service, hospitality, construction, road crews, family financial education, technologies, adult basic ed, natural resources, and entrepreneurial development. With a portion of the membership still heavily invested in agriculture, many tribal members have begun 'bundling' ag occupations into a livelihood of production in furniture manufacturing, berry harvesting, and native crafts."

The new flier may be printed from this website: www.ourfactsyourfuture.org (then click on the "reservation fliers" link)

Or, for more information, call 1-800-541-3904.