After months of negotiations with the Indian Health Service, the Blackfeet Nation secured $20 million to build a new wellness center without assistance from federal agencies.
The Blackfeet Nation claimed that the Indian Health Service (IHS) did not fulfill a 2019 promise to fund a wellness center. Tribal leaders say the wellness center will help alleviate the harm caused by former IHS pediatrician Stanley Patrick Webber, who was convicted of sexually abusing boys on the reservation in the 1990s. are doing.
IHS has not commented on this matter.
Lyle Rutherford of the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council points to the blueprint for a new 91,000-square-foot wellness center to be built in Browning.
Ben Alan Smith, Missouri
In June, tribal leaders refused a visit from IHS, saying the trip would be “empty.” According to reports, IHS attempted to schedule a “last minute” meeting with Blackfeet leaders at the Bozeman airport in November, but tribal leaders declined as disrespectful and the tribe subsequently formally demanded the dismissal of IHS leadership. While IHS leaders visited Browning in December to meet with tribal leaders, City Councilman Lyle Rutherford criticized IHS for not fulfilling its alleged promises.
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“Right now we are working at the Congressional level to make that happen,” Rutherford said at the time.
And that’s exactly what Blackfeet did.
Earlier this month, the recently passed omnibus spending bill, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, allocated the Blackfeet’s $20 million for a wellness center.
In a March 2023 letter to House Appropriations Committee Chairman Kay Granger, Congressman Ryan Zinke requested funding for multi-purpose tribal centers, providing safe spaces for youth, and more. He said it would meet the needs of local resources. He also brought subcommittee Chairman Tom Cole (Chickasaw) to the reservation in July to meet with Congress about the wellness center.
Sletten Construction Company, which has offices across the Mountain West, has been awarded a contract to build a 91,000-square-foot wellness center located at the intersection of suburban Browning and Cut Bank.
Rutherford said construction is expected to begin in about a month and the project will take about a year to complete.
The wellness center features space for activities including a pool, hot tub, lazy river, climbing wall, exercise equipment, and basketball, volleyball and pickleball courts. Tribal Health Department services will also be provided, including a pharmacy, dental clinic, behavioral health and other medical services.
Rutherford said the wellness center will meet several community needs, including providing a place to gather, improving access to care and promoting a healthy lifestyle.
Currently, if someone on the reservation wants to work out at a gym, there are two places to go: the old Dollar Store or the Glen Heavy Runners Pool in Browning, Rutherford said. But the old Dollar Store is running out of space and the pool is getting crowded, he said.
Rutherford said the community response has been positive, but people are hesitant to get their hopes up.
“This (wellness center) has been suggested to me since I was young,” he said. “People have always wanted to build something like this, something for the community. There’s excitement, but people also think, ‘I don’t know if this is going to happen.'”
Rutherford said those concerns will likely allay once the construction company breaks ground.
What about the relationship between tribes and IHS? Mr Rutherford said the situation was still “tough”.
Rutherford said IHS leases the land from the tribe for $1 a year. The agency plans to sign a new lease, but Rutherford said it “will not come to the negotiating table” until IHS reviews a list of proposed improvements.
“The list is about a page and a half long,” Rutherford said. “We need more providers. We need to address quality of care. We need to improve services for patients.”
Tribal Wellness Centers Growing in Popularity
Isaiah Bighorn plays basketball while training at the Thundering Buffalo Health and Wellness Center in Poplar on the Fort Peck Reservation on Oct. 23, 2023.
Antonio Ybarra Olivares, Missouri
Several tribes have built new wellness centers in recent years to unite local residents and combat persistent health disparities.
In 2020, the Fort Peck Tribe of northeastern Montana began construction on the 50,000-square-foot Sanderling Buffalo Wellness Center in Poplar. The $23 million facility opened two years later and includes a basketball court, athletic equipment, a pool, clinic and other services.
On a Monday night in October, the wellness center was packed. Isaiah Bighorn, 19, shot hoops on the basketball court while his father, Maurice, 52, walked laps on the track above. Maurice comes to the gym three times a week. He ran in high school, but, as he said, “gone away from it.”
“It feels good to get back to normal,” he said as he walked. “This is like a second chance that we never had because we got too fat.”
Deyo For Bear, 23, and some friends exercise at the Thundering Buffalo Health and Wellness Center in Poplar on Oct. 23, 2023. Four Bears has been coming to the Thundering Buffalo Health and Wellness Center since it opened two years ago. He comes to the gym almost every day to maintain his health. “I’ve seen a lot of progress since I started attending.”
Antonio Ybarra Olivares, Missouri
Deyo For Bear, 23, wearing a white tank top with a tiger’s face on it, lifted it with his friends one night in October. He comes to the wellness center almost every day.
“I never knew how to work out before,” he said. “I’ve seen progress since I started going. I do this for a healthier lifestyle and it’s just a good outlet.”
