Tribal Leader: Methane Wastewater Threatens the Cheyenne’s Land

By Tad Sooter, 4-04-06

Coal bed methane projects in southeast Montana and Wyoming are on are the verge of devastating the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, tribal leader Gail Small said in a lecture at the University of Montana, Tuesday. To prevent the loss of their homeland the Cheyenne need more allies in all Montana communities and more respect from regional government she said.

"For a lot of these tribes I think were very close to losing what we can’t regain," Small said.

The danger to Cheyenne reservation in the Tongue River Valley comes from the high-salinity wastewater that is pumped from methane wells at astounding rates and either dumped into rivers or held in ponds. The salt content of the water makes it useless for irrigation and destructive to soil. Small said the methane wells have also disrupted migrating elk herds and some tribal members believe the wastewater is killing beavers on the reservation. She said the majority of tribal members still rely on wild plants and game for subsistence and the wastewater is threatening their way of life.

“You can just see the white alkali coming down the tributaries and the ponds they’re putting the water in aren’t even lined, the alkali goes straight into the ground,” Small said.

Small lays blame of the Bush administration, specifically Vice President Dick Cheney, for opening the gates to rampant methane developments in the Tongue River region. Seventy-five thousdand new methane wells have been proposed for the Cheyenne Reservation area and Montana is considering opening up the Custer National Forest for methane development. The industry scored a recent victory when the Montana Board of Environmental Review rejected most the provisions of a petition that would have required methane wastewater to be treated or injected into the earth.

Small said one of the tribe’s frustrations with methane development is that the government has left them out of the planning process. When the Bureau of Land Management initially issued leases for methane wells near the reservation, the tribe was never contacted. Often instead of being able to participate in the planning stages, the tribe finds itself suing the government to stop development it was not consulted on to begin with, Small said.

To help strengthen its voice, the Cheyenne Tribe has allied with non-native ranchers and the Northern Plains Resource Council. Small said it is vital that the Cheyenne reach out to other tribes and non-native groups to find common ground and gain political clout.

“I really believe that it’s not just our benefit to have a Custer Forest. It’s not just to the Cheyenne’s benefit to have the Tongue River flowing. Every American has the need for wilderness,” Small said.

Small said she is amazed and proud of the Cheyennes' stalwart opposition to methane development, when rights to their reservation land could be worth billions to the industry.

Growing up on the reservation Small was caught in the middle of the first “coal war” between the Cheyenne and the mining industry during the energy crisis of the 1970s and ‘80s. She attended high school in Colestrip with the children of coal workers who tormented the native students to the point that many, including Small, dropped out. But Small went on to graduate from the University of Montana and earn a doctorate at the University of Oregon in environmental and natural resource law. She returned to the reservation where she became active in tribal government and founded Native Action, a non-profit that disperses information on native issues and promotes civic projects in the reservation.

Small also gave a preview of Homeland, a documentary film that shows the practical and spiritual inspiration for the Cheyenne’s struggle with the energy industry.


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