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Elections for the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council (BTBC)
The Blackfeet electoral process explained as best as I possibly can
In accordance with the Blackfeet Constitution, the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council, is the governing body of people elected to uphold the constitutional rights of the Blackfeet people. All Blackfeet Tribal members are able to elect or re-elect 4 or 5 members of the BTBC every 2 years. Elections are held on even numbered years. Each election is open to all Blackfeet tribal members who are enrolled, only. However, absentee ballots are not available to enrolled Blackfeet tribal members who are not living within the confines of the reservation. The people who are elected will step into a position that is to share equal authority and power over the Blackfeet Nation.
The designated positions and districts of the reservation are as follows:
- Positions 1, 2, and 3 are for Browning
- Positions 4 and 5 are for Heart Butte
- Positions 6 and 7 are for Seville
- Positions 8 and 9 are for Old Agency
The last election was in held in the even year 2020 and the positions that were open up for election or reelection were positions: 1 (Browning), 5 (Heart Butte), 7 (Seville), and 9 (Old Agency). There are other restrictions to run for one of the 9 public office positions, which are: members convicted of a felony prior to the election are ineligible, you cannot be known to be reckless or obscene (paraphrasing the constitution), or have previously been removed from the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council. The Blackfeet Constitution may state other restrictions that I overlooked and I will update this information if there is more.
The 2020 Election had 61 candidates running against each other in their perspective positions (see photo in the following section). Each candidate must meet the minimum requirements and pay $500.00 filing fee to the Blackfeet Tribe. This fee is non-refundable whether you win or lose. What is done with the money after it is collected by the Blackfeet Tribe Finance is not public information.
Campaigning for BTBC
There are no electoral parties that organize to promote a candidate or endorse their political positions or establish goals. Candidates run for the tribal council individually and on their word. When candidates are seeking their constituents vote; they hold feeds and usually have an open forum. These candidates do not have to work with any other running candidates but when one candidate is having their feed, they may choose to invite other candidates to speak at their forum.
There are no running mates for any of the candidates. Candidates who invite other candidates to their campaign feeds is out of courtesy. There are not any formal debates that go on between candidates who are running for the same position. There are no collaborations of candidates to run together or on the same campaign agenda. Each candidate runs on promises that they cannot uphold because they are running to be 1 of 9 on our 9 member tribal council.
In theory, all members of the council hold equal powers and their one vote is only equal to 1/9th, therefore if the 9 members do not agree unanimously on a single decision then the majority wins the decision. In recent history, this way of government have proven to be destructive and easily manipulated. The most recent division of this kind of government was known as the "Impasse" which happened in 2012.
A snapshot of the Blackfeet electoral process
This image can be found on the Blackfeet Nation/ Blackfeet Tribal Business Council Facebook page
posted on April 15, 2020
This image can be found on the Blackfeet Nation/ Blackfeet Tribal Business Council Facebook page
posted May 29, 2020