HELENA, Mont. ? Tribal officials say they plan to move quickly to nominate candidates for the state coordinator of Indian affairs post opened by the abrupt resignation of G. Bruce Meyers.
Citing “health and family reasons,” Meyers submitted his resignation on Feb. 22, effective immediately. He was appointed to the job last summer by Republican Gov. Judy Martz.
Despite the short tenure, Meyers, a member of the Chippewa-Cree Tribe, had enthusiastically delved into the position. The coordinator’s main duty is to serve as a liaison between Montana tribes and state government. The office is a branch of the governor’s office.
Sources familiar with Meyers’ work say he apparently didn’t leave the job because of any altercations with Martz. The governor, with guidance from Meyers and his predecessor, Louie Clayborn, has devoted considerable effort to improving relations with tribes. At their urging, Martz visited all seven Montana reservations last year and has vowed to continue face-to-face, quarterly meetings with American Indian leaders.
A key focus for Meyers in recent months has been building support for a series of “town hall” gatherings he hoped to convene later this year. The meetings were to bring legislators, state agency administrators and tribal leaders together to discuss issues of mutual concern in the fields of education, health care, corrections and economic development, among other topics. Meyers, who could not be reached for further comment, said earlier this year that Martz had already approved the proposal.
Meyers, 53, also helped set up a recent three-day seminar in Billings aimed toward improving understanding between non-Indian government and business leaders and tribal organizations. Other related seminars are tentatively being scheduled in other areas of the state.
Last September, Meyers helped organize the first State-Tribal Relations Day in Helena. The event featured panel discussions on economic development and government-to-government relationships. Tribal leaders who traveled to the Capitol for the gathering also attended a first-ever luncheon with Martz at the Governor’s Mansion.
Before taking the coordinator’s job, Meyers ran the Montana University System’s GEAR-Up program, which encourages low-income students to attend college. Meyers previously was director of Native American student affairs and assistant dean of students at the University of Arizona at Tucson. Among other endeavors, he also was a past director of the American Indian Learning Resource Center at the University of Minnesota and a community health planner for the Crow Creek Sioux Tribe in South Dakota.
Meyers’ departure again triggers a statutory process where tribes across the state will submit to Martz the names of five candidates for the position. The tribal list is typically ranked in order of preference, but the governor is not required to choose the person at the top of the list. Barbara Ranf, an aide to the governor, said administrative officer Lori Ryan will take on additional duties in the Indian affairs office until a new coordinator is appointed.
“We’re going to submit five names as soon as possible,” said Gordon Belcourt, executive director of the Montana-Wyoming Tribal Leaders Council. “We want to do this as expeditiously as we can.”
Among other names being circulated for the job is Fort Peck tribal member and former state representative Bill Whitehead, a finalist the past two times the post has been vacant.
Tribal officials have repeatedly debated the role of the Indian affairs office in recent years, and a joint resolution to study the pros and cons of creating a new commission to oversee state-tribal matters was approved in the 1999 Montana Legislature.
Study participants, however, opted to keep the coordinator’s office closely linked to the governor. There also has been talk of elevating the post to the cabinet level, a move that Martz and her predecessor, former Gov. Marc Racicot, resisted on budgetary grounds.
Tribal leaders are expected to meet with Martz again in late March or early April, and the topic could come up again.