Nora Mabie
Missoulian

Robert DesRosier Sr. has been elected to the Blackfeet Tribal Business Council to serve the Browning District, according to unofficial results shared on tribal Facebook pages.

The tribe hosted a special election on Tuesday following former Councilman Timothy Davis’ resignation.

DesRosier has worked for the tribe for 23 years. He was the first director of the Blackfeet Nation’s Homeland Security program, which formed after the 9/11 attacks. He also served as the tribe’s COVID-19 Incident Commander in the early months of the pandemic and has been the director of the tribe’s Disaster and Emergency Services for years.

“Public service has always been my job,” he said.

In his campaign, DesRosier spoke of the importance of communication and collaboration across entities on the reservation. He also said he hopes to improve economic development and capture more tourism dollars as millions of people visit the nearby Glacier National Park each year.

DesRosier said improving life for young people is another top priority of his.

“I’m really troubled by the drug abuse, alcohol abuse and suicide rate,” he said. “I think we really need to work together and engage the whole community to solve some of these socioeconomic problems we have here.”

DesRosier will be sworn in at the council meeting on Thursday, May 4.

“We have lots of opportunities right now to do some good things,” he said. “I’m pretty excited.”

The Blackfeet Tribal Business Council has seen some turmoil in the last year. The council last spring voted to remove Davis, who was serving as chairman at the time, after several members of his family were arrested at his house on drug-related charges. The incident was of particular community interest, as the tribe had issued an emergency declaration for drug overdoses just days before the arrests.

After he was removed as chairman, Davis continued to serve as a council member, as is customary, but he resigned in March after the council charged him with three counts of misconduct.

The tribe’s general council election was held in June, where community members ousted most incumbents, electing four new members and reelecting just one person. Addiction and crime were topics of particular interest during that election.

This article was first published in the Missoulian.