Crow tribal headquarters contaminated with asbestos

Nov 19, 2009

The tribal headquarters of Crow Agency in Montana is housed in the former tribal hospital building, which was constructed in 1937. Maggie Rock Above came to work for the Crow Tribe last year, and she remembered walking in and nearly choking on something in the air that turned out to be asbestos. Asbestos is a known carcinogen that can cause serious illnesses like mesothelioma even at low levels of exposure.

There are 700 employees at the deteriorating tribal headquarters. Rock Above is a grants and contracts specialist who is working with a committee to build a new headquarters to meet the needs of the tribe. The Crow Tribe is using a third of the over $600,000 it received from the Montana State Tribal Economic Development Commission toward the planning and design of the new building. The money was awarded as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The rest of the money will be spent on weatherization projects and building a picnic area and boat ramps at the Willow Creek Dam.

The Crow Tribe hopes that a new building could be more attractive to tourists. It could also allow individually owned franchises to set up shop inside as another source of income. The Bureau of Indian Affairs has expressed interest in leasing space in the new building.

The first phase of the building would house the executive branch of the Crow government. The second phase would then provide space for the legislative and judicial branches. The total cost of the new complex could reach higher than $20 million, and the tribe hopes that their fundraising efforts will be successful.

For the full story, go to Billings Gazette.

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