We be burning

Kellen Backbone, Reporter

The B.I.A branch Forestry has announced the first burn in the Big Horn Mountains on the Crow Reservation. This season begins with spring clean up, which includes prescription burning around the local area, as well as future project burns in the Wolf and Pryor Mountain ranges.

Prescribe burning controls weed infestation and reduces dry underbrush, which fuels wildland fires. Tribal members who wish to have an area burn may submit a burn request at the B.I.A. Forestry department. Ranchers and farmers on lease lands or privately-owned may contact the Roads Department in Hardin, Mont. at (406) 665-9860.

In with the new, LBHC Health and Rec building nearing completion

By Deborah Black Eagle, Reporter

People are starting to notice the construction going on across the street from Little Big Horn College, the $9 million Health and Wellness building is nearly half way complete.

The building will be equipped with a weight room, aerobics room, saunas, locker rooms and LBHC’s very own basketball gym, said David Small, Dean of Administration at LBHC.

Planning for the Health and Wellness building started about a year ago, with construction beginning last spring. The building should be complete in August, Small said.

The college used tax credits to pay for the new building, because they used federal funds, its technically not LBHC’s gym, Small said, but as he put it “ A big aerobics room with two baskets at either end of the floor” will have a important place on campus.

“I’m really excited for it to open,” said Char Old Bull.

The gym will seat 1,900 people, will be home to the Rams and Lady Rams basketball teams and will be open to students as well as LBHC staff and faculty, Small said.

“I can hardly wait,” said women’s Coach Dominic Gaglia

The building is also equipped with high tech security, including cameras and an alarm system.

The “green” building is not only energy efficient, its wired to utilize solar power.

Students are excited as well. “Can’t wait to go work out, Yay!” said Sa’Rayna Stops.

Photos by Kellen Backbone

LBHC students, staff visit DC

Peyton Bad Bear, Reporter

A delegation of students and administrators from Little Big Horn College visited Washington, D.C. last month for the annual American Indian Higher Education Consortium winter conference.

Dr. David Yarlott, Jr., the President of Little Big Horn College along with the Student Government officials, Marty Lopez, Lionel Shepherd, Larry Rondeaux, Carlton Roberts, and of course two students from the Wisdom of the People Leadership program who are Crystal Goes Ahead and I.

Dr. Yarlott said, “The Capital Hill visit is a great experience for LBHC Student’s. They get to see the internal workings or our government, being able to converse with our Congressional Leaders face to face. As for our purpose of securing funding for college operations and ensuring inclusion of Tribal Colleges and Universities in Federal Funds, the outcomes were not what we had hoped for. But, compared to the prospect of other organizations and groups facing greater cuts in funds then TCU’s, we did okay.”

Much of the discussion at the conference was about our Federal budget, which was released on February 14. This new budget will freeze federal funding for the next five years and will cut budgets in many federal programs, including the Department of Education and Indian education.

Tribal colleges and universities receive federal funding, they are lacking state funding. A lot of things are affected with this new budget and they include U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development and the Housing and Urban Development programs. If these programs have funding reduced or cut, it will result in the halting of construction on the LBHC campus, as well as at other tribal colleges and universities.

There are a few important Higher Ed programs in President’s budget that will be affected, including the Pell Grant, a federal grant for students with low incomes.

Pell Grants may be frozen at a maximum of $5,500 a year and this could be made permanent. When these funds are maintained at their maximum balance, that means 347 students will only receive that amount or less and it won’t go any higher even if you have many dependents or low income. What you get, is well what you get. Adult basic education will be using its existing funds which are from the State.

As a tribal college community we need to convince our heads of state to keep Indian Education a priority and to give us more funding or at least avoid budget cuts for our programs.

The new budget brings with it many pros and cons just like any other bill or law. All the cuts to programs across the board are supposed to save our country trillions of dollars, which is not a bad thing because if our country starts saving money it will bring itself out of the recession and the faltering economy. But then again, spending money also helps our economy, too.