BILLINGS, Mont. — The Northern Cheyenne Tribe is suing the operators of the St. Labre Indian School in Ashland, Mont., accusing them of using the tribe's poverty to run a highly successful fund-raising operation that actually benefits few Cheyenne children.
The lawsuit, which names the Roman Catholic Church and St. Labre Indian School Educational Association, among others, claims that while only a "small percentage" of students at St. Labre Mission are Northern Cheyenne, the school continues raising money by marketing the tribe's poverty.
The defendants, according to the lawsuit, "have failed and refused to distribute and allocate even small portions of the tens and hundreds of millions of dollars gathered, much less that which would be fair and equitable, to fairly address the real 'plight' and 'needs' of the Northern Cheyenne people whom defendants used, so adroitly, as the center of this financial enterprise."
Northern Cheyenne President Eugene Little Coyote and the tribal council claim the school "reaped enormous financial revenue and benefit" during the past 50 years. The tribe has asked that St. Labre open its books for the past half-century through "forensic accounting," and is also seeking compensatory and punitive damages due under state law and interest on monies "'wrongfully held" over the past half-century.
"It is not known to the Northern Cheyenne where these tens, probably hundreds, of millions of dollars have gone," the lawsuit said.
The Rev. Jay Peterson, vicar general with the Diocese of Great Falls-Billings, said he had yet to see the lawsuit and referred questions to Curtis Yarlott, executive director of the St. Labre Indian School Educational Association.
Yarlott said in a statement that had not seen the complaint, but St. Labre "stands firmly behind its 121-year history of serving the children and families of southeastern Mon- tana, offering quality educational, community and spiritual programs for Native American children — primarily members of the Northern Cheyenne and Crow tribes — that both embrace their cultural heritage and help build self-sufficiency."
The lawsuit was filed last month in state District Court, also claims, among other things, the imposition of church values and religion on the tribe and use of "the faces, stories and symbols of the Northern Cheyenne" without permission.
"We're trying to make sure there is a more equitable distribution of the funds raised on the Northern Cheyenne reservation," Little Coyote said.
Cliff Edwards, an attorney representing the tribe in the matter, said there was an "understanding" that the tribe would receive an equitable share.
St. Labre Indian School was established in 1884 to educate and help the Northern Cheyenne. Yarlott said St. Labre operates three schools serving more than 780 students on the Northern Cheyenne and Crow reservations.
St. Labre says it is "among the largest privately funded organizations" providing services to American Indians in Montana.