Posted at 3:02 p.m. PDT Sunday, May 4, 1997
Fort Smith, Montana, Subdivision Plan Threatens Crow Medicine Wheel Site

By Carrie McCleary, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D.
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News

FORT SMITH, Montana--May 5--In a letter dated March 18, the Crow Tribal
Zoning Commission advised the Big Horn County Planning Board it opposes a
proposed subdivision west of Fort Smith because of its proximity to a
medicine wheel still used by tribal members.

Greenwalt Farms Inc., want to subdivide an 80-acre plot into three tracts
containing seven, 22 and 51 acres of land.

All three tracts are in the viewshed of a number of historical sites
including the Bozeman Trail, Spotted Rabbit Crossing, the Old Fort Smith
Camp and the Trinity Tree.

Planned development for tract number one includes a house just 60 feet from
the medicine wheel.

The state of Montana and Big Horn County require all proposed subdivisions
of farmlands to submit a plan of the prospective subdivision to the county
planning board.

The county planning board defines subdivisions as either major or minor.
The Greenwalt Farms subdivision is classified as a minor division because
it would only add two more tracts to the initial title of the land.

Minor subdivisions are not subject to public hearings, which prevents
tribal members from publicly voicing their opinion of the subdivision,
which they say would affect their privacy while practicing their religion.

Crow Tribe Culture Director Burton Pretty On Top said tribal members still
visit these sites to pray.

``I go to the medicine wheel myself,'' he said. ``In the spring and in the
fall. ``I know other people are still using the wheel to pray because when
I go there I see tobacco and other offerings left behind.''

Mr. Pretty On Top contacted the Montana State Historical Preservation
Organization (SHIPO) about the development.

SHIPO Preservation Officer Paul M. Putz responded with a letter to County
Commissioner Chairman John Doyle.

``The site (the medicine wheel) functions as an open air church,'' the
letter said. ``And those involved would like to continue to use it as
such.''

In a meeting on March 18, the county planning board gave Greenwalt Farms a
conditional approval for the subdivision.

``It's just a tentative approval,'' Mr. Doyle, ``Unless certain conditions
are met, the final approval will not be made.''

Only one of the 15 conditions set by the county planning board deals with
the historical and sacred nature of the site. The rest are road, power line
and irrigation easement issues.

The sole preservation condition requires Greenwalt Farms to get an opinion
from the Crow Tribal Culture Committee on the perimeter concerns for the
medicine wheel area.

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(c) 1997, Indian Country Today, Rapid City, S.D. Distributed by
Knight-Ridder/Tribune Business News.



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