By: Jill A. Osielski
August 30, 2009
The Flathead Indian Reservation, located in Pablo, Montana, (see map A and B for visual representation of location) is home to the Confederated Salish and Kootanai tribes, which includes individuals from the Salish, the Pend d’Oreille and the Kootenai tribes. There are approximately 4,500 members living on or near the Reservation, over half of the 7,005 enrolled tribal members. As part of my participation in Eastern University’s Culture and Community Contexts course, I had the privilege of visiting this reservation to identify various indicators of community development through asset-based needs analysis, specifically focusing on the various demographics present in the community and the ways in which they influenced people and culture. This document is a summary of those experiences.
Map A:
Map B:
My first personal introduction to this community was through an assigned outing encouraging exploration through immersion on the reservation, specifically assessing the people, places, and things that were predominant in Pablo. My role was to identify demographic-based information including the number of houses, their size, proximity to one another, and availability. In addition, focusing on how these factors impacted the culture and the community’s concept of aesthetics.
Pablo, Montana is a very small and intimate community of 1,814 people, 861 males and 953 females. Most individuals fall between the age range of 18 and 64, 1,115 people to be exact. Other groups represented include 208 children and 121 adults over the age of 65. The 2000 U.S. Census Bureau indicated that these 1,814 individuals were separated racially into the following categories:
White 861
Black or African American 6
American Indian and Alaska Native 990
Asian 14
Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 3
Hispanic or Latin 60
Some other race 27
In 2007, these statistics were updated by City-Date. Their studies indicated the following:
As you can see by these statistics, there are only 129 more American Indians represented in the Pablo community than Whites, a factor which was visibly noticeable on my excursion.
The Pablo community is intimate in numbers as well as geographic size, spanning just 4.9 square miles. Therefore, the population is densely gathered with 372.5 people per square mile. Within this smaller proximity of land, a surveyor such as mmyself, would be able to see the variety of housing options that ‘Pablonians’ call home. In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau indicated that there were 622 households in the Pablo community, 476 family and 146 nonfamily households, an average of 2.89 individuals per household and 3.27 individuals per family. Of the 622 occupied housing united, 367 were owner-occupied and 255 were renter occupied.
The following chart from the 2000 U.S. Census indicates these statistics in relation to the overall statics identified for the state of Montana as well as the two major cities to the south, Ronan, and to the north, Polson, of Pablo:
| Geographic area |
Total |
Occupied |
|
|
||||
|
Total |
|
Home- |
Rental |
|||||
|
For |
For |
|
||||||
| Montana |
412,633 |
358,667 |
53,966 |
10.3 |
17.0 |
44.9 |
2.2 |
7.6 |
| Pablo CDP, Lake County |
674 |
622 |
52 |
13.5 |
48.1 |
5.8 |
1.9 |
8.9 |
| Polson city, Lake County |
1,977 |
1,739 |
238 |
10.5 |
29.0 |
46.2 |
2.6 |
7.9 |
| Ronan city, Lake County |
755 |
699 |
56 |
19.6 |
42.9 |
3.6 |
2.6 |
7.6 |
In 2007, these statistics were updated by City-Date. Their studies indicated the following:
Households: 1,765
- In family households: 1,638 (226 male householders, 233 female householders)
- 308 spouses, 711 children (689 natural, 22 adopted, 0 stepchildren), 25 grandchildren, 15 brothers or sisters, 8 parents, 35 other relatives, 77 non-relatives
- In nonfamily households: 127 (57 male householders (57 living alone)), 51 female householders (33 living alone)), 19 nonrelatives
- In group quarters: 10 (0 institutionalized population)
- Size of family households: 132 2-persons, 89 3-persons, 85 4-persons, 86 5-persons, 26 6-persons, 41 7-or-more-persons.
- Size of nonfamily households: 90 1-person, 18 2-persons.
- 289 married couples with children.
- 293 single-parent households (66 men, 227 women).
The particular community that I surveyed was directly across the street from the Salish Kootanai College in Pablo. On my survey walk, I noticed a significant amount of trash and debris on the street, on lawns and a general overall rundown appearance. This was very different compared to many of the sprawling communities in Helena and Missoula we drove through to arrive in Pablo. There were many rundown buildings, cars, and car parts, as seen in these few pictures:
While many of the homes in the community are owner-occupied, that is not a guarantee of the quality that the owner will take good care of their property. The 2000 U.S. Census indicated that the majority of homes in the Pablo community predominately range under $100,000, the average home price is $75,000. Eighty nine of the homes in Pablo range between $50,000 to $99,000, and forty range under $50,000. There is a moderate number of homes that range from $100,000 to $299,000, fifty to be exact, but they are predominately located further from this community and are generally in locations with more spacious landscapes.
The U.S Census statistics have been updated by City-Date. Their studies indicated the following regarding the estimate of home value of owner-occupied houses in 2007 in Pablo, MT:
- Less than $10,000: 23
- $10,000 to $14,999: 11
- $15,000 to $19,999: 11
- $20,000 to $24,999: 11
- $25,000 to $29,999: 11
- $30,000 to $34,999: 10
- $35,000 to $39,999: 10
- $40,000 to $49,999: 12
- $50,000 to $59,999: 7
- $60,000 to $69,999: 0
- $70,000 to $79,999: 22
- $80,000 to $89,999: 18
- $90,000 to $99,999: 9
- $100,000 to $124,999: 34
- $125,000 to $149,999: 10
- $150,000 to $174,999: 13
- $175,000 to $199,999: 15
- $200,000 to $249,999: 33
- $250,000 to $299,999: 38
- $300,000 to $399,999: 28
- $400,000 to $499,999: 18
- $500,000 to $749,999: 11
- $750,000 to $999,999: 8
- $1,000,000 or more: 0
Those who are not able to afford home ownership will rent and spend $410 on average per month. The majority of Pablo residents, ninety one, spend $300 to $499 on housing. The next highest, fifty two, spend less than $200 and finally fifty one; spend $500 to $749. Only fifteen individuals spend more than $750 a month on rent.
The U.S Census statistics have been updated by City-Date. Their studies indicated the following regarding the estimate of home value of owner-occupied houses in 2007 in Pablo, MT:
Rent paid by renters in 2007 in Pablo:
|
Another important aspect to these demographics in Pablo is the size of these homes. On average, based on the 2007 City-Data information:
Bedrooms in owner-occupied houses in Pablo, MT
- no bedroom: 0
- 1 bedrooms: 11
- 2 bedrooms: 10
- 3 bedrooms: 82
- 4 bedrooms: 16
- 5 or more bedrooms: 0
Bedrooms in renter-occupied apartments and housing units:
- no bedroom: 0
- 1 bedrooms: 13
- 2 bedrooms: 53
- 3 bedrooms: 35
- 4 bedrooms: 0
- 5 or more bedrooms: 0
From these statistics one can potentially conclude that such housing demographics indicate a lower income community and such a community will often be prey to other negative economic and cultural influences such as low educational resources, higher rates of alcoholism, drug use, and a general scarcity of resources for people and their needs.
One positive influence identified to counter balance such potential negativities in Pablo is the presence and influence of the housing authority. The role of the Housing Authority is to meet the needs of the reservation. Some specific examples of how the Housing Authority accomplishes this includes,
- The Housing Authority currently manages 429 low rent units in 11 communities located in the boundaries of the Flathead Reservation
- The Tenant-Based Assistance Program assists individuals by paying all or a portion of the participant’s rent in the private rental market. The Housing Authority currently provides funding for 50 families.
- The Transitional Living Center program is designed to provide temporary shelter, programs for families in need, advocacy, outreach counseling, housing assistance, support services, and referral to outside agencies for practical living and interpersonal skills building.
- The Down Payment Assistance program is to assist first time homebuyer families who qualify at a local lending institution with down payment/closing assistance.
- The Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program was created in 1986 by the Internal Revenue Service as a means of providing affordable housing to the very low and low income families across the county for owners of qualifying rental housing.
- The Home Improvement program assists enrolled Tribal members with major rehabilitation and some emergency assistance.
- The Home Improvement program assists enrolled Tribal members with emergency repair and rehabilitation to units considered to be substandard or inadequate in terms of capacity and where economic resources of the applicant are inadequate.
The availability of such services can have an incredible impact on the sustainability and viability of a community.
In addition to focusing on housing demographics, I also had the opportunity to focus on how these factors impacted the culture and the community, especially the children’s perception of their community and its aesthetics. I was predominately able to access and gather this information through my role as an assistant photography teacher during the BuildaBridge Arts for Hope camp at Two Eagle River School in Pablo.
As I already mentioned, I had the opportunity to personally survey the community in which most of our 8-12 students lived. In many ways, this survey trip helped to develop certain conclusions based on the various things I saw and smelled. In many ways, this is a typical process that most people experience when entering into new spaces and cultures. The unique training that I have experienced though my graduate studies have taught me how to see and store this new information, yet work to not place any judgments or even conclusions on these spaces and people based on this new information. This was a skill that I hoped to pass on to our photography students.
Both David Spear, head photography teacher, and I worked together to create a curriculum that would introduce the students to their community in a new way, connecting them to junk they saw every day, in a way that would provide them with a new lenses through which they would see it. For example, one of the first exercises that we had the students complete was a trip outside. They were to find a piece of junk and photograph it. Our goal was to begin to teach basic photography skills including composition, angles, color, and how to physically take pictures, but also how to begin to see the junk around them and how it can be used to form new and unique, even beautiful new images. Some of those images include:
Another exercise we had the students complete was a project that asked them to bring in junk from home or the street. Students were then instructed to use this junk to create new images. “In our photography group we had students working in the darkroom and in the community of Pablo, taking things that others might consider junk and turning them into image of beauty.” said David Spear, The Valley Journal. (August 27, 2009, Vol. 5, number 50, p.16) This is demonstrated in the lower left and upper right hand corners of this photo.
Each of these exercises built upon one another, slowly seeking to transform the perceptions students had about the junky aspects of their community, and slowly taught them how to instead see things and objects differently and furthermore to show them how to find beauty around them amidst the seeming junk both in their physical environment and their personal relationships.
The Flathead Indian Reservation is a place with many residents, many whom are members of the Confederated Salish and Kootanai tribes and many whom are not, both though are seeking to make this land their home. The history and plight of the American Indian has significantly influenced the disposition of the people and their relationship to the land, their home. Despite these hardships and struggles, this community and their children, are striving to forge ahead to craft out spaces of rest and tranquility, seeking rest comfortably and to seek beauty, many times amidst great obstacles. Their journey is inspiring.
Resources
About. Retrieved August 29, 2009 from http://www.skc.edu/about.html
Anonymous, Montana’s Indian Country, Travel Montana, Department of Commerce, 2004.
City Data: (2007). Retrieved August 30, 2009. http://www.city-data.com/housing/houses-Pablo-Montana.html
The Valley Journal (2009, August 27). (n.d.). Vol. 5, number 50, p. 16.
U.S. Census Bureau: (2000). Retrieved August 29, 2009. www.factfinder.census.gov
