$60 million to be split among tribal members

The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes have decided what to do with a $60 million settlement from the federal government. It’s getting split up among every tribal member.

The money will be split between about 5,700 tribal members.

The figure isn’t exact yet, but it seems each person in the tribe can expect about $10,000.

Some Sho-Ban members said this will be a big benefit to people in the tribes and could boost the local economy.

“It’ll help in that way, with those struggling financially. It’s really going to be a big plus,” tribal member Betty Boyer said.

Some other members of the tribes said it might have been better used by letting elected tribal leaders pay off debts and improve infrastructure.

“I think our leaders kind of got bullied into it by a lot of tribal members who just wanted a payout. I think it could have gone to a lot of things like paying off the hotel and events center and justice center,” tribal member Paula Houtz said.

With such a big influx of cash coming into the community, the tribe wants to help people make responsible decisions.

“We our planning on having financial workshops once the disbursement occurs,” Sho-Ban Public Affairs Manager Randy’L Teton said.

Teton said the tribes wants people to remember this isn’t like the tribe winning some lottery, just the federal government paying back money the tribe was already owed and had been mismanaged.

“We are really grateful that the government is finally realizing the wrongdoings that their former employees did against our people,” Teton said.

The tribes have not yet received the settlement money, and are waiting on the paperwork to make it through government bureaucracy.