Forming a Multi-Community Alliance

Forming a Multi-Community Alliance

The three small towns of Dayton, Elmo and Big Arm form a u-shaped area around Flathead Lake in stunningly beautiful northwestern Montana. The community of Elmo was selected to participate in Horizons -- a community leadership program sponsored by the Northwest Area Foundation. When their neighbors in the towns of Big Arm and Dayton heard about the process, they asked to join in. Elmo readily agreed, and the Big Arm-Dayton-Elmo (BDE) Committee was formed. As one Elmo resident notes, "Elmo is the poorest town in Montana. We needed all the help we could get."

With people coming together to work for change, these communities generated ideas and turned them into action. This occurred under the tutelage of Horizons consultants who taught them leadership skills, civic responsibility and how to turn dreams into concrete action.

One of the most exciting projects to develop is a Kootenai language revitalization effort. Nearly 70 percent of the residents of Elmo are Salish/Kootenai, and the land on which these three towns sit is within the reservation. During the course of the leadership program, residents identified the cultural richness of the Salish/Kootenai as a vital community asset, and they noted the disappearance of the native language as a major concern. Rather than lament over the loss, the communities took immediate action. They researched and then purchased a phraselator -- new technology invented as a communication tool for the Iraqi war to translate from English to Arabic and back to English.

The phraselator is a hand-held computer or, as one resident describes it, a "talking dictionary." When you speak into the phraselator, it comes out in your own voice. First, the teacher speaks into the machine, then you speak, and when it plays back, you can hear if you are pronouncing the words correctly. The BDE Committee paid to have Wilfred Kenmille, a teacher and full-time linguist fluent in Kootenai, trained on how to use the phraselator. He is now putting all of the Kootenai words on the device so that others will be able to use it to learn their language.

Other cultural assets recognized by the residents were the numerous Native American and non-Native American artists in the area. In order to capitalize on this artistic wealth, BDE worked to start an art gallery and co-op. Any artist from the area will be able to display and sell their work at the gallery, and a percentage of their sales will go to cover the costs of running the co-op and gallery. Artists can lessen the amount of commission taken from their sales by working at the gallery -- the more hours worked, the less commission paid.

That this venture is a business co-operative is important to residents. It will teach people the skills needed to run a small business -- skills that they might use to eventually start businesses of their own. The community has a building for the art co-op, and the rent is paid for the next two years. Residents, mostly volunteers, have rolled up their sleeves and started the much-needed renovations on the building. They have had help from the young people at the nearby Kicking Horse Job Corp Center. Salish/Kootenai College carpenter students have also volunteered their skills to rehab the building.

The communities did not stop at building on the local language and arts. They also agreed to build a bike trail between the three towns along Flathead Lake. With a four- to six-mile stretch between each town, the path makes a lot of sense. One resident says, "The trail will give youth a safe path to get to the swimming pool and the lake. Currently the highway is the only paved route and it can be very dangerous. We also are working on diabetes prevention in our communities, and the trail will be a great place to exercise." The communities are working on securing funding to build the path, which will be landscaped with natural prairie grasses, have fitness stations and offer family-centered biking and walking opportunities.

The Horizons consultants talked about "synergy," which is defined as combined actions that result in a whole greater than its parts. One resident says, "It was the synergy of community effort that created a chain reaction of positive events for the town of Dayton. It started with one woman working with the county to put a well in at the park in Dayton. The water came in so fast, a cistern had to be put in. Then a building was built to house the cistern and the first responder truck. Then, the Chief Cliff Volunteer Fire Department was given a fire truck by their neighbors in the town of St. Ignatius! Synergy -- combined actions that result in a greater effectiveness for the good of the whole."

While working on plans for the park, folks in Dayton had a pleasant surprise. They discovered a document from the county at the Proctor Community Center that showed the town of Dayton has 280 feet of shoreline that is public-use land. One Dayton woman says with excitement, "We did not realize we had this public land until we were doing research for the park and found the paperwork ... We can now work together as a community to develop this in some manner for the good of the community."

People who stuck with the Horizons leadership training had positive reflections on the 18-month program they attended. But things were not always easy. When the towns of Big Arm and Dayton joined Elmo to participate in the training, it became evident that there were cultural and class issues that needed to be addressed for the diverse communities to work together effectively and cooperatively. Residents from the three communities worked to develop what they call a Trust Agreement. The agreement sets out guidelines that all participants agree to remember in their relationships with other members of the group. One woman says, "A positive aspect of the Horizons process was when you bring people in and they are visible, I think it helps end some of the prejudice."

Getting issues of class on the table has had some very tangible results. For instance, both Dayton and Big Arm have sailboat and yachting communities, but Elmo residents have not had access to this sport, one that generally requires a fair amount of disposable income. The greater awareness that developed through the community process prompted a generous donor to give the community of Elmo a sailboat. The sailboat will be used for seamanship classes at the high school, but its value goes beyond learning sailing skills. One resident explains, "The sailboat will be a tool for networking and bridging the cultural and geographic gap between our three towns."

Bridging the cultural gap occurred in other arenas during the leadership training. One tribal member describes her personal experience: "The Horizons process helped me to step up a little bit. I felt more confident after going through the classes. I don't feel comfortable speaking, but I am more comfortable now after they had us speak in different groups. The process changed those of us who participated; it gave us more hope."

The communities have also started a tri-town newsletter called The Lake Times. This means of communication keeps community members aware of the news in the other communities. It also creates a sense of cooperation and connectedness to build on in future activities.

As one resident states, "Horizons did not change our community, but it brought out the people who want to work at change. People came together from these three towns to make something happen for all of us."

A member of the BDE sums it up when she says, "I think the people had a sense of leadership before Horizons, but the process gave a means to voice their ideas. Before, there was nowhere to go with ideas. Now people can take their ideas to the three-community steering committee."