Plans advance on a first-in-MT tribal-owned meat processing plant

RONAN — Plans for a tribally owned meat processing plant advanced Wednesday night with Ronan City Council approving an annexation for a 31-acre plot of land.

The plant’s tribal ownership would be the first of its kind in Montana with the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes having evaluated sites and developed plans for the plant over the past four years.

CSKT is applying for a $7.1 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant for the meat plant. The grant focuses on supporting the meat processing capacity of indigenous animals in Indian Country. The tribes plan to contribute $2.16 million of their own funding if the application is fulfilled.

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Land Use Planner Janet Camel presents plans for a tribal meat processing plant at a packed public hearing in Ronan City Hall Wednesday night. The 3-acre plant would focus on wild game and bison, as well as beef and pork, to help improve food security on the Flathead Reservation.

ALEX MITCHELL, Missoulian

“We want to go after this opportunity because it might never come again,” CSKT Land Use Planning Director Janet Camel

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