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Hazy: Montana’s Smoking Ban Doesn’t Apply to Tribal Venues  

RONAN - Enforcement of Montana's Clean Air Act appears to be a little hazy on Indian reservations.

Tribally owned casinos are exempt from the indoor-smoking ban, while some enrolled tribal members who own reservation bars and casinos aren't enforcing the ban.

In the meantime, Rick and Vicki Wheeler, who are not members of the Confederate Salish and Kootenai Tribes, recently received their first letter of complaint from the Lake County Health Department for not enforcing the smoking ban at their Ronan business, The Club, which is within the Flathead Indian Reservation.

"Ninety percent of my customers smoke," said Rick Weaver, who has owned The Club for 20 years. "This bar is my retirement -- do they want to take that away from me, too? It's racial discrimination."

Diana Schwab, the tobacco prevention coordinator in Lake County, agrees the law raises different issues on the state's reservations.

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