Anita Matt

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes recently lost a great leader and mourns the passing of Dixon Representative Anita Matt.  She served on the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council beginning in 2016. She served as Vice Chair of the Council from January 2020-December 2021, helping to guide Flathead Nation through the global COVID-19 pandemic.

Anita was a strong voice for agricultural producers throughout Indian Country, having served for many local, state, regional and national organizations. These included the Intertribal Agriculture Council Executive Committee, the Akiptan Board of Directors, Lake County FSA Committee, TCI Committee, Farm Bill Coalition, Flathead Conservation District Chairman, the Remount Indian Stockmen’s Association, Flathead Advisory Committee, FSA State Committee, the CSKT Tribal Education Committee, and the Homelessness Task Force. 

Anita earned a B.S. in Environmental Science from Salish Kootenai College and worked for the Tribes in the Natural Resources Department and Lands Department serving as the Program Manager for the Tribal Realty Program for 11 years. She and her husband Shorty co-managed a ranch in the Moiese Valley.  Anita leaves behind her husband, two children and two grandchildren, with another one on the way.

Anita was greatly respected for her lifetime experiences and contributions to the agricultural world. She was passionate about her people and community as evidenced by her local efforts to improve living conditions on the Flathead Indian Reservation. Anita treated everyone the same, regardless of their past or socioeconomic status. She was generous, caring and humble, which made her an outstanding leader. Yet, she was human. She once shared a story that she traveled to Bozeman, Montana, for a conference, leaving home to drive the four hours in the wee hours of the morning. When she arrived in Bozeman, she realized she was wearing two different cowboy boots. So, Anita did what any fashionable cowgirl would do: she went and bought another pair.

Anita will be sorely missed on the Flathead Reservation and in the Montana and national circles she devoted her life to. Western Leaders Network sends our deepest condolences to her family and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

— Shelly Fyant, former Chair of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council and Western Leaders Network Board Member