This weekend, the Citizens Equal Rights Foundation will host a conference in Kalispell billed as an “instant training center” for citizens and public officials to learn about federal Indian policy.

The conference takes place at the Red Lion Hotel on Saturday from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

“The fundamental goal is to start an educational process for Montana citizens and elected officials who really don’t understand what federal Indian policy is and isn’t,” said Elaine Willman, a former chair of the organization who recently moved to Ronan. “Local elected officials and citizens and communities can make much better decisions when they’re informed.”

Willman has been a vocal critic of the water compact between the state of Montana and the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, which passed during the state Legislature’s session earlier this year and will be a central topic of the conference. But she said her organization, for which she remains a board member, has not yet adopted a stance on the issue.

Still, many of the speakers at the forum have strongly opposed the compact, a negotiated settlement that sought to quantify water rights for the tribes and avoid litigation over the heated issue of water rights stemming from the treaty that created the Flathead Indian Reservation.

State Sen. Jennifer Fielder, R-Thompson Falls, was a leading opponent of the controversial bill as it wound through the Senate earlier this year, and has also led the charge to transfer some federal public lands to the state. Her presentation will focus on the land transfer, as part of several sessions that focus on “rogue federal agencies.”

Other speakers will include the group’s attorney, Lana Marcussen, Agenda 21 expert Debbie Bacigalupi and keynote speaker Richard A. Heidel, president of the Village of Hobart, Wisconsin.

The Wisconsin-based Citizens Equal Rights Foundation is not without controversy, and has garnered criticism from some organizations, including the Montana Human Rights Network and the Institute for Research and Education on Human Rights.

An organization called Native Generational Change is planning a protest outside the hotel from 1 to 2:30 p.m., condemning the meeting as “a racist conference targeting Native Americans,” according to a post on its Facebook page. The group is inviting tribal members and other supporters to join the protest.

Willman, however, dismissed the criticism as name-calling.

“I think there’s probably three out of 320 million Americans that like to call us names,” she said. “Anyone who disagrees with federal Indian policy is immediately a racist, or anti-Indian or a bigot.”

Registration for the conference is open to the public, but costs $40 in advance and $50 at the door, or $70 in advance for couples and $80 at the door. Lunch will be provided, as well as morning and afternoon refreshments.

For more information, contact Willman at (509) 949-8055.

Reporter Samuel Wilson can be reached at 758-4407 or by email at swilson@dailyinterlake.com.