The ACLU of Montana on Sunday night honored members of the state’s American Indian Caucus for their advocacy during the 2023 legislative session.
Each member received the Jeannette Rankin Civil Liberties Award, named after the first woman to hold federal office in the United States.
From left, State Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula, ACLU Montana Acting Deputy Director and Legal Director Alex Rate, Hellgate High School student Cecelia Spencer and filmmaker Ivan MacDonald speak at a panel discussion at the event hosted by the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana. at the Wilma Theater in Missoula on Sunday, June 2, 2024.
Abigail Landwehr
As of 2023, there were 11 Native American state legislators in Montana. Known as the American Indian Caucus, the group fought to pass legislation that benefited their communities.
During the 2023 legislative session, Rep. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, introduced several bills that became law, including one that boosted accountability for Education for All Indians and another that elevated the role of tribal governments in preserving their native languages.
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Rep. Tyson Running Wolf, D-Browning, introduced two bills related to the missing and murdered Indigenous people crisis that were signed into law. One bolsters community-led missing person searches and the other expands the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons Task Force.
Sen. Susan Webber, D-Browning, introduced a bill establishing the Chief Earl Old Person Memorial Highway in Browning. Webber also introduced a resolution formally recognizing the indigenous boarding school experience.
Filmmaker Ivan MacDonald, a citizen of the Blackfeet tribe, answers questions during a panel discussion on indigenous voting rights at the event hosted by the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana at the Wilma Theater in Missoula on Sunday, June 2 2024. Before the discussion, a crowd screened MacDonald’s documentary “Indian Vote in Montana.”
Abigail Landwehr
The caucus also endured blatant and subtle racism and discrimination during the session. They opposed a resolution urging Congress to “investigate alternatives to the American Indian Reservation system.” And they vehemently defended Webber’s proposed memorial highway, despite opposition.
The group was also among the first to support Rep. Zooey Zephyr, the state’s first openly transgender woman elected to the Legislature, when other lawmakers voted to censure her.
Sharen Kickingwoman, who is Blackfeet and director of advocacy, policy and organizing for the ACLU of Montana, called members of the American Indian Caucus “my personal heroes.”
Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula, said at Sunday night’s event that the group aims to make change through education.
“First we try to educate people,” he explained. “Because they don’t know the natives of Montana. We try to do a lot of that work behind the scenes to prevent those (bad) bills from being introduced.”
Cecelia Spencer (Aaniih, Salish and Klickitat), Hellgate High School student and indigenous youth advocate, speaks during a panel discussion on indigenous voting rights at the event hosted by the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana in the Wilma Theater in Missoula on Sunday, June 2, 2024. .
Abigail Landwehr
Morigeau, a citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, introduced a bill last session to improve lawmakers’ understanding of tribal issues by making educational materials more accessible. But the bill did not pass the committee. He has also tried several times to pass legislation that would change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day. But those efforts have also met with strong opposition.
“When I think about (Indigenous People’s Day legislation), I think about our children,” he said at Sunday’s event. “They deserve better than celebrating a degrading holiday that actually tells them they are second-class citizens.”
Windy Boy, who has served in the Legislature for 22 years, told audience members that he hopes to introduce legislation that would incorporate the issue of missing and murdered Indigenous people into the state’s Indigenous Education for All curriculum.
“We want to tell the truth,” he told the crowd at Wilma. “That’s what we have to do. “That’s what has to happen.”
When Senator Webber returned to her seat, she passed her glass plaque down the aisle to her grandchildren.
“Wow,” her granddaughter said, as she raised and lowered the plate. “It’s so heavy!”
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