Latest news with #WindyBoy
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
New laws aim to strengthen Indigenous education and language revitalization efforts
Nora Mabie and Kaiden Forman-WebsterMontana Free Press + ICT Two bills aimed at strengthening the state's commitment to Native American education and language revitalization recently became law. Sponsor Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, described the bills as complementary, as both relate to state initiatives that stem from Article X of Montana's Constitution, which reads in part, 'The state recognizes the distinct and unique cultural heritage of the American Indians and is committed in its educational goals to the preservation of their cultural integrity.' In 1999, the state Legislature enacted the Indian Education for All Act to implement that constitutional mandate, requiring K-12 public schools to teach Native American history and culture. And in 2013 the Legislature established the Montana Indian Language Preservation program to support tribes' language revitalization efforts. The Legislature appropriates money each biennium for both programs, and Windy Boy's bills — now law — enact measures to improve financial accountability and elevate the role of tribal governments. Enacting Indian Education for All has not been easy. Since 2007, the Legislature has appropriated about $3.5 million annually to Montana school districts to implement IEFA. According to the original legislation, schools are supposed to use the funds for curriculum development, class materials and teacher training. In 2021, a group of Montana students and tribes sued the state Office of Public Instruction and Board of Public Education, alleging that districts were improperly using funds meant to support IEFA. One school, according to court documents, used IEFA funds to pay a portion of librarians' salaries. Others allegedly used the funds to purchase books unrelated to Native American culture or history. 'School districts and schools have no incentive to fully and accurately report their IEFA expenditures because there is no penalty for failing to do so,' the plaintiffs claimed. While the Board of Public Education recently reached a settlement agreement in the case, the class action lawsuit continues against OPI, which is responsible for distributing IEFA funds. Windy Boy has brought several bills across multiple legislative sessions that aim to bolster the state's commitment to IEFA. In 2023, he brought a bill that required, rather than encouraged, school districts to implement IEFA. The bill, which was signed into law, also stipulated that IEFA funds can be revoked if districts fail to report how the funds are spent. This year, Windy Boy successfully carried Senate Bill 181, which adds new mechanisms of financial accountability. If a school district fails to submit an annual report showing how IEFA funds were spent, or if an annual district report shows improper IEFA expenditures, OPI is authorized to reduce the district's IEFA funding until a report is submitted. The law requires OPI to publish an annual report listing any districts that fail to submit satisfactory IEFA reports. It also requires the Board of Public Education to note IEFA reporting failures in a school's accreditation status report. In a March House Education Committee hearing, Windy Boy testified that the legislation is 'about accountability and transparency.' 'If you get a dollar, then you should provide a report for what you're spending it on,' he said. The new law also enhances tribal consultation and the role of Native language specialists in the development of IEFA curricula. And it requires OPI to create and manage an online portal by which parents, students and educators can submit feedback on IEFA implementation. Rep. Peter Strand, D-Bozeman, who carried the bill in the House, said the legislation 'creates mechanisms that ensure that the money we give to schools for Indian Education for All goes where it's supposed to go.' SB 181 cleared both chambers, and Gov. Greg Gianforte last week signed it into law. Another Windy Boy bill, which revises laws related to Native language revitalization, was also recently signed into law. The Montana Indian Language Preservation (MILP) program aims to help revitalize Native American languages by encouraging tribes to create resources that perpetuate language usage. The program has a biennial budget of $750,000. Several Native languages in Montana are considered critically endangered, meaning the youngest speakers often are elders who speak the language infrequently. Windy Boy successfully brought legislation in 2023 that elevated the role of tribal governments in administering the MILP program. This year, he sponsored Senate Bill 182, which grants more flexibility in such partnerships, allowing tribes to decide whether to partner with local school districts, rather than requiring them to do so. SB 182 encourages tribal governments to use MILP funds for professional development for staff and collaborations and stipulates that tribal language education materials produced by the tribes be housed at the Montana Historical Society for conservation. 'We should be preserving what we have left,' Windy Boy said in a January committee hearing. In January, Patrick Yawakie, a lobbyist for the Blackfeet, Fort Belknap and Chippewa Cree tribes, told members of the Senate Education and Cultural Resources Committee he wished a program like MILP had existed when he was young. 'Having access to Indian education growing up would've been a great opportunity for myself, definitely, to understand parts of my identity that I'm still learning today,' he said. In the same hearing, former lawmaker Sharon Stewart Peregoy testified that Little Big Horn College, the Crow Tribe and area school districts have used MILP funds to provide 'the needed materials to teach the Crow language.' 'The language is the conveyor of the culture,' she said. 'If you don't have the language, the worldview does not come across.' As the language program continues to grow, Windy Boy said he hopes tribes and OPI can eventually create a language curriculum for all teachers to use. 'Teachers that go in to teach math, science, history, or whatever, they walk into the room and they've already got a set curriculum. Why can't we?' Windy Boy told Montana Free Press in a January interview. He said he hopes to focus on that issue in the 2027 legislative session. This story is co-published by Montana Free Press and ICT, a news partnership that covers the Montana American Indian Caucus during the state's 2025 legislative session.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Bill prohibiting religious discrimination in foster care, adoption closer to becoming law
House Bill 655 has the stated intention of 'prohibiting discriminatory action' to potential foster parents or those interested in adoption. (Jordan Hansen / Daily Montanan) For the 21 members of the Senate who voted against House Bill 655, Sen. Theresa Manzella had a very specific message. 'To those of you who are in opposition to it, I'm sorry,' Manzella, a Republican from Hamilton said. 'I wish you knew the Jesus Christ that I know, because he would never abandon, or abuse, or hurt children.' At the heart of a fiery debate on Monday was whether the state's foster care system discounts families with strong religious beliefs. However, other lawmakers worried that foisting strong or different religious beliefs on foster children could create more trauma or instability. The bill was brought by Rep. Greg Oblander, R-Billings, and carried by Manzella, and it seeks to change laws regarding foster care and adoption services. The bill passed a second reading, 29-21. The legislation's stated intention is 'prohibiting discriminatory action' to potential foster parents or those interested in adoption. Proponents of the bill said it would open up more opportunities for children to be fostered or adopted, and the Montana Family Foundation testified some state-sponsored training for foster parents did not fit into some people's religious beliefs. Opponents said it could impress religious beliefs onto adopted and foster children, with references to the country's Native American boarding school era. It drew lengthy and, at times, furious emotional debate. Multiple legislators — including Sens. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, and John Fuller, R-Kalispell — stood to speak on the bill and amendment several times. Windy Boy, a member of the Rocky Boy's Chippewa-Cree tribe, stood three times on the bill itself after speaking during an amendment. Senate Majority Leader Tom McGillvary, R-Billings, shut Windy Boy down when he tried to speak on the floor for a third time. Senate rules allowed two opportunities to stand and speak on an item. 'I'm not going to apologize for standing more than twice,' Windy Boy had said moments prior. 'That's what my constituents sent me here to do.' Windy Boy's opposition to the bill included references to religious run boarding schools, one of the darkest periods of American history. Thousands of Indigenous children were sent to Christian-run boarding schools to be 'assimilated' in white culture. More than 3,000 children died at these schools, according to a 2024 report in the Washington Post. The federal government also commissioned a report released in 2024 on boarding schools. Some of those children were sexually abused, including in Montana. 'A lot of those kids had no choices,' Windy Boy said on the floor. 'The parents had no choices. But yet, at the same time, those kids were spanked, they were abused, mental abuse, physical abuse, sexual abuse. Is that the kind of system that we're going to continue pushing into this era? I should hope not.' An amendment from Sen. Cora Neumann, D-Bozeman, sought to take some of the teeth out of the legislation, removing foster care. Neumann presented it as strictly as a reunification ideal — essentially foster children should be placed in culturally appropriate situations. 'It's taking foster care out just to make sure that birth parents and families, that their beliefs are able to be held intact in case of reunification,' Neumann said. 'I believe everyone here supports reunification of families wherever possible.' Some Senate Republicans appeared to view both the amendment as well as some statements made on the floor to be a full-throated attack on Christianity. 'It's very clear what's going on here,' Fuller said. 'This is a secular attempt to deny people of faith, of any kind, of being involved in the foster care system.' Sen. Dennis Lenz said there was 'an illusion' religion had a 'negative impact.' 'If your car breaks down in the middle of the inner city in the dark of the night, and you have a mile back to home and a group of 20-year-olds is coming to you out of the dark, wouldn't it make a difference if they're coming from the Bible study?' said Lenz, a Republican from Billings. 'Most likely.' The Senate was under 'pressure' to pass the bill, Sen. Ellie Boldman, D-Missoula said on the floor. Some of that pressure was from the Montana Family Foundation, Boldman said in a text message, and one of the organization's lobbyists, Derek Oestreicher, was seated on a bench Monday in the Senate gallery. Oestreicher also provided testimony during the bill's Senate Judiciary hearing. He said during the bill's hearing that his organization had heard from religious families they would choose their faith over fostering. 'Montana Family Foundation was contacted by two separate families over the past year related to some of the required training that the state requires for foster families to undergo, and it discussed LGBTQ issues and how to address those issues,' Oestreicher said. 'And these families were concerned that this was a required training, and they weren't necessarily required to say they were an ally or that they would take a certain action with regard to LGBT issues, but it trended toward that, and it made them feel very uncomfortable.' Sen. Carl Glimm, R-Kila, said he supported the bill and that it was 'academic' for him having gone through the process, though it wasn't clear if he meant fostering or adoption. But he then went on to say for him, there was no prejudice against his Lutheran faith. 'I've done it,' Glimm said, 'In my process, I wasn't discriminated against for my religious views.'
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Blasted — Indigenous bills advancing through Montana legislature
Kaiden Forman-Webster ICT + MTFP Two bills that are priorities for the Legislature's American Indian Caucus are back in play after strategic moves by Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, a Democrat from Box Elder, last Friday afternoon. At the end of the Senate's floor session, Windy Boy motioned that the Montana Indian Child Welfare and Indian Education for All bills be pulled from the committees where they had previously been voted down and revived by the full chamber. In Friday's Senate floor session, Windy Boy blasted both bills. For Montana Indian Child Welfare he stated 'It had 26 proponents and zero opponents, and it is a good bill'. Sen. Dennis Lenz, a Republican from Billings and Chair of Senate Health, Welfare, and Human Safety committee that tabled the bill objected to the motion stating that the issue of MICWA is complex. The Senate voted 29-21 in favor of the motion, the bill will now be heard for second reading by the Senate. A blast motion simply allows a bill sponsor to pull a bill from its respective committee after it has been heard and is either voted down, tabled, or the committee chair refuses to take executive action on the bill. The blast requires a simple majority vote by the Senate. As for the second bill, Windy Boy motioned for it to also be pulled from committee stating 'It had 15 proponents and one opponent, and I did have an amendment that would address that at one point and when the opponent spoke up they said they would support the bill afterwards.' Sen. John Fuller, a Republican from Kalispell and Chair of the Education and Cultural Resources committee objected to the motion on the grounds that it would be a violation of procedural rulings. It was another victory for Windy Boy with the Senate voting 26-24, advancing the bill to be heard for second reading along with the other. It was a successful day for Windy Boy and his bills. 'It feels good,' said Windy Boy, 'It's good for the kiddos.' Windy Boy joked 'I'll have to buy [Sen. Mike] Yakawich a Happy Meal for supporting both.' On Monday, Feb 24, both bills were heard on the Senate floor for second reading. The Montana Indian Child Welfare Act bill involved a very lengthy conversation. Windy Boy reflected on a personal story of the death of his daughter and the ensuing crisis of finding a home for the seven children left behind after her passing. Windy Boy and his wife took in all seven grandchildren and relayed what would have happened to the kids if he did not take them in. Explaining that if he did not step up and raise his grandchildren they may have been lost to the foster care system, opening the children up to being separated from one another and the possible severance from their culture. Windy Boy stated that the cultural compacts within the MICWA bill will be able to address these issues. Sen. Daniel Emrich, a Republican from Great Falls, encouraged a no vote on the bill on the grounds that the requirement in section one of the bill requires a cultural compact between the guardian and respective tribe of the Indigenous child as a 'serious constitutional concern'. Windy Boy's answer to this was to refer to the Montana state Constitution article 10 section one subsection 2. 'The state constitution recognizes the unique cultural heritage of the tribes in Montana' said Windy Boy. The bill was voted on by the Senate body and passed second reading 31-19 and will now be heard for third reading before going to the House. Indian Education for All was heard for second reading immediately after and involved much less debate. Windy Boy emphasized the accountability required by the bill, appealing to people's want to ensure government funding is used transparently. Simply put it is an accountability piece of legislation. 'So this basically is an accountability bill to make sure that if you get $1 and that dollar is supposed to be geared towards educating the students at the local school district, it's just to see 'show me what you're doing,'' Windy Boy said. No one spoke out against the bill with it passing second reading 31-19 and will also be heard for third reading before advancing to the House. After multiple bills being held up in committees related to Native issues, Montana American Indian Caucus Members look to use the blast motion for their bills to the senate floor, a rare situation, but members believe it is the best way to accomplish their agenda of strengthening Native issues At a Wednesday meeting of Montana's American Indian Caucus, several members raised concerns about their bills being held up in committees and or being tabled or voted down. With Republicans holding a strong majority in both the Senate and the House, it is an uphill battle to get legislation through, prompting some new strategies by the caucus – who are mostly Democratic lawmakers. During last Wednesday's meeting, caucus members concluded enough is enough. Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, a Democrat from Box Elder said he would have the votes to blast his bill in the Senate, citing the current dysfunction of the chamber. Windy Boy's Montana Indian Child Welfare Act was tabled by a committee on Feb. 14, though he said other child welfare bills have advanced from the same committee. The Indian Education for All bill, also from Windy Boy, made several changes to the program that Windy Boy argued created more accountability regarding the reporting of funding. His bill was tabled Jan. 30. Following Windy Boy, Sen. Susan Webber, Blackfeet and a Democrat from Browning, also spoke to her Senate Bill 180, which aims to include the child's heritage in divorce proceedings. It was voted down Feb. 14, but Webber said she plans to blast it Feb. 25. Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula and Salish and Kootenai, also threw his hat in the ring regarding his bill to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day in Montana and is 'On the Jonathan Windy Boy wagon' on blasting his bill as well. Morigeau is confident his bill 'Will not get rid of Columbus Day but will let people celebrate what they want.' Similar legislation has died in previous sessions. The aforementioned dysfunction of the senate stems from what is known as the nine moderate Republicans. These nine have continually been a thorn in the side for the Republican majority. When asked if this factors into Moderates being more open to working on key issues for Montana with Democrats, Windy Boy said 'I don't like to read too much into issues like that, but if it happens, no doubt that's probably what those Moderates are thinking.' Multiple bills this session that have made it to the senate floor have been opposed by the more Conservative Republicans, yet the Moderates have sided with the Democrats on certain matters such as keeping Medicaid Expansion. When asked about situations where individuals work across the aisle to support a bill they may not fully support in exchange for support on their own bill, Webber acknowledged 'That is a part of it and there is some of that going on.' She added that for her bill in particular, she's been able to gain support by talking to and explaining it to others. Morigeau addressed this strategy from a different lens, looking back on last session and explaining a bill to 'establish autism facilities grant program' that was voted down in committee. He then turned to a Republican and asked if they would carry the bill for him. They did, and the bill was signed into law. For Windy Boy, engaging with Moderates has been a productive experience bringing forth appreciation that they are open to listening to what he wants to accomplish, which he attributes to these Republicans being a reflection of their voter base that cares for Montana priorities. Being open to learning from different perspectives from across Montana is an important skill needed to successfully transverse issues, something Windy Boy is well attuned to due to his many years at the Capitol. 'The way I see it is that they're more open minded on looking at that bigger picture, so they understand what the issue is about from our version, our angle,' Windy Boy said. Currently, caucus members believe the issue of bills being held up in committees creates large setbacks for these lawmakers and that using the ability to blast bills will more than likely continue. "I think so as of right now, because it is the only way we can really get our bills through,'Webber said. Windy Boy has been a strong advocate for Indigenous issues for the entire 23 years that he has served the legislature and enjoys stepping up to the plate to cross the aisle and find common ground with Republicans. Looking at it as an opportunity to address stereotypes inflicted on both sides. Even after he was told that doing so was a lost cause to which he ignored. 'I am the kind of guy that I just walk right up and start talking to them,' Windy Boy said. He went on to say that people can often be mislabeled. What I found out are people that are labeled as racist, people that are labeled as discriminatory, all of that,' Windy Boy said. 'My take from it is, they're uneducated, they don't understand me. But at the end of the day, after I turned around and educated them from my approach of what I'm talking about, they have kind of one of those 'Aha moments,' and so those ones there, who have been labeled as racist and discriminatory have become some of my strongest proponents.' For Windy Boy's bills, they must now pass through the Senate and the House with the possibility that other Montana American Indian Caucus members may use the same strategy of blasting their bills through committee hold ups. This story is co-published by Montana Free Press and ICT, a news partnership that covers the Montana American Indian Caucus during the state's 2025 legislative session
Yahoo
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Montana Senate gives nod to Montana Indian Child Welfare Act
The Montana State Flag and tribal flags fly in front of the Montana State Capitol in Helena on Wednesday, April 26, 2023. (Photo by Mike Clark for the Daily Montanan) The Montana Senate preliminarily passed two bills Monday sponsored by Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, D-Box Elder, and earlier 'blasted' to the floor with a procedural move, including legislation to remove a 'sunset' provision from the Montana Indian Child Welfare Act. The Montana Indian Child Welfare Act, similar to the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, ensures the state prioritizes preserving a Native American child's culture and keeping the child with their community when being removed from a parent or parents' care and being placed. It passed in Montana in 2023 with a sunset in 2025 pending a U.S. Supreme Court case, which upheld ICWA. But Windy Boy said the Montana law goes beyond the protections in federal law, it is based on the sovereign status of tribes, and it ensures children have a connection to their tribe and culture. 'There is no asset more valuable to our future than our children,' Windy Boy said. For example, if termination of the legal parent-child relationship is sought in Montana, parents must be notified at every step in the process, an element that differs from federal law. Senate Bill 147 also says any officer influencing foster care or parental rights must demonstrate they have participated 'in active efforts to prevent the breakup of the Indian family.' Sen. Susan Webber, D-Browning, said 30% of children in foster care are Native American, but just 6% of the population of Montana is Native American, and having the legislation in place helps Indian children. 'Those are appalling statistics,' Webber said. 'So anything we can do to help that situation, alleviate that situation, we should do it.' Montana has a high suicide rate for youth, and Sen. Cora Neumann, D-Bozeman, said for Native American youth connected to culture and language, the suicide rate is 13 out of 100,000, and for those not connected to culture, it's 96 per 100,000. 'We see marked increases in their self-esteem as soon as they get connected to culture,' Neumann said. Windy Boy said the bill was personal to him. In February 2020, his daughter died, and she left seven grandchildren, and he said if he and 'their grandma' didn't step up, they probably would not have been exposed to powwows or ceremonies. 'If they were caught up in the system, the foster care system, who's to say where they would have went?' Windy Boy said. The bill passed second reading 31-19, and Windy Boy's Senate Bill 181 also passed 31-19. SB 181 aims to strengthen the state's commitment to Montana Indian Education for All. The Indian Education for All Act states that Montana recognizes 'the distinct and unique cultural heritage of American Indians' and is committed in its educational goals 'to the preservation of their cultural heritage.' It says every Montanan, whether Indian or not, is encouraged to learn about American Indians, every educational agency will work with the tribes to teach those lessons, and school employees will have an understanding of the tribes to help them relate to Indian students and parents. Windy Boy said the Montana Legislature put $3.5 million in the base budget for Indian Education for All starting around 2007, but some of it hasn't been used for its intended purpose. Last session, he said, out of 403 school districts, 150 did not report or underreported the Indian Education for All money the state provided, and the bill intends to create accountability. As drafted, the bill requires reporting to the interim education committee and state-tribal relations committee. It states that if funds are misused, the Office of Public Instruction will reduce the subsequent year's dollars by the same amount, and it will publish an annual report of school districts that don't meet the standards, among other provisions. Sen. Jacinda Morigeau, D-Arlee, said Montana is a leader on this front, and many other states have modeled legislation after Indian Education for All. 'And I want to see us continue being leaders in the nation,' Morigeau said. 'We really are the gold standard for this type of educational mandate.' The bills both were tabled in committee, but the Senate can pull a tabled bill onto the floor with a 'blast' motion and majority vote, and it 'blasted' both SB 147 and SB 181. The bills need another vote in the Senate before moving to the House.
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Montana lawmakers consider expansion of state's Indian Child Welfare Act
Kaiden Forman-Webster ICT + MTFP The sponsor of Montana's Indian Child Welfare Act is proposing several amendments to the bipartisan legislation passed in 2023, saying the changes will extend the law past its statutory sunset later this year, improve consistency in court proceedings around the state and strengthen consultation between state and tribal governments. Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, Chippewa Cree and a Democrat from Box Elder, introduced the amendments in a Monday hearing before the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee. 'What you have before you are amendments detailing more of what was needed,' Windy Boy said during the hearing, referring to the 2023 laws. The committee has not yet voted to advance the bill. Lance Four Star, enrolled Assiniboine and the director of the American Indian Caucus, testified in support of the changes during the Monday hearing. Four Star presented a letter signed by all 12 caucus members stating that Senate Bill 147 is 'a good bill for Indian County and our great state of Montana.' The Indian Child Welfare Act, commonly referred to as ICWA, was passed on the federal level in 1978 to remedy the cascade of Native children that had been displaced from tribes to non-Native households across the entire United States and Alaska. At that time between 75 to 80 percent of Native families had 'lost at least one child to the foster care system,' according to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services, often removing children from their culture and tribe. As of 2020, Native children were estimated to be up to 9 percent of the Montana child population and disproportionately 35 percent of the foster care population according to the Montana Judicial Branch Court Improvement Program. Congress realized the severity of this issue and that is why ICWA is centered on the fact that these children are sovereign citizens and the need for protocol when removing them is essential. The act promotes communication between tribes and states to place these children in homes that best represent their distinct culture to remedy the wrongs of the past. Multiple states have written into law their own versions of the Indian Child Welfare Act to strengthen the federal law; Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Washington, and Wyoming are examples of such states to do so. Montana's version of the law passed in 2023 with support from Democrats and Republicans and was later signed by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte. Many of the proponents testifying in favor of the bill praised the current law as a significant step toward improving state-tribal relations in foster care cases involving tribal citizens and reiterated the painful history of family separations during their testimony. The Indian Child Welfare Act is considered the gold standard for child welfare due to its priority to keep children connected to their families, culture and tribes. Many of the aspects of the Montana Indian Child Welfare Act could be applied to non-native children which was one of the takeaways that Sen. Dennis Lenz-R concluded, saying 'The bulk of it could apply to all children.' This most likely refers to the efforts of the law to keep children with their families and ensures the state does their utmost to look into each case. Windy Boy is a long time representative that has served in both chambers of the Montana legislature and has always been a strong advocate for Indigenous issues. As the sponsor of the bill, he looks to further strengthen the preexisting law with several amendments to continually support that Native children learn their culture. 'It is really important for us to make sure that protection for our little ones, our future generation, are here to remain, are here to continue on this way of life,' Windy Boy said. 'There's a lot of things that you don't see on these laws here, this bill here, that have deeper, pure meaning about the real essence of what we're talking about here, real life experience from the heart, real experience from what was gifted to us from above. It is up to me as a Native to make sure that those future generations learn that way of life.' Dozens of individuals testified in support of the bill, including representatives of tribal governments, nonprofits and courts. Other supporters spoke about their personal experiences, making the drive to Helena for their testimony, while others joined in via zoom to voice their support. Lillian Alvernaz, Nakoda and Lakota, works as an attorney representing parents, tribes, social services, agencies and tribal courts. She gave her testimony as the Chair of the Indian Law Section. During her testimony she shared the story of a Native woman who sought her advice. The grandchildren of a Native woman had been split up, two children going to family members and one baby being placed off reservation within a non-Native household. The woman had not seen her grandchild in months and did not know who to ask for help. This bill will be able to remedy situations like this due to the emphasis of keeping families together and the children tied to their tribes, Alvernaz said. Not a single person spoke out in opposition to the bill. One proponent for the bill, Brooke Baracker-Taylor who serves as an assistant attorney general since 2016 representing the state in dependency and neglect cases in several jurisdictions. She traveled to the Capitol on her own personal time to urge for the passing of the Montana Indian Child Welfare Act bill. Baracker-Taylor provided information on some of the amendments that have been added to the bill. 'What I would say about that is it is extremely important because I think it empowers the department to receive all of the information needed to make thoughtful, informed and compassionate decisions,' she said. This is in reference to the many amendments requiring consultation throughout the placement proceedings, ensuring the respective tribes are informed and vice versa, the state can be informed of the tribe's interests. 'I do not believe that the state can make a fully informed decision about the child without the input of the child's tribe," said Ms. Baracker-Taylor. Baracker-Taylor also spoke to guardianship and how it will be further improved with the new bill. 'The 30 day hearing, will result in early family placements and also facilitates transparency and decision making so that all parties, including resource parents, are on notice regarding potential changes of placement and the likely permanency outcome in our cases,' Baracker-Taylor said. This means that the hearings must be heard within 30 days. One of the last amendments focused on by Baracker-Taylor regards the guardians of the child having the option to enter into compacts with tribes allowing all parties involved the best chance of keeping the child connected to their respective culture. 'Providing them with the necessary tools to assist Indian children connect with their tribes, families and communities.' Ms. Baracker-Taylor said. The overall testimony and Windy Boy himself believes this to be a huge step towards providing Indigenous children within the foster care system the best opportunity to lead a healthy life. Promoting consistency for how these cases are handled by the courts and consultation throughout all proceedings between all parties involved was echoed as the best way to achieve this goal. Montana Free Press and ICT will continue to monitor this bill as it makes its way through the Montana state legislature. This story is co-published by Montana Free Press and ICT, a news partnership that covers the Montana American Indian Caucus during the state's 2025 legislative session
