Indigenous advocates kick off educational listening sessions in rural Montana this month to educate Native Americans about actions the state legislature took this session soon to affect them.

The group Western Native Voice holds culturally tailored community meetings to ensure Montana's Native Americans are engaged in and educated about policy decisions affecting their lives. The group is embarking on a series of listening and teaching sessions to help Native populations around Montana understand issues ranging from health care to voting rights.

Adam Beaves-Fisher, deputy director of government and political relations for the group, said equal access to polls, mail-in ballots and broadband Internet are especially crucial in rural areas, and disproportionately affect Montana's Indigenous population.

"These are real challenges that when you are faced with raising a family, going to work," Beaves-Fisher observed. "When you have these extra barriers that rural Montanans are facing, that creates a real disincentive to vote and engage in the process."

Western Native Voice is starting its legislative tour in Fort Peck July 27 and will continue around the state into September with stops on the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation and on Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation in north-central Montana.

Beaves-Fisher also pointed out Montana's Native American population is chronically undercounted in the U.S. Census, which leaves the state's rural Indigenous people under funded and underrepresented. He added the latest figures are no exception.

"By our estimate, on a conservative basis, Montana tribes are missing out on over $745 million annually because of that undercount," Beaves-Fisher explained. "I think that it's really important that all Montanans and Native Montanans really prepare for the 2030 Census and that counts all Montanans."

Beaves-Fisher added a lack of communication about the existence of the Census and its importance are the critical reasons for the lack of Indigenous representation, especially in hard to reach rural areas.

Protections for Indigenous rock art in Wyoming are in limbo after state lawmakers and the Trump administration took potentially conflicting actions related to them.

Senate File 91, which handily passed the state Legislature, increased the penalties for any kind of petroglyph or pictograph site destruction to a $750 fine and up to six months in prison.

The measure moved forward as the U.S. Department of the Interior fast-tracked energy projects through a decades-old legal review of such sites.

Crystal C'Bearing, tribal historic preservation officer for the Northern Arapaho Tribe, said she used to have 30 days to comment on a project, but now has seven.

"In terms of tribes, our sacred sites and our places of significance, that's our history on the ground," C'Bearing pointed out. "It's not in books, it's on the land. So it's really important for tribes to have that voice in there to protect those sites."

The original Wyoming bill included nearly $500,000 for the state's Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources to survey and make 3D models of Wyoming's petroglyphs but it was ultimately cut.

According to a 2024 "State of the Art" report, of the nearly 1,100 Indigenous rock art sites across Wyoming, about a quarter have been vandalized or defaced.

Beyond Wyoming's borders, C'Bearing noted her office provides legally mandated consultation on any projects in her tribe's ancestral migratory territory, which includes portions of 17 states. She added she takes on hundreds of requests.

"That 30-day window was barely enough time," C'Bearing contended. "Now we have to kind of prioritize those so we can push them through. But it's a challenge."

C'Bearing emphasized the office is allowed to request more time to review projects, giving consultants some leeway.


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On the heels of a busy Montana legislative session, the advocacy group Western Native Voice is setting its sights higher and opening a Washington, D.C., office next week.

The nonprofit formed in 2022 to advocate for equity and opportunity for Montana's Native people. Since then, the group has gained members in, and collaborated with tribes across, many western states.

Keaton Sunchild, director of government and political relations for the group, said it can be difficult to operate at a national level from 2,000 miles away.

"Being able to be right there, be on top of the action and be able to use our voice in Washington is going to help us be a little bit more proactive," Sunchild explained.

He pointed out top issues at the national level include criminal justice funding for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and drug crises disproportionately affecting tribal communities. Sunchild noted the national office will open May 12.

Sunchild called this year's Montana legislative session "pretty successful" for Western Native Voice but highlighted one area of continued concern is voting rights. Gov. Greg Gianforte is expected to decide Tuesday on Senate Bill 490, which would add restrictions to same-day voter registration.

"It's a road we've been down before," Sunchild acknowledged. "Trying to figure out the best way forward for that, whether that's through the courts in Montana, maybe if there's some sort of backstop we can look at federally."

Other voting access issues Sunchild plans to work on are funding for more satellite elections offices and blanket protections for tribal IDs as valid voter registration identification.

Tourism generates $3 billion annually in North Dakota but tribal officials say direct spending from visitors does not always reach their areas. Now, a new grant program aims to help Native American tribes promote their sites.

Gov. Kelly Armstrong recently signed a bill which sets aside $100,000 for North Dakota's five tribal nations to share for tourism-related projects.

Kiera Fox, acting tourism director for the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation, said it might not seem like a lot of money but it is a foot in the door. She noted her team can use it to improve signage and other needs, while promoting their history in a culturally-appropriate way.

"We get to tell our stories with our own voices," Fox explained. "Reeducate a little bit, correct some of those misconceptions everybody has about Native Americans."

She pointed out the MHA Nation is off the beaten path More visibility with signs might convince drivers to take a detour and check out sites, including a local museum and the Crow Flies scenic overlook. The bill sailed through the Legislature with minor opposition; however, the final sum is lower than the proposed $500,000.

Bill sponsors said the initiative benefits regional economies, with promotion from tribal and non-tribal areas working hand-in-hand. As for Indigenous communities, Fox emphasized having more tourists spend money locally expands their revenue base.

"For these businesses, some these entrepreneurs, our Native artists, they benefit," Fox stressed. "And then (there are) more funds going into infrastructure, updating our amenities."

Other tribes submitting testimony said Native entrepreneurs have difficulty working through issues like land use regulations, putting them at a disadvantage in becoming a tourism draw. The state Commerce Department does have other grant programs for local areas to promote themselves but tribal advocates said they are often out of reach for Native entities.


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