The Montana American Indian Caucus (MAIC) brought 34 bills this session. Half of them made it to Gov. Greg Gianforte’s desk.
The effort was a result of months of planning, cooperation and strategic policymaking. Caucus members say they saw the impact of their efforts more than in other sessions. There were obstacles along the way, but caucus members held fast in their belief that “what’s good for Indian Country is good for Montana.”
That’s an argument some legislators agreed with.
Democratic Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy of Box Elder is the caucus’ longest serving member. He found bipartisan support with nine moderate Republican senators to revive a few bills that had been passed over.
"I felt comfortable in my skin because understanding those nine moderate Republicans that voted with us – that was 27 votes, enough to pretty much get anything we wanted to get through."Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy
"I felt comfortable in my skin because understanding those nine moderate Republicans that voted with us – that was 27 votes, enough to pretty much get anything we wanted to get through," Windy Boy said.
This included a bill to remove an expiration date for the state’s Indian Child Welfare Act, which works to prevent Native youth in the foster care system from being separated from their tribal communities.
Windy Boy carried that policy this year. For him, keeping it alive was personal.
"When I lost my daughter in 2020, she left me with seven grandkids," he said. "And if their grandma and I did not step up and adopt them, they would have gotten caught up in that foster care system and there would have been no guarantee that they would've been in one family unit."
Browning Democratic Rep. Tyson Running Wolf chaired the caucus for the 2025 Legislative Session. He says this year felt different.
"This session particularly felt that we were a force as the Montana American Indian Caucus. We had more legislators coming up to us and asking for support, wanting us as a caucus to bring in, to stand up on their bills, to give them support."
"This session particularly felt that we were a force as the Montana American Indian Caucus. We had more legislators coming up to us and asking for support, wanting us as a caucus to bring in, to stand up on their bills, to give them support."Rep. Tyson Running Wolf
Each Wednesday during the session, the Montana American Indian Caucus (MAIC) met at noon. It was open to everyone, available over Zoom, and often provided lunch. After each meeting, a caucus staffer sent emails recapping the caucus’s priorities.
Running Wolf says, "We all wanted to make sure that all Republicans and Democrats were welcome to the meetings and they could bring their bills forward and say, hey, we need this support letter or we need somebody to come in and testify from the MAIC to help our bills get through."
Running Wolf says that even lobbyists separate from the group told him they saw the influence the caucus held this year.
"I voiced that to the rest of the MAIC, and they took their positions a lot more serious in knowing that they are influential in the state of Montana in making bills move forward."
He explains they were strategic about what bills they introduced at different points in the session. The caucus’s priorities this year were focused on child care, housing, education and health care. Some were major milestones, including a law designating Indigenous Peoples Day, an effort that has failed for the last decade.
The caucus’s priorities this year were focused on child care, housing, education and health care. Some were major milestones, including a law designating Indigenous Peoples Day, an effort that has failed for the last decade.
Some faced barriers beyond bureaucratic strategy.
Running Wolf carried a bill that amended the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons’ Task Force. Republican Rep. Lukas Schubert hoped to amend it to broaden the focus away from Native Americans.
"Many non-Indigenous people go missing or are murdered in the state of Montana, and this program completely ignores the real suffering of those victims and their families, simply because they are not Indigenous," Schubert said.
Other Republican representatives did not come to his aide, and the amendment failed. Republican Rep. George Nikolakakos of Great Falls said, "I recommend we send this amendment back to the playground where it belongs. I'll be voting red."
Patrick Yawakie cofounded the lobbying group Red Medicine and represents the Rocky Boy, Blackfeet and Fort Belknap Indian communities. He says this pattern of non-tribal legislators attempting to dictate what is best for the tribes, often without consultation, is an ongoing challenge:
"We have to show up and take up space. And it goes to the saying, 'you know if you're not at the table, you're on the menu.'"
Over the next two years, caucus legislators say they’ll be working hard to maintain their positions, and keep representing Montana’s tribal communities. Running Wolf says they’ll use the interim to focus on tribal consultation, education, voting rights and monitoring the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services' execution of legislation focused on tribal communities.
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