Montana State Legislature
2021-2022 State-Tribal Relations Committee
Next Scheduled Meeting:
July 26-27 - Lame Deer, Crow Agency, Billings
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Committee Staff:
Pad McCracken, Research Analyst
Laura Sankey Keip, Attorney
Bethany McDowell James, Secretary
The State-Tribal Relations Committee acts as a liaison with tribal governments in Montana, encourages state-tribal and local government-tribal cooperation, conducts interim studies as assigned, and may propose legislation and report its activities, findings, or recommendations to the legislature.
Committee Members
September 9, 2022: Agenda - Minutes Log - Audio / Video
July 27, 2022: Agenda - Minutes Log - Audio / Video
July 26, 2022 (Meeting with Crow Agency Tribal Members): Agenda - Minutes Log - Audio / Video
July 26, 2022 (Meeting with Northern Cheyenne Tribal Council): Agenda - Minutes Log - Audio / Video
May 5, 2022: Agenda- Minutes Log - Audio/ Video
April 7, 2022: Agenda- Minutes Log - Video
April 6, 2022: Agenda- Minutes Log - Video
January 14, 2022: Agenda- Minutes Log - Audio/ Video
January 13, 2022: Agenda- Minutes Log- Audio/ Video
October 7, 2021: Agenda - Minutes Log - Video
October 8, 2021: Agenda - Minutes Log - Video
July 22, 2021: Agenda - Minutes Log - Audio / Video (sound begins at 20:50)
July 23, 2021: Agenda - Minutes Log - Audio (no video available)
Committee Selected Studies
Other topics
Indian Country programs: one-time-only funding and termination dates (Oct 2021)
Redistricting update (Oct 2021)
Indian Law and Treaty Basics (January 2022)
- Sovereignty, Treaties, and Taxes (Heather Cahoon slides)
- Tribal Nations in Montana: A Handbook for Legislators, 2020
Postsecondary education updates (OCHE slides, January 2022)
COVID-related funding to tribes (LFD memo, January 2022)
Montana Coal Endowment Program overview (Commerce, January 2022)
Decennial report under 90-1-105(7), MCA
- Staff memo - relevant statutes (January 2022)
- Commerce slides (January 2022)
- Decennial report memo/options (April 2022)
- Provisional bill draft, PD 25 (May 2022)
Montana Districting and Apportionment Commission update
Missing Indigenous Persons
- HB 35 (2021; Stewart Peregoy)
- Department of Justice update (January 2022)
- Missing Indigenous Person handout (staff; May 2022)
Recreational marijuana (HB 701) implementation
- Recreational marijuana (HB 701) implementation update (LSD info, January 2022)
- Recreational marijuana HB 701 implementation update handouts (Erin Sullivan, EAIC staff; May 2022)
Fort Belknap Water Compact (background provided for April 2022)
- One-page background (LSD, 2020)
- 2021 S. 1911 at-a-glance (FBIC)
- 2021 S. 1911 executive summary (FBIC)
Indian Boarding Schools and Generational Trauma (May 2022)
- Indian Boarding Schools (Marsha Small slides)
- Historical and Generational Trauma (Lona Running Wolf slides)
Education
- IEFA one-pager (OPI; May 2022)
- Tribal Relations and Resiliency brochure (OPI; May 2022)
Montana Women's Prison (slides; May 2022)
HJ 39 Update (Sue O'Connell, CFHHS staff; May 2022)
Required reports
Resources and publications
- Summary of 2021 legislation impacting state-tribal relations and Indian country
- Tribal Nations in Montana: A Handbook for Legislators, 2020
The STRC will determine over the course of the 2021-22 interim whether to pursue any legislative proposals arising out of its work. An overview of legislation adopted in the 2021 session is available here.
Work plan(as adopted Jan 14, 2022)
Work plan outline (Oct 2021)