There are 11 American Indian lawmakers in the Montana legislature, nine democrats and two republicans. It’s a number that mirrors the percentage of American Indians in Montana’s population as a whole. And on issues of particular importance to the tribes, they’ll often act together. Get the full story from the Missoulian linked below.
And why does it matter in Minot? In North Dakota, American Indians make up about 6% of our population, but there none who claim that status serve in our legislature. It invites a couple questions: what are we doing to ensure we’re hearing voices from this population? And what makes us different from our neighbor Montana in that their elected representatives seem to better represent the cross section of their population?
