Page 6 - Western Native News Today

David Goldman/AP toggle caption David Goldman/AP On the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northwest Montana, many tribal members dont have a way to reliably get into town and vote during elections, nor do their homes have mail service to send in an absentee ballot. David Goldman/AP Renee LaPlant, an organizer with the Indigenous get-out-the-vote group Western Native Voice, is driving across the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northwest Montana. "Glacier Nat...

According to a GoFundMe page set up on her family's behalf, Northern Cheyenne Tribal Councilwoman Silver Little Eagle (pictured above) was brutally attacked.

/ Renee LaPlant, an organizer with the Indigenous get-out-the-vote group Western Native Voice, is driving across the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in northwest Montana. "Glacier National Park is just right up there," she says. "But the rest of it is mostly all of the reservation. Its vast. Its huge." So huge, LaPlant says, that many tribal members dont have a way to reliably get into town and vote during elections, nor do their homes have mail service to send in an absentee ballot. West...

Montana Tribes File Lawsuit Challenging New Voting Laws Several Montana tribal nations and legal nonprofits on Monday filed a lawsuit challenging two new laws they say disenfranchise American Indian voters. The American Indian Rights Fund and the ACLU of Montana filled the case in the Yellowstone County district court on behalf of the Blackfeet Nation, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, Fort Belknap Indian Community, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe and Western Native Voice. 

"I remember accepting it. I thought OK, this is the way the world is," she said.  In college, Snow needed money to pay bills, so she started registering voters with Western Native Voice. Little did she know, the experience would launch her career in politics.  Since then, Snow has worked as an organizer for Western Native Voice, she was the first Indigenous woman in Montana to be a full-time lobbyist and she served as the Native vote program director for the Montana Democratic Party.  "Th...

Western Native Voice and We Are Montana announce $15,000 in healthcare scholarships Montana grassroots organizations will award $15,000 in healthcare scholarships to Native American students Author: News Release Western Native Voice  Western Native Voice (WNV) in partnership with We Are Montana (WAM) are pleased to announce they are expanding their COVID-19 Relief Fund to include a new Native American healthcare scholarship program. The program will provide financial support to Native Americ...

A Kalispell lawmaker is reviving a proposal he brought four years earlier to eliminate Montana’s Commissioner of Political Practices, the state’s enforcer of campaign finance and lobbying laws. The bill, brought by Republican Rep. Derek Skees, got its first hearing Thursday in the House State Administration Committee. Similar to legislation that passed the House in the 2017 session before stalling out in the Senate, House Bill 535 proposes shifting much of the COPP office’s dutie...

   By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press New Mexico is revising its color-coded risk system by adding a new color that signifies when counties can ease even more pandemic-related restrictions. The red-yellow-green system now includes turquoise. State health officials said Wednesday that counties reach that category by meeting certain health criteria for four consecutive weeks. It allows for expanded indoor dining and the operation of entertainment venues like theaters, bars and clubs. All...

Lawmakers Advance Bill To Limit Ballot Collection In Montana Montana lawmakers are considering several bills this session that aim to regulate election practices, including one that’s nearly identical to a policy that’s currently tied up in court. Lawmakers on the House Judiciary Committee voted along party lines Tuesday evening to advance House Bill 406. It would prohibit people or organizations from dropping off ballots for other people. There are some exceptions, like for postal carrier...

   By Matthew Daly, Associated Press President Joe Bidens nominee to head the Interior Department  faced sharp questions from Republicans Tuesday over what several called her "radical" ideas that include opposition to fracking and the Keystone XL oil pipeline. Deb Haaland, a New Mexico congresswoman named to lead the Interior Department, tried to reassure GOP lawmakers, saying she is committed to "strike the right balance" as Interior manages oil drilling and other energy development while ...