Opinion
Editor, From 2019 to 2024, the congressional Commission on Native Children was tasked with examining federal, state, and tribal youth programs across the nation. As a Commissioner on this commission, I can attest that most of the witnesses chosen by federal agencies received federal funds in one manner or another. Recommendations include increased funding, a new federal office, wrap-around care, and a requirement that tribal language and culture be taught in every school district across the United States and every teacher in the United States be certified to teach a tribal language and culture, whether or not there are any tribal members living in the district. “Tribal Colleges ...
Editor, On June 5 the U.S. Senate voted on advancing a bill to protect access to contraception. Senator Steve Daines (R) voted against it. Senator Jon Tester (D) voted for it. The bill did not advance because it did not meet a 60% majority vote to advance. The federal government is not interested in...
If there is one thing every business owner, rancher, and manager agrees on, it’s that if you don’t have good people, you don’t have much. And if there’s one thing Montanans (and, increasingly, outsiders) know, it’s how good our hunting and fishing opportunities generally are....
Editor, To the citizens of Lake County: As you may be aware, we are on the eve of Lake County withdrawing its consent to bear the costs of PL280, a law which provides that the state, and therefore my office, have jurisdiction over tribal members who commit felony crimes. Because it has been widely p...
No one plans to date after 50, but you never know the details life will hand you: divorce, death of a spouse, boredom, aloneness - it all leads to one thing. You find yourself being half of a couple in a couple’s world. Such a conundrum. You were once half the age of 50 and probably a couple, now...
Montanans appreciate locally grown food, from vegetables to fresh-picked huckleberries, raw honey, and grass-fed beef. Can we say the same about our wood products? Your community would rally to keep a local rancher in business… won’t you do the same to keep a local sawmill in business? ...
Last month the President of the Montana Senate established a select committee on Judicial Oversight and Reform. We were appointed to that committee along with Democrat and Republican legislators and members of the public. Before our first meeting, partisan attacks were leveled at the President and the commit...
Editor, “How important it is for us to recognize and celebrate our heroes and she-roes.” (Maya Angelou) Memorial Day is coming up. My father flew an Air Force C-47 delivering supplies to troops across the Aleutian Chain in Alaska. I lost one brother too soon due to exposure to Agent Orange ...
I read something today that changed my perception of the concept of confidence. It said something along the lines of: “Confidence can’t be seen or heard. It can’t be created by anyone but you.” I found this profound. I’ve always believed I lacked confidence....
One headline in the Salt Lake Tribune has stirred up the agricultural community across the West. It proclaims that hamburgers and cows are the culprits behind the droughts, and by eating fewer burgers, Americans could save the environment. Sound familiar? Last spring Ireland made international headlines with...
