Indian representation bills killed

Associated Press

HELENA - In what one lawmaker called examples of racism and prejudice, the House used party-line votes Friday to kill a pair of bills that would have reserved a seat on each of two state boards for an American Indian.

Voting as a bloc, all 50 Republicans opposed both measures, and 49 of 50 Democrats supported the pair.

One of the bills required an American Indian on the state Board of Pardons and Parole, and the other imposed the same mandate on the Montana Coal Board.

Rep. Veronica Small-Eastman, a Lodge Grass Democrat and sponsor of the bills, said the votes showed the strength of GOP opposition to ensuring American Indian representation in government. "They don't want them," she said. "It's hard to define prejudice. They don't want Native Americans on any boards."

But those objecting to her proposals said an American Indian on each of the boards is either unjustified or unnecessary.

Rep. Ed Butcher, R-Winifred, argued that American Indian tribes pay none of the coal severance tax used by the coal board to award grants to local governments for handling effects of coal development, so an Americna Indian does not deserve a seat on the board.

In debate on the other measure Thursday, Rep. Dee Brown, R-Hungry Horse, said the parole board already adequately considers Indian interests without a mandate for a member of that minority.

The House had approved the parole board requirement in a preliminary vote of 55-45 on Thursday. But the final vote Friday saw five Republicans change their mind and oppose the measure: William Jones, Bigfork; Walter McNutt, Sidney; Bernie Olson, Lakeside; Janna Taylor, Dayton; and John Ward, Helena.

In debate on both bills, GOP lawmakers said they feared that dictating racial membership on one state board would lead to similar demands for other boards.

"If we start to sit minorities on boards for the state, there's no end to it," said Rep. Bruce Malcolm, R-Emigrant. "There's a lot of Polocks around. There's a lot of Scotsmen around. We have to be very careful that we don't set some precedent here."

Democrats contended Indians deserve a slot on the Coal Board because much of Montana's coal is on Indian reservations.

They dismissed the issue of whether tribes pay any coal taxes, saying plenty of areas in Montana have no coal and pay no tax, yet their citizens serve on the board.

"Be courageous, take a stand," Small-Eastman told fellow lawmakers. "Put your prejudices aside."

Rep. Carol Juneau, a Browning Democrat and member of the Blackfeet Tribe, said placing an Indian on the parole board is warranted because of the disproportionate number of Indians in the corrections system. Although Indians represent about 6 percent of Montana's population, they account for 17 percent of inmates at the Montana State Prison and 22 percent of those housed in the private prison at Shelby, she said.

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February 2005 Reports

Last updated on February 20, 2005