News & Commentary

“Renewing Montana’s Medicaid program is a win-win. It will continue to provide access to healthcare for our most vulnerable, save the state money, and increase economic activity and jobs. Renewing our Medicaid program will also make Montana safer and help Montanans who are returning to their communities after being incarcerated.  Any proposal to add a work requirement or drug testing would harm all of the people who depend on Medicaid to access healthcare and would be a huge waste of Montana’s tax dollars. Nobody would benefit from the bureaucratic mess that these barriers would create.”  SK Rossi, Advocacy and Policy Director for the ACLU of Montana

The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments for Herrera v. Wyoming on Jan. 8, 2019. In taking this case, the Supreme Court has a chance to hold the federal government accountable for a promise that it made to the Crow Tribe 150 years ago. That promise, ratified in the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, guarantees the right of the Crow to hunt and fish on all “unoccupied lands” of the United States. The ACLU of Montana supports tribal sovereignty and signed onto an amicus brief in support of Clayvin Herrera and the Crow Tribe. 

Thanks to your support, we did a lot in 2018! Here are some highlights from the past year.

The ACLU of Montana has asked Secretary of State Corey Stapleton to take proactive steps to ensure that every qualified voter has access to the ballot box in 2020.

In January 2017, after traveling nearly 90 miles to cheer on their children, Brandy and Elsworth GoesAhead, Whitney Holds, and Emerine Whiteplume — known as the Pryor Four — were denied entrance to the Reed Point gymnasium by Athletic Director Teresa Bare. Waiting outside the school in cold winter weather, the Pryor Four knocked on the door seeking entrance.  Ms. Bare opened the door for another individual and announced, “we don’t have any workers yet, so we are only letting white people in.” Read more about their lawsuit. 

With the mid-term election right around the corner, the ACLU of Montana is working to ensure that all eligible voters can exercise their fundamental right to vote.

Many commentators express astonishment that deliberate misinformation and broken promises are now the hallmarks of American government. Indigenous communities and individuals, however, don’t share that surprise. For them, the last two hundred years are filled with broken promises and deliberate misinformation from a government hell-bent on occupying every corner of the continent. This fall, the United States Supreme Court has a chance to finally hold the government accountable for the promises that it made to the Crow Tribe in Montana. Those promises, ratified in the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie, guarantee the right of the Crow to hunt and fish on all “unoccupied lands” of the United States.

My name is Melissa Smylie. I am a mother, a former AmeriCorps member, and student. I also have three felony convictions and a hefty handful of probation violations. I have reclaimed my life, but re-entry into life after being convicted and incarcerated was hard. The barriers the probation system created made recovery nearly impossible. I was successful because I found ways to get active, volunteer, and be of service to others. I filled my days with this, so that I wouldn’t be thinking about giving up.

Two months ago, the ACLU of Montana, Montana Human Rights Network, and 10 other organizations sent a letter to Senator Tester detailing CBP abuse in Montana and demanding that he stand up for immigrants and American citizens living in Montana. He has yet to respond or take any action to stop egregious CBP behavior on the Hi-Line – his own back yard.