MT Rep Seeks To End Native American Reservations

The Associated Press reports:

Republican Sen. Keith Regier is proposing asking Congress to study alternatives to reservations. The measure, submitted this week and riddled with racial stereotypes, is unlikely to pass and would have no practical effect if it did. But it’s causing tensions to surface at the Republican-controlled Montana Legislature that kicked off this week. Regier said the language in the resolution was written by Mark Agather, a retired businessman who is involved in conservative politics.

Floyd Azure, chairman of the Fort Peck Tribe in northeastern Montana, said the draft resolution perpetuates racial stereotypes about life on the reservation when social ills, such as addiction, exist nationwide. The resolution argues that Native American reservations were created based on race. The U.S. Constitution recognizes tribes as sovereign governments, which is a political classification.

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The screenshot above comes from Regier’s video endorsement for MAGA Rep. Matt Rosendale, who voted “present” in the battle for Speaker. Last year the Montana legislature voted down a bill to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day.

Morigeau said that if legislators want to consider any alternative, it should be “giving the land back that was taken in the first place, not robbing the last bit of land and resources that we have.”#mtvalues #montana #indigenous @AP @amybethhansonhttps://t.co/NDp4mfBWnE

— Shane Morigeau (@shanemorigeau) January 8, 2023