January 4, 2009

from the Missoulian
By JODI RAVE of the Missoulian

Sen. Carol Juneau, D-Browning, the longest-serving member of the Montana Legislature's American Indian caucus, arrives for the 2009 session with legislative priorities ranging from water compacts and education funding to hate crimes and energy drinks.
 
Editor's note
Today, the Missoulian begins a nine-part look at the Indian legislators serving in the 2009 Montana Legislature.
 
Juneau is already set for a hearing Wednesday that would extend the tribal-state water compact commission. She is also prepared to convince lawmakers of the need to increase the state's education budget, expand the definition of hate crimes and regulate the sale of energy drinks.

The Mandan-Hidatsa woman stands among the nine Native caucus members of the Legislature. She has the most seniority within the group, having served four terms in the House. This will be her second term in the Senate.

Juneau has lived on the Blackfeet Reservation for more than three decades. She is most noted for successful passage of the Indian Education for All Act, a law passed in 1999 that affects every public school student in the state. The Indian education act moved lawmakers to live up to Montana's constitutional mandate that Native history and contemporary tribal issues be taught to all K-12 students, a law ignored for more than 30 years.

When the Legislature convenes Monday, Juneau will serve on the Judiciary and Public Health, Welfare and Safety committees.
She has requested hearings for 32 bills. First up is a bill that would extend the Reserve Water Rights Compact Commission, the only state commission in the country dedicated to striking water compact agreements between the state and tribes with federally reserved water rights.

The commission was created in 1979 with a “sunset provision” to expire in 2009. Juneau's bill would extend the commission by four years. A similar bill was introduced during the last legislative session. Gov. Brian Schweitzer's administrative staff did not support previous attempts to extend the commission, “which, of course, helped defeat it,” Juneau said. “So we're trying again.”

Only two reservations in the state have not reached a water rights agreement with the state, including the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and the Blackfeet Nation. Juneau said her compact bill might be amended to include a two-year extension specifically for the Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

As for the education budget, Juneau hopes to increase state funding under the Indian Education for All Act, a law funded for the first time in 2005. The amount allocated per student has declined over the past two years.

The governor's budget currently calls for about $2.9 million, or $20 per student, down from the recent state award of $30.10 per student. In 2005, schools received about $67 per student.

“We were hoping for $40 or $50 (per student), but in light of all the budget issues, we'll have to take a step back,” said Juneau. “We keep cutting it back. It's relatively new. It's only been in our schools about three years. Schools need resources for training their teachers, for buying materials. I'm not sure $20.42 per student is going to meet those needs.”

As an education advocate, Juneau will also seek legislation to pay for a study that examines how poverty affects students' learning ability. She wants to develop a strategy to help schools that have students in areas with “concentrated poverty, who have generational poverty and isolated poverty.”

Besides education, Juneau also aims to expand the definition of hate crime laws. Montana currently does not consider gender, disability and sexual orientation when determining crimes of hate. “Under the current law ... you're not covered,” she said.

Finally, she has been working with community health representatives on the Blackfeet Reservation who are concerned about the sale of energy drinks to youth, including high-content alcoholic beverages often disguised as energy drinks.
Parents sometimes can't tell the difference between the alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks, she said.

The community health group successfully led a ban of alcohol sales during the reservation's annual powwow. “They are now taking it one step forward,” said Juneau. “They've been empowered knowing that through the political process you can accomplish good things.”

Published in the Missoulian on January 4, 2009.