Ongoing U.S. Settler Colonialism and Indigenous Knowledge in Montana Lawmaking

• In Event: Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) Research Session I

Abstract

Entanglements of ongoing settler colonialism and Indigenous knowledge exist all over the U.S. To better understand the interplay between the two, this presentation focuses on two research questions: How is ongoing settler colonialism impacting and/or creating barriers for Native lawmakers in Montana? What is the role of Indigenous presence and knowledge in lawmaking in Montana? Montana’s Indigenous population is 7% and the current state Legislature includes 13 tribal members—9% of all Montana legislators—giving the Montana Legislature parity with the Native population in the state. This study focuses on the experiences of 20 Native legislators—and those adjacent to them—to identify and articulate ongoing settler colonialism in how it appears in lawmaking at the state level in Montana. Additionally, this research analyzes the text of specific bills as well as legislative discourse about particular bills. Using a qualitative approach, informed by Indigenous (Michif/Anishinaabe) methodologies, critical ethnographic methods, and community-engaged principles, this study highlights the experiences of Native legislators in Montana to show how Indigenous presence, knowledge, and futurity persist amidst a settler colonial governmental structure. Finally, this project contributes empirically based understandings of a specific stage and location of ongoing settler colonialism in the U.S., a necessary addition to sociological understandings of colonization.

Author

• Melissa Horner-Petrone, University of Missouri | Dartmouth College