A bill that aims to update the Montana Indian Child Welfare Act was defeated on a 6-5 vote in a Senate committee last week, but the bill’s sponsor said he plans an attempt to revive it.
On Feb. 14 the Senate Public Health, Welfare and Safety Committee tabled the legislation from Sen. Jonathan Windy Boy, Chippewa Cree and a Democrat from Box Elder. Six of the committee’s seven Republicans voted against the bill, while all of its Democrats and one Republican tried to advance it.
Members of the Legislature’s American Indian Caucus said they are frustrated that multiple other bills regarding child welfare have already made it through committees. Windy Boy said he will try later this week to “blast” the bill out of the committee and straight to the Senate floor. A blast motion requires a simple majority vote in the state Senate to pull a tabled bill out of a committee and bring it before the full chamber for debate.
This session’s version of the MICWA bill has several updates to the bipartisan legislation that passed in 2023, including changes that will extend the law past its termination later this year, improve consistency in court proceedings around the state and strengthen consultation between state and tribal governments.
Windy Boy said he believes this session’s bill would be a huge step toward providing Indigenous children in the foster care system with the best opportunity to lead a healthy life. He added that promoting consistency for how those cases are handled by the courts and consultation throughout all proceedings between everyone involved would help achieve that goal.
The Indian Child Welfare Act, or ICWA, was passed on the federal level in 1978 in an attempt to remedy the cascade of Native children that had been displaced from the tribes to non-Native households across the entire United States. At that time, about 80% of Native families had “lost at least one child to the foster care system,” according to the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services.
As of 2020, Native children were estimated to be up to 9% of the Montana child population and disproportionately 35% of the foster care population, according to the Montana Judicial Branch Court Improvement Program.
Congress, realizing the severity of the issue, centered ICWA on the understanding that these children are sovereign citizens and protocol is necessary when removing them. ICWA aims to promote communication between tribes and states to place children in homes that best represent their distinct culture. ICWA has often been referred to as the gold standard for child welfare due to its priority to keep children connected to their families, culture and tribes. Some of its proponents have said that ICWA’s principles should be reflected across child welfare to benefit non-Native children and families.
Multiple states have written into law their own versions of the Indian Child Welfare Act to strengthen the federal law. Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Washington and Wyoming are examples of such states to do so.
Montana’s version of the law passed in 2023 with support from Democrats and Republicans and was later signed by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte.
One of the major changes the bill this session would make is to require that courts hold recurring hearings every 30 days if a child is placed in a household that doesn’t align with MICWA preferences.
Brooke Baracker-Taylor, an assistant attorney general since 2016 who represents the state in dependency and neglect cases in several jurisdictions, spoke in support of that change.
“The 30-day hearing will result in early family placements and also facilitates transparency and decision-making so that all parties, including [foster] resource parents, are on notice regarding potential changes of placement and the likely permanency outcome in our cases,” Baracker-Taylor said.
Lance Four Star, the director of the Legislature’s American Indian Caucus, testified in support of the changes during the hearing Jan. 27. Four Star presented a letter signed by all 12 caucus members stating that Senate Bill 147 is “a good bill for Indian Country and our great state of Montana.”
Many of the proponents testifying in favor of SB 147 praised the current law as a significant step toward improving state-tribal relations in foster care cases involving tribal members and reiterated the painful history of family separations.
Dozens of individuals testified in support of the bill, including representatives of tribal governments, nonprofits and the judicial branch. Other supporters spoke about their personal experiences, making the drive to Helena for their testimony, while others joined in via Zoom to voice their support.
One individual shared a story in which a Native grandmother’s grandchildren had been split up, two children going to family members and one baby being placed off-reservation in a non-Native household. The grandmother said she has not seen her grandchild in months and did not know whom to ask for help.
Baracker-Taylor came to the Capitol on her own personal time to urge for the passing of the MICWA bill. She also advocated for an amendment to require consultation with the respective tribes throughout the placement proceedings.
“What I would say about that is it is extremely important because I think it empowers the department to receive all of the information needed to make thoughtful, informed and compassionate decisions,” Baracker-Taylor said.
“I do not believe that the state can make a fully informed decision about the child without the input of the child’s tribe.”
Baracker-Taylor also spoke in support of an amendment that would aim to give the guardians of a child the option to enter into compacts with tribes that would connect adults with resources to help keep children connected to their culture.
“[It would provide] them with the necessary tools to assist Indian children connect with their tribes, families and communities.” Baracker-Taylor said.
No one spoke in opposition to the bill.
This story is co-published by Montana Free Press and ICT, a news partnership that covers the Montana American Indian Caucus during the state’s 2025 legislative session.
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