After a decade of failed attempts, bill establishing Indigenous Peoples Day poised to become law

Walking up to the podium during a March committee hearing, Marsha Small told Montana state lawmakers, “I feel like I’ve been here forever.”

Small, the co-founder of Indigenous Peoples Day Montana, and others have testified in support of establishing the state holiday for the last 10 years, to no avail. 

This year, though, will likely make history, as a bill establishing Indigenous Peoples Day cleared the state Legislature on Thursday and is poised to become law. Senate Bill 224 now heads to Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte’s desk — marking the most significant progress the legislation has made in a decade. 

Lawmakers through the years have cited different reasons for their opposition to establishing Indigenous Peoples Day as a state-recongized holiday in October. Some took issue with past legislation that would have eliminated Columbus Day, arguing that Christopher Columbus is an important historical figure. Last legislative session, lawmakers criticized bill sponsor Sen. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula and a citizen of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, for speaking about the atrocities Columbus committed against Native Americans when he advocated for the 2023 bill on the Senate floor. 

This year, though, Morigeau and other supporters took a different path. Rather than eliminate or replace Columbus Day, SB 224 allows Montanans to celebrate either or both holidays. Morigeau has consistently emphasized inclusivity in his remarks to lawmakers this session, saying the holiday is meant to celebrate all Montanans. He told Montana Free Press in March that those changes in approach have likely contributed to the bill’s success.

Morigeau in a March House State Administration Committee meeting said SB 224 would establish a “flexible holiday,” giving people the choice to celebrate however they please.

“It’s a day that celebrates the ancestral lineage of all Montanans,” he added. “It’s a day that is shaped and molded by each community and how that community wants to celebrate each other.”

Small told lawmakers in the same hearing that establishing Indigenous Peoples Day “can bring us together.”

“I believe celebrating Columbus Day and Indigenous Peoples Day on the same day will go a long way to healing our communities,” she said. 

Several non-Native supporters this session said the bill encouraged them to research their own lineage. Jacob Zimmerer, a graduate student in Indigenous and rural health at Montana State University, addressed committee members first in Irish. He told lawmakers that his trips to Ireland prompted him to think deeply about ancestral stories and connections. 

“Indigenous Peoples Day to me is an opportunity for us all to feel those layers of stories,” he said.

Olivia Adams, a senior at Arlee High School and citizen of the Blackfeet Nation, told lawmakers in the March committee meeting that establishing the holiday “is a chance to celebrate the resilience and strength of Indigenous people.”

“It’s about recognizing the histories and cultures of Indigenous people who have been here for thousands of years — long before Montana became Montana,” she added. 

While SB 224 has advanced through the Legislature with overwhelming bipartisan support, the only hitch in its progress came on the afternoon of April 9 when Rep. Ed Byrne, R-Bigfork, proposed an amendment on the House floor that would list Columbus Day first in the bill’s language, before Indigenous Peoples Day. Byrne argued Columbus Day should be named first to “maintain its precedence of establishment.”

Rep. Tyson Running Wolf, D-Browning and carrier of the bill on the floor, said the amendment would “delay the process and might kill the bill.” The amendment was voted down 27-71 and the bill ultimately cleared the chamber with bipartisan support

Native Americans make up 6.7% of Montanan’s population. The state is home to 12 tribal nations and seven reservations.