Lawsuit questions school board district on Fort Peck Reservation

Thursday, August 8, 2013  

The American Civil Liberties Union in Montana has filed a voting rights lawsuit on behalf of residents of the Fort Peck Reservation.

According to the lawsuit, reservation voters in the Wolf Point School District elect one high school board member for every 841 residents. But non-Indian voters get one board member for every 143 residents, the ACLU says.

"This clearly violates the principle of one person, one vote, and creates a school board where white members of the district are overrepresented and Native Americans are underrepresented," ACLU of Montana Legal Director Jon Ellingson said in a press release. "The school district has an obligation under both state and federal law to redraw voting districts every 10 years based upon accurate population numbers. It's long past time for the district to do that."

According to the ACLU, Native Americans represent a majority in their voting district. The school district says 80 percent of its students are Native American.

Get the Story:
ACLU files lawsuit over Wolf Point voting district (AP 8/7)