Lawmakers look to honor indigenous people
By Leia LarsenMontana Free Press
montanafreepress.org HELENA — Indigenous Peoples’ Day could become a state-recognized holiday in Montana. House Bill 219, introduced by Rep. Shane Morigeau, D-Missoula, would remove Columbus Day from the state’s legal holidays and add Indigenous Peoples’ Day on the day before Thanksgiving. The House State Administration Committee will hear the bill at 9 a.m. on Thursday, January 31, in Room 455. A missing persons bill pays tribute to an indigenous woman who was murdered on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. House Bill 21 would create Hanna’s Act in remembrance of Hanna Harris, a Lame Deer woman who disappeared on July 3, 2013, and was found dead days later. Hanna’s Act would create a position for a missing-persons specialist in the Department of Justice. The specialist would investigate and track all of Montana’s missing people, not just members of indigenous communities. The act would also appropriate $100,000 each year from the state General Fund to support Hanna’s Act. Rep. Rae Peppers, D-Lame Deer, is sponsoring the bill. The House Judiciary Committee will hear HB 21 at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, January 30, in Room 137. Leia is an award-winning reporter who has covered the environment and public policy in Colorado, Utah, and now the Montana capital. She has a master's degree in journalism from the University of Colorado Boulder. Contact her at llarsen@mtfp.org or (406) 465-3386. This story originally appeared on Montana Free Press on January 25, 2019. It is published under a Creative Commons license.
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