What the Helena

This year marks the centennial of the Indigenous Citizenship Act, also known as the Snyder Act, which granted citizenship to Native Americans nationwide. However, the act didn't guarantee the right to vote. We sit down with Ronnie Jo from Western Native Voice to explore the significance of this act 100 years later and its relevance in the current election season. 

To learn more about how Western Native Voice is working with Native American communities to build political and personal power to impact policies affecting their communities, check out their website westernnativevoice.org.

You can follow Forward Montana on Instagram @forward_montana and on TikTok @forwardmontana. Our website is forwardmontana.org. 

This episode was hosted by Sid Boyer and edited by Ashley Lobao.

Make sure YOU are registered to vote here!

This Halloween, we're joined by Max Cumming, Dylan Yonce, and Paul Kim to discuss their forthcoming documentary, The Bodies Beneath Us. The film follows two of Missoula's buried histories: the former poor farm and cemetery site that now hosts Rattlesnake Elementary, and the city's once prominent Chinese community whose bones still rest at the base of Mount Jumbo. These stories ask us to interrogate the things we've been told about the places we call home; to dig a little deeper, and not to look away from what we find.

You can keep up with the documentary on Twitter @bodiesbeneathus and Instagram @bodiesbeneathusdoc. The Bodies Beneath Us is fiscally sponsored by the Foundation for Montana History; you can donate to the project at this link.

Forward Montana is on Instagram and Twitter @forward_montana. You can learn more about us at forwardmontana.org.

During black history month it's important to celebrate and uplift the stories of folks who helped shape both our state and our nation. For this episode, we sat down with author Anthony Wood to share the narratives of black Montanan's across the state from Churches in Billings, to the Black Women's Clubs in Great Falls to The New Age Newspaper of Butte. Take a listen to learn more about some of the events that shaped history through the lens of black Montanans!

To learn more about Anthony Wood's book Black Montana: Settler Colonialism & the Erosion of the Racial Frontier 1877-1930, head here: https://www.anthonywwood.com/

You can check out the documentary Hidden Stories: Montana's Black Past here: https://www.montanapbs.org/programs/hidden-stories/

Forward Montana is on Instagram and Twitter/X @forward_montana. You can learn more about us at forwardmontana.org.

This episode was hosted by Lyla Brown and Courtney Smith and edited by Cydney Smith.

After some technical difficulties, we are pleased and proud to bring you our 2023 Wrapped episode! Last year we saw young people play a huge role in Montana politics so for this episode, we decided to do a little extra to close out 2023. Our hosts, Chloe (they/them) and Kat (they/she), brought in some special guests, played a game, and collected some of your stories and takeaways to give you a rundown of What the Hell—ena even happened this last year.

Show notes!

Forward Montana is on Instagram and Twitter @forward_montana. You can learn more about us at forwardmontana.org.

If you've been following the news in Montana for the last few months, it's likely you've seen a barrage of headlines about property taxes: how much they're rising, who's responsible, and what we ought to do about it. These conversations can be confusing, politically motivated, and full of opaque math and jargon-y terminology. On this month's episode, Montana Free Press's Eric Dietrich helps us see through the political messaging from across the spectrum and get at the heart of the question: what services to we expect from our government, and who should be financially responsible for those services?

PLUS, a bonus mini-interview with Brandon DeMars of Middle Fork Strategies, where we break down the math and message behind TaxShiftMT.com.

You can read Eric's reporting on property taxes (and more!) at this link.

Forward Montana is on Instagram and Twitter @forward_montana. Learn more about us at www.forwardmontana.org.

This episode was hosted and edited by Izzy Milch.

This week, we're joined by Cheyenne from Butte Pride and Kelly and Kayla from the Anaconda Pride Foundation to hear about their experiences planning and pulling off Pride events in small-town Montana earlier this summer. We talk about how unique and crucial these events are in smaller and more rural communities and share lessons we've all learned from organizing with and for LGBTQ2S+ Montanans.

You can keep up with Butte Pride on Instagram @butte_pride. Anaconda Pride Foundation is on Facebook at this link.

You can find Forward Montana on Instagram and Twitter (are we calling it X now? What's up with that?) @forward_montana. Our website is www.forwardmontana.org. You can learn more about our open positions at this link!

This week, we sat down with Caitlin Piserchia, Program Director at the Montana Chapter of the Sierra Club, to chat about Held v Montana-- the historic youth-led climate case currently making its way through Montana's courts. We talk through the unique protections of Montana's Constitution, how we can all best support youth climate advocates as they fight for our collective future, and so much more!

Join us and our friends at Families for a Livable Climate on June 21st from 7-8PM for a virtual Q&A with youth plaintiffs from the case! This is a great opportunity to hear directly from plaintiffs about what it’s like to participate in the FIRST youth-led and the FIRST constitutional climate lawsuit to go to trial in the nation. RSVP (and submit your questions!)at this link: https://www.livableclimate.org/events.

You can find the Montana Chapter of Sierra Club on Instagram @sierraclubmontana, Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MontanaSierraClub, and online at https://www.sierraclub.org/montana.

To learn more about the Held v Montana case, head to youthvgov.org/held-v-montana.

Forward Montana is on Instagram and Twitter @forward_montana, and online at forwardmontana.org.

Well, we’ve made it. After five long months, a slew of national news headlines, and a nearly unfathomable number of bills and resolutions passed, the 68th Montana Legislative Session is finally, blessedly over. So what comes next? 

First, we rest. Then, we continue– with municipal elections this fall, communities to build back up, and rulemaking processes that will determine how these new laws are implemented, there’s a long road ahead of us. We hope you’ll join us.

For this week’s wrap-up episode of What the Helena, we decided to focus less on the nuts and bolts of policy change (although that’s in here, too) and more on our advocacy team’s experience watching the legislative session unfold. In a system that can feel so dehumanizing, it feels more important than ever to bring everything back to what ought to matter most: the people of Montana. So, here it is: sine die!

Big shoutout to Montana rapper and producer, Farch, for blessing the world and our show with Party Rock Matt Regier.

This episode was hosted by Forward Montana's Legislative Advocacy Team: Kat Elam, Chloe Runs Behind, Zach Mangels, and Izzy Milch. This episode was edited by Cassidy Reeves and Izzy Milch.

You can follow along with our work and everything that comes next on Instagram and Twitter @forward_montana and online at forwardmontana.org.

We're thrilled to present a very special holiday episode of What the Helena! To celebrate 4/20, Izzy sat down with Max Savage Levenson, a journalist covering cannabis policy in the state and the man behind Big Sky Chat House. Topics include updates on the state of weed policy in Montana (and this legislature's proposed changes to that landscape), federal movement on cannabis regulation, and our legislative dream blunt rotations. Through it all, one thing is clear: weed has the power to unite us across difference.

You can follow Forward Montana on Instagram and Twitter @forward_montana. Learn more about us at forwardmontana.org.

This episode was hosted by Izzy Milch, and edited by Cassidy Reeves and Izzy Milch.