Plaintiffs react as Indian Education for All settlement moves toward final approval

Bozeman, Mont. — A settlement in a Montana lawsuit over Native American history in public schools has moved toward final approval.  

DuPois-Pablo vs Montana Office of Public Instruction centers on Indian Education for All, a mandate requiring all Montana K-12 schools to teach the history and culture of the state’s Indigenous tribes. 

Plaintiffs in the case are calling for more accountability in Montana schools when teaching about Native American history and culture. 

Cammie Dupois-Pablo, a parent plaintiff, says the case goes beyond classroom lessons, having impacted her family directly. 

“It’s been extremely personal and important for me. I can’t even count, or you know, I’ve probably forgotten exactly all the times that I’ve gone into school or approached a teacher or written to a teacher trying to correct misinformation or ask for, I guess education or understanding about you know, my children, and where they come from, who they are, who we are,” said Dupois-Pablo. 
 
According to the ACLU of Montana, half of the total $3.5 million meant for the Indian Education for All mandate was used for other resources. 
 
“We learned that large portions of the appropriated money was completely unaccounted for. We saw expenditures that were inappropriate, so we saw librarian salaries being covered using Indian education funding, we saw book that had nothing to do with Indian education being purchased with the funds,” said Alex Rate, legal director of the ACLU of Montana. 
 
Rate says the settlement represents more than a legal outcome and addresses a long-standing gap in public education across Montana. 
 
“The delegates of the 1972 constitution made a promise that Indigenous identity and culture would be part of public education, and for over 50 years, that promise has been largely unmet, and as a result of this settlement agreement, again, we have real accountability and uniform enforcement across the state,” said Rate. 
 
Dupois-Pablo says the settlement has given her more hope as her younger children prepare to move through Montana’s K-12 system. 
 
“I do have a lot more hope now for, you know, my little guys as they’re you know, getting ready to start going through the K-12 system here in Montana. I have more hope that they’re going to see themselves more genuinely and more profoundly reflected and represented in their own homeland,” said Dupois-Pablo. 
 
The settlement has gone through an initial approval process and is awaiting final approval before it can take effect.