Bill to expand tribal language program aims to protect endangered Montana languages

Senate Bill 182 would revise and expand the Montana Indian Language Preservation Program to increase flexibility for tribes to partner with public and nonpublic educational entities, strengthen professional development, and encourage use of materials already produced by tribes and housed at the Montana Historical Society.

Sponsor Senator Windiboy told the committee the bill relaxes a prior mandate that tribes must partner in a specific way and instead encourages collaboration across public schools, tribal immersion programs, early‑learning providers and post‑secondary institutions. Proponents, including Western Native Voices, tribal representatives and the ACLU of Montana, described language revitalization as urgent: Montana hosts nine tribal languages, several critically endangered.

Witnesses highlighted concrete uses for program funds — curriculum materials, apps, flash cards, oral‑history projects and signage — and urged continued funding and administrative support through OPI. Imani Kindness Coleman (Montana Budget and Policy Center) noted language revitalization’s documented benefits for student identity, mental health and academic outcomes and urged a due pass.

SB 182 proponents said the bill would better coordinate existing materials and programs, create pathways for tribal sovereignty in curriculum decisions, and expand access to professional development for language teachers and immersion programs. The committee closed the hearing after sponsor remarks describing how the measures in SB 181 and SB 182 are intended to work together.