Janet Robideau hates being told “no,”
thanks to a Catholic boarding-school education where strict
obedience was doctrine. Now, all those years of keeping silent and
following rules have inspired her to do exactly the opposite: give
voice to Montana’s urban Indians and change the rules that have
restricted them for years.
Robideau, a member of
the Northern Cheyenne tribe, founded Indian People’s Action in 1997
on the advice of Rev. Jesse Jackson. The group advocates for
Montana native people – the state’s largest minority – on issues
such as public education, law enforcement, affordable housing and
health care.
Indian People’s Action, a chapter of
Montana People’s Action, is now 300 members strong, and it’s
bending the ears of state and local
officials.
The group championed the state’s
Indian Education for All Act, passed in October 2000, which
requires more Indian teachers on school staffs, fair and accurate
portrayals of Montana tribes in the curriculum and qualified
instructors to teach Native American history courses. Now the
direct-action organization plans to agitate against noncompliant
school districts.
Robideau likens her job to
peeling an onion: “You pull off one layer only to discover there’s
another, and it makes you cry the whole
time.”
For more information on Indian People’s
Action, call 406/728-5297 or visit
www.mtpaction.org.
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Banging the drum for change.
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