Friends of the Montana Constitution

09/25/2026

"The Work Between the Words" Sept 10, 2026
Thank you to everyone who joined us for a Special Mansfield Dialogue on the Montana Constitution. Carol Juneau and Denise Juneau presented the story of Indian Education for All across five decades, with an introduction to the topic by Mae Nan Ellingson and moderation from Jacinda Morigeau. Find the full recording at umt.edu/mansfield/dialogues

09/08/2026

September Newsletter from the Friends - https://mailchi.mp/e739660fa590/sept2026

08/27/2026

August Newsletter - https://mailchi.mp/780cec531115/august2026 The Montana Constitution: The Work Between the Words

08/27/2026

Rick Applegate wrote this month's column on the Montana Constitution:

"Kinsey Howard was discussed often during the Montana Constitutional Convention by delegates, staff and all, as they fashioned a new fundamental law. In my role as a ConCon Research Analyst and committee staffer, I had numerous conversations with ConCon delegates who knew about and were profoundly influenced by Howard.

No surprise, his insights are reflected throughout our document, in the delegates’ resolve to overcome the legacy of outside domination, some of which he knew occurred with the complicity of Montana’s leaders and residents. The delegates sought in their deliberations a freshened and more open approach to government — focused on promoting the common good, not mere private advantage, grift and gain — as they worked across party lines to produce the Constitution."

Read Rick's full column on our website MontanaConstitution.org

08/24/2026

Join us on September 10 for a special Mansfield Dialogue on the Montana Constitution. We're so excited for this presentation from Denise and Carol Juneau on "The Work Between the Words, The Story of Indian Education for All Across Five Decades."
Thank you to the The Maureen & Mike Mansfield Center at the University of Montana for hosting this lecture and co-sponsoring it with the Friends of the Montana Constitution.
https://www.umt.edu/mansfield/dialogues/

Join us on Thursday, September 10 at 7:00 pm at the ALI Auditorium for a Mansfield Dialogue with Carol and Denise Juneau co-sponsored by the Friends of the Montana Constitution.

The 1972 Montana Constitution didn’t happen by accident and neither did the promises it made to Indian Education. Both promises were won, and are still being won, by people who kept showing up.

Carol Juneau and Denise Juneau, a mother and daughter who’ve spent their careers on opposite ends of the same fight—one in the legislature and one turning law into practice in classrooms across the state—will share the story of how a constitutional promise gets written and how it only survives because generations of people refuse to let it go unkept.

In person reception starts at 6:00 pm

Learn more and register to attend in person here:
https://forms.cloud.microsoft/r/y6vq4UBX9c

Learn more and register to attend virtually here: 6407bdd1-449d-4b16-9264-834670af58cc@68407ce5-03da-49ff-af0a-724be0d37c9d" rel="ugc" target="_blank">https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/6407bdd1-449d-4b16-9264-834670af58cc@68407ce5-03da-49ff-af0a-724be0d37c9d

07/30/2026

Remembering Lyle Monroe, Con Con Delegate - https://mailchi.mp/bef1dda81e0c/july2026 July Newsletter

07/20/2026

James Grady, novelist and research analyst for the 1972 ConCon, penned our July column:
"Montana’s 54-year-old Constitution was born from Montanans celebrating America’s Declaration of Independence and Constitution and the fights of regular citizens to free the state and their lives from Big Money’s corruption — free from control by the Copper Kings who gleefully wrote the state’s 1889 'Constitution' to keep themselves in power, who rolled billions of dollars out of the state and into their pocketbooks while saying the hell with open democratic government 'by and for the people.'"
Read the whole piece at Montanaconstitution.org/news-opinion/

05/14/2026

What was it like to serve in Montana's Legislature in 1971 before our new constitution was written? Join a free panel discussion with three former legislators who were there. "THE BEFORE AND AFTER TIMES: Serving in the Montana Legislature Before and After Montana’s 1972 Constitution" presentation features Dorothy Bradley, Bob Brown, and Tom Towe with facilitation by Joel Krautter. Join us at the Petro Theater on the MSU-Billings Campus on Monday, June 15 at 5:30 pm.
Learn more and RSVP here: https://montanaconstitution.org/2026/05/14/the-before-and-after-times-serving-in-the-montana-legislature-before-and-after-montanas-1972-constitution/

05/08/2026

Registration is open for our FREE "Teaching Montana's Constitution: A Summer Workshop for Educators" in Billings June 14-16, 2026.
This workshop is intended for high school and middle school social studies, civics, ELA, or government teachers. We have space for about 30 teachers and spots are going fast. Make sure to sign up soon!

https://montanaconstitution.org/2026/04/17/teaching-montanas-constitution/