Reps. Jayme Davis, Rolette; Collete Brown, Warwick; and Lisa Finley-DeVille, Mandaree

Sen. Richard Marcellais, Belcourt

The 2025 session of the North Dakota Legislative Assembly has reached its halfway mark, and it has already been a successful session for North Dakota’s Indigenous community and the sovereignty of Tribal Nations.

With HB 1535, the House voted to create a new “Feather Alert” that provides public notice of a missing Indigenous person just like current Silver and Amber Alerts already provide notice of a missing senior citizen or child. HB 1199 was also adopted to ensure tribal leaders are represented on the statewide commission working to solve the MMIP (Missing and Missing Indigenous Person) crisis.

Likewise, HB 1455 increases government-to-government collaboration by requiring the state Indian Affairs Commission to consult with tribal chairs on any proposed legislation impacting tribal communities. HB 1603 will help the state follow federal law by providing money to return ancestors’ remains and Indigenous artifacts to their rightful homes. Another commendable bill for Indian Country is HB 1545, which proclaims Indigenous Peoples’ Day here in North Dakota.

Among these important achievements, there were still many missed opportunities with bills that failed to pass, including a bill to fix unfair tax treatment of motor vehicles purchased by Native Americans, a bill to study the environmental impact of oil and gas development on tribal communities, and a bill to enhance the implementation of Native American history curriculum in our state’s schools. We will continue to fight for these and other important priorities despite these setbacks.

However, let’s not let those setbacks overshadow the important and impactful wins we’ve already made this year. When we say, “representation matters,” this is exactly what we mean. Because North Dakota’s tribal communities now have multiple elected lawmakers who know the unique needs of our constituents, we are already making better public policy and showing there is broad, bipartisan support for these crucial investments in Indian Country. Let’s keep up this momentum in the second half of the session and make sure these good bills become good laws signed by Governor Armstrong.

P.S. If you’re in Bismarck between March and May, we’d love to see familiar faces and possibly have you join us on the floor for a session