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What the Helena 2021

What the Helena – Week 3

*January 24, 2021* When the going gets tough… We huddle up As President Biden moved into the Oval Office last week, Montana legislators continued trucking away in Helena. A full slate of legislation came at us, and a lot of it was, well, alarming. Deep breaths. Before we dive in, we want to invite you to Forward…

What the Helena 2021

What the Helena – Week 2

*January 17th, 2021* Holy smokes, welcome back folks! An attempted coup on our nation’s democracy as COVID-19 deaths continue to surge – 2021 is shaking out to be quite the year. How is it only January?! As Inauguration Day for President-elect Joe Biden approaches on January 20th, there have been threats of armed marches at all…

What the Helena 2021

What the Helena – Week 1

*January 10, 2021* Welcome to What the Helena! We’ll be hitting your inbox weekly with everything you need to know about Montana’s 67th Legislative Session and how it affects young Montanans. Was your New Year’s resolution to be a better activist? You’re in the right place. Thanks for joining us! The legislative session kicked off…

Voicing Our Values

Keystone XL Talking Points

  Background: This April, a Montana Judge canceled a national permit for the TransCanada Keystone XL tar sands pipeline giving blanket approval to construct the pipeline across hundreds of rivers and streams. This was a substantial blow to pipeline construction, but not a final end to this dangerous project. In September, TransCanada applied for a…

Notes from the Field

2020 Post-Election Statement

Please see the below statement from Kiersten Iwai, Executive Director and Amara Reese-Hansell, Program Director:   As an organization that fiercely believes in a just and equitable world where all Montanans can thrive, we’re disappointed in this week’s statewide election results. We’re grappling with the fact that our generation is now represented by Montana politicians…

Notes from the Field

2020 Post-Election Follow Up

For those of you who are looking to engage, need to vent and voice your frustrations, or just have an issue or topic you’d like to engage around, we encourage you (if you feel comfortable) to fill out the form below. As we build out our plans for the next several months, we want all…

Notes from the Field

A Note from Michael

It has been 7 years since my first day as an FMT intern. Since then, I have served as a volunteer, field fellow, field organizer, and field manager. I have organized dozens of community events, mobilized thousands of voters, testified in public hearings, met hundreds of incredibly passionate organizers across the country, and so much…

Notes from the Field

Forward Montana 2020 Board Elections

One of the best things about Forward Montana is that we are a cooperative organization: our Board of Directors is made up of and elected by Forward Montana members each year. Well, folks, the time for Board Elections is now (June 8th through July 3rd) – and whoa do we have some GREAT candidates.  REMEMBER: Only…

Voicing Our Values

#BlackLivesMatter

Forward Montana and Forward Montana Foundation denounces the white supremacy and police violence that is killing Black lives. We proudly support the #BlackLivesMatter uprisings and actions across the nation and state of Montana In 2004, the founders of our organization believed in an equitable Montana where all people could thrive. They believed Montana would be…

Voicing Our Values

Unsure how to support racial justice in Montana?

Here’s some things you can do. In our experience, we have found that many (well-intentioned) white people often conflate Montana’s whiteness with a lack of diversity and racism. This harmful rhetoric erases the thousands of years Indigenous peoples who have stewarded the land and communities of color who call Montana home. It also ignores the…