Stories for Action Lara Tomov

This is Part 2 of 2 of our episodes on the Mighty Few. We HIGHLY encourage you to first listen to Part 1, as it provides essential context. Part 2 expands on youth empowerment, connections to traditional cultures, and the approaches necessary to move this community development work forward in a good way.
Historically, and still today, the Mighty Few (a District of the Apsáalooke or Crow Nation in Southeast Montana) have proven their name through resourcefulness, determination, and strength in unity. Witness the process of this community strengthening their connection to identity, the land, and community togetherness. Through truly grassroots efforts, the Mighty Few are guiding action that creates necessary healing, economic opportunities, and self-determination to thrive into the future. We hope this episode can be used to support the work featured, as well as provide insight for other communities looking to create greater opportunities from within. 
This episode pairs with the film Life in the Land: The Mighty Few. The Life in the Land project is a series of films that hears from folks around Montana speaking to the value in community-guided and holistic approaches within the landscape. The content is available for free at LifeintheLand.org
LINKS:
Wyola Development Fund
Mighty Few Development Authority
Wyola Mighty Few Youth Group - FB Page
Intro to Crow Culture & History, via Little Big Horn College
Indigenous Collaboration, consulting service
Stories for Action holds a mission to use the power of storytelling to spark positive action for people and place. StoriesforAction.org  Follow along on our Instagram and Facebook: @StoriesforAction
This episode was produced by Lara Tomov & Stories for Action, Producer Lesley Kabotie, Narration & Contributing Writing by JoRee LaFrance, Contributing Writing by Marina Weatherly, Associate Producer Robyn Iron, Production Support in the field from Rachal Male Bear Stone. Gratitude to those who helped to make this production possible, and to the people and landscape of the Mighty Few and Crow Nation.
 
 
#CrowNation #mightyfew #crowtribe #Apsaalooke #wyola #CrowReservation #communitydevelopment #community #Montana #406 #public health #rural #ruraldevelopment #ruralcommunities #native #indigenous #indigenousleadership #nativeleadership #culture #nativelanguage #localleadership #local #thinklocal #indianrelay

Iikooshtaka’atbaatchaache, home of the Mighty Few. Historically, and still today, the Mighty Few (a District of the Apsáalooke or Crow Nation in Southeast Montana) have proven their name through resourcefulness, determination, and strength in unity. Witness the process of this community strengthening their connection to identity, the land, and community togetherness. Through truly grassroots efforts, the Mighty Few are guiding action that creates necessary healing, economic opportunities, and self-determination to thrive into the future. We hope this episode can be used to support the work featured, as well as provide insight for other communities looking to create greater opportunities from within. 
This is Part 1 of 2 of our episodes on the Mighty Few. Part 1 provides historical and cultural context of the people and place here, describes the specific community development projects, and discusses the value in creating a foundation of community connection and well-being. It also features an interview with Jamie Kirby, Program Director of the Montana Urban & Community Forestry Program.  
This episode pairs with the film Life in the Land: The Mighty Few. The Life in the Land project is a series of films that hears from folks around Montana speaking to the value in community-guided and holistic approaches within the landscape. The content is available for free at LifeintheLand.org
LINKS:
Wyola Development Fund
Mighty Few Development Authority
Wyola Mighty Few Youth Group - FB Page
DNRC's Urban & Community Forestry Program
Intro to Crow Culture & History, via Little Big Horn College
Indigenous Collaboration, consulting service
Western Native Voice
Stories for Action holds a mission to use the power of storytelling to spark positive action for people and place. StoriesforAction.org  Follow along on our Instagram and Facebook: @StoriesforAction
This episode was produced by Lara Tomov & Stories for Action, Producer Lesley Kabotie, Narration & Contributing Writing by JoRee LaFrance, Contributing Writing by Marina Weatherly, Associate Producer Robyn Iron, Production Support in the field from Rachal Male Bear Stone. Gratitude to those who helped to make this production possible, and to the people and landscape of the Mighty Few and Crow Nation.
 
 
#CrowNation #mightyfew #crowtribe #Apsaalooke #CrowReservation #communitydevelopment #community #Montana #rural #ruraldevelopment #ruralcommunities #native #indigenous #indigenousleadership #nativeleadership #localleadership #local #thinklocal #indianrelay

Along this stretch of the Upper Yellowstone River in Montana, various dynamics exist. Hear from a rancher, a river restoration professional, an outdoor recreation business owner, and a Traditional Ecological Knowledge educator who are all deeply connected to this river. Whether the challenge is drought, flood, impact from river recreation, development, or otherwise, witness how approaches that are guided by local communities and by the river itself can create greater resiliency for the people and place here.
This is Part 2 of 2 of our episodes on the Upper Yellowstone River, focusing on the impact from increased river recreation, a community-guided response to this pressure, and the impacts of land use changes, rural community disconnects, and the challenges and value in collaborative approaches.
This episode pairs with the film Life in the Land: The Upper Yellowstone River. The Life in the Land project is a series of films that hears from folks around Montana speaking to the value in community-guided and holistic approaches within the landscape. The content is available for free at LifeintheLand.org
LINKS:
The Upper Yellowstone Watershed Group
Montana Freshwater Partners
Project Indigenous
Dan Bailey's Outdoor Co.
Park County Environmental Council
Give Back to the Yellowstone Campaign
Wild Livelihoods Business Coalition
Stories for Action holds a mission to use the power of storytelling to spark positive action for people and place. StoriesforAction.org  Follow along on our Instagram and Facebook: @StoriesforAction
 
 
#yellowstone #montana #rivers #upperyellowstone #paradisevalley #recreation #flyfishing #fishing #montanarivers #montanafishing #rafting #community #rural #watershedgroup #climatechange #wyoming #yellowstonenationalpark #nationalpark #bozeman #livingston

Along this stretch of the Upper Yellowstone River in Montana, various dynamics exist. Hear from a rancher, a river restoration professional, an outdoor recreation business owner, and a Traditional Ecological Knowledge educator who are all deeply connected to this river. Whether the challenge is drought, flood, impact from river recreation, development, or otherwise, witness how approaches that are guided by local communities and by the river itself can create greater resiliency for the people and place here.
This is Part 1 of 2 of our episodes on the Upper Yellowstone River, focusing on the historic floods in 2022, the aftermath, and looking forward for resiliency for people and place.
This episode pairs with the film Life in the Land: The Upper Yellowstone River. The Life in the Land project is a series of films that hears from folks around Montana speaking to the value in community-guided and holistic approaches within the landscape. The content is available for free at LifeintheLand.org
 
LINKS:
The Upper Yellowstone Watershed Group
Montana Freshwater Partners
Project Indigenous
Dan Bailey's Outdoor Co.
Park County Environmental Council
Give Back to the Yellowstone Campaign
Stories for Action holds a mission to use the power of storytelling to spark positive action for people and place. StoriesforAction.org  Follow along on our Instagram and Facebook: @StoriesforAction
 
#yellowstone #montana #rivers #upperyellowstone #paradisevalley #flooding #climatechange #rural #montanarivers #flyfishing #yellowstonenationalpark #river #bozeman #livingston
 

Wildlife and humans have a need to move across the landscape. But our modern modes of travel have put those necessary pathways at odds with one another. Our highways create barriers for animals to carry out the daily movements and seasonal migrations that are necessary for their survival. For people, crossing paths with an animal on the highway is also a threat to our own safety and a cause for collisions that cost around $8 billion in damages in the U.S. every year.
The topic of wildlife-vehicle collisions lies at the literal intersection of human needs and wildlife needs. In this episode, we take a look at how our approaches to this topic can relate to all areas of planning how our human needs and communities advance, in a way that acknowledges our place within our environments. We will hear from members of Yellowstone Safe Passages, a community-guided coalition in Southwest Montana that is taking a holistic approach to mitigate this issue. We will hear from a road ecologist about what this work looks like on the ground and the jaw dropping costs of continued conflict. And a policy expert will share how this topic creates bipartisan engagement and a model for productive legislative action.
In this episode, WE HEAR FROM: 
Marcel Huijser, Western Transportation Institute
Liz Fairbank, Center for Large Landscape Conservation
Max Hjortsberg, Park County Environmental Council
Peter Brown, Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation
Erin Sito, Wildlands Network
Members of Yellowstone Safe Passages
Other LINKS:
Yellowstone Safe Passages
Yellowstone Safe Passages Facebook
Yellowstone Safe Passages Instagram
Download the ROaDS app to contribute data as a citizen scientist! Follow directions on the linked document.
Paradise Valley Online Dashboard of Citizen Science Data
Montanans for Safe Wildlife Passage
Wildlands Network
Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes Wildlife Crossing, Flathead Reservation
Upper Yellowstone Watershed Group
Ben Goldfarb's book on road ecology, Crossings
Ologies podcast episode with Ben Goldfarb on Road Ecology
ARTICLES:
Introducing Yellowstone Safe Passages
Montana Projects Receive $9 million for Wildlife Crossings
Report calls for highway improvements to lessen wildlife-vehicle collisions (in Montana)
Mandating Wildlife Crossings in Mexico’s Infrastructure
U.S. Wildlife Crossing Pilot Program
 
This episode is part of the Life in the Land project, which is a series of films and podcasts produced by Stories for Action. The series hears from folks that interact with the complexities of Montana's landscapes, speaking to the value of locally-led work and the holistic approaches needed for the health of communities and the ecosystems they're a part of. Find out more about the project and watch the films at LifeintheLand.org. Reach out if you would like to host a free screening of the content for your community, organization, or classroom!
Stories for Action holds a mission to use the power of storytelling to spark positive action for people and place. StoriesforAction.org  Follow along on our Instagram and Facebook: @StoriesforAction
 
#Yellowstone #wildlife #roadecology #ecology #sustainability #montana #environment #ruralamerica

Today we will hear from Patrick Yawakie-Peltier, co-Founder of Red Medicine LLC, an Indigenous civic engagement service based in Montana. Patrick was present throughout Montana's legislative session this year, advocating for and against policy that will impact the state's tribal members. Patrick will share with us his personal experience in the session as an Indigenous person and community advocate, and also his calls for improved engagement and approaches in our state legislative process. Patrick shares messages intended for tribal members to gain information and entry points for advocacy, and also for non-Native folks to gain valuable insight and perspective. Like many of our episodes attempt to do, I hope that no matter your demographic, you can gain some insight about others or even yourself through these conversations…as I believe, whether you agree with someone or not, it benefits us to be more informed about the challenges, and humanized perspectives of those we share our world with.
This episode also shares some context and introductory information on Montana's unique tribal communities and a few specifics that contribute to the field of Indian Law. We encourage you to continue your research on these topics. Below are a few links for starting points.
LINKS:
Red Medicine LLC on Facebook
People's Food Sovereignty Program
Native American Influences on U.S. Government
Montana Indigenous Tribes: Their History & Location (from Office of Public Instruction)
Montana Indian Education for All - curriculum & information for all ages
Info on Indian Child Welfare Act: National Indian Child Welfare Association
Indian Civil Rights Act of 1968
American Indian Movement: AIM
"The 1950's plan to erase Indian Country" piece from American Public Media
Land Status of Indian Country in Montana: Policy Basics
House Bill 163 to extend task force for MMIP - Missing & Murdered Indigenous Persons
Indigenous language revitalization
What the session means for Indian Country: Char-Koosta News article
Article on funding for internet access for rural and tribal communities
This episode is made possible with support from Headwaters Foundation, working side-by-side with Western Montanans to improve the health of our communities. Headwaters is committed to supporting the health and sovereignty of Native Americans through their grants and partnerships. Learn more at www.headwatersmt.org, or find them on Instagram and Facebook.
Stories for Action holds a mission to use the power of storytelling to create human connection and advance a thriving planet for all. Learn more at StoriesforAction.org  Instagram and Facebook: @StoriesforAction
#tribalsovereignty #legislation #policy #tribalpolicy #indianlaw #montana #montanalegislators #democrat #republican #indigenous #indigenousvoices #nativevoices #advocacy #community #reservation #policymaker #senator #congressperson #helenamontana #mmip #mmiw #icwa #stategovernment #aclu #flatheadreservation