A judge in Montana refused to dismiss a lawsuit that alleges the state’s unique constitutional requirement to teach students about Native American history and culture has not been upheld. The lawsuit, which was filed in 2021 in District Court in Great Falls, Montana, was brought by Native American tribes, parents and students against state education leaders. The hearing Tuesday comes 50 years after the state’s constitution that embedded this educational requirement took effect. Other states, including Connecticut, Washington, Oregon, California and North Dakota, have committed in recent years to boosting these types of educational requirements. But Montana remains the only one that includes it in its constitution.
Indigenous Tribes Kill More Than 1,000 Bison at Yellowstone. Tribes near Yellowstone National Park have culled a record-breaking number of bison after an unusually harsh winter forced the animals out of the park in search of less challenging climates and food. Over the last four months, state and federal officials at Yellowstone National Park have sanctioned the culling of the 6,000 member herd of bison that currently call the park home after heavy snows caused the animals to migrate out of the park’s boundaries. The culling was seen as a necessity as 60% of the herd carries brucellosis, an infectious disease that can affect both people and livestock. “It’s probably the single-most challenging wildlife issue in Yellowstone,” Cam Sholly, the park superintendent, told The New York Times. “The bison is the only species we constrain to a boundary.”
Those are your headlines at this hour. I’m Colette Keith in the KIPI News center.
