Chouteau County moves forward with new district favoring tribes

Keila Szpaller, Daily Montanan, 01/11/26

A month after Chouteau County agreed to settle a lawsuit alleging it unlawfully diluted voting rights of Chippewa Cree Indians, the county said it will move forward with a new district election in June.

In a statement, Chouteau County also aired some objections it had raised in the case and outlined the way the settlement could play out.

The county said the approved settlement notes if the U.S. Supreme Court decides only the U.S. Department of Justice can bring a lawsuit under the disputed section of the Voting Rights Act, the settlement is vacated.

In the case, the Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation and two Native American voters had alleged the county’s at-large voting system unlawfully diluted the voting strength of Native voters, and last month, the U.S. District Court of Montana approved the settlement.

The case centered on a section of the Voting Rights Act, Section 2, which prohibits any “standard, practice, or procedure” that “results in a denial or abridgment of the right of any citizen of the United States to vote on account of race or color.”

A violation of Section 2 occurs if a political process leading to an election is not equally open to participation by a minority in a jurisdiction, or the minority group has less opportunity to elect a representative of their choice than other voters.

Chouteau County sought to dismiss the case, but the judge ordered mediation.

The settlement means the Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation has a chance to elect a representative of their choosing to the Chouteau County Board of Commissioners.

It ensures the reservation is part of just one district in the county, and it provides for an election in the “single-member district,” where only district residents vote for their representative.

At the time of the settlement, County Attorney Stephen Gannon said Chouteau County was willing to work with the tribe and had done so in the past, especially to ensure voters were properly registered, for example.

Released this month, an additional statement from Chouteau County outlines how the case unfolded, offered criticisms of the tribe, and described how the elections would work going forward as a result of the settlement.

Approved Dec. 15, the settlement changed District 1 in the county to consist of only two precincts, and it makes District 1 a single-member district. The settlement said that means in the 2026 election, “anyone in Commissioner District 1, including a member of the Chippewa Cree Tribe,” could run for office.

“As many Chouteau County residents know, members of the Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation do not pay taxes that fund Chouteau County’s government,” the statement said.

The Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation is 100% federal trust land, according to data from the Office of Public Instruction cited by the Montana Budget and Policy Center. Trust land is generally exempt from local property taxes.

Chouteau County Commissioners were unavailable for additional information in time for this story, according to legal counsel.

In response to the statement from Chouteau County, Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation said some claims require “clarification,” and noted “voting rights are not conditioned on property ownership or tax status.”

Chouteau County, though, argued that “despite not paying taxes, tribal members receive services from Chouteau County; however, Chippewa Cree Indians of the Rocky Boy’s Reservation does not allow Chouteau County to provide services within the boundaries of the reservation.”

For example, the county said the tribe “refuses to share 911 information so the county can map addresses of its members.”

But issues related to taxation, emergency services or jurisdiction are “raised as a distraction,” the tribe said in a response provided by the Native American Rights Fund: “They were not the basis of the court’s decision and are unrelated to the right to fair representation.”

“The county is not allowed to silence the voices of any group of voters,” the tribe said. “That is what this settlement is about.”

Chairman Harlan Baker said equal rights was the point of the lawsuit.

“This case was always about equal access to the ballot and fair representation,” Baker said in a statement. “The settlement ensures that Native and non-Native voters alike have a meaningful voice in local government.”

Chouteau County said it settled despite some disagreement to avoid paying “potentially hundreds of thousands in fees.” In the settlement, each side paid its own fees.

The primary election for the new single member Commissioner District 1 will be June 2, 2026, same as the statewide primary, and the general election is scheduled for Nov. 3, 2026. Candidates may file from Feb. 17 through March 4.

In its statement, Chouteau County also talked about what happens if boundaries change in the future. It said the reservation currently overlaps Chouteau and Hill counties, and if the boundaries are modified so the reservation is located solely in Hill County, the settlement dissolves.

Also, in 2030, commissioner districts in Chouteau County will be reapportioned according to the census, Chouteau County said.