Working Together With Montana's First People

With seven Indian reservations, Montana's first people have a rich history and a bright future. Max knows how important Native Americans are to Montana's past, present, and future. That is why he has been a strong voice for Montana's tribes.

From expanding Indian Health Services, to promoting Indian Education, to tackling challenges such as meth, Max will continue to work for the folks in Indian Country and honor our government-to-government relationship.

Promoting Economic And Technological Progress On Reservations

Max cosponsored legislation to allow tribes to have broader use of tax exempt bonds allowing them the same opportunities as state and municipality governments when it comes to raising revenue for community projects.
Max sponsored legislation to establish a loan program to assist the Crow Tribe in purchasing land from willing sellers. Max's bill also calls for reducing the fractionalization of the land and placing the land into trust status owned by the Tribe.
Max worked with Senator Tester to deliver $1.6 million to the Blackfeet Nation for a research, development, and demonstration project between the Blackfeet Nation's tribal owned business and Radiance Technologies.
Max helped deliver a $247,500 grant for the Rocky Boy Reservation to help promote economic development.
Max sponsored legislation to improve welfare programs for tribes by creating a $500 million "Tribal TANF Improvement Fund." The fund would help provide grants nationwide to help improve tribal human services programs and give technical assistance to other programs to boost economic development and expand job opportunities on reservations.
Max sponsored a bill to provide loans for the improvement of telecommunication services on Indian reservations.
Max supported a bill to provide for business development and trade promotion for Native Americans.
Max voted to encourage investment, business, and economic development with respect to activities conducted on Indian lands.
Max co-sponsored a bill to ensure and enhance participation in the HUBZone program by small business concerns in Native America and to expand eligibility for certain small businesses on a trial basis.
Max was a lead sponsor on a bill that would amend the six-year federal highway funding program to ensure that Indian tribes get full payment of federal highway dollars and have opportunities to boost their economies and create jobs

Giving Native Americans The Quality Health Care They Need And Deserve

Max has been a tireless champion in fighting for full funding of the Indian Health Service which provides critical health care to American Indians and Alaska Natives.
Max sponsored the provision which converted a vacant building into the Helena Indian Alliance to help expand the organization's health care, mental health counseling, and education services to Indians who do not live on reservations.
Recognizing the prevalence of Diabetes on Indian Reservations, Max invited the nation's top health official- U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson, to visit Billings to discuss how Montanans can help curb the disease on reservations.
Max co-sponsored legislation to ensure that Indian women with breast or cervical cancer who are eligible for health services provided under a medical care program of the Indian Health Service or of a tribal organization are included in the optional Medicaid eligibility category of breast or cervical cancer patients added by the Breast and Cervical Cancer Prevention and Treatment Act of 2000.
Max cosponsored a bill to amend the Indian Health Care Improvement Act so it allows for the direct billing of Medicare, Medicaid, and other third party payers. This legislation also expanded eligibility for such programs to more tribes and tribal organizations.
Max supported legislation designed to assist improvement of alcohol and substance abuse programs provided by Indian Tribal governments.

Bringing Money To Montana's Indian Nations

Max sponsored a provision which called for allowing the Crow Tribe to tap into an additional $6.5 million in federal settlement funds that could be used for education, economic development, and health care on the reservation.
Max fought to get $2.3 million allocated to Montana to build an Indian Memorial at the Little Big Horn National Monument.
Max worked with the U.S. Agriculture Department to get almost $1 million in grants and loans for residents of the Chippewa Cree Tribe of the Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation. These funds were used to construct a waste-water system, which would ultimately improve health conditions, living environment and economic opportunities for tribal residents.
Max helped secure $160,000 for the Fort Belknap Native Enrichment Project.
Max worked to get over $400,000 from the Economic Development Administration so the Fort Peck Tribes could purchase manufacturing equipment
Max secured $25,000 to create a technology center for educator training, community and business development and economic research at Flathead Valley Community College.

Providing Quality Education To Native Americans

Max has secured over $7 million for Montana's tribal colleges to help with facility improvements and the purchasing of science laboratory and computer equipment.
Max helped secure $1.1 million for the Crow Head Start program.
Max worked to support Native American Language Survival Schools.
Max helped secure $505,000 for the Little Big Horn College.
Max secured over $1 million from the Department of education under the Strengthening Institutions Program, American Indian Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities and Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian-Serving Institutions Program. These funds were split between Stone Child College in Box Elder, Little Big Horn College in Crow Agency and Blackfeet Community College in Browning.
Max fought to provide a dramatic increase in construction grant monies for federally impacted schools, such as those near military bases and Indian reservations, authorizing a $137 million increase over the $12.8 million allocated for Impact Aid construction grants in 2000.

Helping Native Americans Get Affordable Housing

Max worked with Senator Tester to deliver a $3.2 million grant to help with housing for the Northern Cheyenne.
Max helped to pass a bill that improved the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act of 1996 to improve the delivery of housing assistance to Indian tribes in a manner that recognizes the right of tribal self-governance.
Max co-sponsored an amendment to ensure that housing provided Under the Native American Housing Assistance and Self-Determination Act be treated for the purposes of the low-income housing credit in the same manner as comparable assistance.
Max secured a $6 million housing and Urban Development grant to the Blackfeet Tribe for improving existing housing and building new housing facilities.

Fighting To Improve The Judicial System And Crime-Fighting Activities

Max helped deliver a $250,000 grant for Indian Alcohol and Substance Abuse Program on the Rocky Boy Reservation.
Max helped deliver $400,000 to provide counseling and faith-based services for women who are victims of violence at Fort Peck and Fort Belknap.
Max voted to provide technical and legal assistance for tribal justice systems and members of tribes.
Through the justice department, Max funded the Fort Peck Wellness Center which targets juvenile misdemeanor offenders, among others.
Max helped secure STOP (Services Training Officers Prosecutors) Violence Against Indian Women grants for the Salish and Kootenai tribes. The funding was used to provide legal advocacy, support groups and referral to area service providers to the women of the Flathead reservation.

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