Jason Small, right, was a guest of Sen. Steve Daines (R-Montana) for President Barack Obama's final State of the Union on January 12, 2016. Still image from Senator Steve Daines / YouTube
Northern Cheyenne member elected to State Senate
By Clara Caufield
Native Sun News Today Correspondent
nativesunnews.today LAME DEER, Mont. –– Jason Small, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe running as a Republican, was recently elected to the Montana State Senate representing Senate District 21 covering a large swath of southeastern Montana. Senate District 21 includes the entire Crow Reservation, Big Horn County, all of the Northern Cheyenne Reservation, Big Horn and Rosebud Counties, runs to the southern part of Colstrip, also to Broadus, Powder River County and several other conservative non-Indian communities, running to the perimeter of Billings in Yellowstone County. Defeating incumbent Caroline Pease Lopez, Democrat and member of the Crow Tribe, by a narrow margin, he is now the lone Native American Republican to hold such office in the Montana State Senate. “She was a good campaigner,” Small said. “It was a little surprising to me, winning as a Republican, as most Indian voters usually vote Democrat.” Small, a local rancher, entrepreneur on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation and union journeyman boilermaker by trade, has been active in local, state and national politics for some years, a vigorous spokesperson for responsible energy development in southeastern Montana where higher paying jobs are available for tribal members at the Colstrip energy complex, located 20 miles from the Northern Cheyenne reservation. Two years ago, for example, he attended the State of the Union address in Washington, DC as a special guest of now Senator Daines offering remarks related to clean coal. “That really opened my eyes to the national political scene,” Small recollected. He has also been a vocal spokesperson for the Absalooka Coal Mine, owned by the Crow Tribe, operated by Westmoreland Resources offering employment preference to Crow tribal members. Royalties from the Crow coal leases generate millions per year, part of which is dedicated to a quarterly per capita payment averaging $400 every three months for each enrolled tribal member. “That is an extra and very important benefit to the Crow membership,” Small said. “As a person who has worked in the energy industry for many years, I personally know that that coal development has provided much opportunity to Northern Cheyenne, Crow and non-Indian workers in our area. While clean coal and clean air efforts are good, I strongly believe it can be done through responsible investment in technology without destroying the industry.”
Read the rest of the story on the Native Sun News Today website: Northern Cheyenne member elected to State Senate (Clara Caufield can be reached at acheynnevoice@gmail.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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