{"id":20137,"date":"2022-01-21T10:41:27","date_gmt":"2022-01-21T15:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.indianz.com\/News\/?p=20137"},"modified":"2022-01-21T10:41:28","modified_gmt":"2022-01-21T15:41:28","slug":"mountains-and-minds-my-grandfather-was-really-inspiring","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/indianz.com\/News\/2022\/01\/21\/mountains-and-minds-my-grandfather-was-really-inspiring\/","title":{"rendered":"Mountains and Minds: ‘My grandfather was really inspiring’"},"content":{"rendered":" \"Montana<\/a>
Now a Cambridge University graduate, MSU alumnus Montana Wilson is completing both a law degree and a Master\u2019s in Public Administration. Photo by Tailyr Irvine <\/figcaption>\r\n
Montana Wilson raises the bar<\/div>\r\n
A life defined by education and helping others<\/div>\r\n
Friday, January 21, 2022<\/div>\r\n
Meaghan MacDonald-Pool<\/div>\r\n
Mountains and Minds<\/div>\r\n
montana.edu\/news\/mountainsandminds<\/a><\/div>\r\n

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\r\nNote: This story appears in the Fall 2021 issue of Mountains and Minds<\/a>, the flagship magazine of Montana State University<\/a>. <\/strong>
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<\/p>\r\n When Montana Wilson was just 7 years old, his grandfather took him to witness history: the swearing in of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation\u2019s first police chief for its newly established tribal police force.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWatching alongside his grandfather, a dedicated member of the reservation\u2019s tribal council who held various positions for nearly a quarter of a century, Wilson was quietly learning about government, nation building and pride in the reservation\u2019s sovereignty.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cI grew up seeing all kinds of stuff happen firsthand in our tribe and knew what it was like to disband and build a nation,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cMy grandfather was really inspiring and wanted to show me that what we want to do as Indian people, we can achieve.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThis early lesson in government inspired Wilson toward a life defined by education and helping others through his career in politics and law.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nThe Poplar native and Montana State University graduate is an enrolled member of the Gros Ventre tribe of the Fort Belknap Indian Community and a member of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation.\r\n

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<\/P>\r\nWilson now attends the University of Montana, pursuing both a master\u2019s degree in public administration and a law degree. Those in Wilson\u2019s corner have long known he was on track for greatness and for making a difference on a large scale.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cHe is a brilliant man, and more than that, he\u2019s one of those rare individuals who understands our lives are part of a continuum,\u201d said Ilse-Mari Lee, dean of the Honors College at MSU and one of Wilson\u2019s mentors. \u201cHe represents generations before and after him, and he sees that his life and his gifts are in service of the past and the future.\u201d\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWilson attended Dartmouth College from 2009\u2009\u2013\u20092012 studying political science and Native American studies. Then he passed the tribal bar and served as both a public defender and a tribal prosecutor, all without a degree. But after four years of working in the tribal courts, Wilson decided to go back to school at MSU, where his sister was enrolled.\r\n

<\/p>\r\nWilson graduated from MSU summa cum laude in 2017 with degrees in economics and political science and a minor in Native American studies as part of the Honors College. He was heavily involved in Indian affairs on campus and served as president of the American Indian Council. Wilson said his time at MSU was imperative to his development as a future politician because it helped him better understand tribal politics.\r\n

<\/p>\r\n\u201cNot only was there an understanding of where other tribes were coming from, but also the amount of diplomacy that needed to be learned and how we communicate amongst each other,\u201d Wilson said. \u201cThat was really helpful, and MSU taught me that. Not everyone is on board with what one tribe wants. But if we can all engage in compromise, then we can be on the same page and have an understanding.\u201d\r\n

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