Delegates Selected For New Fort Peck Democratic Representation

Maria Vega and Lance Fourstar are making history.

Vega was selected chair and Fourstar was named vice chair for the new Fort Peck Democratic tribal committee. The Montana Democratic Party has announced the establishment of tribal communities for each of the seven reservations in the state and the Little Shell Tribe. Delegates will vote on the party’s platform, rules and officers.

“It’s pretty surprising that they would ask me and Maria to be the vice chair and chair,” Fourstar said. “It’s quite an honor.”

Vega added, “They reached out to me. I was referred to them as a good person for the committee.”

Vega and Fourstar feel having tribal committees is a good step for the Montana Democratic Party.

“The Native population has been fighting for equal voting rights and accessibility for the last 75 years,” Vega said. “It’s awesome that we will have our voice at the Democratic convention. It’s great to have a voice.”

They got the opportunity to introduce themselves during the Metcalf/Mansfield celebration. The event included comments from the state’s Democratic chair as well as U.S. Sen. Jon Tester.

Vega and Fourstar were the first two tribal communities’ delegates announced in the state.

“We got to be on the steps of the state capitol,” Fourstar noted.

Vega, 24, said she started becoming more interested in politics when she was preparing for the Miss Montana USA program. She increased her knowledge on a variety of topics for the on-stage question. She was fourth runner-up while competing against 20 other contestants.

She said that from a young age, she has considered herself an activist who wants to improve her community for everybody.

One of her most passionate issues is providing affordable and accessible health care. She has recently graduated with a nursing degree and will soon work at the Spotted Bull Treatment Center in Poplar.

Access to voting is another concern. She notes that sometimes people don’t have a vehicle or the money to reach the voting location.

“Some people can’t afford to travel twice to sign up for registration and then to vote,” Vega said. She also doesn’t want same day voting eliminated because many Native Americans vote in that fashion.

Fourstar’s experience includes being chair of the Wolf Point Community Organization and the Fort Peck Assiniboine Council.

He got his start in politics at a young age when he began serving as an intern for the late U.s. Sen. John Mc-Cain when Fourstar was only 16 years old. His time included breakfasts with many U.S. senators during that time.

“I really didn’t understand partisan politics back then,” Fourstar said.

He moved to Wolf Point in 2003, and became involved with the Campaign for Change in support of Barack Obama for president in 20062008. Fourstar was selected volunteer of the month in Montana for the campaign.

“It really gave me experience on getting out the vote and to register to vote,” Fourstar said.

Fourstar, who has also worked for Western Native Voice, is concerned with some of the current threats pertaining to voting rights.

“Any infringement of our ability to vote especially in rural communities is an attempt to deteriorate our vote,” Fourstar said.

He added that decisions to limit satellite voting locations and eliminate same day voting are negatives.

“It’s another attempt to deter us as a rural, native and non-native community,” Fourstar said.

He feels the country needs to experience a healing time after the negativity of the last election.

“We’re all Americans,” Fourstar said.

He hopes the country can reach a point of having 70 percent of the population vaccinated from COVID. “That’s another part of the healing that needs to occur. We lost a lot of people,” he said.

He believes Democrats can make dents in the Republican’s majority for Montana.

“Montana is a sea of red. The map is far and between for each voter. It doesn’t mean the entire state is red,” Fourstar said. “A lot of the blue is in reservations.”

Vega said the Fort Peck tribal committee meeting takes place the third Thursday of each month. Delegates for all the tribal Democratic committees meet once a month through Zoom video conferencing.