Western Native Voice Hosts Conference
Western Native Voice, through its Expanding Horizons Youth Program, will host 200 Native high school students from 21 reservation, rural and urban high schools across Montana for its 2026 Youth Conference, Vision to Voice, this week at the Billings Hotel & Convention Center.
The three-day gathering is designed to help Native youth create a clear vision for their future — and develop the confidence and leadership skills to use their voice to bring that vision to life.
The conference will include students from Montana’s tribal reservation and rural communities as well as Native students attending urban high schools. Organizers say bringing both groups together is intentional.
“Native youth in rural reservation communities and Native youth in urban settings often grow up with very different daily experiences,” said Tristen Belgarde, Expanding Horizons youth director. “Some youth are raised with traditional teachings; while others are not. Despite where you fall in these conversations, everyone is valued and welcomed.”
Vision to Voice creates space for those young people to learn from one another — to understand what challenges differ, what struggles are shared, and what strengths exist in both environments.
The conference will emphasize hands-on activities, interactive workshops, and peer dialogue. Organizers believe experiential learning allows youth to better process ideas, build relationships, and develop real-world leadership skills. By the end of the conference, organizers hope students leave with: a clearer sense of who they are, greater understanding of their peers’ lived experiences, tools to advocate for themselves and their communities and confidence to step into leadership roles.
