State Senator Susan Webber said that Montana has focused on missing and killing Indigenous people, but past laws have mainly been about gathering data.
On Tuesday, Webber told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Senate Bill 107 has a different aim, which is to help all elementary and secondary school kids.
“None of them have talked about prevention.” “Let’s provide our children with the resources they need,” said Webber, D-Browning.
If the bill becomes law, the Office of Public Instruction will create lessons and activities to help students recognize and avoid child sex trafficking and human trafficking, as students are the group most at risk.
During the meeting, Webber gave the committee members a handout with pictures of young people who are currently missing. She and others referred to this issue as a plague.
A Department of Justice database shows that 45 Indigenous people are missing, including 31 lost children, with some individuals counted in both groups.
Webber pointed out that Native people represent 6.7% of Montana’s population, but they make up 30.6% of those who are lost or murdered.
“I want you to look at the faces of the missing children,” said Webber from the Blackfeet Nation.
Sen. Sue Vinton from Billings asked how much the bill would cost. Webber replied that it was just another learning tool that the OPI could easily manage. Sen. Daniel Emrich from Great Falls expressed his concern about moving away from the basics of “reading, writing, and arithmetic.”
The committee didn’t act on Tuesday, and supporters said this could help stop the trafficking of children, which might lead to them being sold for drugs or into slavery.
“Human traffickers are going after kids as young as 9 years old, taking advantage of their tough home situations,” said Patrick Yawakie, who speaks for the Blackfeet Nation, Fort Belknap Indian Community, and Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation.
The bill would protect everyone in Montana, not just Native American students. It would help possible victims avoid harm and assist their friends in staying safe as well, Yawakie said.
“Teaching students about sex and human trafficking in elementary and secondary schools helps everyone understand how to take care of one another,” Yawakie said.
Imani Kindness from the Montana Budget and Policy Center, supporting the bill, mentioned that trafficking cases in Montana rose from seven in 2015 to 143 in 2023, which is a rise of 1,900%, according to data from the state Department of Justice.
Sharon Kickingwoman from the ACLU of Montana stated that every town can be affected, and “no organization is better positioned to help than OPI.”
Often, said Sen. Mary Ann Dunwell, D-Helena, the signs of human trafficking are often right under a person’s nose. Dunwell mentioned that she has a similar bill to raise understanding for bus drivers and also supports this bill.
Ria Bahadur, the author of the bill and a student at Stanford University, stated that over 45% of trafficking victims are school-aged children, mostly between the ages of 12 and 18.
Bahadur encouraged the group to care and mentioned that educating children is important for real life. Bahadur mentioned a nickname that Montana has and hopes that young people can help get rid of it.
“Montana is called the truck stop state in sex trafficking discussions,” Bahadur said.
The Montana Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence also backed the bill.
The bill is meant to protect all students, but Keaton Sunchild from Western Native Voice noted that it is well-known that young people on reserves go missing at a much higher rate than those off reservations. Sunchild mentioned that many lawmakers want to keep children safe, and SB 107 supports that goal.
“This bill is a real solution that achieves that,” Sunchild said.
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