2019 Montana Legislature

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HOUSE BILL NO. 756

INTRODUCED BY B. SMITH

 

AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE DOLLY SMITH AKERS MEMORIAL HIGHWAY IN ROOSEVELT COUNTY; DIRECTING THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO INSTALL SIGNS AT THE LOCATION AND TO INCLUDE THE MEMORIAL HIGHWAY ON THE NEXT PUBLICATION OF THE STATE HIGHWAY MAP; PROVIDING AN APPROPRIATION; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.

 

     WHEREAS, Dolly Smith Akers, also known as Day Eagle Woman, was born on March 23, 1901, in Wolf Point, Montana; and

     WHEREAS, Dolly Smith Akers was the daughter of William Henry and Nellie Trexler Smith; and

     WHEREAS, Dolly Smith Akers attended school in Wolf Point, Montana, and in Riverside, California; and

     WHEREAS, Dolly Smith Akers lived and worked on a ranch north of Poplar; and

     WHEREAS, Dolly Smith Akers worked as a welfare worker and state coordinator of Indian reservations in Montana; and

     WHEREAS, Dolly Smith Akers entered politics with her election to the Assiniboine-Sioux tribal council at Fort Peck as the first woman elected to the council; and

     WHEREAS, Dolly Smith Akers served as chairman of the tribe, was accused of striking the Bureau of Indian Affairs superintendent, was impeached, and was pardoned by President Nixon; and

     WHEREAS, Dolly Smith Akers remained active in tribal politics for 40 years and was elected 57 times as a tribal delegate to Washington, D.C.; and

     WHEREAS, in addition to tribal politics, Dolly Smith Akers was also active in state politics; and

     WHEREAS, Dolly Smith Akers was elected to the state Legislature in 1932 and served in the 1933 Legislative Assembly, where she was the first Indian woman to be elected to the Montana State Legislature; and

     WHEREAS, although she was elected as a Democrat, Dolly Smith Akers eventually joined and was active in the Republican Party; and

     WHEREAS, Dolly Smith Akers, while in the Legislature, served as chairman of the Federal Relations Committee; and

     WHEREAS, Dolly Smith Akers was a special representative of the Governor to the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, was special advisor on Indian Affairs to President Eisenhower, and was the Governor's delegate to the 1960 White House Conference on Children and Youth; and

     WHEREAS, Dolly Smith Akers was a member of the Montana State Advisory Committee of the Farmers Home Administration, the National Council of American Indians, where she served as vice-president, and the state Inter-Tribal Policy Board, where she served as secretary; and

     WHEREAS, Dolly Smith Akers died on June 5, 1986, in Helena, Montana, leaving behind a trailblazing legacy of public service at the tribal, state, and federal level.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MONTANA:

 

     Section 1.  Dolly Smith Akers memorial highway. (1) There is established the Dolly Smith Akers memorial highway on existing U.S. highway 2 from Wolf Creek to the Poplar River.

     (2) The department shall design and install appropriate signs marking the location of the Dolly Smith Akers memorial highway.

     (3) Maps that identify roadways in Montana must be updated to include the location of the Dolly Smith Akers memorial highway.

 

     Section 2.  Appropriation. There is appropriated $1 for the biennium beginning July 1, 2019, from the state general fund to the department of transportation for the purpose of [section 1].

 

     Section 3.  Codification instruction. [Section 1] is intended to be codified as an integral part of Title 60, chapter 1, part 2, and the provisions of Title 60, chapter 1, part 2, apply to [section 1].

 

     Section 4.  Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.

- END -

 


Latest Version of HB 756 (HB0756.ENR)
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