SenateSenate billbill NO. 120120

INTRODUCED BY S. Webber, S. Stewart Peregoy, M. Weatherwax, T. Running WolfS. Webber, S. Stewart Peregoy, M. Weatherwax, T. Running Wolf

By Request of the ****

A BILL FOR AN ACT ENTITLED: "AN ACT ESTABLISHING THE CHIEF EARL OLD PERSON MEMORIAL HIGHWAY IN GLACIER COUNTY; DIRECTING THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION TO INSTALL SIGNS AND TO INCLUDE THE MEMORIAL HIGHWAY ON THE NEXT PUBLICATION OF THE STATE MAP; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.

WHEREAS, Earl Old Person, whose Blackfoot name is Ahka Pa Ka Pee, which means "Charging Home," was born in 1929 to Juniper and Milly Old Person, who raised him near Starr School and taught him his native Blackfeet language; and

WHEREAS, at 7 years of age Earl Old Person presented Blackfeet culture to the people of Montana by performing Blackfeet song and dance when Browning High School made its first appearance in the state basketball tournament, and continued in his youth to present Blackfeet culture to the people of the United States and the world; and

WHEREAS, Earl Old Person was elected to his first term as a tribal council member in 1954, and became chairman 10 years later, and served as chairman for 34 years; and

WHEREAS, Earl Old Person became chief of the Blackfeet Nation in 1978; and

WHEREAS, Earl Old Person delivered the first State of the Tribes address to the Montana Legislature in 1993; and

WHEREAS, Earl Old Person was an advocate of education and a leader of cultural preservation; and

WHEREAS, Earl Old Person died in 2021, and was the longest-serving elected tribal leader in the nation; and

WHEREAS, the 68th Legislature of the State of Montana honors Earl Old Person.

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

Section 1. Chief Earl Old Person memorial highway. (1) There is established the Chief Earl Old Person memorial highway on the existing U.S. highway 89 from its intersection with border road to its intersection with U.S. highway 2.

(2)        The department shall design and install appropriate signs marking the location of the Chief Earl Old Person memorial highway.

(3)        Maps that identify roadways in the state must be updated to include the Chief Earl Old Person memorial highway when the department updates and publishes the state maps.

Section 2. 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 3. Effective date. [This act] is effective on passage and approval.