As transgenders continue to bully several U.S. states to consider its public bathroom policies, a Native American reservation in Montana attracts several supporters after it adopted one similar to the one that passed in North Carolina. The Fort Peck Reservation in northeastern Montana has likely become the first Native American group to say that tribal members must use the public bathroom corresponding to their gender at birth.
On May 23, the executive board on the 2 million–acre reservation, which is home to roughly 10,000 members of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes, passed a motion "regarding transgender use of public bathrooms to mirror the position the state of North Carolina has taken," according to the minutes from the meeting, obtained by a local media outlet.
“What people do in their bedrooms is their business. How public bathrooms are used is [my] business,” Tribal Councilman Edward Bauer said during the meeting.
Bauer told a local outlet that the policy was meant to reinforce an existing one and also respond to the United States Department of Justice and Department of Education mandate in May that public schools must allow transgender students to use bathrooms for the gender with which they identify, not necessarily the one on their birth certificate. On 25 May, 11 U.S. states sued the federal government to overturn that directive.
"We just have a problem with male adults using bathrooms with young girls," Bauer told the press. "We have enough problems here with death and drugs, so maybe we're just a little protective ... I'm more concerned with being physically correct and protecting our children than being politically correct."
Because the motion did not say how the tribal policy will copy North Carolina's legislation, some tribal members have questioned how far the policy goes and whether it has been finalized. But many on and off the reservation have criticized tribal leaders.
"I’m extremely upset that it has hit home in Montana and even more so that it hit home on one of our tribal reservations," says Bree Sutherland, executive director of the Montana-based Gender Expansion Project, which does education and advocacy work related to transgender, intersex and gender diverse people. "My understanding from talking to individuals at Fort Peck [is] many ... weren’t even aware that it was being passed or that it was even being considered." Yeah right!
On May 23, the executive board on the 2 million–acre reservation, which is home to roughly 10,000 members of the Assiniboine and Sioux tribes, passed a motion "regarding transgender use of public bathrooms to mirror the position the state of North Carolina has taken," according to the minutes from the meeting, obtained by a local media outlet.
“What people do in their bedrooms is their business. How public bathrooms are used is [my] business,” Tribal Councilman Edward Bauer said during the meeting.
Bauer told a local outlet that the policy was meant to reinforce an existing one and also respond to the United States Department of Justice and Department of Education mandate in May that public schools must allow transgender students to use bathrooms for the gender with which they identify, not necessarily the one on their birth certificate. On 25 May, 11 U.S. states sued the federal government to overturn that directive.
"We just have a problem with male adults using bathrooms with young girls," Bauer told the press. "We have enough problems here with death and drugs, so maybe we're just a little protective ... I'm more concerned with being physically correct and protecting our children than being politically correct."
Because the motion did not say how the tribal policy will copy North Carolina's legislation, some tribal members have questioned how far the policy goes and whether it has been finalized. But many on and off the reservation have criticized tribal leaders.
"I’m extremely upset that it has hit home in Montana and even more so that it hit home on one of our tribal reservations," says Bree Sutherland, executive director of the Montana-based Gender Expansion Project, which does education and advocacy work related to transgender, intersex and gender diverse people. "My understanding from talking to individuals at Fort Peck [is] many ... weren’t even aware that it was being passed or that it was even being considered." Yeah right!