From the ACLU, this is at Liberty.

I'm Emerson Sykes, a staff attorney here at the ACLU and your host.

In the current political context, where we are inundated with seemingly unprecedented crises and

scandals on an almost daily basis, it's important to remember that some of America's oldest

problems persist. Today, we're focusing on indigenous justice and organizing for social change

in indigenous communities. Among the many legacies of American

genocide and marginalization, Native Americans have the highest rates of unemployment and poverty

among all minority groups, with the poverty rate at nearly 40 percent on reservations.

And indigenous women are far more likely to experience violence. Four out of five Indigenous women have experienced violence in some form, and nearly one out of two

have experienced sexual violence.

On this week's show, we're joined by two of my phenomenal colleagues who work on Indigenous

Justice for the ACLU of Montana.

We'll start out by talking with Meg Singer, who is the Indigenous Justice Program Manager at the ACLU of Montana. We'll start out by talking with Meg Singer, who is the Indigenous

Justice Program Manager at the ACLU of Montana and was previously a community organizer at

Standing Rock. Later, we'll speak with Lillian Alvernaz, the ACLU's first Indigenous Justice

Legal Fellow, about her litigation docket and passion for empowering and protecting indigenous women

from violence. Meg Singer, thanks very much for joining us today. Welcome to the podcast.

Thanks so much for having me. Well, Meg, we're speaking to you, I think from your office in Montana.

Can you start out by telling us a little bit about the history of the place where you live and work,

and particularly with regard to the indigenous communities, Montana?

Absolutely.

I'm here in our office in Helena, Montana, which is the capital of Montana, and it is settled

...