MISSOULA — Tuesday, November 5, 2024, marked Elouise Cobell Day at the University of Montana, honoring her contributions to justice and Indigenous rights. A crowd celebrated her legacy with dances, speeches and a meal at the Payne Family Native American Center.
The great-granddaughter of Blackfeet Chief Mountain Chief, Cobell dedicated her life to advocate for Indigenous rights.
Cobell led a historic class action lawsuit over mismanaged Native funds, resulting in a $3.4 billion settlement from the U.S. government.
She was awarded both the Presidential Medal of Freedom and a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
Cobell’s grand-niece, Mikalen Running Fisher, wanted to share her family’s story when she started school at the university.
“When I first came to college, there was no organization, there was no event held for her here. That's when I got the idea of how awesome it would be to have this event,” Running Fisher said.
This year’s event featured a round dance on UM Oval and a gathering on the first floor of the Payne Center, which is dedicated to Cobell.
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“The first year I actually had this event, I had a little tiny poster science board that had facts about her and I sat in front of it. Looking back at that compared to now, with all of these people, it's just really amazing,” Running Fisher said.
The event wrapped up with a speech from retired legislator Carol Juneau and a panel of recipients of the Cobell Scholarship, which supports members of federally recognized tribes seeking post-secondary degrees.
“I think this is more about celebrating her legacy than anything and just making sure that our native people understand what she did and why she did it. But, then also end up hopefully following her footsteps of being activists.”
