Election 2014: House District 32: Gilbert Bruce Meyers

Gilbert Bruce Meyers of Rocky Boy's Indian Reservation said he decided to try another tack this year in improving lives in Indian Country and filed as a candidate in House District 32 in this year's election.

Meyers, a Republican, faces Rep. Clarena Brockie. D-Hays, in the election in a district stretching from outside Havre in southeastern Hill County including Rocky Boy through southern Blaine and Valley counties including Fort Belknap Indian Reservation.

Meyers has worked many jobs in his career, with the state of Montana, with community action and economic development organizations, social welfare programs and numerous colleges and universities around the country, and served as Gov. Judy Martz's coordinator of Indian Affairs early last decade.

Meyers said he first tried social work in an attempt to improve the lives of Indians in the country, then switched to education when he became disillusioned with the social welfare system. He said he still believes education is part of the answer, "but it is not the total answer. It all comes back to the individual and how you empower that individual."

Meyers said he ran for office because he wants to help American Indians realize their destiny.

"The destiny of the American Indian people is not in our comfort zone," he said. "We need to look at other sources or other ideologies or even another political system to find new ways to solve old problem, and that means stepping outside of their own comfort zone."

Why should the voters vote for you?

"Because I'm willing to listen to the people, and I don't come with any prepackaged programs or solutions, and I'm willing to listen to the problem and perspective from their point of view," Meyers said. "Quite often government comes to Native Americans and has prepackaged solutions or a hidden agenda of why they want to help us."

Medicaid expansion

Meyers said he hasn't made up his mind about expanding Medicaid eligibility, but he would like the expansion to show the rest of the state what Native Americans face.

"Then the rest of Montana would experience the same poor service that American Indians and veterans get, long lines, shortages of doctors, inadequate care,"he said. "Our fellow Montanans would see what it feels like to get poor service."

Thoughts on Early Edge Montana state-funded pre-kindergarten

Meyers said early education of children is important, but so is bonding with their parents and staying home as long as possible. He referred to the federal government taking Indian children from their families and sending them to boarding schools, forcing them to not even speak their own language.

"Government interference, taking children at a young age, is detrimental to culture," Meyers said, adding that homeschooling and keeping the children at home as long as possible is better.

State taking control of federal land

Meyers compared the idea of Montana's government taking over federal land to what he called the mismanagement of land by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, incuding the result of the Cobell settlement paying billions of dollars to Indians in the nation.

"I think the federal government has mismanaged a lot of Indian lands in some cases outright lost it," he said. "States have right to develop their own land and become economically self-sufficient. In that vein, states can relate to the experience of Indian tribes and the management of federal trust land."

No texting while driving law

"Yes," Meyers said.

Same-sex marriage

Meyers said it is traditional for married people to have large families, which then take care of their parents and other elders in their old age.

When he compares gay and lesbian marriage to millions of acres of land taken, genocide and repression of Indians, and the repression of Blacks and Hispanics, "I have a tough time believing that's a civil rights issue," he said.