July 2025

On June 25th, Montana lost one of its all- time greatest statesmen and advocates. Pat Williams was Montana's longest-serving representative in history, serving for 18 years from 1978 to 1996. He was an incredibly powerful voice for wilderness and the environment, indigenous rights, the arts, people with disabilities, and the common person.

On a local level, he was a great friend for GTMA, the Blackfeet Nation, and the Badger-Two Medicine. He made sure that the Badger was included as a study area in the huge statewide omnibus wilderness bill that passed both houses of Congress only to be pocket-vetoed by President Ronald Regan. If that bill had passed, much of the wild country that is greatly threatened today would be permanently protected as wilderness.

I personally feel a great loss because, after retiring from Congress and moving back to Montana, our friendship endured and he was a great source of inspiration and advice for me. I could always count on him to give me the strength to go on and work to surmount the obstacles that stand before us. He was a Butte boy through and through and never lost his faith in the basic goodness of Montanans and humankind in general.

I encourage you to watch Pat's memorial service. It inspired me to continue the fight despite our being bombarded time and time again by the setbacks being thrown in front of us!