The featured speaker at Monday's Democratic luncheon will be Nevada Indian Commission Executive Director Stacey Montooth. She has served in that position since her appointment by Governor Steve Sisolak on September 1, 2019. As a member of the governor's cabinet, Montooth serves as the administration's liaison with the 27 Nevada tribes, bands, colonies, and 62,000 urban Indians who have chosen Nevada as their second home.
The Nevada Indian Commission was created by statute in 1965 to “study matters affecting the social and economic welfare and well-being of American Indians residing in Nevada” and serves as the liaison between Tribal communities, Tribal citizens, and the State.
After the 2019 legislative session, Governor Sisolak signed three bills into law that directly affect Nevada's indigenous tribes and communities. Provisions of this historic legislation include free tuition for Native students, the outlawing sundown sirens and racially offensive mascots, creation of a revenue stream for management of the Stewart Indian School Cultural Center & Museum and other properties on the historic campus, located on the outskirts of Carson City.
Beginning in 1890, Paiute, Shoshone and Washoe children and later children of other tribes throughout the West, were forced to attend the Stewart school. The purpose of the school was to eliminate American Indian culture, including Native languages, and to provide the children with trade skills to make them fully “American.” Especially in the early years, students were harshly disciplined, frequently abused, and used as an unpaid workforce for construction and maintenance of the institution's structures and grounds.
A citizen of the Walker River Paiute Nation, Stacey is a direct descendent of a Stewart Indian School survivor. She is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, and has served Nevada's tribes for over a decade. From 2012 to 2019, Montooth worked at the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony as that tribe’s first public relations/community information officer. During her six-year tenure, she organized community events and implemented communications plans and campaigns on behalf of tribes and thousands of Native Americans. She also served as a crucial liaison for press inquiries and legislation involving key tribal issues, such as health care and taxation.
Upon returning to Northern Nevada in 2007, Montooth was the Indian Education Liaison for Churchill County High School in Fallon, her alma mater. Prior to returning home to the Great Basin, she spent nearly 12 years working in community relations, primarily in higher education and college athletics. She holds several communications certifications, including an Advanced Public Information Officer endorsement from the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Sponsored by the Democratic Men's Committee, this event is scheduled for 1:00 PM on Monday, March 7th, and can be attended either in person at Black Bear Diner, inside Max Casino, or online via Zoom. Those wishing to be on distribution for Zoom links should email Rich Dunn, Men's Committee Events Coordinator, at richdunn@aol.com.
