What We Do

Our Vision for a More Just Future

EmpowerMT envisions a Montana where each person is respected, where differences are understood, where youth, institutions, and communities share a commitment to correct injustices, and where all people have the opportunity to thrive without the risk of violence or oppression.

Our Roots

EmpowerMT was founded in 1998 as a community-led grassroots organization. We are now a well-established 501(c) 3 non-profit organization serving the state of Montana and beyond. We are a leadership development organization that educates and inspires youth, institutions, and communities to end mistreatment, correct systemic inequalities, and strengthen community cohesion. EmpowerMT empowers the building of community through education, skill building, leadership development, and conflict resolution.

Since 1998, over 50,000 participants have received support and leadership development, learned skills to interrupt oppression, prevent violence, and resolve conflict, and developed strategies for building just systems.

While EmpowerMT is a white-led organization, we recognize the responsibility to dismantle white supremacy to fulfill our mission to create a just and inclusive society. Accountability is at the forefront of organizational decision-making and is reflected by collaborative partnerships, coalition building, transparency, and critical humility. EmpowerMT’s Board of Directors and Youth Advisory Council, staff, and volunteers reflect the individuals and communities we serve. EmpowerMT engages diverse leaders through holistic community engagement to build power for transformative action to achieve our mission.

EmpowerMT Land Acknowledgement

EmpowerMT acknowledges that we are occupying ancestral and unceded Indigenous land. The Missoula and Bitterroot valleys are the homelands of the Salish (Séliš) and  Kalispel (Ql̓ispé) people who have inhabited this land since time immemorial. This area was also frequently used by other tribes, including the Kootenai (Ksanka), Blackfeet (Niitsitapi), Shoshone (Newe), Crow (Apsáalooke), and Kiowa (Ka’igwu). We respect the original stewards of this land and their descendants, many of whom continue to live, work, teach, and thrive in this community despite years of colonization,  genocide, displacement, and erasure. We honor and affirm tribal sovereignty and are committed to dismantling white supremacy and deconstructing racist and oppressive systems and attitudes in our thoughts and actions.

We encourage you to seek out and support Indigenous-led organizations in your community. 

  • To know the name of the Indigenous People who are the traditional caretakers of the land you live in, please text your zip code to 1-844-910-3545.

  • You can also visit https://native-land.ca/, an interactive digital map showing which Indigenous groups resided in any given area. 

  • Today, twelve Tribal Nations exist in what is now known as Montana. Click on each link to access the official website of each Tribe or Tribal group.