Who We Are

Paul Hawks is a Melville, Montana, rancher and past Northern Plains Chair. He gave this speech at Northern Plains’ 20th Annual Meeting in November 1991

There are many of us in this room, including our founders, who never dreamed Northern Plains would be here 20 years later. We thought we would have the problems solved and we could go back to our private lives. Many of the issues have evolved, but still remain, and new ones continue to arise. But, Northern Plains is still here because people continue to give of themselves to protect the values we hold in common, values that have united us for 20 years and will for the next 20. We believe there are things that are more important than money, than the accumulation of material wealth. There are things of “intrinsic worth” and these things are worth fighting for.

Democracy: We believe that people here, living in Montana communities, should make the decisions that affect our lives; that decision-making should be democratic. And, because we believe that for society at large, we believe it should hold true in our organization as well—that decisions should be made democratically by the membership. This is the strength of Northern Plains, and this is the membership’s commitment. Is it any wonder we are strong? People come to Northern Plains because alone they can be isolated, but together they can win.

Participation: Connected to the idea of democracy is participation in public life. We believe we can make a difference in decisions made about the future of our communities and our state. We believe that we have a responsibility to participate, to try and make changes. All across the country we hear about alienation with public life, that people “hate” politics and politicians. Why bother? It doesn’t matter anyway. But, people who say this willingly give up their power. We will not give up our power. We aren’t alienated from the political process because we know that by being organized, we can make a difference. We expect to meet our legislators eye to eye, and to have our voices heard. We know that you CAN fight city hall, but it also takes perseverance (twenty years of it so far!).

Stewardship: We all love this place we call Montana. We believe that land and water and air are not ours to despoil, but ours to steward for future generations. Someone is going to use this place after we’re gone, and we must sustain the resources that will sustain them. In the early days, we used to say we believed in looking beyond our own fence lines. We still do.

Fairness: We believe in responsibility and fairness and justice and in treating our neighbors as our own. We take on issues because we think individuals and corporations should pay their fair share. We believe taxes and environmental and social costs should not be shoved off on someone else for a profit. We believe it is unjust to dump garbage on our neighbor’s land. We believe misusing power to shove costs or pollution onto someone else is fundamentally unjust. For the same reason, we fight misuse of monopoly power—by utilities and meatpackers—because monopolies are unjust and unfair.

Equality: We believe in equality. And, within our organization, this means that everyone’s contribution is important. Everyone should have a chance to contribute, to lead, to have his or her ideas heard, and to be part of deciding the direction of the group. And, equality means we tolerate differences among us and don’t shun those who don’t agree 100% with everyone else on everything.

Family and Community: We do what we do to protect and preserve, and to be part of our families and our communities. These are the ideas we live for, not gross national product or status or accumulated wealth. And, because we all believe in family and community, Northern Plains has become a big family, a community of its own—for some of us a 20-year-old family, for others, a new family we joined just this weekend. Northern Plains is a community even though we’re scattered across the state and even across the country. We’re a community of common values and common purpose.

These are the values that have guided us for 20 years now. They guided Boyd Charter and Bob Tully. They will guide us for the next 20 years. So, go from here knowing that there is a strong organization behind you, that you are part of a family. Know that as we organize around issues that we care deeply about, these values bind us together. And that makes the battle worth fighting and renews our determination to win. We can pass on a land, a community that enriches our children’s souls.

NOTE: The late Boyd Charter and Bob Tully, cattle ranchers in the Bull Mountains, were two of Northern Plains’ founding members.