“It’s not going to be officers asking them to tell us. It’s going to be Native American community representatives going in and doing the research, finding out if it’s poverty, lack of support when they are released, substance abuse …What are the primary driving factors?” Johnson said.

The grant is another step in the Jail Diversion Master Plan that Sheriff T.J. McDermott worked to develop after taking office. It has since been given the blessing of the Missoula City Council and Missoula County Commissioners.

Johnson said finding the root causes of Native American incarceration and developing programs to address that could lead to a reduction in the severe overcrowding at the jail.

“So, take an example of a man who throws a chair through a window. Well, that’s a crime, but we should also look at the why. And if we do, maybe we find out it’s because he has substance abuse issues, and maybe mental health issues. If he can get those addressed, he’s not going to do that again and he’s not going to end up in jail again,” Johnson said.

Kicking Woman, who spent four years working as a detention officer in Missoula before receiving his master’s degree in cultural anthropology and a bachelor’s in Native American Studies from the University of Montana, is now a tribal academic adviser at UM.