Students take time for a photo during Expanding Horizons’s 2025 Youth Summer Academy in Billings.

Strengthening Identity. Building Young Leaders. Growing Community.

This March, 200 Native high school students from across Montana will gather in Billings for three days of learning, connection, and leadership. It will be our biggest youth conference yet.

Youth Director Tristen Belgarde and Youth Manager Monique Denny have spent months building relationships with schools across the state to create this hands-on learning experience that will be engaging, challenging, and meaningful.

In the past couple of years, we’ve watched students become less afraid and more confident. When they see their friends stepping up and participating, they’re more willing to use their own voice.

That’s how leadership grows — together.

Some students will come from reservation communities where culture is woven into daily life. Others will come from urban schools where they may be one of only a few Native students. Their lived experiences are different. The challenges they face can also look different.

But they also share more than they realize — shared history, values, and ancestry.

The 2026 Youth Conference, Vision to Voice, is about helping students create a clear vision for their future — and giving them the tools and confidence to use their voice to make that vision real.

This will not be a sit-and-listen conference.

It will be hands-on and interactive, designed to strengthen connections and encourage participation.

Students will have discussions about identity, leadership, education, and civic responsibility. They’ll learn from one another. They’ll gain perspective on what life looks like in different communities across Montana. They’ll discover both what’s different and what’s shared and they will learn how to use their voice to bring about positive change in their community.

When young people understand who they are and where they’re going, their voice becomes stronger.

We’re looking forward to bringing these 200 students together — because when we invest in Native youth and help them use their voice, our communities — and our future — look brighter.