LeAnn Montes has turned dreams into reality

She also learned that by setting goals and having a strong initiative to pursue them, she could actually achieve much of what she wanted.

Now a law-school graduate, the former Montana Lady Griz basketball player is back home on the Rocky Boy's Reservation south of Havre, practicing federal Indian law while serving as attorney general for the Chippewa-Cree Tribe.

Currently Montes is focusing on economic development and entrepreneurship issues affecting the tribe.

"Our tribe is growing and expanding population-wise," Montes noted.

Missoula-based attorney Daniel Belcourt helps Montes by doing contract work for the tribe.

The idea of some day practicing tribal law first occurred to Montes when she took some Native American Studies classes while majoring in business marketing at the University of Montana.

"I just felt there was a need out there for more Native American females to educate themselves in the law in order to help tribes that were short handed with attorneys," Montes said. "I just felt there was a need out there for our people."

By the time she graduated from UM in 2003 she had decided to attend law school at the University of New Mexico. A pre-law institute that summer in Albuquerque introduced her to different aspects of federal Indian law, and she "just grew to love it."

Three years later Montes graduated with a juris doctorate and an Indian law certificate.

She missed her family and friends and decided to return to Montana, where she passed the state bar exam and went to work for the tribe.

Montes was born and raised on the Rocky Boy's Reservation. Her father, also a University of Montana graduate, has worked for the Bureau of Indian Affairs for a number of years.

Montes attended Box Elder High School, where she became a standout on the girls' basketball team.

The major change in her life during high school came when she got pregnant and had daughter Dominique, now 11.

"She's kind of been my partner in this journey we've taken together," said Montes, who also has a four-year-old son named Julius.

"Growing up young on the reservation I had high expectations for myself," Montes recalled, adding that her community had high expectations for her as well.

That led to her first major decision - deciding to attend UM in Missoula, where the highly regarded Lady Griz basketball program was a "huge" attraction for her.

While she had tried volleyball, her main athletic focus - like that of so many other Native Americans - was basketball.

Asked when she realized she could play Division One basketball, Montes said, "Realization and what I wanted are two different things. I think I wanted to play college ball around seventh or eighth grade. It was always something I wanted to do."

She finally got a letter from UM and coach Robin Selvig, who had quickly established a solid connection with, and affinity for, Native American basketball players in the state, something that wasn't lost on Montes.

"Just by seeing that, you realized how he really cared," Montes said. "He cared about the Native American community (and its love of basketball). He wants to understand the culture and where the girls are coming from, and he goes out of his way to recruit young, talented players on the reservation.

"Not many coaches do that, because there is that risk of whether or not they're going to leave the team or stay for four years," Montes went on. "But he takes that (risk). That just showed me that I wanted to play for this particular coach."

The move to Missoula made for a difficult adjustment for Montes. During her first year at UM Dominique stayed in Box Elder with Montes' parents, Jim and Lydia.

"I wasn't able to see her as much as I wanted to," Montes remembered. "Normally I would see her on weekends and my parents would come for the games."

She also went back home during school holidays.

"It was tough," Montes related. "I was able to save up enough money (working part time at K-Mart) . . . to get an apartment during the summer (of 2000)."

The job went full time during the summer and Montes was able to move her daughter to live with her in Missoula.

She had a lot of help.

"The (basketball coaching) staff was very helpful," Montes recalled. "My sister moved down with her two children to attend (the university), so we were a big family and we took care of each other."

In a major understatement, Montes said the best things she learned in college were "time management and balancing education and extracurricular activities with family."

That sense of family, Montes said, was the best thing about playing Lady Griz basketball.

"I loved having the opportunity to meet new girls (and) share common interests in basketball and school," Montes explained. "Just being on that court, I mean, it's so competitive in nature. You learn a lot of things that you could take into work experience in the future.

"You learn how to play as a team (and) coordinate with others," Montes added.

It wasn't until her third year at UM, when Dominique had been with her for a year, that Montes finally turned the corner and knew she was going to make it.

"Things kind of started flowing a little better for me," Montes noted. "I was (better) able to understand the educational aspect of college and take classes I wanted to take.

"Once I got into that routine of attending practices and kind of knowing what to expect, then it became a lot easier."

Montes maintains some contact with Selvig. Now an assistant girls' basketball coach on the reservation, she attended one of Selvig's coaching clinics last fall.

Montes still plays basketball, too, and occasionally runs into former Lady Griz teammates at tournaments. The latest tourney included former UM standouts Hollie Tyler and Crystal Baird as teammates.

Asked if she ever wonders what would have happened to her if the Lady Griz basketball and UM experiences hadn't come about, Montes said she never reflects on the past.

"I'm just really thankful for where I'm at today," she said. "I'm thankful that I played basketball with the Lady Griz for four years (and) got an exceptional educational experience (at UM). That's what I look at."

Because of her college experience Montes says she's open to a lot more things.

"Just having that (experience) led me down the path to want to become an attorney," she explained. "It just kind of molded me into the kind of person I am today.

"I'm hoping that when my kids grow up and are old enough to go to college it's going to have a positive impact on their ability to go."

Like everything else for Montes, it's all about family.