When Missoula County and the city of Missoula adopted Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion bylaws in December, the decision came after much mental wrangling on the part of many elected officials.

The problem JEDI seeks to address, according to the city’s JEDI Specialist Alex Lawson, is underrepresentation of traditionally marginalized identities in Missoula’s civic life. Lawson cited sobering statistics, like Missoula County Public Schools data that demonstrates 10% of enrolled students are Native, yet that group makes up 27% of those who do not graduate.

People who are Native account for less than 2% of Missoula’s overall population, Lawson went on, but they make up 14% of the local incarcerated population. Additionally, 25% of the local unhoused population is Native, Lawson said.

Missoulian: ‘Imperfect progress’: City, county embrace JEDI challenges