August 11, 2025
This is How We Win
Learn How at the Final One Million Rising Training
The movement is growing — and this is your moment to step in. The third and final training on fighting authoritarianism, “What Now? Organizing Action,” happens Wednesday, August 13, in the choir room of St. Paul’s United Methodist Church.
Hosts will share everything we learned in the first and second sessions, on how to have Community Resistance Gatherings:
- We’re in a moment of authoritarian breakthrough, where a would-be authoritarian (Trump) attempts to rapidly consolidate power, eliminate checks on that power, and operate with impunity
- We need to chip away at his power from the bottom, rather than the top. That means identifying the pillars of support upholding that power and putting pressure on them to oppose this regime.
- The pathway to doing that is through identifying the power of your community and activating those around you.
If it’s simple enough to explain in a few bullet points, it’s simple enough to share. Sign up to host a meeting, and lead a conversation in your community. You don’t need to be an expert. The point is for you to share your new knowledge with your connections, so you can learn and resist together.
Check out how a local garden gathering and small business owner are making a difference in the Helena community. Both these Helenans found ways to talk back to the authoritarian regime. Authoritarianism grows in the dark and in silence. Speak out. The life you protect may be your own. The democracy you save will be our own.
Learn at the next training how you, too, can make a difference in Helena:
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Wednesday, August 13
St. Paul’s United Methodist Church Choir Room
6 p.m.
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Plan on coming a bit early, and bring a friend who wants to organize with you to expand a community of resistance.
If you can’t join in person on the 13th, sign up to join the national call via Zoom.
Feel free to email us at indivisiblehelena@gmail.com if you have any questions.
Join us. Bring a friend. Build the resistance.
If you missed the second session, you can watch it here.
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Helena Gathering:
Planting the Seeds of Resistance
| Sitting in an outdoor kitchen, surrounded by gardens brimming with color and the sounds of a gurgling pond, 12 Helena residents ranging in age from 20 to 70+ settled in to attend their first One Million Rising Community Gathering to learn about non-compliance and the pillars of autocracies — those institutions that support governments — good, bad or indifferent, and how we can undermine the complicity of those institutions in the erosion of our democracy. The event, hosted by Ann Wilsnack and facilitated by Barb Barnes, was a community organizing event of the Indivisible National One Million Rising project to sign up, educate, and produce one million new activists to oppose the authoritarian regime we are living under. Attendees discussed ways to practice non-compliance on the personal, local, and national levels, such as being mindful of where they shop — online and at brick and mortar stores — their Five Calls practices, and focusing on describing actions they oppose rather than resorting to name calling, and many more ideas. By the end of the meeting, all agreed that starting now to strengthen their “non-compliant muscles” would prepare them to take part in larger acts of non-cooperation in the coming months — and, ideally, host their own get-togethers and help grow the movement to one million by year’s end. If you are interested in more about this, you can find information at indivisiblehelena@gmail.com |
Helena Gathering:
Small Business, Big Stand
Helena Pushes Back Against Authoritarianism
| “Authoritarianism is not merely a matter of state control, it is something that eats away at who you are. It makes you afraid, and fear can make you cruel. It compels you to conform and to comply and accept things that you would never accept, to do things you never thought you would do.” — Sarah Kendzior We’re heading into Dark Times. This is How to Be Your Own Light in the Age of Trump Acts of non-cooperation are emerging since the second One Million Rising training. A business owner and IH member showed courage in posting a “No ICE” and ”All Are Welcome Here” signs in the window of her business. She did this knowing it may negatively impact her business, but believing her values compelled her not to cooperate through silence in the mean-spirited discrimination and violence against fellow humans we are experiencing in our country.Another IH member reported Friday morning after the training that he liked the training but was still struggling with ideas for non-cooperation here in Helena (he said, “we have no Tesla, we aren’t Harvard…”). Later, he said he found himself holding an impromptu Community Resistance Gathering: he was enjoying time in the outdoors with some friends, and as they talked casually about how they had been spending their time this summer, he mentioned his involvement in IH. There was interest. So he took the opportunity to talk with them about the dangers of authoritarianism and the principles of non-violent non-cooperation and civil resistance. |
IH Takes BBB to the Streets
(aka Big Bad Bill)
| Ours is a scary country now with no letup in the foreseeable future. And, as Pete Buttigieg said, “The only antidote to a politics of fear is a politics of courage.” It’s time to bust out of our comfort zone and let our community, state, and country know our values and that we stand against the Big Bad Bill.Starting Saturday, August 16, and every Saturday after until harsh winter weather sets in, we will hold demonstrations from noon to 1 pm, at the intersection of 11th Ave. and Montana Ave. For this first demonstration, we will focus on how the Reconciliation Bill, tariffs, and general Trump policy affect Montanans. We need to bring together those who didn’t vote to have neighbors arrested or their civil rights ignored because of the color of their skin. Those who didn’t vote to have massive cuts in Medicare that harm the disabled.This demonstration will focus on educating people with signs that say what that bill is going to do, how it will affect us and make our lives harder. Saying “Daines, Sheehy, and Downing voted to defund public radio and PBS in Montana” is fair, or “Daines, Sheehy, and Downing voted to hand $4.5T in tax breaks to billionaires.” Or “Our representatives voted to destroy veterans benefits.” Of course you are free to say whatever you wish.Demonstrations have proved to be a successful way of getting the peoples’ voices heard. It was successful in bringing down DOGE, Tesla, and Musk in March. Come join us: the more people the louder the voice.Bring your signs! Make them big and bold — they need to be seen by cars speeding by! See you Saturday, August 16, noon – 1 p.m., 11th and Montana.If you have any questions, email Chris Nielsen at christinenielson1@gmail.com |
Events Happening Thursday, August 14
| Demonstration at Senator Daines’ Office: Noon Project Paperclip will host a demonstration at Senator Daines’ office, 30 W 14th St. Questions, contact jmpaperclip@gmail.com Honk and Waive for Ukraine: 4:30 – 6 p.m. At the Corner of 11th and Montana Ave. Make signs — Honk for Ukraine, We stand with Ukraine, Peace for Ukraine. |
Push Back on Medicaid Cuts
Contact MT DPHHS Before August 18
Act now (before August 18) to protect Montana Medicaid! As you may have heard, the state health department (DPHHS) is fast-tracking new work, reporting, and premium requirements. Recently, DPHHS has released its plans to submit to the federal government and is raising more questions than answers!
We know these new mandates will result in eligible, hard-working people being kicked off their healthcare. This proposal is out of touch with everyday Montanans who rely on Medicaid coverage to survive. Luckily, there’s still time to slow them down.
Here’s How You Can Help
DPHHS needs to hear from you: whether you’re on Medicaid or not, they need to hear that their proposal is out of step with Montana and our values. DPHHS needs to hear about how tedious these new paperwork requirements and compliance checks will be on people’s complex lives and their family’s lives. Stories are one of the most powerful tools when speaking truth to power! If you have a story about how Medicaid has impacted you and your loved ones, please include it in your message as well.
At Catalyst, we understand crafting public comments to the government might not be the most user-friendly experience, so we’d like to help you make your comment and tell your story!
Here’s a form that goes directly to us, and someone on staff will be in touch to help craft and submit your comment.
We encourage any comments to urge DPHHS to:
- Slow down and wait for federal rules before submitting this waiver
- Clearly articulate an implementation that clearly defines how they will do outreach to those on the program
- Remove premium requirements that are NOT mandated under federal law.
We cannot let this proposal go through unchecked. Together, we have a chance to shape when and how these requirements will be implemented! By safeguarding Medicaid, we are not only protecting a program; we are protecting families, folks with disabilities, seniors, and children across the state.
If you do not need any help crafting a message, please email DPHHS directly at dphhscomments@mt.gov with the subject line, “HELP Demonstration Waiver.”
Again, please submit comments by August 18, and always reach out if you have any questions.
Thank you!
Dillon (he/him)
Senior Organizer
Catalyst Montana: Organizing for Justice
Solidarity Calendar
We’re often asked to help publicize events related to our mission that are hosted by our allies in the Helena area. For the sake of efficiency, we’ve created a single source for sharing them: The Solidarity Calendar.
If you want to publicize your event whose content advances the local resistance to an authoritarian takeover, please submit your listing to indivisiblehelena@gmail.com.
Include the who, what, when, where, and why of your event listing as completely possible, including an email address for more information.
A contact email address is mandatory.
We will review your listing to ensure it meets the criteria above, and will ask for clarification, if necessary, before publishing it.
Good Reads
| GOOD READ #1 The Guardian Jared Abbott and Bhaskar Sunkara 8/7/25 A New Generation of Populists is Showing Democrats How to Defeat Trump“The path to winning back working-class voters runs through authenticity, clarity and a credible commitment to improving people’s lives.” |
| GOOD READ #2 Pluralistic Cory Doctorow 8/7/25 Good Ideas Are PopularWhat people say would improve their lives. |
NO KINGS Signs Available
If you’d like to support Indivisible Helena in pushing back against fascism, please consider a donation via this link to the Indivisible Helena ActBlue donation portal or use the QR code below. Your information will remain private — neither IH nor ActBlue shares or sells personal data.
AND, if you want a NO KINGS yard or window sign, email indivisiblehelena@gmail.com with your name, street address, and cell number. We want to see NO KINGS signs across the Helena area. Until our democracy is safe, keep them up.
Together, we’ll make sure the U.S. has NO KING.
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